• UKOfficialServices

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Overview

UKOfficialServices has a rating of 2 stars from 30 reviews, indicating that most customers are generally dissatisfied with their purchases. Reviewers complaining about UKOfficialServices most frequently mention birth certificate problems. UKOfficialServices ranks 6th among Birth Certificates sites.

  • Service
    1
  • Value
    1
  • Shipping
    1
  • Returns
    1
  • Quality
    1
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What reviewers want you to know

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Critical highlights

  • Took 27 days to get a birth certificate, nothing but stress and inconvenience, wouldn't use them again
How would you rate UKOfficialServices?
Top Positive Review

“Fantastic service”

Susan L.
10/15/18

Been awaiting an adoption certificate from these guys for a few weeks to get delivered to Australia. Called and got through to Emma on second try who said it was dispatched 2 weeks ago but we'd chosen mail option for surface mail which could take up to 12 weeks. Our mistake. She emailed the certificate straight away to me. Delighted with this service. Would totally recommend but make sure you are aware of postage times outwith the company's control.

Top Critical Review

“These unofficial websites are scammers don't be fooled”

Matt S.
9/6/22

Please don't use these deceitful websites, they are not official government services. A birth certificate costs just £11 from a gov.uk website. I had to give 1 star but they deserve none. They are deliberately scamming people out of money. Don't be fooled.

Reviews (30)

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Reviews that mention popular keywords

birth certificate (15)
Thumbnail of user matts1341
1 review
0 helpful votes
September 6th, 2022

Please don't use these deceitful websites, they are not official government services. A birth certificate costs just £11 from a gov.uk website. I had to give 1 star but they deserve none. They are deliberately scamming people out of money. Don't be fooled.

Thumbnail of user darrenu6
1 review
4 helpful votes
October 7th, 2019

Wish I'd read the reviews on here and Trustpilot before purchasing. Order a copy Decree Absolut from them thinking it was an official government site. Had to reorder from the courts at the cost of £10 as opposed to the £95 these scammers charge, they then don't deliver. Can't even track the order through their site. Thankfully ordered through Paypal and raised a dispute.

Thumbnail of user jayl249
1 review
5 helpful votes
March 26th, 2019

I am embarrassed to have been taken in by these people. You will be charged a "Search fee" even if they cannot locate the document you have requested. I only found this out after waiting a month. No receipt was sent to my email. There was no indication of what the hold up was, I had to call. So now I've canceled. I am primarily angry at myself, but also angry that this business has been allowed to operate for so many years.

Thumbnail of user valf16
1 review
4 helpful votes
April 13th, 2019

I ordered a replacement birth certificate and gave my bank details to pay.
No certificate has arrived, nearly a month later.
What is so worrying is that having paid the initial fee, I have now been charged 3 times.
The first time, I emailed to complain.
There was no reply. I advise anyone who needs this service to go to the government site.
In no account give your details to this company.

Thumbnail of user lolac15
1 review
4 helpful votes
January 23rd, 2019

Found this site through google as they obviously pay to be one of the top results. It wasn't until after I placed my order that I scrolled through other options and realised this was a scam site listed by thr government as one that is overpriced and may not deliver on time or at all. They should be taken to court as they are not delivering the service which was promised when taking money from people. Also don't be fooled by the positive reviews- they are quite clearly fake.

Thumbnail of user emmas156
1 review
6 helpful votes
July 24th, 2018

Never delivered the certificate, refuse to give me a refund. This was through ukofficialrecords website, which is one of about five or six similar websites that the same guy owns/runs. Any complaints are met with copy/pasted emails with my name written in (in a different font). If you don't order the overpriced recorded delivery option you will not get what you ordered. This is a massive scam, you should use the official GRO website which is also cheaper. Don't fall for this.

Thumbnail of user sadies24
1 review
0 helpful votes
March 4th, 2020

Took 27 days to get a birth certificate, nothing but stress and inconvenience, wouldn't use them again

Thumbnail of user hywelr
1 review
3 helpful votes
July 10th, 2019

Made the mistake of going to these people as a google search brought them up and they looked legitimate for a copy of birth certificate for my son. Granted the government don't make it easy to find out how to get a replacement certificate but when you do find it then you find that 1) it is less than 60% of the cost of going through these fraudsters and 2) much quicker. Having found that my local registry could issue them cheaper to me I contacted UK Official Services to cancel my order only to be told that it was "in the system" and couldn't be refunded. I checked their website to track the order which said that nothing had happened to date so queried the legality of their refusing to refund the contributions. To add insult to injury the local registry office delivered my copy of the certificate today and I only ordered it yesterday. Not only are UK Official Services a rip off they are also clearly inept.

Thumbnail of user markl284
1 review
4 helpful votes
November 16th, 2017

Ordered a copy of a birth certificate and paid £17.00 extra for what I was lead to believe next day service (3 weeks later 2 phone calls and still nothing), My 87-year-old mother who could ill afford to waste money but was desperate for a copy of her birth certificate so believing their company was a legitimate service we used them. How wrong could I have been should have used HM instead absolutely disgusting service avoid the people at all cost. They take your money and do not deliver!

Tip for consumers:
DO NOT USE AVOID AT ALL COSTS Use the official HM website cheaper and more efficient

Service
Value
Shipping
Returns
Quality
Thumbnail of user brianm700
1 review
5 helpful votes
November 14th, 2018

Complete daylight robbery, do not but buy, they say on website dispatched after 8 working days but as told by the complete utter rude person in Emma Wilson that what it says can be dispatched after 8 working days but that means can be anytime after the 8 days and certainly not on the 8th day, they are not governed by anybody at all and just dupe people, I will be writing to my mp and the home office about this as it clearly is disgrace how they are allowed to operate.

Thumbnail of user susanl413
1 review
0 helpful votes
October 15th, 2018

Been awaiting an adoption certificate from these guys for a few weeks to get delivered to Australia. Called and got through to Emma on second try who said it was dispatched 2 weeks ago but we'd chosen mail option for surface mail which could take up to 12 weeks. Our mistake. She emailed the certificate straight away to me. Delighted with this service. Would totally recommend but make sure you are aware of postage times outwith the company's control.

Thumbnail of user wenp3
1 review
4 helpful votes
July 13th, 2018

Never received anything from them, paid so much for such a little request. Found another company for the same job, they did in 2 days.
Don't use them!

Thumbnail of user tamirz1
3 reviews
1 helpful vote
July 7th, 2019

I never thought it could be possible to order a replacement birth certificate online. But I tried this website, and it was successful. The certificate delivered on the promised date. Thanks guys.

Thumbnail of user philj78
1 review
3 helpful votes
June 25th, 2019

Ordered apostilled birth certificate for visa application 3 months ago. Still not arrived. Of course the apostille will no longer be valid should it ever arrive.

Last week I ordered birth certificate through the UK Govt's official channel (www.gro.gov.uk) and sent to be apostilled through official legalisation service (https://www.gov.uk/get-document-legalised). Within under a week had the apostilled version in my hand, on the other side of the world.

Do NOT use this sham of a company. They are, quite simply, thieves.

Thumbnail of user wayw2
1 review
4 helpful votes
November 15th, 2018

Service was timely but they have issued me a document that i can't use. They issued a birth certificate still containing the errors which were made on the day of registration. The birth certificate has since been amended with correct spellings but they took the old version and gave me that. I paid £100 for an expedited birth certificate with apostille that I cannot use and they tell me that their job is done. Why would they not request the most up to date corrected version? - an amateur outfit - I would steer well clear.

Thumbnail of user penniec3
1 review
1 helpful vote
October 19th, 2017

I used this site because I BELIEVED it was a government services, I needed an urgent birth certificate. It was late being delivered, I paid over and above what I needed to. When I said I would collect it I was fobbed off with it needed to go to LONDON for an apostillate. RUBBISH. Because of them we nearly had to cancel our flight, it arrived on the last day, even though I paid for urgent turnaround - over £150. MISLEADING.

Thumbnail of user ladonnav2
1 review
2 helpful votes
November 21st, 2017

Never received my birth certificate. Scam. Horrible business practices. Going to seek legal action. Paid top dollar for birth certificate. Fraud. Severely disappointed in there business practices. Tried everything to resolve no help. Rude, scam, wrong, very bad business. Will not here the last of me. Hate to make on line accountable so hard to do.

Tip for consumers:
Don't use this site.

Thumbnail of user torig23
1 review
2 helpful votes
May 14th, 2019

I ordered a marriage certificate in mid-April from this website and did not immediately receive an email confirmation, which got me worried. I then searched for the company online and became concerned that I had been the victim of a scam. I decided to wait it out and see what happened.

I eventually received an email confirmation later that day and I was able to use the the order number to check on the progress over the next few weeks. The first week in May it updated to say it had been dispatched and I received the certificates recorded delivery a few days later. Overall I was happy with the service.

My advice if you need replacement certificates:
- If you've got full details, order the replacement certificate directly from the local register office where it was originally issued (cheapest option, usually available online or by phone)
- If you have most but not full details (e.g. Don't know where the marriage took place but know who and when), pay the extra £3 for the GRO search (gro.gov.uk)
- If you are missing more significant details (in my case, I knew the marriage year but not the date or location), cough up more for a service like UK Official Records, and be patient in waiting for them to arrive (mine actually arrived before a GRO order placed at the same time)

Thumbnail of user rw306
1 review
1 helpful vote
January 8th, 2019

Birth certificate was needed in a hurry and I (stupidly) didn't check I'd got the official site... however, the certificate arrived as promised.

Thumbnail of user elainep66
1 review
3 helpful votes
July 29th, 2018

Ordered document and multiple payments were taken. Have not received document, 10 weeks and counting, and have not received any refunds. Numerous emails sent, to which they state that a representative from customer services will reply within 48 hours... still waiting. DO NOT WASTE YOUR TIME AND MONEY ON THIS COMPANY. Total SCAM

Thumbnail of user jonnys6
1 review
3 helpful votes
June 7th, 2014

UK Official services do state that they are not the GRO (Section 9) but offer a service of 'Official' UK Documents. It should be obvious that they are not a government organization. From their URL (NOT. Gov or. Org but. co.uk!).
When I ordered notarised/apostilled documents from them (2 years ago) they delivered ON TIME and ALL my documents were fine and as agreed.
This is a useful service to those who do not have a UK postage address or those who want to reduce postage costs by having all their documents delivered to them wherever they reside in the world. Useful for digital nomads, travellers etc who need these documents.
Anyone complaining that they 'deliberately mislead' must be very uneducated or computer illiterate, in which case they'd be better off WITH UKOS since they handle all the admin / postage for them, which can be a headache and expensive.
The additional cost I think is moderately overpriced but the amount of headache and hassle it saves you is a godsend if you are not in the UK or do not have a UK Address.
The name UKOfficialServices is a good one, I think, because foreign officials like the words 'Official' and 'Services'. Don't ask me why, they just do. After all it they do provide Official Documents as a 'Service' and are based in the UK. This is legitimate practice and all my documents are legitimate and I got what I pad for AS AGREED and they delivered, even though it is moderately overpriced, it SAVES HASSLE!

Thumbnail of user nathanr83
1 review
1 helpful vote
May 29th, 2018

I ordered a copy of my full birth certificate, it said it would take 8 business days. After I ordered, I googled them and saw a lot of bad reviews, and got worried, but I shouldn't have been. I used their online order tracking to monitor my order, after around 6 business days it was "in the print que", then 2 days later (on a saturday) it had been posted, and arrived on Monday. Very happy, it's cheaper to do it yourself on the UK gov website, but there's not a great difference in price, and they do deliver. Happy customer.

Thumbnail of user shauneenm
1 review
3 helpful votes
August 29th, 2018

As the others reviews have stated steer clear from these scanners. I have paid for an express service. They said it was posted on one date, I check royal mail tracking and it was posted days later. Second passport appointment I have now cancelled. I thought this was an official site but do not be fooled by the name. I tried to cancel minutes after my order was placed as they are a rip off but they would only refund 1/2. Do not waste your time or money using this site. The other reviews are accurate as to the experience I have received. Disgraceful that they are still allowed to operate. I will be reporting this company. Do not use them!

Thumbnail of user jaie1
1 review
5 helpful votes
September 21st, 2015

What a con. They pretend to be an official governement service which you can clearyl see they are not from their URL. I was inquiring about a copy of my birth certificate as I am currently overseas. Oh yeah all very helpful at first but they took far too long and their charge is three times over what you can get a copy of your birth certificate for directly from the GRO. Stay away these people are bad news and not genuine at all

Thumbnail of user dianak30
1 review
0 helpful votes
February 28th, 2017

Hello I called you to give you the email *******@seznam.cz regarding the birth certificates that you sent me into the Czech Republic give me details and account, and how much should I pay for postage thank kanalosova my number is *******844

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About the business

Certificate Ordering Service - Order a copy birth, marriage or death certificate replacement online now. Whether acquiring a Legalisation of a new or replacement apostille British Birth Certificates, Copy Marriage Certificates apostille and Lost Decree...

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2.0
30 reviews
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