Ancestry Reviews

I gave it two stars. Initially it was very informative…. But then they began adding charges onto my credit card for advanced crap. I finally cancelled whatever they were charging me for. Next I tried changing my email address and password and now unable to even access my account. Contacted Customer Service which is a joke and just took me in circles to no where. Look elsewhere for family history and avoid this headache.

I placed an order for their most expensive dna kit and 3 month all access family plan membership ($149 msrp) on April 30th, directly from their website. Order **. It was supposed to be a mother's day gift. They immediately charged me and started the membership clock (This in itself is crooked because it's a gift and the membership should not start until the recipient activates the membership). The DNA kit was supposed to arrive by Mother's day, according to their website when I ordered it. It has yet to arrive and the online tracking number shows it has not moved from current location in past 5 days.

Ancestry is a fraud and should be investigated for theft by deception. I canceled Ancestry in March 2026, and they billed my credit card in April for a one-year renewal. There are no appeal rights; they just take your money and run. Leave it to the Mormons to steal everything.

I have been a member since 2012. Called them as I could not correctly access my family tree information. I was told I had cancelled my membership. I noted I had not and was then “accelerated” to a higher level and was transferred. I was on hold for 1hour and 16 minutes and finally hung up! I don’t know what to do now! I am so frustrated and sad about this!

I have been a member of Ancestry.com since 2012. Because I am retired and we need to cut down on expenses, we had to cancel our subscription. They charged me $50 to cancel. You would think 14 years as a loyal customer would mean something to these people. They already cost too much money for what they provide. Now they want to add on a cancellation charge? Ridiculous and a slap in the face to loyal customers.

I have been on Ancestry for YEARS, building a very extended family tree. But their deceptive renewal fee practices are too much now. They gave me no notice of a $169 renewal that is more than double the price I signed up for. I love the work I've done but the company is not trustworthy.

They suck. It cost a fortune for 3 months. I tried to cancel before it renewed but it didn't go thru apparently and I got stuck with this overpriced crap. I will never recommend them to anyone. Want money back.

Called customer service concerning my account access. I had uploaded a document to the my online account and was needing to download the document for personal reasons. However, I had no access since I did not continue to pay the very high subscription. I asked customer service for a way to access my document and she kept pushing me to buy a subscription for $64.99 a month. I told her no, I did not have the money for the subscription at this time and I needed the document for a legal matter.

I lost the email account linked to Ancestry.com. So when I logged into my account... There is no option to update a lost account. I have called many times...and the customer service is zero help. More push you along. So I tried the 14 day trial... Can see my tree [I made, what my DNA]... Can't recover anything. I'm asked to buy the DNA Kit [again]. Really!? So...not impressed with Ancestry.com. They can't help on a simply email/account recovery. WTF! DISAPPOINTED.

They have more people for family tree but 23 and me is better and make sure if you buy it unsubscribe right away. Because they will rebill you and it's not like you received hundreds of dollars worth of service to be rebilled. They won't refund you if they rebill you.

I was so excited when I got an Ancestry kit. I mailed it back it the same day I got it. And was beyond excited to get my results. It's now almost 3 months later and I still don't have my results. I've been able to build a limited family tree with records I have found, but I wanted to know about more than just my grandparents. I am really upset with how long the process is especially because it's advertised as being quick. I understand this takes time, but I definitely feel like 3 months is too long, especially because, according to the website the DNA was extracted almost a month ago. Very disappointing so far.

Very hard to navigate subscription cancellation on a phone. Cancelled and charged anyway. “Free trial”. Call India and they won’t remove the charge. How far are we going to let these companies go with their trial subscription scams and data theft?

I purchased a DNA kit from Ancestry and they received the sample on January 16. I am still waiting on the results. When checking the website for the status of ny DNA it says "Delayed". I tried calling the 800 number today 1-800-401-3193 and of course no one answers. I tried using Ancestry's AI Bot called "Leaf" and the only answer it keeps repeating is due to high volume and weather related issues there is a delay in processing DNA. Their subscription rates are high and if you cancel early there can be a 25.00 dollar forfeiture of the subscription rate. Their website tells you about creating a tree for free and then it wants you to subscribe in order to view hints or specific info. These are usually sent in marketing emails.

I paid for the DNA directly through Ancestry. I quickly did it and sent it back. First issue. I had to register the kit twice. Next issue is they gave me a completion date, which changed 3 times. Now there is no completion date. I paid them for a service they failed to provide, because they are too busy comparing my DNA to unsolved criminal cases. What a fraudulent company and a criminal corrupt company.

I just wanted to get the DNA done. I got a trial membership as well. Ancestry began processing on Jan 9. Results are still not in yet. Here's what they tell me: "Results pending. Due to high volume, your results are taking longer than expected. We're still on track to process your results soon, and we'll let you know when they're ready." So wait, How long have they been doing this? They don't know how to adjust their staffing level to deliver their product? So I start to get the feeling that it's being drawn out to eat up time while my trial subscription runs out. Lo and behold! I just got the email that my trial is up in about 10 days. That really breaks my confidence in the company.

Enrolled in an Ancestry free trial and later canceled shortly after the trial period ended. I was charged a $25 cancellation fee plus tax. I personally did not see clear and conspicuous disclosure during sign-up that a separate cancellation fee would be imposed. In my experience, when a free trial converts, the expectation is that you are charged for the subscription period, not assessed an additional cancellation penalty. Others may wish to review the full terms carefully and confirm all potential fees before enrolling in a free trial.

Unfortunately I was not a fan of this. At every level of any new information, I was told to pay for a new charge. My husband gave me this kit as a Christmas gift.

Used to love it until they barred paying members from using their RESEARCH databases to identify John and Jane Does and homicide cases, as well as MILITARY repatriations. Absolutely disgusting.

DO NOT subscribe. Their site is a fraud and it will not let you unsubscribe without calling them and they will charge a 25.00 unsubscribe fee even if you unsubscribe in the time allotted. I will NEVER engage with this shady site again!!

Awful service and don't even provide a product. Lied about me not having registered a kit despite the app saying that I had registered one. Lied about receiving the kit, despite the confirmation from the carrier, and wanted to charge me the delivery fee before they could provide a refund.

The site itself can be useful, however, beware of their deceptive "cancellation" process. Twice, I thought I had cancelled my subscription only to find out that they continued to bill me. When I (finally) got a telephone contact, the person admitted that their cancellation process is a 3-step process that many people think they have cancelled when actually they have not. Very deceptive business practice. I will never do business with Ancestry again, or recommend them to anyone. Just an aside: their website will not allow me to delete my credit card information.

Canceled my subscription only to find out they charge you $50 to cancel. That is a bunch of b______t if you ask me. Single mom who can't afford money coming out of my account without knowledge.

I had to PAY $25 to cancel an active membership. Will never use them again. When trying to cancel the membership, which I thought I did before, was asked why I was canceling. I selected the option of too expensive. Their solution - instead of paying $21.99 a month, they offered me $24 a month.

I am extremely disappointed with my experience using Ancestry. Over six weeks ago, I ordered a DNA kit for $109, received it, and mailed it back as instructed. After waiting well beyond the expected timeframe and repeatedly calling customer support because my results were never loading or showing progress, I was finally told today that my kit was “canceled.” The problem? I was never notified of any cancellation, never received my results, and never received a refund.

Do not do business with Ancestry! You can cancel your subscriptions online and they will still charge you. If you try and cancel again after being charged after your initial cancellation it will only open a blank page. You have to talk with someone to cancel and they will not refund you stating they can’t because it’s a “renewal“. It’s just a scam to try and keep charging you. I recommend you use a different company and make sure they do NOT have any affiliations with Ancestry.

I love Ancestry.com. I've been a member on and off for many years now and have collected a lot of interesting information about my family, and I have a lot more to still discover. I just have one small issue with payment options. I am not always able to purchase a membership every month, and I get Visa gift cards for Christmas or my birthday, and I would love to be able to just use the gift card rather than use my bank card, then having to use the gift card for groceries. My understanding is this: they need the card to recharge for the next month's automatic payment, and a gift card generally doesn't have enough money on it for that. My suggestion to them is add a payment option that, if using a Visa gift card, then a second card (a bank card) needs to be added, so that they can then charge that card for the next automatic payment.

Order a kit from Ancestry still waiting for the kit. Talked to customer support yesterday, was easier to talk to my 2-year-old. Tried to chat with a support person, you need to get through the AI chat, then get told we are closed. If we ever get this package I WILL NOT ORDER OR DO ANYTHING with this site.

Do I think it's a scam because both my parents did the DNA test and I have DNA from places they don't have. And the results keep changing, adding new heritages and percentages. It's changed like 5 times for me alone

What I find disturbing is I filled in both parents' names, their parents, aunts, uncles and got a response no such persons.. but for more money and a expensive membership they would look further.. Funny how more money would have found myself and my ancestors.. Shame on you..

Company is a complete scam, took my money and immediately ignored me. Tried to get a hold of them every single day for a week to cancel sale and they completely ignored me. Never sent me any items whatsoever after over a week. They denied my canceling and shipped item anyways late, refused to speak to me, no product, no customer service, stole my money. Avoid at all cost.