Complaint Review: Family Tree DNA Gene By Gene Ltd.

I took their Family Finder test, which is the least expensive they have @ the price of $99. Other sites, like Ancestry.com and 23andme.com offer their all inclusive tests(which give you y-dna and mtdna results as well as what this site offers in its "family finder" basic ancestral heritage test) for the same price. Had I known this then, I would not have wasted my time and money at FTDNA. 

The results of the Family Finder test were very vague. They did not tell me what countries my ancestors came from, only "European" and "Broadly European". Also, the Native American I knew was there did not show up. The reason for this, I was told, was that it did not at least 3%. Apparently they cannot tell what ethnic, racial group or country your ancestors came from if your heritage from said group does not equal at least 3% of your total DNA make up. Also alarming was the rather high margin of error(so as to make them "blameless" if they don't get it right); +/- 10% in my case.

They also offer yDNA and mtDNA tests, which are supposed to be more conclusive in their findings(better results than what you can get in the "basic" Family Finder test). I took the mtDNA test, and was given a letter and number reference for my maternal ancestral haplogroup, also a bunch of scientific data that had little to do with zeroing in on where my mother's people came from. I spent $199 for that test. After I had ordered this test, they changed their formula(supposedly) for determining ancestral origins. Population Finder became my Origins. A country where many of my ancestors originated was completed excluded, and I was being told they came from other regions that didn't match surnames or family histories. I tried to cancel the test, but was told I could not. 

In the meantime, I sent a sample off to another lab, which confirmed my suspicions( Family Tree DNA was giving me inaccurate results and ripping me off).

It looks legit on the site. You have all these tests that promise real results, and careful, responsible, professional methods are being used, when you entrust them with your genetic material.  They are scam artists who are taking advantage of people who just want to know where their ancestors came from. Apparently they think all their customers are super rich, and deserve to be scammed! DON'T WASTE YOUR TIME OR YOUR MONEY ON THESE PEOPLE!

p.s. - National Geographic also uses them for their DNA testing