General Chat

Can I just point out from being hassled with emails about upgrading to platinum for one month at a reduced price, I decided to take up the offer, what I didn't realise was, come the time my subscription was diue for renewal in a months time I had already lost the right to a reduced membership for being a member for a long time, so I feel I have been conned, I have been assured I will get a 10% discount, but that is being offered anyway and not because I complained.

Linda ................

it has always been a problem that changing your subscription to a higher level results in the loss of any grandfathered reduced rate at the Standard level.

Linda, I had just the same happen to me and felt the same as you. This year I sent email after email to them to ask them to explain to me where EXACTLY did it point out to me that I would lose the right to my reduced subscription by taking up the offer. In every single reply they avoided answering the question!!!! It is a CON and trickery as you say and I feel very aggrieved about it, not the least because they couldn't give me an answer. :-| :-| I can only conclude that they do not tell you which is clearly unacceptable.

The problem appears to be that the renewal is automatic. No human involved.

They should however, make it clear that this will happen if you upgrade.

Yep, I totally agree, they should say that would happen, I just think it's a ploy to get more money from those of us that have the Grandfather rights. Thankyou for all the replies.

You could always take it to trading standards,

I have dug out my emails and their replies which I have copied below. You will see they refuse to answer my question.

Saying in their last reply that their prices are shown on the site does not tell me they change your original sub price if you take advantage of an offer! We can all say correct things by not answering the customer's question.

I find it unbelievable!!!


Dear Annx

Thank you for your e mail.

It all depends on the length of time you have been with us.

The longer the more discount you get if you keep renewing with us.

Back in 2012 you changed from a 6 month sub to an annual so you lost the longstanding low price and reverted to the standard for the 12 month and you have been renewing minus 10% since then.


With kind regards,


Karen Allan
Genes Reunited Support Team

So I then asked this and see their reply which doesn't answer my question at all!



Dear Karen,
Thanks for your quick reply, but where did/does it say on the site that by changing from a 6 month subscription to an annual one that I would lose the longstanding low price? It makes no sense that anyone would ever change if that is the case.
Also, to quote your reply, you say that 'It all depends on the length of time you have been with us.The longer the more discount you get if you keep renewing with us.'
I have satisfied both of those criteria with no break in subscription so should surely get the longstanding low price? It would seem that giving the discount is to encourage subscribers to stay with you and reward them for their commitment. By changing to an annual subscription I have actually given you greater commitment than with a 6 month one, so why have you disadvantaged me for giving you greater commitment? It makes no sense.
Could you please refer this matter to your seniors as I am not happy at all with this situation. I feel it needs looking into if you are unable to give me the discount given to other members who have given less commitment and when I have satisfied the criteria for it that you have stated.
Thank you,
Ann XXXXXX

Dear Annx

Thank you for your e mail.

When you make a change to your subscription so when you paid for the annual instead of the 6 month one you obviously paid more and your future renewals are minus 10% off the amount paid for the 12 months.

The prices can be seen on the site at anytime.

I know you are not happy with this but everything I have said is correct.



With kind regards,


Karen Allan
Genes Reunited Support Team

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Shocking, I keep trying to think of how to complain again, but I feel I would be constantly fobbed off. The email I received never mentioned losing the discount I have, and I surely would not have temporarily upgraded if I had known that. I actually cancelled it the same day I took it out, thinking I would be allowed to revert back to original reduced subs. Total con on their part and they know it.

Linda, they didn't even refer it to their seniors like I asked them to. I did scan through the Terms and Conditions but couldn't find anything about this.

Trading Standards is probably the way to go like Sue says, but I think before you do anything you have to send a formal complaint to a company setting out what you are unhappy about first. I don't know if an email would count and I don't know what address to use for them either. Maybe someone else does?

GR come under distance selling regulations.
They may be contravening these regs working on the assumption that users would not kick up too much of a fuss about small sums.
If you paid by credit card then getting a full refund should be easy.
Otherwise the simplest option (should Gr refuse Compensation) is the Small Claims Court cost £30.

This has happened for many years .....................

and there have been umpteen threads started on this Board complaining about it it.

Nothing has ever happened, as their line is that you broke your contract when you changed your subscription. They could well be correct.


In case you hadn't realised, GR now seems to be staffed by only one person operating out of the FMP office.

There is apparently no other support.


If you look under Company Information at the very bottom of the page, there is an address ...........

Our office address is:

The Glebe
6 Chapel Place
Rivington Street
London EC2A 3DQ

That is also the address for FMP, which controls GR

UK Distance Selling directive was beefed up a lot by the coalition. The main targets were utilities, Internet and TV providers, mobile phones.

Any change does not cancel the existing contract.
The user has a 14 day cooling off period which the seller must make the user aware of. The seller must make the user aware of the main points and get explicit agreement from the buyer. Failure to do so reverts to the status quo.

Small claims cases are dealt with very quickly. If Gr ignorés an award the money is grabbed from its bank account plus costs.

I used this procedure against Ttalk for my mother. It worked like a charm as soon as they got the paperwork.

Thanks for the info Rollo and Sylvia. I see I am out of the scope of the rules since the coalition as my 'offer' I took up was well before then and the 14 days are similarly long since elapsed. It is useful to know though.

If G.R. did not bring the main conditions before you and obtained explicit agreement including informing you of 14 days cooling off then G.R. are in default and you are entitled to return to the status quo.

Saying that there is information here and there on their site is not compliant.

Trading standards will not as a rule get involved in such cases they are more interested in public health and safety. Yr only option is the Small Claims court. For yr claim to succeedbyou need full data. Screen grabs are a good idea.

Good luck

I definitely was within the 14 days cool off as I cancelled the same day.

I appear to have inherited 50 credits, it says it at the top of my page, next to upgrade, do other people have that? I definitely got a refund on my cancelled platinum month subscription.

The 50 credits are part of the standard sub. If they aren't used they disappear when your sub expires. They aren't carried over into the next subscription year.

If you do access records using the credits, remember to save the record image to your computer as you may need to pay to view it after the expiry date.

I just renewed my subs and have been given another 50 credits, nice one GENES.

They are being nice to you!!!


I have only once received credits as a gift for renewing ..................

however, I am not about to complain as my sub is so low ;-)

Lucky you :-D. Like Sylvia I have only received the 50 credits once but have never bothered to ask for them as my sub is also low and I seldom use the records on GR anyway.