"Andrea Roberts" <ajrobe...@people.net.au> wrote in message

> Hi John,

> I have found that Ancestry US is cheaper as well.   It pays to look at
> them all at the time your membership is due to get the best one for the
> next 12 months.  The Australian site seems to be the dearest at all times.

> Ancestry UK's explanation re VAT seems strange.  If you are travelling in
> any European countries and buy something (over a certain amount) you can
> claim the VAT back at the airport when you are leaving.   That has always
> been the case.  Seems like they are milking the cow at both ends.

> Cheers
> Angie

> Some family trees have beautiful leaves, and some have just a bunch of
> nuts.
> Remember, it is the nuts that make the tree worth shaking.
> ~Author Unknown

> Andrea Roberts....in Melbourne, Australia.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------- -
> Searching for Pyke/Millsom/Goodman/McCann/Johnson/Rorke/Presnell/
> Moorhouse/Millard/Taylor/Toppin
> http://www.1stopmedia.org/angieroberts/index.html

John H wrote:
> Hi,
> Recently there was a posting on soc.genalogy.australia+NZ  about using
> Ancestry.co.uk as your membership so that you saved from the ancestry.com.au
> price.  The price for standard world wide membership at co.uk site was
> #155.40 (155.4UK Pounds).

> From memory, It was stated that the VAT would be exempted and price would be
> less than the standard price of #155.40 WELL I joined and the price came out
> at #155.40 SO I wrote to them and asked for the VAT exemption and got
> following reply:  ++++
> Thank you for contacting Ancestry.co.uk regarding the VAT included in the UK
> Subscription.

> The acronym VAT stands for Value Added Tax, a tax specific to member nations
> of the European Union.  All those purchasing Internet services within such
> nations will be charged an additional 17.5% tax to such orders. Even though
> you're not in the European Nation, the tax still applies to you, as you are
> purchasing a membership with a European site. For more information, you may
> wish to visit the following URLs:

> How VAT Works
> http://ec.europa.eu/taxation_customs/taxation/vat/how_vat_works/index...

> VAT Rates
> http://ec.europa.eu/taxation_customs/taxation/vat/how_vat_works/rates...
> .htm

> If you need additional assistance, reply to this email or feel free to
> contact us by phone at 0-800-404-9723 from 9 AM to 10 PM GMT, Monday through
> Friday or from 9 AM - 8 PM GMT, Saturday and Sunday.

> Best regards,

> Alyxandria
> Customer Solutions Associate
> Ancestry.co.uk
> http://ancestryuk.custhelp.com/

> +++
> BTW I notice that depending upon what day you go into ancestry.co.uk the
> price varies quite considerably, like if you join today then the price at the
> page where you enter your credit card details is #135.13, even though the
> line under the choice of membership page shows the #155.40 I even commenced
> subscribing as a UK citizen using a friends in UK address and it still came
> out at #135.13, so the difference apparently isnt VAT, even though it looked
> like it is/was.

> So join today for a better deal again??
> Adding 17.5% to #135.13 would give a total of #158.78 not #155.40.
> Wierd to say the least!!  I give up!.

> BUT the #155.40 is still cheaper when converted to $AUD and bank fees added
> than the Ancestry.com.au price, so still worth using ancestry.co.uk.

> regards
> JohnH