Ancestry
reviews and complaints

Poor service... well, yes... the cancellation process is a bit confusing. It's way too easy to think that you've cancelled when you really haven't. The sure-fire way to know whether you have is if you have a cancellation number -- I bet that asked if you had one, right? Of course, it's a great system as long as you know how to cancel correctly, such as is explained in this video: http://www.familytreeshortcuts.com/avoiding-issues/scam-exposed-here-cancel-and-you%E2%80%99re-good/

I had the same thing happen to me and when I contacted Ancestry.com I was told that they couldn't do anything about my card being compromised and would not refund my money.

I do not know who MFI Family Ancestry is... I was not aware of Ancestry.com using this name. They have switched names in years past, but they've not used that one that I'm aware of. It sounds like it might be a company other than Ancestry.com.

In any case, if it is Ancestry.com then you should be able to call in and cancel for a refund. The only way that they could have gotten your credit card information is if someone put it in... so perhaps your card has been compromised and is being used by someone else. Ancestry.com is pretty good about returning money if it was due to fraud. Of course, the most important thing is to contact your card company and have them cancel your card if it has been compromised. They can also start a chargeback process for any charges you did not initiate. They also might be able to give more information about the company who charged that (whether it is Ancestry.com or another company).

Email to Ancestry. com: So you believe that we, the general public, aren't smart enough to figure out the implications of Y-DNA and mtDNA, so you drop this part of the testing and satisfy the masses with grouping genealogist with hobbyist. And by the way, if you plan to eliminated Y-DNA and the mtDNA aspect of testing, clean up the website and help files so you aren't misleading your costumers with bits of information that don't exist. I did send in a test and thought there was something wrong when I saw what seemed to be an incomplete test result. I called service and I was told that that was it. I thought it was strange for a company into real genealogy to expand a service not subtract from it.
Response: (Sort of) Dear Sir,
Thank you for contacting Ancestry.com regarding your feedback on the new autosomal DNA test.

We apologize for any frustration this issue may have caused and appreciate your feedback. We have forwarded your message on to our feedback department.

For information regarding additional methods of submitting feedback, please visit the following URL:
http://ancestry.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/970/
If you need additional assistance, please feel free to reply to this message or contact us by phone at 1-800-ANCESTRY [protected]) from 10am to 10pm EST, Monday through Sunday. To date there was no response be the feedback department.

Yep. That was a rather poor way to handle your question. It drives me crazy when customer service reps don't actually answer my questions as well.

I'm not an expert with DNA, but I happen to know a geneticist whom I asked about things like this. If I remember correctly, DNA can be traced through a male line (your father, his father, his father, etc.) or through a female line (your mother, her mother, her mother, etc.). Ultimately, you'll find out countries where your ancestors came from (sometimes actual regions as well). But it's only going to be able to follow two branches of your tree, so it doesn't really give a whole picture. For some people, the DNA test is really helpful. But for others it's a complete waste of time.

I was stupid enough to open a Ancestry guest account. This is VERY SCAM! I tried to cancel my guest account but this is impossible. Very chip trick! Ancestry.com is chip, lying, low profile money sucking “company”. I tried to call but there is answering “too many calls”. Sure! The website doesn’t give any option to cancel account. There is no option at all. All they need to suck your money and no escape. I will do everything possible on all websites to tell about my experience.

Ancestry is a scam and racist operating business out of Utah .

Yeah, I don't really like that policy either. If you're really finished with Ancestry.com, then there are a few things you can do, however.

First, download your tree as GEDCOM file. This will allow you to still have access to it later (you'll need a Genealogy program to read it, but it doesn't have to be Ancestry.com). There's a tutorial about it here: http://www.familytreeshortcuts.com/the-site/export-your-family-tree-as-a-gedcom/

Then, delete your tree. The link to do so right underneath the Download GEDCOM button.

Then, click My Account at the top of the screen. On the right, you can then update your personal information like your email address, your mailing address, your phone number, etc. Now, you can't delete this, but you can change it to be information that is totally incorrect. This way, your account will live on in the Ancestry.com system, but none of the information on it will be correct.

It's important to recognize that there are errors in genealogy records. Ancestry.com is a great way to connect with records, but you MUST verify the information. See this site for an explanation: http://www.familytreeshortcuts.com/the-site/not-all-records-military-census-etc-are-always-correct/

Old complaint, same problem. Why are all subscriptions set as default to auto-renewal when I (the customer) should be able to choose “auto-expire”? Ancestry.com certainly make it easy to set this OFF at the start. Worse is that you default to a 6 month renewal. What an arrogant assumption. What if I don’t like your service that much? Or what if you only want 1 or 2 months subscription.

This is a dishonest business model. You can hide behind your TC’s all you like but that has lost you a customer and hopefully 99 more as the saying goes. I really don’t want to have any more to do with your service, and I will discourage my friends and family from going anywhere near Ancestry.com, T Jones, Australia

Keith is right. You must have a cancellation number to be sure you cancelled. Otherwise... well, they'll charge you again. Calling and having Ancestry.com's service team provide you with the number is one way and definitely a safe way. But as long as you get the cancellation number, the web process is okay too... but you MUST keep going through the process until you get it. If you're not sure whether you got it, it's always best to phone customer service to double-check.

I completed the on line cancellation forms and the last one was a reason for cancellation. Then it wasn't cancelled. I recommend that you phone and CANCEL and get a receipt number. I was cancelling for a month or so whilst I was between jobs but now after this experience I will not rejoin or renew my subscription. Keith Burge, AUSTRALIA

Easier to join than to cancel... I agree on that one. And I agree that it really shouldn't be that way.

As for the 800 number, I'm sorry you had difficulties getting through. Are they busy? Yes, they definitely are. It's a big company. Some times are busier than others, of course.

I personally prefer just canceling on the website anyways. It's easier and less of a hassle, in my opinion.

I know that some people don't have a good experience, but I've used it for a while and I love it. And I believe that if people know what they're getting into and how to work the system correctly (hence my links to that unofficial website www.familytreeshortcuts.com above), then anyone with a good disposition and a desire to really get into genealogy can have a positive experience.

Anyways, I hope that since you didn't have a good experience, you were able to cancel correctly and therefore don't have to worry about it anymore.

Their number is 1-800-Ancestry. It's at the bottom of all of their pages where it says "Contact Us: 1-800-Ancestry." Of course, there's an argument to be made as to whether they should place it at the top so that people don't miss it. If you take a few moments to look for things, you can usually find them. But if you're the impatient type, genealogy research probably isn't your thing anyways.

As for the cancellation process, I suspect that a majority of users don't have a problem. Still, when you're as big as Ancestry.com is, a small portion is still a LOT of customers. I agree that the cancellation process should be easier.

Just my thoughts...

Sootane,
Fabulous data, yes. Problems with the interface, yes. But I have seen them make numerous changes (for the better) in just the last year. And I'm sorry you have problems with Firefox... though for me, I find that Ancestry.com runs much better on my Firefox browser than IE.

Since they are so huge, their customer service does get slammed from time to time. And you're right, their hours aren't very convenient for people who need to contact them in the evening . Don't ever reply to the automated emails because they're all "noreply" emails (read the fine print). Use this form instead: http://ancestry.custhelp.com/cgi-bin/ancestry.cfg/php/enduser/ask.php.

You can also use the help articles (see http://www.familytreeshortcuts.com/the-site/help-navigating-the-website/ for details on how to access and use them).

Oh, and while there are a lot of complaints about cancelling, it's actually a breeze if you actually follow through with all of the steps. See a video tutorial on how to (completely) cancel here: http://www.familytreeshortcuts.com/avoiding-issues/scam-exposed-here-cancel-and-you%e2%80%99re-good/

Cecile Marie--
Unfortunately, there isn't much you can do. You should have read the fine print (yes, I know that no one does, so I don't blame you, but Ancestry.com has the legal advantage now). I found a site that you might find helpful explaining everything, however:

About the annual subscription charged at once: http://www.familytreeshortcuts.com/avoiding-issues/subscription-costs-explained/

One thing you need to be aware of as well is that your subscription is probably set to automatically renew next year. Please take action to get it cancelled so that it does not renew. There's a nifty tutorial about how to cancel here: http://www.familytreeshortcuts.com/avoiding-issues/scam-exposed-here-cancel-and-you%e2%80%99re-good/

In the mean time, like I said, there's not much you can do. You can call in to Ancestry support, but you're likely too late to get a refund of any type. But since you have an account, you may as well use it! It appears you were having difficulties finding any records on the site (Ancestry.com actually has the most extensive online record database in the world), so check out these pages for help findnig records:
http://www.familytreeshortcuts.com/the-site/search-build-your-family-tree-learn-the-tips-here/
http://www.familytreeshortcuts.com/the-site/the-card-catalog-is-your-source-for-specific-records/

http://lisaduvalltoday.com/
Refunds, Collections & Justice

Email: lisaduvall@att.net
Email me the details for proven results. I have the knowledge, experience and time.

Unfortunately, sometimes even Ancestry.com's massive databases aren't helpful for some people. You may be one of them. As for the hints, they're not always that great (though again, for some people, they are).

Have you tried advanced search or the card catalog yet? See this site for unofficial tutorials:
http://www.familytreeshortcuts.com/the-site/search-build-your-family-tree-learn-the-tips-here/
http://www.familytreeshortcuts.com/the-site/the-card-catalog-is-your-source-for-specific-records/

You need to call 1-800-Ancestry. That's their customer service line. If they really did erroneously overcharge you, they'll usually refund the amount (I'm not an employee of Ancestry.com, so don't quote me on that, but I've found that is often the case). If you don't want to deal with them and just want to avoid recurring charges, be sure to cancel. There's a tutorial at this site: http://www.familytreeshortcuts.com/avoiding-issues/scam-exposed-here-cancel-and-you%e2%80%99re-good/

Unfortunately, simply cancelling isn't going to get you a refund in this case, so I recommend talking to customer service.

Actually, you can cancel using the website. A lot of people don't know how (or they do it wrong), so this site made a video tutorial about how to do it. The key is getting a 7-digit cancellation number. If you do it correctly, this it's really pain-free.
http://www.familytreeshortcuts.com/avoiding-issues/scam-exposed-here-cancel-and-you%e2%80%99re-good/

I tried to cancel my guest account but this is impossible. Very chip trick! Ancestry.com is chip, lying, low profile money sucking “company”. I tried to call but there is answering “too many calls”. Sure! The website doesn’t give any option to cancel account. There is no option at all. All they need to suck your money and no escape. I will do everything possible on all websites to tell about my experience.

Click My Account at the top of the screen, and update your email address to be something non-existant. I imagine this should fix your problem.

Another user had a similar complaint about the removal of personal information due to this policy. See my response at Ancestry.com — deleting account for more details on that.

It's important to recognize that Ancestry.com has nothing to do with retrieving actual birth certificates. All they do is refer you to companies that can do it (Vital Check in your case?). If you have a problem with the service, complain about the company that's providing the service, not about the company that referred you to them.

In any case, did you know that you can get birth certificates directly from the government? Check with your state (or in my case, the county) where it was originally registered. You can get copies of certificates, and it's always cheaper than going through 3rd parties (though admittedly not as convenient if you happen to live on the opposite side of the country).

So sorry that you missed that. Actually, there are a handful of places that it mentions recurring charges, but as you mentioned, they're pretty much all in the print. There's a site that explains differnt issues like this in more detail and explain how to avoid the problems that so many people face with Ancestry.com:
http://www.familytreeshortcuts.com/avoiding-issues/

The company may operate using several names. When purchasing certain copies of Family Tree they will offer a free three month to one year subscription of their service. You will be asked for a credit card in order to validate the 'free' service. Once they get your number they will then charge you in the future for subscription service. My charge was $163.17. I never received a notice and did not know about the charge until I received my credit card statement.

The company telephones are open a limited number of hours and even then after repeated calls I was always told there would be a 'nine minute wait'. The internet site they have will not let you delete the credit card number from their files. The site will also say that it is too late to cancel the subscription as more than 7 days have passed since the charge date.This is the second time in my life I have been ripped off like this. When will I learn?

In the other instance I filed a complaint with the FTC about a $29.95 charge that was made to my credit card on a 'continuing basis' without my knowledge. The FTC was able to recover $26.00 for me on that case. This company just has to have oen of the worst customer relations programs in existence. They are out to rip you off. Don't accept their 'free' services.

Actually, per the terms and conditions that you explicity agree to when you sign up, you actually do authorize them to keep charging your card. Of course, I agree that it is a little deceptive, but you can't call it fraud when you've given them legal permission.

I've found this site to be helpful. They endorse Ancestry.com, but they're not a part of it so you get Ancestry's fine print in layman's terms. They explain how to avoid most Ancestry.com complaints, and they explain how to completely cancel your account so you don't keep getting charged. http://www.familytreeshortcuts.com/avoiding-issues/