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Post by joblackford on Apr 6, 2016 1:19:01 GMT
Ancestry sucks so badly they can't even manage to take my money! (I know how to sort of solve this problem with a phone call, but it just makes me so mad, so please forgive me for venting...) I have used Ancestry on and off for the last 9 months or so. I used it free at my library, which was helpful but also frustrating. Then I got a free trial, but on and off during that month and especially on the last day of my free trial, the website just wouldn't let me stay logged in. That last day when I was deciding whether to give them $$$ or not, the site kicked me off at least 15 times. I would click on a button and boom! have to log in again. Needless to say, I did NOT sign up. Because staying logged in seems like pretty basic functionality. Somewhere along the way I also discovered that many of the buttons on the site don't work on my Mac if I'm running Google Chrome as my browser. The Paypal button wouldn't work, the search button/hitting enter on the search page didn't do anything. Switching to Safari, those same buttons worked fine. And that made me roll my eyes again. What kind of huge website doesn't make sure they work with Chrome? Sometime a few months ago I saw a good deal and decided to give in and get a membership, frustrated with using the free library version. I opened up Safari and clicked all the buttons and agreed to give them my first born child, hit the button to submit and ........ ..... the little flower turned and turned forever, seriously, like I gave it an hour or so, but the payment never went through. Disgusted, I closed the window and vented to my husband about how pathetic a website this must be that they wouldn't even TAKE MY MONEY! Fast forward to today. I need to connect with some Ancestry members for a project I've been asked to work on. I figured I could sign up for the lowest level commitment and cancel before the end of the month. They remembered my credit card number :/. But once again.... .... spinning flower, half an hour later I give up, close Safari. I try Chrome. The subscription is still in my cart, but when I put in my password hitting enter or continue does nothing at all. I can't even get to the "take my money please" page.  So really, I just want to give up on them! What kind of website can't handle these kinds of basic functions? How do they make any money if they can't process a payment? What on earth is wrong with the website? (I'm sure they'll tell me it's my computer, but I had no issues giving money to one of their competitors  ) If only I could contact these members without having to be a member myself I would never even consider subscribing at all. But since I can't, I guess I will have to talk to them on the phone and see if they can handle that. |
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Post by Linda on Apr 6, 2016 1:34:48 GMT
call them on the phone - I had to do that when DH gifted me a membership and I couldn't manage to activate it. It took a while but the customer service guy was very nice and very helpful and by the end of the call - I was all set
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Deleted
Posts: 0
May 19, 2024 18:50:20 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Apr 6, 2016 1:37:38 GMT
Interesting, I tried to get a free trial four to five years ago...couldn't get them to take my money and give me access.
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Post by ntsf on Apr 6, 2016 1:40:12 GMT
I use ancestry on chrome and have no problems...
I would call
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Post by kellybelly77 on Apr 6, 2016 2:26:32 GMT
I use ancestry on chrome and Internet explorer at work and safari at home and haven't had a single issue. And I agree with calling! I had to call once because my card had been hacked and closed and they tried to draft money from it. So I called to straighten that out and get a new one on file and they were very nice and helpful.
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Post by chlerbie on Apr 6, 2016 2:27:36 GMT
I was having a small issue last night with editing/adding some people, but all was well today. I've never had an issue there.
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my3freaks
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 3,206 
Location: NH girl living in Colorado
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Post by my3freaks on Apr 6, 2016 3:59:52 GMT
I use Chrome and have no problem staying logged in or with payments. How frustrating for you though.  |
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Grom Pea
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 2,944
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Post by Grom Pea on Apr 6, 2016 5:09:59 GMT
I wanted to gift someone who already subscribes the international version upgrade but apparently they can't do that, they don't have gift certs or the person has to do it themself. So basically I ended up writing them a check which seems like a loss for ancestry since once someone gets a check they don't necessarily spend it on ancestry.
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Sue
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 3,234
Location: SE of Portland, Oregon
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Post by Sue on Apr 6, 2016 5:36:32 GMT
I've been an Ancestry subscriber for several years and had no problem until a couple of years ago when suddenly I couldn't get their search feature to work. I have a Mac and was using Safari at the time. It took some time and a couple of different Ancestry techs but they finally figured out that they had upgraded beyond what my version of Safari was able to handle. (And I couldn't upgrade Safari until I upgraded my whole system.. which I did.) Could this be your issue? Have you updated your browsers to the latest versions?
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Deleted
Posts: 0
May 19, 2024 18:50:20 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Apr 6, 2016 6:20:20 GMT
At least they recognize you.
I've sent in my DNA sample twice and both times it has come back as being unable to read. DH is starting to suspect that I'm not actually human.
I'm not an idiot. I followed the directions closely - not eating or chewing gum before, gave them the proper amount of spit, and mixed it properly with the preservative.
And still, I'm unidentifiable.
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Post by gillyp on Apr 6, 2016 6:51:21 GMT
DH is starting to suspect that I'm not actually human. Sorry, that made me laugh! Ive been an Ancestry subscriber for years, using Chrome and Safari, an iPad and non MAC computer and never had a problem. As others have said, maybe your system is too sophisticated! Hope you get it sorted soon and access the information you want; Ancestry is a great site. |
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Post by melanell on Apr 6, 2016 11:54:36 GMT
I'm sorry.  That sounds so incredibly frustrating. I made the choice many years ago not to subscribe, only because my goal is to keep my day to day genealogy costs as low as possible. I do occasionally use ancestry at my local library, and I appreciate their "discovery" feature which easily allows you to email yourself from the library and then download everything you found to your own computer. (Although I can access some of their PA records for free from home.) So I work with a bunch of other sites daily, and then every few months or so I stop by the library to check any particular person or situation I have not been able to figure out. Sometimes Ancestry, and sometimes not.  But at least the option is there. Best of luck getting it to work! It's so aggravating to be trying to purchase something and not be able to do so that I'm feeling frustrated for you. |
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Post by disneypal on Apr 6, 2016 15:11:35 GMT
I use Ancestry and haven't had those kind of problems - I use Firefox.
I know that must be so frustrating for you.
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TXMary
Pearl Clutcher
And so many nights I just dream of the ocean. God, I wish I was sailin' again.
Posts: 2,811
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Post by TXMary on Apr 6, 2016 15:14:53 GMT
I have been a member for years without any issues. I use a Windows PC, Chrome, IE, my iPad...many different ways of using the site and have never run into any problems. That would be really frustrating! Hope you get it worked out soon!
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Post by scrapcat on Apr 6, 2016 15:21:27 GMT
omg Jo! you have pink hair here?! I stared at the photo for a bit before putting 2+2 together.
I agree Ancestry is a bit of a wonky site, however i don't think I've ever had that much trouble with the subscription part. I had an initial membership a couple years ago, then cancelled when I sort of hit a wall with research.
I joined up again this year bcz they sent me a coupon in the mail and I figured I had some following up to do.
I would maybe give a call, bcz sometimes speaking to someone does work better! Hope you are able to get it worked out and get your project done.
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Post by hollymolly on Apr 6, 2016 15:21:29 GMT
They took too much of my money. I gifted my dad a subscription, but as you said, there's no practical way to do that, so I just used my debit card. He and I both cancelled multiple times and they kept charging me over and over for 2 years. I even cancelled my debit card, but they still got money out of my account. I'm optimistic that it's really fixed this time, but I will still have to check in July to see if they charge me yet again.
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Post by melanell on Apr 6, 2016 15:37:35 GMT
They took too much of my money. I gifted my dad a subscription, but as you said, there's no practical way to do that, so I just used my debit card. He and I both cancelled multiple times and they kept charging me over and over for 2 years. I even cancelled my debit card, but they still got money out of my account. I'm optimistic that it's really fixed this time, but I will still have to check in July to see if they charge me yet again. Oh my gosh! That's awful! |
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Post by joblackford on Apr 6, 2016 18:59:27 GMT
hollymolly that's appalling! OMG. I can't believe they still were able to take money after you canceled the card! I guess that's why people say not to use debit online. I've heard of gyms doing that, but omg, I'm just stunned that such a well known big company could get away with that. I really hope you have managed to stop them.
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Post by joblackford on Apr 6, 2016 19:03:44 GMT
omg Jo! you have pink hair here?! I stared at the photo for a bit before putting 2+2 together. hahaha, yes. My online persona is generally this crazy pink-wigged butterfly-winged girl! It makes me smile to see myself so unlike myself and it feels a wee bit more anonymous, but it probably isn't really. btw that wig was supposed to be purple and straight, but apparently cheap wigs bought at the drugstore have a disclaimer on them "image may not match product"  What the heck is the use of the image then? To trick people? Sorry, random rant. And yes, I'm going to call them... when I calm down a bit. |
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Post by joblackford on Apr 6, 2016 19:11:00 GMT
melanell I feel the same way about keeping my costs low. And since the library is really convenient for me I really don't need to subscribe. I have a tree on Ancestry, which works great and costs nothing. I just can't check hints in one step or add things to my tree with a few clicks if I'm using the library edition. But yes, the email it to yourself feature is great, and I can take my laptop down to the library and download docs very easily too. I just have to find time to log the info after that. I have a sub on UK findmypast which was a really good deal (which was good because I've barely used it! so many things, so little time) and they work great for most of what I'm doing. Maybe I should just export my tree over there and limit my use of Ancestry... I'm a NZer with most of my roots in England/Ireland. Only one American, and he's got all kinds of false trails/info on Ancestry anyway. So in many ways I have better luck with FMP. But yes, frustrated. I am very frustrated.
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Post by joblackford on Apr 6, 2016 19:16:06 GMT
Thank you all... I wonder if the problem is that, although my Chrome seems to be up to date, my laptop is running on an old OS. And I'm loathe to update because I will probably kill the machine. So maybe that's causing the incompatibility issues... gah! Of course it's my fault. Probably. But I don't understand the not taking payment on Safari. Because everything else on Safari works fine! The first time I thought they must just be having a busy day with the deal they were offering, but it doesn't make sense that their site is always too overwhelmed to take my $.$ I will call them. And because I have bitched to all of you I will be kind to the Customer Service Rep and I will not rant to her/him and I will get signed up so I can talk to my peeps, and then I will cancel and that will be done. |
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Post by joblackford on Apr 6, 2016 19:59:43 GMT
At least they recognize you. I've sent in my DNA sample twice and both times it has come back as being unable to read. DH is starting to suspect that I'm not actually human. I'm not an idiot. I followed the directions closely - not eating or chewing gum before, gave them the proper amount of spit, and mixed it properly with the preservative. And still, I'm unidentifiable. Wow, that's odd! And hilarious - I cracked up at what your DH said. Mine thinks I'm part alien too. But I'm only something like 1.3% unidentifiable! I did my DNA through 23&me several years ago (back when they were doing it for $99 and you got all your health risks as well) and they found some of my DNA was unable to be determined. And since I have a baby picture where I seriously do look like an alien (the whites of my giant eyes were pale blue...) he called that portion my alien DNA. Hope that you can get them to recognize your humanity soon! |
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Post by scrapcat on Apr 7, 2016 15:34:59 GMT
omg Jo! you have pink hair here?! I stared at the photo for a bit before putting 2+2 together. hahaha, yes. My online persona is generally this crazy pink-wigged butterfly-winged girl! It makes me smile to see myself so unlike myself and it feels a wee bit more anonymous, but it probably isn't really. btw that wig was supposed to be purple and straight, but apparently cheap wigs bought at the drugstore have a disclaimer on them "image may not match product" What the heck is the use of the image then? To trick people? Sorry, random rant. And yes, I'm going to call them... when I calm down a bit. With this pink persona and your alien dna you would make a great character on the Xfiles! |
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Post by Prenticekid on Apr 7, 2016 16:18:50 GMT
I have to say that I am always somewhat suspect about the end user when it comes to issues with Ancestry because I've used it for so long with no issues. I've known of one person who had a billing issue and it was quickly resolved via e-mail. I've used various browsers and computers over the years, and I currently use Chrome and a Mac. I subscribe and un-subscribe often depending on my schedule, Ancestry has never improperly charged me. I say all that only because I'd hate for anyone to be put off by Ancestry. It is such a wealth of information. Before I started using it, I spent hours on microfiche I had to order and going to courthouses and cemeteries for info. Heck, even when I first started using it, it had like one complete census or something like that. LOL
I hope your issues get resolved soon!
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Post by joblackford on Apr 8, 2016 2:26:00 GMT
Prenticekid You are right. Ancestry does have a wealth of information and most people don't have the trouble that a few of us have. They wouldn't have the zillions of users they do if everybody had the troubles I've had. And SOME of my problems might be specific to my computer. I certainly appreciate all the discoveries I have made on their site. But I do get frustrated with some of their practices and policies (eg findmypast has a handy box to check/uncheck to indicate that you don't want to renew your sub when it comes due at the end of your month so you can take care of that any time, not watching the calendar). And I don't think all the glitches I've had on their site can be blamed on my computer. I don't have any trouble signing up and paying for any other website I use...
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tomboymama
Junior Member
Posts: 97
Location: NE Missouri
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Post by tomboymama on Apr 8, 2016 8:09:26 GMT
My daughter needed to use it for a project for school so tried to sign up for the free trial but it kept saying there was an error with her card. While still trying to sign up, her bank called her and said they suspected fraud on her card and to call. Because Ancestry.com is in Ireland, the bank blocked her debit card. I was able to pay for it with PayPal just fine and we haven't had any problems since. I just thought I would throw it out there in case it helps in some way.
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Deleted
Posts: 0
May 19, 2024 18:50:20 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Apr 8, 2016 14:40:38 GMT
I use ancestry on chrome and have no problems... I would call  |
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) If only I could contact these members without having to be a member myself I would never even consider subscribing at all. But since I can't, I guess I will have to talk to them on the phone and see if they can handle that. 
That sounds so incredibly frustrating. 
But at least the option is there.
What the heck is the use of the image then? To trick people? Sorry, random rant. 
