To really understand my pain I will have to start from the beginning.
On the 28th of November I emailed the Diplomatic Archives in Paris to see if they would email me a file they have on my Grt Grt Uncle. I was told that they did not do this as was not their policy. They proceeded to direct me to a lady that frequented the archives on a regular basis and would probably do the research for me for a price.
I emailed the lady straight away and asked if this could be done. She replied that same day and said that she would be going to the archives the next day and would do it that day as long as I agreed to pay her 30 euros an hour. I agreed on the assumption that it would take only about an hour, as it was only one file.
The next day I received an email from the lady stating that the research was done but it took her 4 hours. My initial reaction to this was absolute shock as I did not have that amount of money.
I then called a family member that owed me the money and was lucky enough to get it.
I went to my bank and tried to transfer the money to the lady's bank account in Paris but was told it would cost me an extra £20 to send it. I refused as I thought I could find a cheaper way but unfortunately I couldn't find a way so tomorrow I am due to go to the bank and bite the bullet.
The lesson to be learned from this is, plan ahead and if you use a researcher make sure you ask what the price is likely to be in advance,
The reason it took ao long was because she translated the French into English.
On the 28th of November I emailed the Diplomatic Archives in Paris to see if they would email me a file they have on my Grt Grt Uncle. I was told that they did not do this as was not their policy. They proceeded to direct me to a lady that frequented the archives on a regular basis and would probably do the research for me for a price.
I emailed the lady straight away and asked if this could be done. She replied that same day and said that she would be going to the archives the next day and would do it that day as long as I agreed to pay her 30 euros an hour. I agreed on the assumption that it would take only about an hour, as it was only one file.
The next day I received an email from the lady stating that the research was done but it took her 4 hours. My initial reaction to this was absolute shock as I did not have that amount of money.
I then called a family member that owed me the money and was lucky enough to get it.
I went to my bank and tried to transfer the money to the lady's bank account in Paris but was told it would cost me an extra £20 to send it. I refused as I thought I could find a cheaper way but unfortunately I couldn't find a way so tomorrow I am due to go to the bank and bite the bullet.
The lesson to be learned from this is, plan ahead and if you use a researcher make sure you ask what the price is likely to be in advance,
The reason it took ao long was because she translated the French into English.