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[MSE Andrea]

13 May 2008

What's it about?

The original social networking site Friends Reunited which is owned by ITV is now free. While you've always been able to view it, to contact people you needed to pay £7.50 every six months.

Why's it done this?

The increased popularity of newer social networking sites such as Facebook, Myspace and Bebo mean it's been possible to contact old friends for free in other ways for some time. It's likely this is a response to this by Friends Reunited as it's also adding extra social networking tools.

What will happen to my subscription?

If in the past you set up a continuous payment there's nothing you need to do, this just won't be taken from your account any more.

How's Friends Reunited paid for now?

Instead of gathering its revenue from subscriptions the site will now make its money from people clicking on adverts appearing on its pages.

What about its other sites?

For those who've joined Genes Reunited and Friends Reunited Dating there's no change, you'll still be charged the usual fee.

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This additional post has been inserted into the top of the discussion to provide a fully researched and re-written explanation. Huge thanks to MoneySaver jockettuk for the top spot!

[jockettuk]

its now free to send a message on friends reunited. used to be you had to pay a fee but not anymore

www.friendsreunited.co.uk

[lannyloo]

Excellent, thanks for letting us know.

Is it a temp thing or will it be forever??

[CLLC]

I thinks it's a permanent thing

[SqueakyRat]

Originally Posted by jockettuk

its now free to send a message on friends reunited. used to be you had to pay a fee but not anymore

www.friendsreunited.co.uk

I recently paid a subscription !!!
Wonder if they'll give me it back

[jockettuk]

Originally Posted by SqueakyRat

I recently paid a subscription !!!
Wonder if they'll give me it back

i would ask for it back

[lannyloo]

Now they need to make genes reunited free...cant see it happening though

[durham_girl]

Probably cos a lot of people are using facebook etc to catch up on old friends....and it's free!!

[gentlepurr]

Originally Posted by lannyloo

Now they need to make genes reunited free...cant see it happening though

Ive been getting free messaging on genes reunited for 2/3 weeks now . thought it was a glitch, or just a free few days or something, but it makes sense now, reading about friends reu

hth

xx

[Riq]

Originally Posted by durham_girl

Probably cos a lot of people are using facebook etc to catch up on old friends....and it's free!!

All the cool kids are on Facebook.

[withabix]

I want a refund on my subscription!

[lannyloo]

Originally Posted by gentlepurr

Ive been getting free messaging on genes reunited for 2/3 weeks now . thought it was a glitch, or just a free few days or something, but it makes sense now, reading about friends reu

hth

xx

Ive just checked out messages on genes reunited, it wont let me send without subscribing.

[gentlepurr]

Originally Posted by lannyloo

Ive just checked out messages on genes reunited, it wont let me send without subscribing.

hmm, the plot thickens then !

For anyone else, it might be worth a try, i can receive and send messages on genes reu, and definately have never paid any subs, perhaps im just lucky, or perhaps its a selective thing? either way, i never knew i had the facility until i tried to reply to someone and it worked...

xx

[mintymoneysaver]

Thankyou OP, just spent a happy evening messaging all those people who had hoped never to hear from me again!!!
I'm not a facebook person so this suits me down to the ground!

[irisrose]

Thanks I know that there is someone in Canada that I used to go to school with, so know I will send her a message it would be good to catch up.

[srichards]

Cool! Am very glad to hear of this!!

[VIJAY_FROM_KENT]

Friendsreunited's whole business model has been screwed up by the likes of Facebook, so they have had to make it free!

[withabix]

It's owned by ITV.com these days anyway.

[dc]

Originally Posted by gentlepurr

hmm, the plot thickens then !

For anyone else, it might be worth a try, i can receive and send messages on genes reu, and definately have never paid any subs, perhaps im just lucky, or perhaps its a selective thing? either way, i never knew i had the facility until i tried to reply to someone and it worked...

xx

AFAIK you (as a non-member) could receive messages from members and reply to them, but only once to their query. If you forgot something and tried to send an addendum, you would be immediately asked for your credit card details, to send the 2nd message. Well that is the way ITV worked it.

You could not originate a message, nor look at others trees even if they (member) gave you permission. However they could look at your tree if you had given permission, which is a bit mean imho.
Has this now changed??

[janaltus]

Originally Posted by jockettuk

it's now free to send a message on friends reunited. used to be you had to pay a fee but not anymore

www.friendsreunited.co.uk

This is brilliant! Thanks to your posting I checked and I had messages in my inbox dating back to 2005 and 2006 - that I hadn't/couldn't reply to. Now I can - for free. Let's hope the senders are still alive and kicking!