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Help! Does this genealogist sound legitimate?

Replies: 7

Re: Help! Does this genealogist sound legitimate?

Posted: 12 Oct 2013 11:17AM GMT
Classification: Query
Hello again

I've had a look at the website and in my view it is genuine.

However.... it does state the following are included in the platinum plan you ordered:

Check what you’ll get free in PLATINUM plan!


Your family tree!
A collection of documents concerning your ancestors including birth, marriage and death records, photos, manifests and other!
Detailed description of each ancestor on carefully prepared person record! See example!
Migration analysis! You’ll finally understand where and when did your ancestors live!
A GEDCOM file you can share with your family all over the world!
A DVD with digital versions of all documents describing your family. Sharing and publishing was never so easy!

From this I would say you are due to receive more than just a photograph; if you are asking for details of 1/4 of what she has found then you should have the 'detailed description of each ancestor on carefully prepared person record' (for the ones you have paid for), some sort of family tree, digital and original copies of documents and a GEDCOM file.

My advice would be to email her and say the cost is much higher than you were expecting, due the fact that you were not to know how many ancestors she would find. Tell her what you can afford in total and ask her for the platinum package for this (eg 1/4 or 1/2 of the people).

Tell her you would still like research carried out into your grandfather's side but you need to have more of an idea of final costs. Ask if you could set a limit on the of number of people she provides records for, amount to be spent etc and see what she proposes.

I think that $924 for all the items on the platinum plan list for 12 ancestors, 14 siblings & spouses plus children is reasonable. The problem is you didn't know she would find so much and therefore that the cost would be so much! Issues with translation could well have caused some confusion between you - her first language is Polish and yours, I'm assuming, is English. The translations (Polish, English & German) are pretty good but not perfect so it is understandable that some misunderstandings could arise (on both sides).

So in summary, I would be honest, explain your position and ask what she proposes so you get the information you need at the price you are expecting, and she is not left out of pocket. She will want to keep you as a customer and you need someone to research for you. For what it's worth, I've never yet had to use overseas companies but I would use this one for Polish research if the need arose in the future.

Oh and if you need UK research at any time, I'm your person :))

Good luck, I hope you manage to come to some agreement

Best wishes,
SubjectAuthorDate Posted
vrezula 9 Oct 2013 8:44AM GMT 
ABiyT13 11 Oct 2013 10:10PM GMT 
vrezula 11 Oct 2013 11:15PM GMT 
ABiyT13 12 Oct 2013 5:17PM GMT 
vrezula 12 Oct 2013 7:05PM GMT 
ABiyT13 12 Oct 2013 8:58PM GMT 
vrezula 15 Oct 2013 5:35AM GMT 
ABiyT13 16 Oct 2013 1:22PM GMT 
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