Findmypast ditching World subscriptions

[A. Muse]

Just received this e-mail from FMP:-

Your World 12 month subscription has now become an access-all-areas Pro subscription.

Your new Pro membership will continue to provide everything you currently enjoy in your World 12 month subscription, along with;

• New Private Messaging – connect with other Findmypast members to chat about shared ancestry.

Just what I didn't want for something I don't use or need!

 

[A. Muse]

Sorry I missed the crucial part of the message:-
You don’t need to do anything right now to enjoy the benefits of this update. We’ll be back in touch before your next renewal to notify you of any changes to your renewal cost.
(My emphasis).

 

[PhilGee]

So that's what they were trying to convey! All I got was:

We noticed you haven't yet made a start on your Family Tree. You've got access to the most essential records you need to start growing your family tree and it couldn't be simpler to get started. Just add what you already know and we'll help grow your tree with instant record hints.In the meantime, feel free to have a look at our FAQ
shttps= ://hello.findmypast.com/optiext/optiextension.dll?ID=.....
if you aren't sure how to start.

(my formatting).

I had to "save" the e-mail and use a text editor to find the "hidden" message amongst all the HTML garbage! I don't usually bother.

 

[peter]

World subscriptions were discontinued for new subscribers to Findmypast.co.uk in late 2017 - the new Pro subscription was identical at the time, and (from memory) a penny cheaper. Private messaging is a new feature added last September.

 

[canadianbeth]

I just renewed my "Ultimate" subscription earlier this month. Is that better than "Pro"?

 

[A. Muse]

Peter wrote ''World subscriptions were discontinued for new subscribers to Findmypast.co.uk in late 2017'' I have had my subscription for much longer than that, and I seem to remember a promise of no increases if I continued to renew. As I can't renew the same subscription I see it as way to up my subs!!

 

[peter]

Peter wrote ''World subscriptions were discontinued for new subscribers to Findmypast.co.uk in late 2017'' I have had my subscription for much longer than that, and I seem to remember a promise of no increases if I continued to renew. As I can't renew the same subscription I see it as way to up my subs!!

They didn't promise no price increases, they said you could keep your existing subscription so long as you opted for automatic renewal.

However since the World subscription and the Pro subscription have always been identical it has complicated matters for them without providing any benefit to you (since the Pro subscription was slightly cheaper than the World subscription when it was introduced).

The people most affected by the discontinuance of legacy subscriptions will be those who had a Britain subscription, as the Plus subscription is not an exact equivalent.

 

[At home in NZ]

I just renewed my "Ultimate" subscription earlier this month. Is that better than "Pro"?

Your World 12 month subscription has now become an access-all-areas Pro subscription.

I suggest you log out of FMP and use the links in the latest Newsletter to see what each type of subscription offers.
There are comparisons if you scroll down the page.
Although it's, in my view, still expensive even with the 20% discount the UK version seems to offer the most.

 

[PhilGee]

The people most affected by the discontinuance of legacy subscriptions will be those who had a Britain subscription, as the Plus subscription is not an exact equivalent.

Those with a "Britain" subscription are being put on the "Pro" option now - at £50 (almost 50%) more for the next renewal, based on current pricing!

From memory (so not reliable!) the Plus sub loses newspapers.

 

[peter]

I just renewed my "Ultimate" subscription earlier this month. Is that better than "Pro"?

There's no difference - the top subscriptions are the same at all 4 sites.

 

[Pauline]

Those with a "Britain" subscription are being put on the "Pro" option now - at £50 (almost 50%) more for the next renewal, based on current pricing!

We had a Britain subscription and are quite happy to be on the Pro option until renewal, but it looks as though after that we shall either have to pay more or lose some of the datasets we currently enjoy - and use regularly.

We're on automatic renewal, so I assume we will continue on the Pro option unless we take action before then. However, I am assuming the loyalty discount will apply if we remain on automatic renewal, but will need to check that out.

 

[peter]

Those with a "Britain" subscription are being put on the "Pro" option now - at £50 (almost 50%) more for the next renewal, based on current pricing!

From memory (so not reliable!) the Plus sub loses newspapers.

You certainly won't be paying £50 more - I suspect you've forgotten about the Loyalty Discount - but there's nothing to stop you stepping down to a Plus subscription if you don't need the newsletters very often. The subscription structure was changed in 2017, when Irish records were added to the Plus subscription to make it more comparable with Ancestry. There has to be some limit to how long Findmypast maintain legacy subscriptions - 4 years doesn't seem unreasonable.

 

[peter]

We had a Britain subscription and are quite happy to be on the Pro option until renewal, but it looks as though after that we shall either have to pay more or lose some of the datasets we currently enjoy - and use regularly.

You won't lose any historic records that were in the Britain subscription.

 

[Pauline]

You won't lose any historic records that were in the Britain subscription.

But I gather we may lose access to the newspaper collection and I use that quite a lot. We need to look into it more and work out the best way of doing things. Our renewal isn't until October so we have plenty of time to ponder our options.

 

[peter]

But I gather we may lose access to the newspaper collection and I use that quite a lot. We need to look into it more and work out the best way of doing things. Our renewal isn't until October so we have plenty of time to ponder our options.

That's right - when Findmypast reorganised their subscriptions in 2017 to bring them into line with Ancestry, the newspapers in the Britain subscription were replaced with the Irish records in the Plus subscription.

Up to that point subscribers who had British AND Irish ancestry had to buy a World subscription if they wanted access to both. Replacing the newspapers with Irish records didn't please everyone, but it made a lot of sense because the newspapers can be accessed separately via the British Newspaper Archive site (which also has a much better search).

Maintaining the discontinued subscriptions for existing subscribers was a way of keeping everyone happy, but the extra complexity has a cost. I imagine it got to the point where the number of subscribers with legacy subscriptions was so small that the cost became disproportionate.