Certificates - using $ orders for overseas

[scousecan]

Hi has anyone ordered recently? I intended to get bank drafts and then I read the fine print about having to pay City Council's banking charges... Is that correct?

[JillianR]

Hi
I always give them my Visa card number. Bank drafts in Australia cost AU$35 each which is way too much. You can do that online with the GRO and the Council record offices I've dealt with usually have a form to print off any then post with your details on it. I looked in to sending money from here by bank transfer as well but that would cost AU$40 or so.

Jillian

[scottsheat]

The GRO will accept any debit or credit card - no problems

[Mary Anne]

I also use a credit card to purchase from GRO or whoever. Bank charges have become outrageous, especially for currency conversions. The ones in Canada are bad enough, but European banks are even worse.

Similarly, postal rates have risen so that ordering goods online to be sent abroad is prohibitive. I tried to order an £11 local history recently -- Waterstones wanted £60 to send it to Canada!!!!!!!!!! Good grief

Mary Anne

[v.wells]

I always order online from the GRO using credit card. Never had any problem. Right now it works out cheaper with the exchange rate I use the money conversion app on google home page.

[scousecan]

Hello fellow Canucks et al,
Yikes! That's far too much to find out a father's occupation! Sheesh! Would it be cheaper to find someone to look it up for me? So you all are comfortable using your credit cards on-line? I just get a wicked case of heebeejeebies thinking about where that info goes into net land...
Vanessa thanks for the google tip on conversion.
Scousecan

[Dizzy600]

Hi,
Places like the GRO have secure pages where you enter your credit card details so that the information is encrypted. Secure pages have a 'padlock' symbol to indicate that they are secure.

[v.wells]

Scouscan - I've been ordering online at the GRO site for years and never had a problem. It is also easier to track the documents, since you printout the date it's ordered and a reference number is supplied for queries. Takes about 10 days - 2 weeks for certs to come.

And no you can't get anyone to look up the information - it is only available by certificate ordering. It works out to $15.01 CDN which is far cheaper than Canadian BMD's which start at $25 and you have privacy limitations on those ones. Do NOT order from a third party such as Ancestry as they are VERY expensive.

[AdeleE]

I've been very comfortable ordering from the UK General Record Office, as well as Scotlands Peoples. As an added security measure, my credit card is set up to ask for a verification password prior to the transaction being processed. As well, I have one credit card that I use exclusively for these transactions and I have the credit limit purposely set very low.

[SueNSW]

Similarly, postal rates have risen so that ordering goods online to be sent abroad is prohibitive. I tried to order an £11 local history recently -- Waterstones wanted £60 to send it to Canada!!!!!!!!!! Good grief

Mary Anne

Yes this is a blatant plug - but I reckon the service is so good everyone should know about it - www dot bookdepository dot co dot uk - if they stock a book - the price is usually excellent and they post FREE OF CHARGE to around 90 different countries

Don't know how they do it - but very happy they can

Cheers
Sue