Locaters Plus Christine ripoff charged $500 on credit card to find my birth mother. May '03 No answer to emails after 4'04. Never any progress report. Phone number disconnected. Internet
I engaged this company to find my brother's birth mother in May '03
They charged $500.00 on my credit card.
They answered my inqueries in 6 - '03 saying they will put a researcher on my inquery.
No answer received after 6-'04.
Drue
Loma Linda, California
U.S.A.
1 Updates & Rebuttals
Lorraine - Geek Consumer Advocate :-)
Phoenix,Arizona,
U.S.A.
abuse of adoptees desire to be reunited with birth parents big business
#2Consumer Suggestion
Sun, September 24, 2006
I hear this story too often Drue. There are a few companies that offer adoptees help, only to take their money and then do nothing. They get rich and give us nothing.
If you are not yet reunited with your birth family, try doing a search online and find a well recommended searcher, not a P.I. type company. Most searchers are themselves a reunited adoptee and so really do have the desire and knowledge to help you.
There are also a couple groups on
usenet
devoted to all 3 sides of the triad that you should be able to find information on. Many post there who they used when they were looking and the cost and length of time it took until their birth family was located. How much information you have about your birth family, normally will determine how quickly someone from it can be found and then point you to the rest of your birth family.
There are many forums on the web devoted to the members of the triad too, the best I know of is
bastardnation.org
which has a world of information that can help you.
You should also look into your state's registry and any others that work nationwide or online. There are many in operation these days and once you are registered and a member of your birth family registers with them, they will then arrange for you to contact each other if both sides are open to that and let you decide if you want to go all the way to having a reunion in person.
I was reunited with my birth family back in 1991 and have never regreted it. I learned the medical history I needed and had the majority of my questions answered right away concerning who I was and where I came from. It's a cool feeling to finally know who I look like and where I get certain traits from.
Good luck in your quest and I hope your reunion happens soon, so your lifelong unanswered questions can be answered. As I always tell searching adoptees, even though we may dream all our lives of what our birth families may be like, they are only dreams, not reality. Be prepared for anything. While the majority of birth parents and siblings are open to a reunion, there are some that are not. That is the risk we take when we search and we have to be ready to accept and respect their wishes, whichever way it turns out to be.