I am 67 and was adopted as a child. Last year I found my birth father after using a DNA test kit from Ancestry.co.uk, which was wonderful.
It turns out he was also adopted and we think we have located a half-sister of his, too.
We decided to get another test to prove the link, so in July I purchased one from Ancestry, but it never arrived.
I have chased the company many times. It tells me it has sent five tests over the months via the courier DHL, but it seems they have all got lost en route.
The latest one, ordered on October 31, shows it is stuck in transit. It’s driving me insane as I want to be able to pass it to my ‘aunt’ for everyone’s peace of mind. Can you help?
L. M., Anglesey.
Sally Hamilton replies: You wondered if there was a mix-up with your address, but you have received numerous other packages without issue. You also ordered a kit to be sent to your daughter’s address, but this did not arrive either.
The Consumer Rights Act 2015 states it is the retailer’s responsibility to ensure an order reaches the purchaser.
My contact at Ancestry was astonished by your difficulties and investigated further. A few days later she told me you had not received your DNA test because your name had been flagged on DHL’s ‘denied access’ list. It was your name rather than your address that was the stumbling block.
This shocked you and surprised me as I had never heard of ‘denied access’ before.
This screening is a legal requirement for all companies to stop them from inadvertently doing business with dodgy players, such those that appear on UN or EU sanctions lists or are suspected of being involved in illegal activities such as drug-trafficking, money-laundering and terrorism.
All DHL shipments go through an automated screening system, and if the information given is not enough to release a package, the recipient is asked for extra details.
You were bemused that your name could have landed on such a list. You are quietly retired after running a successful campsite and are not some international terrorist or gun-runner.
Meanwhile, Ancestry came up with more background. The company that sends out kits from the US said when you made your order initially, DHL.com had requested you give further information, including ID, before releasing your kit for delivery.
As you hadn’t provided it, the delivery was put on hold. It seems you may simply share a name with an unsavoury character who has been blacklisted.
By fleshing out information about yourself, such as your birth date and middle name, along with a photo of your passport, your parcel would likely have been waved through.
You admitted you had received an email, but dismissed it as a scam because of the uncomfortable level of personal details you were being asked to provide – and there was no indication of your order number to offer reassurance.
I can understand your reticence as fraudsters often pose as delivery firms to trick people into handing over information.
This explains why you never got the first test, but Ancestry could not explain why it did not follow up with you when at least two tests were returned to the company.
Following my intervention, the company has arranged to send another test kit using its priority processing service. You have now completed the screening document and forwarded ID.
As an apology, it has given you a year’s free subscription to its service, worth about £200.
Hopefully, your kit will sail through the process this time and your dad can soon confirm his relationship with his half-sister. I wish you well for the future with your new-found family.
Halfords won’t honour my Brakes4Life warranty
I had an MOT on my car in July at an independent garage. It failed partly because of worn brake pads.
I have held a Brakes4Life warranty scheme with Halfords since about 2017 that offers free replacement of brake pads and can be transferred on the purchase of a new vehicle. This I did in 2021.
When I booked into Halfords to have the pads replaced, I was told there was no record of my warranty and it would have to charge me.
This was despite computer records showing replacements had been made at no cost on multiple occasions.
Halfords claimed this was a ‘computer error’. I only agreed to pay the bill as I had to take my disabled child to a medical appointment that afternoon.
I expected to sort it out with customer services, but Halfords is not refunding me. Please help.
E.K., London.
Sally Hamilton replies: You told me you agreed to pay £65 for the brake pads at the Halfords garage so you wouldn’t miss your daughter’s medical appointment, but were optimistic this would be returned after making checks with customer services.
To your relief, customer services did confirm you were covered under the Brakes4Life scheme, and even phoned the Halfords garage to state this while you were still on the line.
But an hour later, the garage called you to say one of the brake discs needed replacing at a cost of £267. This problem was not noted on your MOT from the independent garage.
You reluctantly agreed for Halfords to go ahead with the work, as the mechanics refused to replace the pads if the disc wasn’t dealt with at the same time. Disc replacement is not included in the Halfords warranty.
Your irritation revved up a gear when the garage presented you with a bill for both, even after the earlier call from Halfords customer services about free pads. It repeated that you weren’t registered for Brakes4Life and that head office was wrong.
You requested they hand over the discs, which you took to the original MOT centre – and it stated the discs didn’t need to be replaced. You then took them to another independent garage, which backed up this diagnosis.
Having reached a roadblock, you came to me. Initially, Halfords, which again confirmed you were covered for the brake pad replacement, said it would refund half the brake disc cost on top of a refund for the pads.
But I am pleased to say that, after a bit of persuasion, it has refunded the full cost of the brake discs (£267) on top of the £64 for the pads.
While you and others who have signed up to the Brakes4Life scheme can continue to enjoy the benefits, drivers should be aware the deal was withdrawn for new customers on September 29.
- Write to Sally Hamilton at Sally Sorts It, Money Mail, Northcliffe House, 2 Derry Street, London W8 5TT or email sally@dailymail.co.uk — include phone number, address and a note addressed to the offending organisation giving them permission to talk to Sally Hamilton. Please do not send original documents as we cannot take responsibility for them. No legal responsibility can be accepted by the Daily Mail for answers given.
