I made the mistake of choosing My Heritage.com to test my DNA since there was always much confusion due to the utter silence of most of my relatives regarding their experiences in Europe and refusing to give me any information when asked.
Today I was placed on hold for eternity by "Nia" for being so annoyed by the stupid way the results of the DNA test were exhibited on a strange map that doesn't exist in
Reality, with no explanation of what three concentric circles mean to my heritage. I
Used the word "hell" and was reprimanded like a naughty little child by Nia. I
Did not call until today since they were having a difficult time due to the hurricane but
Have always been horrified by their announcing "we are unavailable at this time" during normal work hours, their all taking lunch at the same time and this time no intelligible response to my specific question about their confusing concentric circles which are spread all over Europe! How can one being be descended from an entire continent?
"Nia" began giving me BS about how a special gene developed for my supposed group which really tried my patience which was already worn thin. As a result when they find this gene apparently they lump us all together as a "unique" group from
A religion and "rubber stamp us" due to this uniqueness? What about the millions of other genes existent in our DNA? What happened to my Scottish Great grandmother and the Franks and Normans I'm descended from? Can one gene negate everything else you inherited from people in these approximately 15 countries? How can I be descended from what seems to be most of Europe located inside the stupid three concentric circles and be considered from a group due to this "unique" gene that "formed"( Unique being this company's favorite word. How scientific is that? I did not spend my money to become more confused than ever, nor do I have any desire to be unique!
A BS story of a "special gene", not have anyone willing to answer a relatively simple question about their sloppy and ridiculous map presentation or having to deal with arrogant and aggravating customer service reps. Is appalling.
I have the raw DNA but it appears none of the other DNA companies will let me
Transfer it to their services, however my heritage will take your raw DNA from these
Well established services and use you to establish a database. The politics are to
Prove(in my opinion) that people from a certain religious heritage constitute a "nationality" and have a claim to a certain geographic region. These people don't
Know what they're doing, don't know what they're talking about, nor do they care.
I didn't do the test to be matched with people who are at most one percent related to me! There are very few "matches" because they are only interested in using people who are looking for their relatives and are from this "unique" gene. Since I'm
Apparently not so unique they will never find my relatives in their pathetic and biased
Data base. If you question them or get upset with the incompetent service reps they
Will get rid of you in a New York second. Stay away and use your time and money on
A reputable service. I'd like to know where all the genes from all the countries under the ridiculous concentric and unexplained circles were lost in the
Desperation to create a genetically unique new nationality?
Dear Ann Lisa,
I'm sorry to read about your negative experience in contacting our support center and I sympathize with your efforts. I have forwarded your feedback to our support department to ensure the highest form of customer support for our members.
In regards to your ethnicity estimate, MyHeritage compares and references your DNA with other DNA testers around the globe whose genetic ethnicity is known. Currently, our genetic models are based on 42 ethnic groups around the world and this number will grow as more scientific research is done in the field. That being said, our database is robust and is constantly growing as we give the option of FREE raw DNA upload from other popular autosomal DNA test providers.
Because science currently finds DNA to be very similar between people in neighboring countries in Europe, where there isn't sufficient statistical difference, the ethnicity estimate is retained on a higher regional level. These regions on the map are the 'circles' you mentioned in your feedback. We are certainly working on adding more ethnicities and bettering our current model and these reference results will be added in the future to yield a better DNA data set to ultimately give more precise details on everyone's ethnicity.
MyHeritage has been an effective instrument for millions in the field of genealogy and research for over 14 years. That being said, we take family research very seriously and have already implemented more tools to help you research your DNA results. One example of this is our DNA matching feature that compares your DNA with others uploaded online to compare similar strands and segments. This feature along with our Smart Matching™ feature that allows you to match people that you have defined in your family tree with people in other family trees all over the world has been proven to help millions of our members research their family story and DNA. Indeed these features can totally help you find more information about your Scottish great-grandmother and the Franks and Normans you are descended from.
Nonetheless, your overall satisfaction with your purchase is very important to us. I would like to examine and check your DNA results along with your family tree you have published to give you more detailed insight on the reference regions you ask about. I would also like to ensure you are happy with the development of your research.
Please e-mail me from your registered MyHeritage account at rafael.vipsupport@myheritage.com at your nearest convenience.
You are already my first priority here and I will be looking for your e-mail.
Sincerely Yours
Rafael
MyHeritage