In Association with London and Essex Genealogy

.:: Changes to this Website: why?
.:: New Prices for 2004
.:: Currency changes and format

Changes to this Website: why?

Certainly the most striking change for returning customers is the new design of this site. This is taking place gradually week by week, but you will not (or should not) meet any closed doors which say 'Under Construction'; instead pages are just being replaced as they are being completed!

Some new elements will still be changed when the site is finished; the new banner above will be constituted for a more complete version and the menu on the right will be transformed into a wonderful Java menu ( make sure you get your Java plugins!). At the very bottom of all pages there will be new features, you will eventually be able to insure documents for loss and there will be details of our 'Terms and Conditions' and 'Payment Policies'.

Why change? Well for one thing the site needed an overhaul! Secondly, because of very different changes to our pricing system, it was felt that we needed a more sleeker professional look. Despite recent attempts to address the problems with our delivery turnaround on certain types of projects, it was felt that being aware of such issues and recognising our shortfalls was not enough and that we had to do something. Unfortunately it meant doing something about the prices; small revenues mean lots of work but nothing to live on (particularly as more online indexes mean less sales - see below)! What's more I am passionate about the work and want to do it properly.

We are delighted to announce that for many services our targets have been met. Improvements were made in Certificate acquisitions and Census searches as well as a very high rate of Complete Family Tree delivery targets. Problem periods are those around Christmas and the New Year, particularly this year where turnaround times have extended from fourteen days to as much as 1 month - we will try and address this problem by next year. Our apologies to anyone affected by these busy periods.

New Prices for 2004

It is with regret that Prices have to change, this is because my income is being strangled by the large businesses who produce indexes and push researcher's such as myself (who have struggled for years to keep prices in check for customer's) into specialist areas.
I am positive that one day, after severely dwindling sales I will probably have to give up this job that I love so much. At present I have noticed a severe downturn in sales in areas such as certification, probate and census; researcher's now only request my services if they have very difficult conundrum's to solve or they want expert knowledge in areas such as military records, admiralty, manorial, taxes and parish chest etc. - ostensibly those services which are deemed highly professional because of knowledge and/or training.
In the light of this concentration on specialised areas I am now asking for a rate that is comparable to the knowledge that is required to complete research.

Prices for certificates have increased by £0.25 for UK Customers and will increase about the same for Census searches. Other changes are to the per hour rate which is the most substantial change from £8.00 to the AGRA advised rate of £18.50. Other changes will be implemented slowly to different services, but when the site has completed it's overhaul the new two-tiered system will be introduced and the hourly rate will change completely.
  Overseas customer's will notice their prices have changed too , but more in format (see below) than in any real price change even though that looks to have occurred!

 Why the increase? Well it's not just because it's the new year and we feel like putting the prices up! Any Londoner's out there will sympathise with us because everyone who uses London Transport and Network Southeast will know that from the 4th January fares were increased by £0.30 and by £0.60 in real terms. That's why our prices have increased...

Currency changes and format

After having wandered around the new pages of this web site, our overseas customer's might have some cause to moan. They will have noticed that they can now only pay in pounds and not dollars. Why? Well, because of the reports format that PayPal provided previously things needed to change. At the time, we accepted payments in both pounds and dollars so when it came to filling in our Tax Return it became a nightmare. Whereas a Tax Return might take a day to fill in, it was taking two or three or more!
We have tried to make it easy for everyone by giving approximate amounts in US dollars etc. so that everyone knows how many pounds their dollars are equivalent to. We realise it might be inconvenient, but PayPal will convert your dollars to pounds for you; if you think about it, how many companies offer their online catalogue in multiple currencies? Very few.

Other countries have benefited by these changes though, we now have price ranges for our friends in Australia, New Zealand, Canada and Europe! They too have approximate amounts of their dollars/euro to English pounds on each Shopping Cart page.

Finally if anyone is wondering about the Overseas price increases to Certificate Services etc. then it is based on the following formula:

UK Price + £1.50 (for US, Canada, Aus and NZ) or £1.00 (for Europe) - £0.30

If you want to know more about this formula and WHY it is the way it is just ask!