Back in late July I posted about the new cut price of ordering post-1857 wills through the UK Government's Find a Will service. I excitedly announced that the price of a will had been cut to just £1.50, instead of the old £10 charge. Maybe I should have kept quiet for a bit.
I ordered several wills on 11 August, and was given an estimated online delivery date of 26 August. We are now well into October and I am still waiting. They are now almost 2 months overdue.
I am trying to be patient. Really I am. I know why the service is taking so long. It is because of all those people (like me) who saw the price cut, cried "Oh Goody!" and inundated the site with orders. Eager genealogists worldwide have swamped the poor people at Find A Will and buried them with their enthusiasm.
A slightly plaintive inqiry in late September - "Where are my wills?? They are a month overdue!" - elicited the response that the site had been overwhelmed by the volume of orders and mine would be dealt with as soon as possible. Since then I have haunted my inbox, hoping for notification that my wills had been processed would soon arrive. I have also logged onto the website (no more than once a day) to check for progress. And I am still waiting.
It takes me back to the old days of sending off my request for records or information by 'snail mail' and waiting 6 to 8 weeks for a response through the post. How spoilt are we today with email and downloading and instant access to online records from the comfort of our own living rooms. Now, suddenly, I have to learn to be patient again. It is a difficult lesson.
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