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OneGreatFamily review: Rip off scam 54

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12:04 am EST
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Well unfortunately this rip off company is still offering a "free 7 day trial". I signed up on 24 jan 2009 and cancelled on 27 jan 2009 by following their procedures and have had usd$79.95 billed to my credit card. Despite contacting them a number of times, they have refused to refund the money. My advice to anyone wanting to use this service is don"t. Unfortunately one great family seems to get away with this on a regular basis!

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54 comments
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Hayboat
, US
Jul 10, 2017 2:26 pm EDT
Verified customer This comment was posted by a verified customer. Learn more

I started a subscription on Jun 14 and cancelled on Jul 5. My account was credited on Jul 9 for the full amount.

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A Genealogist
, US
Aug 04, 2010 11:50 am EDT

This site is a joke! They are totally over-selling their services and they DO NOT have the data they say they do. The site is sllllloooowww all the time. They don't tell you up front that you have to enter 18 DIRECT descendants in order to start getting any matches. If you know 18 direct descendants, why do you need them! The site rarely updates. The "dashboard" says ittakes 45 minutes to download!?

Customer service is through email only and they don't fix anything.

They don't make it clear that if you buy a one year subscription ($60.00) they WILL NOT refund your money at all...not even the very next day!

They do not deliver what they promise...total waste of money and time!

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tjh43
Gallatin, US
Jun 13, 2016 4:29 am EDT

i am 43 and on disability. when i went to use money off my card i found out that one great family had without my permission took $59.88 off my card. i had never heard of this company til the card company told me their name. this is why im upset. that a company can remove money that someone needs to survive out of their disability check without notice. please be careful with who u give information to wether it b family or a company. i dont how my information got out there but now i have to try to figure out how to make it the rest rest of the month. my card company closed my card and now i have to wait on new one. thank you theresa hogan

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frookma
, US
Jun 13, 2016 4:29 am EDT

The 7 day free trial is a scam. I cancelled my account immediately after creating it. They chaged my credit card 3 times $14.95. I called during their business hours and the recoeding told me to call back during their business hours. I never used the site. They told me I had not "formalized my cancellation." It is a scam, they would not answer the phone after I called back.

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Jo M
, AU
Jun 13, 2016 4:29 am EDT

I used One Great Family for Genealogical Research over a year ago Having all the information I needed I ceased using them . A year ago my bankcard was debited with a years subscription, I tried to contact the company without sucess, I thought that if I did not use the company for a year that was the end ofit. However my recent credit card statement shows a further debit. I am 81 and an old age pensioner and this is a blow

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Rose E. Piper
Patagonia, US
Jun 13, 2016 4:29 am EDT
Verified customer This comment was posted by a verified customer. Learn more

I found a charge for $79.95 on my credit card bill. I have never authorized this charge and did not even know what this organization was. I would like for this charge to be refunded..

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Kathy Koll
Alamo, US
Jun 13, 2016 4:29 am EDT

Company fraudulently charged my credit card for a membership. I have no memory of ever visiting their website. I believe they were fishing for info about my credit card, etc. and erroneously charged my card. I have contacted the police and the local district attorney and am pursuing prosecution.

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MarC92
, US
Jun 13, 2016 4:29 am EDT

I made a mistake on the credit card, to change to the other. I went to cancel so I could resubscribe on the other card. They said right away that i will never get refund. I should read the agreement I agreed to etc. I have a right to change my mind. They stole my money and I want it back.

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Jack Honigman
Gatley, GB
Jun 13, 2016 4:29 am EDT

Several unauthorised payments withdrawn without any service being given.
How do I get my money back?

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Karen Nesenson
Altamonte Springs, US
Sep 14, 2013 7:28 pm EDT

Great big rip off, I had signed up for Archives.com hopefully to get some more info that Ancestry.com could not supply. Signed up for the free trail and of course you have to give a credit card even to look. Didn't Have what I wanted and the family tree was to hard to follow, so I cancelled with in 24 hrs. Then looking at my credit card bill I get billed $50 something from One Great Family. I tried using it and every search I put in came up zero even though I found the information on Ancestry so I know it is out there. Tried to do a family tree and it keeps coming up with error messages. So sent an email to them and told them they had better not charge me again at the end of the subscription, they came back and said they wouldn't charge me for a new year however they are not going to give me the money already charged told be to go back to Archives.com and get it from them. They still have not answered my email. Of course I kept all of the emails that went between me and One Great Family so if this charge shows up again next year I WILL SUE.

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maryblaen
Cardiff, GB
Aug 07, 2013 1:01 am EDT
Verified customer This comment was posted by a verified customer. Learn more

How is this site still getting away with taking money from people that have trusted them, I would welcome any advise as to how they can be stopped.

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justine revitt
, GB
Aug 02, 2013 4:45 am EDT
Verified customer This comment was posted by a verified customer. Learn more

This site is a joke I haven't even used the site for anything and you are still taking for payments I've forgot my login details and I would like u to stop taking money out of my account for a website I'm not even using so cancel my details.

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OneGreatFamily.com
, US
Jun 13, 2016 4:29 am EDT

(OneGreatFamily Billing Reply to complaint) While we are sorry to hear of your dissatisfaction, based upon the price you were billed it is apparent you were perhaps inadvertently subscribed to our service in conjunction with a voluntary subscription you initiated with Archives.com. Thereby, as we were not directly responsible for the charges to your disability benefits account we would urge you to contact the Archive support team by either sending an email to support@archives.com or by calling [protected].

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maryblaen
Cardiff, GB
Mar 07, 2013 9:03 am EST
Verified customer This comment was posted by a verified customer. Learn more

I entered this site for the 7 day free trial on 14th Oct 2012, on the 15th Oct I was checking my bank statement and found they had taken a years subscription from my account, I have been trying ever since to get my cash refunded, my bank has tried but failed, They have not answered any of my emails nor can you keep a copy as you can only mail them from their site email forms.
Surely it is illegal to take this money before the trial period is up ?
Any suggestions as to what action I can take. I have never used the site and don't intend to.

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dezzi86
pahrump, US
Feb 22, 2013 9:34 am EST
Verified customer This comment was posted by a verified customer. Learn more

This website is the biggest hoax that their is out there I never signed up for them and I logged into my bank account the other day and saw they had charged me some few for 59.88 I called had my.debit card canceled as I never subscribed to anything and contacted their company repeatedly and let them know a mistake had been made and that I wanted whatever account they had canceled and a refund given and I keep getting the same email stating that my account has been canceled and I will not be charged AGAIN that it has been turned over to the Billing department and if they feel I qualify for a refund that they will contact me. So I contacted them says later and the response that I got was you should take this up with your bank and not our company personally I think that anyone who is thinking about signing up for visiting or even looking at their sham of a website should think twice because apparently even if you don't sign up or even ever go to their webpage you'll get scammed and screwed over.

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Chickamomma
Bayville, US
Apr 18, 2012 11:40 pm EDT

No surprise this company has an "F" rating with the Utah BBB (http://www.bbb.org/utah/business-reviews/genealogy-services/one-great-family-in-pleasant-grove-ut-13001490). Not only do they make it nearly impossible to cancel, they have written into their terms that they can change things at any time, without notifying their customers. How many of you have noticed the fee increase from $59.95 to $79.95? By the time you do, it will be too late. You see, they claim you signed your rights away with their "Continuous Service Agreement." They can do anything they want, at anytime, and the onus is on their customer's to figure it out. Of course, the only time you find out about the change is when it hits your bank account- and since they don't issue refunds for any reason- you are basically screwed. There is legal precedent (Douglas Vs. Talk America) that makes this illegal; but OGF will not respond to that allegation. Anyone up for a Class Action Suit?

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Just Me, Too
Connellsville, US
Feb 24, 2012 7:19 pm EST
Verified customer This comment was posted by a verified customer. Learn more

Jan. 2012, wanted to read old newspapers on AncestRY.com. Googled it, mistakenly signed up on AncestOR.com. Realized mistake, immediately emailed them, plus, website said I must call during business hours for cancellation. Also called credit card right away to tell them to cancel charge, but they said was pending, should call onegreatfamily first to allow them to refund. Called next morning, was given cancellation # but was told to call another extension for refund. A recording..I left info, requested $59.95 back. Called credit card again to inform them, for their record, that I am in process of getting refund. Today, got credit card bill. Charge is still there! Called [protected], left message AGAIN that I do NOT want services at all, please refund. I was firm, not nasty. I felt tricked and told them that by now, they should have refunded. No person answers refund line-ever- you must leave a message, so I am sure my firm message was recorded. Within the hour, I received a very nasty, condescending email letter saying I was not tricked, they are a wonderful company and they are keeping the money because I signed up for a subscription and those are NOT refundable. They were nasty and told me I am not taking personal responsibility for my actions in signing up and paying them and that thousands before me HAVE taken personal responsibility for their actions! There was no name on the letter, THEY did not take personal responsibility to name the person who composed that nasty, personally-insulting letter. After the email, onegreatfamily is the LAST place I would want to do business with. Next, called credit card, began a billing dispute claim. Then called company again, without giving info, I asked person for a physical address, got:2162 Grove Parkway, Pleasant Grove, UT 84062, asked for name of CEO, owner. but the worker specifically told me they are trained to NOT give that information. She was just doing her job, she was polite. THEN I told her about the nasty email and that I simply want the money refunded, I have not and will not use their service, I do not want it. I politely, professionally asked to be sent to Billing Cancellation AGAIN. AGAIN, no person present, had to leave a message. I recorded that I do not appreciate the personal, nasty email they sent, that I will NOT allow this company to take my money-I do NOT want their service and I will persistantly pursue a refund because I feel very deceived by their site setup and refusal of refund. Next step...Better Business Complaint and I will tell my country-wide genealogy friends and acquaintances to steer clear of this unprofessional, rude, condescending site. STEER CLEAR of them, people!

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kbeanz
Slinger, US
Dec 09, 2011 5:59 pm EST

I don't care for any refund. I just want to cancel the service as of this month and not incur any future charges. What I find irritating is the complete lack of information on their website about how to do so. Perhaps there is something in their terms and conditions ... but since that is not where ANYONE ELSE puts their cancellation information, then why would I think to look there?

I only found information on how to cancel by googling "unsubscribe from one great family", which brought me to this site where I read all the complaints. If the company had provided cancellation information on their website, my eyes would have never seen these complaints and I would still have a good impression of the company. Poor PR move on your part, One Great Family!

Anyway, off I go to read the "terms and conditions" in order to find out how to cancel. Because I have been assured by the above postings that the information is there.

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C. P. Robichaud
Madisonville, US
Aug 04, 2011 7:56 pm EDT
Verified customer This comment was posted by a verified customer. Learn more

I have tried to cancel as well after being billed unexpectedly. They refused. The website does not work properly, and I found the links they tried to pass off as ancestors was clearly fraudulent as there were gaps (of several generations) between my actual ancestors and the ones they "discovered."

I feel scammed.

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kiwi_well
, NZ
Jul 18, 2011 3:44 pm EDT

I am from Wellington, New Zealand, and had the same thing done to me too.I decided to take a free trial like everybody else on the 7 July 2011 and cancelled the next day, so i gave plenty of time me to cancel the subscription, but URL would not go through.Today is the 19 July 2011 and with me sending numerous forms of complaints through nothing more has been done.I checked my bank balance on Saturday and found the money had been taken out and only left me with $9.00 in it, and it wasn't until I went into the bank balance that I have been charged a $50 penalty rate on top of payment for a thing i didn't want.Also I thought I was putting in the wrong username and password so asked them to e-mail me my uaername back to me, and got the username and the password, in which the password opened up with the actual out for all to see.I always thought the password was never meant to be given out.I am going to take it further.

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bbsilver
San Francisco, US
Feb 23, 2011 8:31 pm EST

Stay clear of mylife.com, reunion.com, and onegreatfamily.com. Their business practices leave much to be desired. I would say I second the complaint about the cancellation tactics, but it looks like would be number 10 in line. They make it difficult (i.e. call only, guess which menu option) to cancel and provide zero warning that your membership is coming due. My subscription is cancelled, but I eat $80. Lesson learned. Sicking with the reputable sites: tribalpages.com (free) and ancestry.com (paid). You get what you pay for. The stuff I found on onegreatfamily.com are all available for FREE on familysearch.org, death certificates included.

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starlitstar
Campbell, US
Jan 01, 2011 7:39 am EST

I also was charged the $79.95 after canceling. I'm reporting it to the BBB. Ridiculous. I wish I had seen the other complaints.

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RobSparks
, US
Nov 30, 2010 6:49 pm EST

I was curious about the site and tried the "7 DAY FREE" trial and was amazed at how slow the site was and there is very little information. After a few hours on the site trying to find out where the information is hidden, i decided to cancel the account. I received an email saying OGF had started an incident report and gave me incident number [protected]. after a week i noticed a charge on my credit card for them. i called them and was told that i never confirmed the cancellation however the lady on the phone could not tell me when the email was sent. she says its automatically sent by the system and she has no control or ability to see the email. this site is a scam and i will report it every complaint website that i can find until my money is refunded.

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Maggievans
San Antonio, US
Sep 19, 2010 12:50 pm EDT
Verified customer This comment was posted by a verified customer. Learn more

There is no excuse for the poor cancellation policy this company is using...they automatically take your money- yet you can not automatically cancel. Bad news. The only way to get "at them" is to not only call them, but to inform your credit card company that you cancelled on what date and with with customer service rep. These people are real ripoffs.

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plexitox
, US
Sep 18, 2010 1:01 am EDT
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I have had a similar experience where I signed up for a free trial and got stuck with a recurring fee that seems to be impossible to stop. It's very convenient that they can accept payment online but can only cancel payment by phone. I've called during their work hours, waited on hold, and got an answering machine. My account still wasn't cancelled. I'm attempting to dispute charges with my bank, but that's another gripe.

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Vee Jay Em
Ocean Shores, AU
Sep 05, 2010 3:20 am EDT
Verified customer This comment was posted by a verified customer. Learn more

I too took advantage of the 7 day free trial and realized after 2 days that it just was not the right site for me. I sent an email to onegreatfamily.com advising them exactly that. When I next checked my bank details I discovered that they had charged me for 3 months. I immediately sent anotheer email to complain and ask for my money back. They replied that I still had 3 months to go. I then sent another one to ask why they could answer my complaint after they took the money from my account and they couldn't before they took it. I am yet to receive another answer. I definitely feel that I have been duped. No one wants to be responsible for any sort of answer. I have not found one thing of interest to me on the site.
VeeJay

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PCPAul
San Jose, US
Sep 04, 2010 4:27 pm EDT

It seems that there are many people out there who cannot follow instructions and do not understand what they read. I signed up with this site about 2 years ago and I pay on the annual plan. It is not the most user friendly program, but does work reasonably well. It tends to make more connections than I would care for IF you let the program run automatically. I made that mistake and wound up with a family tree that was simply unmanagable with over 19, 000 names. Yikes! It took me quite a while to figure out, after trying for too long to do it on my own, that I could start over simply by deleting the anchor person, me. I then reloaded an old GEDCOM file and have been happy ever since. Both this site and Ancestry.com have good and bad points and I use them both. Just remember to read and understand the instructions. If you have questions, I found that their e-mail folks will respond usually within 24hrs during the work week. Expect a longer response time over weekends and holidays.

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Rainwater
San Antonio, US
Aug 31, 2010 11:44 am EDT

If you can't manage to read the instructions perhaps you should load up your computer and take it back to where you got it from. There are so many people that fail to read what is written on the pages. It isn't that hard at all.

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Rainwater
San Antonio, US
Aug 31, 2010 11:42 am EDT

I tried them and found it very easy to cancel. They were polite and professional and I'm thinking about signing up again.

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Pabst
Rochester, US
Aug 02, 2010 7:01 pm EDT

They say they are professional, so was Al Capone - and claim it's easy to cancel ...
I contacted the BBB in Utah and the Family responded with some files showing I had cancelled - no indication of a refund mind you. They claim
to send E-Mail, but I have not received any. Eighty bucks is a bit enthusiastic to charge for almost a month of frustration- my advice:
Steer clear of this Family operation.

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Hisgrace4me
Richmond, US
Jul 15, 2010 12:21 pm EDT

I set up the 7 day free trial and used my card as the others did. Within 20 minutes I could not find anything that I wanted. I even punched in things that I knew were out there and available and nothing. It wasn't very helpful. So I cancelled within 20 minutes. Guess what? I got charged anyway!

I called customer service and she was very nice and cancelled my account she also said that they sent me an email asking me to confirm that I cancelled and I never received it. But she said that she gave me a credit on my account, cancelled it and gave me a cancellation confirmation number. I have it all logged in the event they lose their records.

The thing with this and especially Archives.com - they are just a porthole to the information. They tell that they found X number of pieces of information for you and when push the button to fetch it, lo and behold another website wants to charge you for the information.

I am sticking with Ancestry.com. I get what I pay for. I know what I am paying for. No hidden charges and if I really want a death certificate, I will go straight to the office to get it. No through some liason website.

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stephen2333
Kissimmee, US
Jun 13, 2016 4:29 am EDT
Verified customer This comment was posted by a verified customer. Learn more

DO NOT SIGN UP FOR ONE GREAT ( rip off ) FAMILY. That is your warning, the choice is yours

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stephen2333
Kissimmee, US
Jun 13, 2016 4:29 am EDT
Verified customer This comment was posted by a verified customer. Learn more

DO NOT SIGN UP. That is a warning, the choice is yours

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OneGreatRipOff
Marshall, US
Jun 24, 2010 5:24 pm EDT

I signed up for the seven days and couldn't find any information that I couldn't get from another provider. Whenever I found something, they wanted to charge me extra to get the specific information. So, I didn't get anything. I thought I had canceled several times, but they kept billing me and made it difficult for you to see how to unsubscribe. I went to the credit card company to get them to stop Great Family from charging me and they still charged me. After trying to cancel three times I finally got an e-mail from them stating that the account was now closed. This was after going for nearly six months with no benefit to me, but a huge charge to my card.

I AM VERY ANGRY WITH ONE GREAT FAMILY AND I RECOMMEND STAYING CLEAR OF THEM.

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L H Crossing
, AU
Jun 13, 2016 4:29 am EDT
Verified customer This comment was posted by a verified customer. Learn more

There are two deductions on my bank account on the same day
one amount of $92.17 the other $36.83 on the 4th June [protected]
can you please inform me what service is being proveded,

L H Crossing A/c No1437903

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bubblesslh56
Cutler, US
Jun 13, 2016 4:29 am EDT
Verified customer This comment was posted by a verified customer. Learn more

I have NEVER even heard of ONE GREAT FAMILY and my bank account was charged $80. for something I know nothing about. How can I make sure that they can no longer charge my account? Can I get reimbercesed?

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ih8tscammers
Nyack, US
Mar 06, 2010 7:32 am EST

sorry I meant "if you CAN'T make a one time payment"

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ih8tscammers
Nyack, US
Mar 06, 2010 7:30 am EST

I saw this same scam on Free Credit Report dot com.

Be it known that if you can make a one time payment online, do NOT use the service. period.

There will be one site that will let you do that and that is the one that should get the business.
Not companies like this scummy scam artist. Why, just because they helped that Jessica Parker person?

Im sure they didn't rip her bank account off. Ancestry dot com, here is a message to you.
Stop that automatic billing because you are technically stealing money not authorized to you and when people want to cancel, you should make it a no brainer to do so.

People should wake up to this scam and alert the authorities to it.

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autumnsong
Houston, US
Mar 03, 2010 11:45 am EST

I loaded my family tree and forgot to remove living family members and they are refusing to remove them from the database. They believe once you upload the information it's theirs. I didn't even want them to remove the whole tree just living members of which there were 10. Be careful what you information you give them. I;m sticking with ancestry.com from now on.

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alan rae tritt
, NZ
Feb 26, 2010 3:54 pm EST

i agree i thought i cancelled last november 2009 but these mouth get billed again dont know want to do please help

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