Hi all, I am pleased to hear that the PRO has extended the time limit on sessions for the 1901 census and have also said that we won't be charged for not using it i.e. not viewing records within the time limit. As every veteran knows there was always going to be the inevitable breakdowns and slow response of the server (remember how hard it was to get anything off the ((IGI Family search)) when it first started?) We also won't have to forget either that the PRO is a government department and as such will be in the fight for funding each year so the is the possibility of servers being updated slowly and wrapped in red tape. However for me personally who has to travel 25 miles to the nearest county records office and a lot of the time come home empty handed and the cost of which is around £7.00 the prices seem fair (but not a bargain by any means) I would imagine there will be people that will struggle though EG Pensioners etc and I would encourage the PRO to think again in there behalf. I was on the site yesterday and found answers to a lot of brick wall questions without even viewing anything other than the free stuff Eg I found my grandmother's birth which I just could not find before though I had all her siblings and her baptism all in one town she was born in another. I had also wondered if my G Grandparent were the ones in town 2 and finding her birth confirmed this so you can find a lot of answers without spending a penny. I do look forward to seeing how the service develops and using it and hope it is not going to be a rip off in any way though I do think we need to keep a careful eye on it in the future. God bless you all & Happy new year. Kind regards Terry WEBSITE http://nav.to/teljul RESEARCHING (O'Connor, Connor, Lydon.Ludden,Louden, )Mayo Ireland & Cheshire, Cumberland & Durham England. (SHARP & SUTCLIFFE)County Durham & Yorkshire England. (JOHNSON)Helsingborg Sweden & South Shields England (MOLLOY/MALLOY/MOLOY/MALOY) Carlisle, Jarrow, Co Durham 1880 to present (NICHOLSON)Jarrow, Sunderland, Springwell, England & Canada (HUNT)South Shields, Bishopwearmouth, Co Durham & Denby Derby England (WHITE)Stannington N/umberland & Sunderland Co Durham England (LIDDELL)Co Durham & Yorkshire England (HART) Ireland 1829/1853 Jarrow Co Durham 1853 on (ATKINSON) Jarrow, South Shields Hurworth Co Durham (SCOTT) Northumberland & Co Durham (Broomfield)Northumberland & Durham (Gray)Co Durham (Morgan) Co Durham SHIPS SS Isaac Pennock 1880-1891 Reg South Shields SS Shearwater 1880-1891 SS Foscolino 1880-1891 H.M.S. Bickerton, RN WW2 Destroyer Esscort ----- Original Message ----- From: "Sherry Landa" <[email protected]> To: <[email protected]> Sent: 02 January 2002 10:37 Subject: [CHS] PRO Help Desk Re Paid Sessions Hello, This is a cross-list posting. I apologise if you see it several times. I have just spoken to the PRO census help desk (01684 585299). The site is inaccessible currently, due to a server problem (no news there). Session times have been extended to 96 hours. If paying by credit card and you have viewed no records after the 96 hours you will NOT be charged anything. HOWEVER, if you have viewed even one record you will be charged the £5 minimum charge. The advice was to either: a) keep trying within your 96 hour period or b) WAIT! Once the site settles down you should be able to use it *normally*. If you chose option a) and see any records then the £5 will be charged, so the risk is yours, but the help desk official said he'd wait rather than giving his credit card number. It would be nice, if those of us that have not yet spent anything, hung back, and when the site returns we let those who have spent something but not their full £5 get on and at least use up some more of that £5, but I doubt that this will happen. The press have now reported the release of the census on line so I can only imagine things will get worse before they get better. I hope this information is of help to some. Best Wishes, Sherry Landa (in Salford, Lancs) [email protected] ==== CHESHIRE Mailing List ==== The Family History Society of Cheshire: http://www.fhsc.org.uk/