Genealogy Chat

Service unavailable - Error 503 AGAIN!!!!

And they want to up the subs?! :-P

Well, I'm due to renew tomorrow (member since Nov 2003) and GR also sent me the email containing the new sub amount less than the regulatory 28 days.

Unfortunately, I didn't see this until I went and dug it out of my spam box. I've decided that as my tree on here is a bear skeleton and I only ever use this site for the boards, (which hasn't been more than a few times in the past year) I may as well leave and use the £15.95 for something more useful. See you all on FB :-D

Service Unavailable

HTTP Error 503. The service is unavailable.

:-|

For last few weeks i have had tree unavailable.
i use genes almost every day .
over a good 5 years.
expect better.
i think they should have something to imform members of members no longer subscribed , so i dont have to waste time sending messages that never get read..
i would say 1 out of every 30 sent no one reads them.
its a lot of cash to subscribe if it feels thier is only me out of over a thousand names on tree on here.
iam writing this as tree unavailble again tonight..
asking is subscription worth it anyway.

Service Unavailable

HTTP Error 503. The service is unavailable.


& GR are charging us all more for membership, :-| I think with all the ERRORS us members have had to put up with for so long now, GR should give us all a refund.

Like I have said before Standered Members can't see any of the so called New infomation on this site any way.
Much of the same info can be found on other sites free if you just take the time to look.

I think it's a bit rich that we are getting hit with a price increase when the site
isn't working correctly.

I have been looking for that forum board that had a number of negative comments about GR on it but can't seem to locate it.

I would have loved to have read what others are writing.

To be strictly true GR are not hitting us all with a price increase. The increase is only for those who previously, as long term members, enjoyed a special discounted rate.

I would not describe my payment as "a special discounted rate" other than in the last two years.

The year before last, I was told I would receive a discount. Last year, I was told my payment would revert to £7.50; however, the inconsistency occurred again in replies received, and I did receive a discount.

This year, I am in correspondence with GR about a two or two and a half times increase that would not be countenanced by customers if attempted by a utility company.

Definitely NOT a discounted rate.
It was the rate for standard membership which I agreed to in 2007 & I was informed when the standard rate was increased following the advent of Brightsolid that as a longstanding standard member, my rate would remain the same.
Didn´t take long for that to change!!!!!

Janet, don't forget to pay visit to the websites mentioned on page 4 of this thread if you aren't already a member. ;-)

Whatever you call the rates that long term members pay, the fact remains that not ALL GR members are having to pay an increase.

No KenSE, they´re not.
Only the people who never use & can´t access the "improvements" made to the site & who are quite content with the restricted access they have had for years.

Quote,"Only the people who never use & can´t access the "improvements" made to the site & who are quite content with the restricted access they have had for years."

Very well said wisechild :-)

Perhaps they need the money for their latest venture which is stickied on the boards, 'Share Your Knowledge'.
Someone has to pay the bill for the camera team and their travel costs!

:-| :-| :-|

This should be of interest to many of us.

I have been a continuous member since 31 Dec 2003. I received on 24 Dec notification that I would be paying the new increase on 6 Jan 2013. According to GR's own T & C I should have, where there is an increase in subs, received notice of this 28 days beforehand.

When I complained - they moved the goalposts and decided subs date would now be
21 Jan 2013 thus giving me the 28 days notice. We have exchanged about 6-8 emails over this. I also pointed out that the method of deciding who would pay what was ad hoc and not systematic. Some who complained had a reduction, others did not.

This afternoon I managed to contact Trading Standards and after informing them of the full position of my details and mentioning the ad hoc method they were employing, they advised that in my case (and they could only comment on my complaint, but must also apply to others) and in their considered opinion that GR was in BREACH OF CONTRACT and issued me with further advice.

If anyone wishes to know what this is please feel free to pm me.

It is not so much the money (although a hike like that is bad enough) but the principle - basically GR over recent years do not appear to give a damn about members.

Ha ha...value for money a NEW error message when being unable to access the tree....404 - File or directory not found.
The resource you are looking for might have been removed, had its name changed, or is temporarily unavailable. :-0

At the end of the day, despite what we might think I'm sure their legal advisers have it all sussed.

"Genes Reunited reserves the right to change the amount of the Standard Membership fee and the period which it covers from time to time."

Nor is there anything that says everyone will pay the same. It's no different to buying a ticket for a show, a train a plane or whatever - you pay the going rate at the time of purchase.

Jude,
ref 'Error 404'

Are you using a Microsoft Windows system?

The e-mail wasn't in spam, it was in my inbox but disappeared amongst all the spam from Amazon. I cancelled my sub but it appears GR took no notice anyway. Here's the e-mail I have sent

I unticked the automatic renewal box when I found out you were going to charge me £15.96 (an increase in my yearly sub) however, it appears that this was ignored and I can only assume that you have therefore debited my credit card against my wishes. I was under the impression that any increase in fee would be notified at least 28 days in advance of renewal by e-mail. I received no such notification, only a standard e-mail on 20th December informing me that my membership would expire on 2nd January. (Before you ask, the non existant e-mail did not fall foul of my spam filter.)

Therefore, I anticipate a full refund of £15.96 from you and I trust this will be forthcoming in the very near future.

Janet Tocqueville
Another disgruntled former GR member

I wonder how long it will take for a response?

Does you renewal date say the 1st or the 2nd? if it is the 2nd it will expire at midnight tonight

I get caught out every six months with that :-)