Genealogy Chat

I've been finding that birth certificates have been the last to be despatched out of a group. I can only assume that the GRO have had a lot more orders for these certificates than the others, and hence the backlog is greater.

I ordered a birth cert and an overseas death cert online yesterday. The despatch date for the birth cert is 3 April but the death cert is 17 March!! I am amazed that they can send it so soon yet can't send the birth cert at the same time. I have never had that situation before, normally the date is the same for all the certs I order together. Lynne

Ordered two for my boss Friday (10th March) despatch date of 4th April, so the answer is very firmly NO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Looby

Thanks for the advice Linda and Debbie. I have sent them an email and shall wait to see what the reply is. The copy is just very poor-I think the copier needs more ink !!!!!! I can just about make out the date but cannot even see the names of the couple who married. Thanks again for the advice......Janine

I ordered 5 from my local RO on the Friday (2 I knew they definately had as they were marriages and she was able to look to see if they had a copy while I waited) and went back on the Tuesday and picked them up.Only had 4 of the ones I wanted.So ordered other one on line. Did order one last wednesday by priority and it arrived on Friday (sadly wrong person!) reordered what I hope is right person on Friday disptach date 20th March. If you can get to the register office in person definately a lot quicker, but remember the GRO indexes are not the same as your local!

Hi Janine, It its a 'bad' copy, then yes, ring/e-mail them and tell them. They will probably ask you to return it, and re-issue you with another. If it's a case of bad handwriting, not much they can do there, but you could try ordering again, from the local register office. These are usually handwritten copies, so they will 'interpret' what they think it says. You could then compare that, with the illegible one, and draw your own conclucsions. Debbie

Well Nell, to be honest I had a £50 premium bond win and seeing as its bonus cash (you ladies all understand my reasoning ) I ordered 7 certs with it. I feel terribly guilty now - but oh well. In fact Im quite happy that they are arriving slowly and in dribs and drabs as it prolongs the excitement!

I ordered a copy of a marriage certificate on February 22nd and it finally arrived this morning. Still no sign of the death certificate that I ordered a week prior. However, I cannot read a single item on the marriage certicate which has driven me to despair. How can I trace my g.g.aunt if I cannot read her fathers name? Is it worth complaining? Thanks............Janine

13 days and counting

ordered 3 for 1st time in ages and was told about 10-15 days for despach. As with everyone else am impatient. However I did almost order them from the local Sunderland registry site. Would this have been quicker do you think. Newcastle has one too, but limited years. Sorry about your misfortune Nell. Good luck to hubby in job hunting.

I ordered a death certificate today and the estimated despatch date is 3rd April.

Chloe I didn't mean to sound harsh or moan! I just think it is fantastic that we are able to get certificates at all and that instead of being impatient we should be thankful that we can. There are plenty of relatives whose births, marriages and deaths don't appear to be recorded so its great when you find one! nell

i do not think the tv programe this time around has had anyware near the impact it had before, i go to my local studies library every saturday and there are no more people turning up now than there was 2 months before the programs, the real cause of the backlog is old hands finding lots of info of the free BMD indexs that used to cost a lot on 1837, i have ordered 40 in the last 6 weeeks because of them, this is what is causing it , not the tv programs

Yes, I mean I am stuck of a few lines, and after months and months of searching, and also quite often thinking I have found a lead then it all goes pear shaped , I have given up on those particular lines. That is why it is nice to send off for certs of the ancestors I can very easily trace. That is why I sent off for one as a priority cert as I am still awaiting the arrival of a few certs I sent off for 2 weeks ago. Ben

We didn't know, Nell. No need to be so harsh about it though. I rarely have the money to buy certificates/other things too. But I don't moan about it, and say how lucky others are to be able to afford them. It gets busy this time of year because after watching the programme, people dabble in their own history, only to realise how time consuming and expensive it is, and most give up.... it's annoying for those that have stuck with it for a long long time, when we have to wait longer than normal.

I can't understand why you all get so worked up. The certs will arrrive when they get here. Be glad you can order them and get the info! My husband has just been made redundant and I feel I can't justify buying any certs at the moment - or order any of the tempting documents from the Glos. Records office with info about settlements, gaols etc. nell

Yes, Who Do You Think You Are is a good programme but it delays you finding anything out about your ancestors in the process. I sent off for 3 certs this morning, and they said 15 days so I oredered one of them as a priority cert costing £23. Shows how impatient I am. Ben

Thanks. Grrrrr. Who Do You Think You Are? really annoys me!!! lol

I ordered one this morning and they say it will be sent out in 15 working days cos this is their busiest time of the year apparently! Not good at being patient, hurry up the day when you can pay your money and download a copy immediately - wouldn't that be nice!! Thinking wishfully Cath

Last two came yesterday had taken 16 days.