MyHeritage
reviews and complaints

Back on June 19, 2016 I started a 2 week trial of MyHeritage. Luckily I save my yearly calendars and on my 2016 calendar on July 2, 2016 I wrote "Cancel MyHeritage" and there's a check mark next to it indicating I had cancelled it. I never used the site again. Last year on June 19, 2018 I noticed a charge for $159 for MyHeritage. I emailed and then called and asked it to be refunded and cancelled. Then today I see on June 19, 2019 I was charged $189 for MyHeritage! I called and spoke to a very nice Irish customer service rep who said he could see I had accessed to account only 13 times back in 2016. I said yes bc on the 13 th day I cancelled it. He said he could see I contacted them a year ago with the same issue but was never issued the promised refund. I asked if I had been charged back to 2016 and he said yes. So in total I've been charged $586.99 for a subscription I have now attempted to cancel on 3 separate occasions. This customer service rep promised to refund $189 for this year and cancel the subscription. I said well I was promised last year I'd be refunded $159 and the subscription cancelled and it never happened and I'm due back $586.99 bc I cancelled this on day 13 of a 14 day trial period. He said he'd escalate it to his billing department and when I asked for a number for the billing department he claimed they only do outbound calls and something about Israel and Italy I didn't understand. So I'm supposed to wait on them to call me about refunding the full $586.99 and I can't even count on them to cancel a subscription! This is unacceptable. Clearly I have never used the service past day 13 of my free trial and these charges are completely unfair.

My husband purchased a kit for me via Amazon and for my birthday last year in December 2018. This year I finally decided to submit my DNA and create my account. A couple of months went by and I still had not received any update from the site that my results were in. Here is were the issue began I had my login information saved in my browser but the the site would not accept my login. I then tried multiple browsers and was unable to login. I clicked forgot password and received a message there was no account for my email address. I noticed my error I had left a single number out of my email address during the setup process. So My Forgot email has been going to some else's mail box I remembered my password and it told me it has expired and I will need to go to the email address to reset it form there.

I provided a lot of personal info and a back up email address but I am unable to access my account using any of that data. I am unable to update the email address I have sent multiple emails to MyHeritage. I been unable talk to anyone without providing an account number that I can only get if I login. I tried to go through the sales dept and get disconnected while on hold. I feel scammed we spent our money and received nothing . I'm completely disgusted with how this company handles business. I really don't see recommending them to anyone.

After paying for my DNA kit I have never received any DNA kit but I've got only email confirmation that my DNA kit was shipped, waiting ages but sill nothing. Calling to MyHeritage 3 times on 08800 098 8125 and asking them regarding my DNA kit they just keep promising that they gonna send it. That is really ridiculous! Such a shame! No respect for a client who has fully payed. Just feeding me with promises. That's absolutely unacceptable!

In april 2019, my account appeared to have been hacked: the pedigree map gave a very strange location for my ancestor — romania, eastern europe. I contacted myheritage (#[protected]) may 1. Myheritage did not respond, so fearing the worst, east european hacking, I did not renew my membership after may 31. I finally received a response 5 weeks later, june 5! The employee's response said that the abbreviation "otp" appeared in my ancestor's record. Myheritage's software connected "otp" to otopeni airport in romania & the employee stated that my ancestor lived in romania! My heritage's computer's interpretation of "otp" as romania is based on the airport designation "otp" for otopeni international airport in bucharest, romania. However, my ancestor lived in the 18th & 19th centuries, and airplanes had not been invented until the wright brothers' 1st airplane flight in 1903 (the 20th century!), so my ancestor could not have lived in the era of human flight.

However, myheritage made a serious error.in genealogical research, "otp" means "of this parish" — a phrase often encountered in british parish records [especially marriage & banns records, to indicate that either husband or wife belonged to the parish in which they are being married].

So, there are 2 important issues here:
1) as a family history research service, my heritage should know that "otp" means "of this parish," and I highly recommend that my heritage make a list of common abbreviations and acronyms used in genealogy, both for staff training, as well as on its website for its customers.
2) myheritage's computer software has an inherent error with interpreting abbreviations & acronyms. Their software is obviously programmed to use a standard webster's or oxford dictionary list of standard abbreviations & acronyms. I highly recommend that a list of common genealogical terms, abbreviations, and acronyms should be programmed into myheritage computers.

Hello. I put a purchase through on the 4th June 2019, but before I proceeded I rang your company as fathers day is approaching to ask if there would be any discounts within the next few days and I was told No. With this in mind I purchased the kit at full price. One day later in the morning I noticed that the price had been reduced to £59 due to fathers day. Obviously I was very annoyed as I had rung to ask if this would happen due to fathers day. I rang the call centre and made a complaint and asked that the recording be listened to. I was told that the staff do not know what offers are due etc. I totally understand that, so therefore I should of been told that in the first instance and not been misled. I can I'll afford the kit but I'm looking for my father. I do feel that I was not given the customer service I would of expected on this occasion, neither on my first call or when I rang to make my complaint.
I look forward to your response.
Mrs Sandra Wall

This is not really a complaint, but more like a question. My DNA results do not match my genealogy as I know it. If what you sent me is accurate, then the father who raised me was not my birth father. This was possible since I was born in 1943 & the man married to my mother (whom I have every reason to believe was indeed my natural father) was serving with the Sixth Army in the South Pacific. His ethnicity was German, English, & Irish; my mother's was English & Highland Scot. Both are now deceased. Going further back, my family tree as I know it contains Swiss, Dutch, French Huguenot, Nottoway Cherokee, & perhaps German Jew elements. Yet my DNA results from MyHeritage say that I am 77.5% English, 12% Greek or Sicilian, 7.2% Scandinavian, 2.2% Baltic, & 1.1% Mesoamerican or Andean. I can trace my father's family back to the German Palatine, emigrating from there to New York State in the early 1700s & then moving south over the next few decades until it wound up in Mecklenburg County, NC. Ethnically his grandmother was English (most likely from Yorkshire in central England), & his mother was a mixture of English & Irish. My maternal grandfather's family came from Yorkshire as well in the first half of the 17th century, & my maternal grandmother was a mixture of English & Highland Scot. There is definitely a discrepancy between what I see in my family tree & the DNA results you have supplied me. Note that I have received DNA matches from both sides of my family from you. What then is the best way to verify the results that you have provided me & correct any errors in my file?

Junius S Stearns
522 Powder House Road, Aiken, SC 29801
[protected]

MyHeritage Account ID [protected]

Hi i did not authorise for a renewal to be automatically debited form my account My husband bought this for me for my birthday as a bit of fun then all of a sudden $347 taken form my account. Now i cant get hold of anyone to speak to or try and resolve this. The only thing i can think of its a scam, a well played scam.makes you think its very professional and then they under handedly debit your accout without you knowing.

Take head people dont sign up

Dallas

I signed up for a free trial but was unaware that they had automatically subscribed me to their service without specifically asking for my consent or advising of the cost and they have signed me up and charged me for a full year's membership. I would like a refund and for the subscription to be cancelled please. It was only when I received my latest credit card statement that I became aware of this. Worse than this, it had been set up as an automatic renewal. I have managed to log on and cancel the renewal but I cannot find a way to cancel the membership or apply for a refund.

Thank you,
Deborah

Hi there

My Heritage makes it extremely difficult to cancel a trial subscription. The customer support number is constantly busy. There is no email provided to cancel. The link to cancel is very difficult to follow. It requires that an account number be provided.

I do not want to sign up for an account. The invoice came on the 14th day for £113.40 with out warning. This could now cause me some money problems if not sorted out quickly.

I wanted to have a little look into my family heritage, and I was pleased with the service up to this point, but this is not acceptable.

Thank you for your time
Ant

Good day,

I sent an email to support@myheritage.com about this issue and didn't receive a repsonse, so now I am trying this forum.

I just got an email saying that a payment had been made for a 1 year subscription $139 to MyHeritage.
I did not receive a notification that my 14 day trial was expiring and I was not intending on taking out a subscription (certainly not for a year).

Please I need to cancel this subscription and get a refund the subscription fee.

Regards
Lee Wilson

Hi, my name is Marta Luna Roshardt, i'm very disappointed with the way "my heritage " site has turned out to be.
At the beginning we were able to see coincidences in DNA matching with other relatives in several differents etnias, but now all of a sudden we see only one ethnic match and to see other etnias we have to pay extra.
MyHeritage site has become a money making machine for them with lousy service and value for customers.
I regret choosing this site to see my heritage.

My Heritage makes it extremely difficult to cancel a trial subscription. The customer support number is constantly busy. There is no email provided to cancel. The link to cancel is very difficult to follow. It requires that an account number be provided. I do not want to sign up for an account. The invoice came on the 14th day of the trial period. If the trial period is for 14 days shouldn't the invoice come on the 15th day?
This process seems fraudulent and almost scam like. I called my credit card company to file a complaint. I need this $89 charge removed.

Thank you for your attention,
M. Dickson

Feb 27 2019 my sample was received in your lab. March 8 2019 I received an email stating there would be a delay in receiving my results. Site was eventually updated saying I would receive results between April 6 and 17th. System then a few days later was updated stating that I would receive results ON APRIIL 17th. I checked last night, still said ON APRIL 17th. April 17th is now here and now it's updated and says nothing about date, just that it is delayed. I am very upset that for weeks you gave me a date, and now the date given to me has arrived and now...nothing.

I was recently provided a list of Smart Matches for a tree I deleted last year. My current tree with 3000+ people has received no Smart Matches on the website. I am told of many records matches but would have to upgrade. I don't need records matches as I get them from another site. The only reason for using My Heritage is the Smart Match. I will not renew unless I get this benefit way b efore the expiration of my account

My wife and I submitted our dna at the same time. She already emailed 2x and received her results. I see that my results are still pending. As everyone else, we received the date change from March to April, which was frustrating in itself. It seems this delay is pretty standard for your company. I'm sad to say, I'm unhappy so far, for what's transpired. I hope to see my results sooner than later!

Results are taking much longer than initially advertised. Received the kit on at the beginning of February. And sent it off within a matter of days. Have been waiting now for just over a month now and supposedly there's been the to introduction of new chip; thereby delaying results by a further 2-3 weeks. Feel inconvenienced and restless as I would have been waiting for 2 months by then. Definitely, negatively affects the experience for me. I hope the results themselves are at least going to be enlightening for me.

On the 19th of March my membership expired. I was anxious to lose all my family trees, dna results etc etc. In my iphone app (my heritage) there was an offer to extend my membership of E 119, 95. I paid through apple the amount to myhertage.
Next day i saw that Myheritage had made a collection of E 259, 01 ? from my credit card.
Last year i paid 167, 36 ! I phoned 20th of march to Myheritage but got no contact and my voicemail is now 26 th still unanswered?

I am a true customer, enthousiastic about myheritage and informed several people of your DNA product. I hope you will get back to me and find a satisfied solution.

Reiner Swaen - 00 31 6 [protected]

I lost access to my corporate email address after retirement. Now, I am not able to reactivate access to my MyHeritage familytree because all reactivation emails WERE SENT to old, non accesible for me corporate email.
Phone support for basic account isn't available so I'm completly stuck.
No chat availability, no email to Myheritage support team, no phone support for plain account and wrong designed recovery procedure makes me UNHAPPY!

I have received my DNA results a couple of months ago claiming that I am 78% north african and only 16.7% iberian yet I am a spaniard, my family is valencian and asturian. While I am aware of the north african genetic impact on the iberian population, I have found my results to be a mix up especially when I uploaded the raw data to another website that gave me a completely different result ( iberian and italian), I hope you can assist me on this issue. Thank you.

Since verification.io has had 908 million data breaches as of February 2019, MyHeritage is also listed as having COMPROMISED MY PERSONAL DATA in October 2017. How dare you CONCEAL this data breach from the USA citizens. You are hereby requested to immediately REMOVE REMOVE REMOVE any and ALL data from your database regarding me, Elaine Guglielmo, Elaine M. Guglielmo, Elaine Marie Guglielmo. You have caused a massive ID THEFT that has been and still is being investigated by the USA Police Authorities. I have had six (6) officially reported ID Thefts, and now 12-17 STOLEN NAME ID's by Undocumented Illegal Aliens because of companies like you that has now been posted on the Deep Dark Web. You are hereby being reported to my local police as contributors to my ID Theft and 12-17 people STEALING my name with creating FAKE Birth Certificates, FAKE D/L's, etc. etc. in order to IMPOSTOR me. You are also being reported to the FTC.gov for the data breach that you never announced. Enough is enough! You are hereby requested to IMMEDIATELY REMOVE ALL Data from your database on me. Since there are now 12-17 ILLEGAL ALIENS IMPOSTORING ME, I am compelled to provide additional information in order to Identify me. (I am NOT NOW OR EVER Spanish) as are the 12-17 IMPOSTORS.) I live in Altamonte Springs, FL, and again you are hereby requested to REMOVE ALL DATA of me. NOW!