Family Tree DNA Reviews

(based on 41 reviews)

160 of 309 people found this review helpful

I'm from the UK we decided to get my husbands DNA done to discover a little bit about his Ukrainian background ..his Father was Ukrainian his mum Welsh..and paid the top fee of several hundred pounds,it gave him a hundred percent British ancestry apart from a supposed less than one percent Orcadian DNA , none of the followup services like connecting him with others with similar DNA were ever provided nor was a complaint ever followed up when we said we weren't satisfied .

In summary, I would not recommend Family Tree DNA to a friend.

177 of 341 people found this review helpful

Did the Family Finder. All the results are generic and could apply to anyone. To get any meaning, at all, you need to identify the people on the list of other people who have been tested by them; that you have marked, as known to you, as relatives. If you use the product, as delivered, you get very little if anything!

In summary, I would not recommend Family Tree DNA to a friend.

188 of 364 people found this review helpful

My first attempt at a review timed out, so this is attempt #2. I received my FF results in Nov. 2014. After about 2&1/2 months all my matches went away. I messaged them to file a complaint and they said they were having a problem with some of the files and that I should wait and not contact them. So I waited for some time and messaged them again. No answer. One more message to them. No answer. Around April I started receiving some new matches. It is now July 2015. I only have 9 pages. Just a fraction of what I had before. My two best matches are gone along with many more 2nd to 3rd cousin matches. They haven't found my older ones. Why can't they just give me a status update? Plus the chromosome compare button doesn't work for all matches, just some. The people I had just started to message with to compare info. disappeared and I imagine I disappeared from their files also. I also purchased MtdnaPlus and it is OK. I will wait a bit longer then tell BBB I want a refund.

In summary, I would recommend Family Tree DNA to a friend.

179 of 354 people found this review helpful

I had tried FTDNA three years ago and was very happy. Their help desk was extremely supportive and knowledgeable. But two years ago they changed their business model to one of a big marketing push. The help desk has completely changed. They are not available to anyone who works. The are there strictly for marketing and taking your money. You cannot talk to anyone in charge. The real experts are part of another company and only want to focus on the scientific research (grand picture). The worst part is:

Their data is really inaccurate over the past two years. None of the interfaces agree with each other. the results are SO inconsistent it is WAY OVER THE TOP. Two to three years ago it was wonderful but the past two year performance is in the TANK.

In summary, I would not recommend Family Tree DNA to a friend.

142 of 270 people found this review helpful

Save your money as these guys are as phoney as
can be. It took 5 months to get results and the
results were ...TA DA ...on there best test. And then
I only got the SO CALLED results after I had my
credit card company reverse the sale and return my money.
A week later they sent me some phoney results and they
sent a letter to my credit card company with some
juiced up history saying they had kept me informed
the whole time I was waiting and that they completed
their obligation. They had told me my results are taking so long
because they were over whelmed with orders but told my
credit card company the delay was due to having to retest
over and over again due to testing failures. After paying
over $600 I have no useful information and the site on
partially works. It's been a total rip off. Save your money.

In summary, I would not recommend Family Tree DNA to a friend.

149 of 273 people found this review helpful

I ordered a Family Tree DNA test kit (Family Finder) in January, 2015 and received the results in mid February 1015.

I was shocked when the results were received. I was very anxious to get the results as I have been doing family research for more than 20 years - this has been very important to me as I was adopted and have spent a great deal of time putting facts together through information received from my birth family. I have quite a bit of Native American ancestry (from two different tribes). I kept checking their website - I never received an e-mail that my results were in. I was looking forward to verifying my ethnic results as well as seeing the matches. When I looked at it, I could not believe the results were for my DNA. Not one percent of Native American ancestry - the results stated mostly European ancestry - and stated a percent of Jewish ancestry. I know these people and where they were from and there isn't anything remotely that seems to show they would have Jewish ancestors based on their history and where they were from. ... (Read the full review)

In summary, I would not recommend Family Tree DNA to a friend.

113 of 237 people found this review helpful

I purchased an add on test (Y-67) in mid December and the latest posting says results should be available in mid March. This is the second postponed results date. And I have to log on to the site to find this out. They don't notify you. The first test (Y-37) produced very odd results, perhaps an extra marital event, and I paid for a QC retest of the sample which showed the same outcome they said. Since the surname group for my line is inactive, I decided to pay for testing of additional markers to see if I could find a match somewhere.

I tried to call customer service to learn why there was now a second delay and after holding for 45 minutes, I was dumped into a voice mail box and told to leave an email contact. At this point I don't know if the original sample is useable or if the delays are due to volume of tests. I used this company originally based on recommendations of the highest chance of result matching-- in other words the size of their database. Now I don't have a match and my surname group will not respond to... (Read the full review)

In summary, I would not recommend Family Tree DNA to a friend.

161 of 318 people found this review helpful

FTMDNA is Super Slow. They promise one date, then repeatedly move the delivery date back, and back, and back again. I am still waiting. You could circumnavigate the earth on a raft; travel to Mars; or build a new Egyptian pyramid in the time it takes them to do a single DNA test ---the type of tests that law enforcement agencies have done in one week.

In summary, I would not recommend Family Tree DNA to a friend.

216 of 380 people found this review helpful

I previously tested with FTDNA so, when I had the opportunity to sign up for their "Big Y" test (the supposed ultimate Y DNA test) I paid the $600 and was told to expect results in August. The website told me I was part of Batch 574.

After I was patiently waiting for results for about five weeks, FTDNA quietly sent a new sample kit to my PO box without informing me. Apparently they felt my previous sample was not good enough so I needed to provide a new one. I returned the sample and have never received an update. My inquiries were met with no updates, no answers and claims that they have no record of my test.

The website still tells me I am part of Batch 574 and that my results are expected in 1-2 weeks, the same as it has for nearly a month now.

So, let me sum up what FTDNA will give you for your hundreds of dollars:

- a test kit
- an estimated date for results

If you have the same experience as me, you will get nothing else. No results, no update on your results, no real response to your inquiries, only... (Read the full review)

In summary, I would not recommend Family Tree DNA to a friend.

184 of 342 people found this review helpful

Like the others or perhaps more so I spent over $600 for the initial tests with enhancements and then more to do the Y testing. There have been results galore but they are useless. The product is difficult if not almost impossible to utilize. A few individuals contacted me through the website, genealogy professionals who offered a "fee for service" arrangement to help me interpret and trace my ancestry. I was engaged in other activities that I never took any of them up on their offers. Now, in retrospect, I consider the raison detre for the whole product is to collect information for the National Geographic Genographic Project not to help the individual obtain any understanding of his/her lineage, not his/her pedigree. The goal is laudable but the testing should be offered for free, just as it was for many who were tested in Queens NY in the National Geographic wonderful film. I have always held the National Geographic Society in high esteem but this a scam no matter how they are affiliated is a sham and a con. there are no good points.

In summary, I would not recommend Family Tree DNA to a friend.