General Chat

I have just ordered one or two certificates before they go up in April and have just realised that at the moment you have to pay £3 extra for each reference check.

I have about 6 possibilities for William Walker, Manchester 1839, if they are taking out the reference check, that means it will cost £10 each certificate until I get it right.

It is going to cost a fortune, I have many possibilities for William Walker, John Williams, James Williams and John Wilson, all Manchester.

Does anyone think this is right or have I misread it, if you have 6 possiblities it means the difference between up to £60 for one certificate or up to £22 with the reference checking.

I just tried ordering a birth certificate for William Walker, putting no I dont know the GRO reference and it said I had to put one in, so whats the point of asking if you have one.!!!??

Marilyn

I've ordered with a GRO reference but specified a father's name. They checked and as the specified name was different, didn't send but refunded £3.

You don't pay extra for reference checks. You pay the normal £7 and give something that you want as a reference check (i.e. mother's name etc.).

If the reference check matches up then they send the certificate and it still costs £7.

If the reference check doesn't match up then they don't send the certificate and keep £3 of your £7 for doing the search and they refund you £4.

Kath. x

If you have several possibilities you can ask for other GRO index references to be checked for £3 each, they stop at the first one that is correct, up to 6 indexes. They are stopping that though cos they cant afford it

I did read that on their site earllier today but cant find exactly where, but it does mention something about it here.

Customers are asked to please note that there will be a change to the GRO fee structure which will take effect from 6 April 2010. Further details can be found on the IPS website at www.ips.gov.uk. Please note in addition that GRO have reviewed the range of services which we currently offer. We have been advised that there is no clear remit in statute for charging for a service to check additional index references, or to retain partial fees. In order to ensure full legal compliance, and in view of the fact that we cannot afford to offer this service free of charge, we are regretfully withdrawing our reference checking service from 6 April. This will include the withdrawal of the "checking points".


Thanks for everyones replies

I think the loss of the 'reference checking' is a big a blow as the price rise. I recently used this service and only paid £3 each as they were both incorrect.

I have a couple I want to order in the next week to avoid the increase; after that I shall limit myself to one cert every other month.

I have ordered certs. from Local Registry Offices, and they have refunded the £7 if it was not the correct person. They have phoned me on three occasions to ask for more details, before sending the cert.
Liz

Our local Register Office does that; I don't know if they still will after the changes. Some Register Offices won't do historical certs at all. The reason I have ordered online for the past few years is that the service is faster and postage is included. No messing about finding two envelopes, two stamps and no letter to write!

You could write to the GRO with the details that you have and they will do a 3 year search. It takes a little longer and does cost a bit more than £7 but if he's there, they'll find him and it will be quicker and cheaper than ordering each one separately.

Jill

Jill, isnt that what they are not doing from April, I was thinking it was about £11 now for the search you say, but in April everything is £10, with no reference check.

Dont know if I am right or not,will have to wait and see. Its an idea to try local offices though, worth a try but their prices may change also when they realise about GRO