Genealogy Chat

See below in a mo:-)

I want to send off to New Jersey for a birth certificate and they stipulate that as it is for genealogy I can only apply in writing and pay by either cheque or money order. A cheque is out of the question as my cheque book is in pounds and they want dollars so, I’ve been all round town today to get a money order and come up blank. The Post Office don’t do them and the bank wanted £13 to do one plus the cost of the money order itself As the cost of the certificate is $25 I thought this a bit steep as it makes it twice the price. Any ideas of how I can go about this??? Thanks Bacardi XX

Maybe try an American Express or CitiBank shop (both US Companies)....Brian

Or try sending cash! [i.e. dollars] I know it is strictly not allowed and you cannot insure it, but I think it's worth the risk. I have done that to Australia many times without any problems.

How about Western Union money transfer

Dollars in an envelope I do it all the time to my family just ask or a proof of postage! Janie

Thanks for your replies guys I cant send cash as it states on the form very clearly that this will not be accepted:-( What is Western Union Transfer please? and how does it work? And I'll google American Express to see what I can find:-) Thanks again for the ideas:-) Bacardi XX

To send money by Western Union Money Transfer may cast you a small fee - from £12 or there abouts, but the best thing about it is the money gets to it's destination within about 5 minutes. I have sent money by the moneygram service, you just give the reciever a code number that is given to you then they can collect the money at their nearest moneygram place, I assume Western Union is the same.

I've often had this problem myself. When my bank does it for me all they do is use Western Union! In this age of technological wizardry the whole thing is a nonsense. People are making wider use of PayPal now and not just for buying Ebay items, but you don;t tend to find it used by US Govt depts. Sending dollars in an envelope is what most people do. Denis

Not sure Western Union is the way to go because someone needs to physically collect the money in New Jersey. I doubt anyone at the State Bureau of Vital Statistics will do that. Is the certificate available from VitalChek? Rose

Hi Rose Yes I could use vital chek although it does say in the small print that I should write to NJ if the certificate if for Genealogy purposes:-( It also works out at over $75 with them:-( Bacardi X

Just a thought - does it give the option of using a credit card? Using credit card they would charge to your account using USD and credit card company will do the conversion to pounds sterling? I know I can order certs from the GRO and have it charged to my Canadian credit card? Sue

I would try American Express. I have used Amex travellers cheques in the USA and they are accepted as if they are cash. Also, the fee will be a lot smaller than trying to go through a bank. International 'wire' transfers are a complete rip-off .... especially considering its all electronic. An alternative ... if you know any Americans living in your area, you might be able to do a private deal with them especially if they or their family still have a US bank account. They write the cheque and you reimburse them in pounds.

Hi Guys Have come up with a devious plan:-) One of my GR buddies lives in the US, so I'm sending everything to her complete with US dollars and she is going to pop a cheque in with the request and hopefully - bobs your uncle:-) Will let you know when I receive this certificate:-) Bacardi X

Excellent solution ..... nice one!