For those awaiting Y results

[Ellen S M]

Hopefully that is a positive sign for you! My Y37 from Batch 595 estimate was updated to 2/18 to 3/4 this evening

Sadly, mine for the same test and batch were pushed back this morning as well. I wrote customer service last evening about it, and was excited this morning when I thought I had a reply. Oddly, tho, the email was about the 599 batch results for another family member that were posted weeks ago.

"Y-DNA1-12 results have been uploaded for kit XXXXX. Y-DNA1-12 test results are the entry-level for tracing your direct paternal lineage. They include basic information about your geographic origins on this line. Matches who share your surname are likely to be genealogically relevant.

If you ordered additional tests (of a different type or higher resolution) you will be notified separately when those tests are complete."

Minutes ago I received a similar email for Y-DNA25. What is going on? Why am I getting new notifications about previous results? I guess I'll get another one for Y-DNA37. Any clues?

I'm not freaking out, just terribly frustrated as originally I was supposed to have results about Christmastime. I am unable to analyze some family connections because these results are supposed to help me solve a puzzle. Once again, sigh.

[crhfish]

I filed my complaint with the Texas AG this morning. I am pretty familiar with how Austin works. I spent allot of time there over the years helping to write legislation and have testified before several State Senate and House committee's. I guess what I'm trying to say is I know how difficult it will be to get anyone to listen, but I also know how the system works, so I will keep pushing.

Sarmat, I am sorry you are having problems. Unlike some of the others that post here, you have my sympathy. Some of the smugness in the responses here is surprising, but they are from fanboys of FTDNA. I'm a big believer that you should never type anything on the internet that you would not say directly to someones face. Not everyone does that. I know some of the responses I have received here would have never have happened face to face. Again, you have my sympathy.

I'm sure that FTDNA has legal advice and folks on the payroll that guide them in that area. I'm sure they also have some good insurance in case anything goes wrong or their advice winds up being ill advised. I would also bet that any coverage stops with FTDNA and does not extend to the project administrators who have volunteered. I wonder how many of these highly educated folks have thought about that?

[dna]

[----] What is going on? Why am I getting new notifications about previous results? I guess I'll get another one for Y-DNA37. Any clues? [----]

Others reported the same problem (and I had seen it too). No clue. I can only guess that it is due to the software update that had been released yesterday (and announced last night in the forum).

W. (Mr.)

[MikeP]

Aha ... maybe the software upgrade is why my y-dna haplotree has gone from showing a default to "Error uploading data: 200 OK". I had hoped that this was a sign that some progress was happening with my kit. Oh well, back to waiting and reading tea leaves ...

[dna]

Aha ... maybe the software upgrade is why my y-dna haplotree has gone from showing a default to "Error uploading data: 200 OK". I had hoped that this was a sign that some progress was happening with my kit. Oh well, back to waiting and reading tea leaves ...

No...

It appears that this morning fixing bugs introduced by yesterday update has caused a total failure...

[There should be a crying face here]

W. (Mr.)

[E19463]

I filed my complaint with the Texas AG this morning.

Please keep us up to date about the outcome!

[crhfish]

I was out front trimming a few bushes late today. Came back in a few minutes ago and I see someone at FTDNA had tried to call my home phone. Interesting..... they don't have my home phone number. Nobody does really but it was detailed on my complaint this morning. They did not leave a message. I'll try and call them back on Monday.

[Alexandrina]

VIABILITY OF STORED KITS & DECEASED MEMBER

QUOTE

4th February 2015, 08:46 AM
crhfish I go(t) this email today.

"We do not need to send you a new kit at this time. When we ran your Y-DNA STRs the first time, seven of them failed testing. This means that we are not comfortable reporting the values.

We have strict protocols and only report results in which we are completely confident. We have to start over from the beginning with your sample. We will do a new extraction. We will re-process the missing seven STRs. This actually takes a bit of time to run them individually due to our process. Once we have those seven values, we can complete your results for you. I am working with a technician to track this information. I appreciate your continued understanding and patience as we work to ensure you have the most accurate, reliable results possible."

END QUOTE
-----------------------------------------------------------

crhfish's complaint appears to be because of the 7 failed STR markers that were said to be re-run from 4th of February. That was only 17 days ago. Perhaps there are other issues relating to this that I have not read, or my analysis of the complaint is wrong. However a new kit in this case to collect a fresh sample may have been a better solution, because if this re-run on the 7 DNS markers fails once again, the customer is really going to have a bee in their bonnet. Yet failure of some DNS markers to produce a viable result is a common enough problem. The Kit we are awaiting is from Batch 591, and no result at all as yet.

Our project had Kits that repeatedly failed over a 12 month period, and many others that have done so repeatedly. Sometimes no result whatsoever is possible. Tests are re-run over and over; new kits sent , new samples forwarded to the Lab. Kits can occasionally and randomly fail again and again (no result whatsoever)

That is the nature of some of these genetic samples. If crhfish's complaint revolves around the 7 failed markers I cannot see how a major complaint pertaining to that point will help. How can the FTDNA Lab control that? They can arguably eventually control better communication outcomes long term for their enormous 750,000+ customer base. However biological sample failures are a nature of the industry, unless previous posters were correct of course in stating that certain batch samples were accidently destroyed (doubtful)

Stored materials over long periods may have become unviable. When a person passes away if their stored Y kit vial is not viable any longer then the opportunity to access newer technologically advanced testing is lost forever (if no other male relatives on the line). Of greater concern to us should be whether stored Kits are still viable or not after 5+ years or even below that. Quite a few of our approx 500 members are now deceased and I know for sure that their relatives administering their kits await advanced future test releases in order to send these Kits off for further analysis.

At least crhfish has had an in depth response regarding their complaint recently as well. Many others with far greater concerns have not because their emails are stuck in a monstrous queue. If the issue is merely that 7 markers have failed quality control at the moment then to me this is not a major issue. I suppose I am missing something. If crhfish were in a surname project, their Administrator should be advising them accordingly in order to circumvent misunderstandings and escalation such as this.

[ekc123]

I don't think the failed markers are the only issue here. I've played this waiting game before, and it looks like I am going to be waiting for a while yet for the last 8 markers of my y111 upgrade. In my case, the upgrade was ordered as a gift, but regardless, I'm sure that the individual that ordered it would have wanted to know about supply-related problems causing massive delays and a significant backlog with the str testing. There was nothing on the website about these delays. Surely, if a company has information that it is no longer going to be supplied with the materials needed to run the test which it is selling, that would be a significant detail about the product or service concerning which potential customers should be made aware. By the company's own belated admission on this forum, the str test they were selling was no longer feasible and they were having to devise a new process, test it out in house, and process existing orders, all during a period of peak sales (due to company offered discounts). None of this information was posted on the website to put potential and existing customers on notice. That issue has nothing to do with "quality control" or "concern about accuracy" or whatever.

IF the company were so concerned about accuracy it would correct errors on the HG I haplotree that it has been made aware of in a timely manner. It has not done so. There are many things I like about the company, and in fairness, some of my past tests were completed even ahead of schedule. Nevertheless, when major issues concerning the offering of a product come up, it is standard industry practice in any industry to provide notice of this fact to customers. The supply issue and not quality control is responsible for the present delays and backlog.

Personally, I'm not much of a complaint filer, but I fully understand why someone might choose to do so after having to wait for over twice the amount of time that is given as an average for such tests. Four and five month wait times might be acceptable if it were only a matter of having to rerun individual samples to get reliable results. But when a test that is being sold is no longer available due to supply issues, and a new testing procedure has to be devised to replace it, potential and current customers have a right to be informed about such matters in order to make an informed decision about whether or not to purchase the product.

[E19463]

QUOTE

4th February 2015, 08:46 AM
crhfish I go(t) this email today.

"We do not need to send you a new kit at this time. When we ran your Y-DNA STRs the first time, seven of them failed testing. This means that we are not comfortable reporting the values.

We have strict protocols and only report results in which we are completely confident. We have to start over from the beginning with your sample. We will do a new extraction. We will re-process the missing seven STRs. This actually takes a bit of time to run them individually due to our process. Once we have those seven values, we can complete your results for you. I am working with a technician to track this information. I appreciate your continued understanding and patience as we work to ensure you have the most accurate, reliable results possible."

END QUOTE
-----------------------------------------------------------

crhfish's complaint appears to be because of the 7 failed STR markers that were said to be re-run from 4th of February. That was only 17 days ago. Perhaps there are other issues relating to this that I have not read, or my analysis of the complaint is wrong. However a new kit in this case to collect a fresh sample may have been a better solution, because if this re-run on the 7 DNS markers fails once again, the customer is really going to have a bee in their bonnet. Yet failure of some DNS markers to produce a viable result is a common enough problem. The Kit we are awaiting is from Batch 591, and no result at all as yet.

Our project had Kits that repeatedly failed over a 12 month period, and many others that have done so repeatedly. Sometimes no result whatsoever is possible. Tests are re-run over and over; new kits sent , new samples forwarded to the Lab. Kits can occasionally and randomly fail again and again (no result whatsoever)

That is the nature of some of these genetic samples. If crhfish's complaint revolves around the 7 failed markers I cannot see how a major complaint pertaining to that point will help. How can the FTDNA Lab control that? They can arguably eventually control better communication outcomes long term for their enormous 750,000+ customer base. However biological sample failures are a nature of the industry, unless previous posters were correct of course in stating that certain batch samples were accidently destroyed (doubtful)

Stored materials over long periods may have become unviable. When a person passes away if their stored Y kit vial is not viable any longer then the opportunity to access newer technologically advanced testing is lost forever (if no other male relatives on the line). Of greater concern to us should be whether stored Kits are still viable or not after 5+ years or even below that. Quite a few of our approx 500 members are now deceased and I know for sure that their relatives administering their kits await advanced future test releases in order to send these Kits off for further analysis.

At least crhfish has had an in depth response regarding their complaint recently as well. Many others with far greater concerns have not because their emails are stuck in a monstrous queue. If the issue is merely that 7 markers have failed quality control at the moment then to me this is not a major issue. I suppose I am missing something. If crhfish were in a surname project, their Administrator should be advising them accordingly in order to circumvent misunderstandings and escalation such as this.

I am very thankful that crhfish took over the task of trying to reach a change in FTDNA's behaviour. And no, he is definitely not the only one with problems as you can read an awful lot of complaints here in this forum. There is something fundamentally wrong with the work process of FTDNA.

[Alexandrina]

MISINTERPRETATION

And no, he is definitely not the only one with problems as you can read an awful lot of complaints here in this forum. FTDNA.

Huh? Where did I state or ask where this complainant was the only one experiencing problems? Seriously...!

[E19463]

Huh? Where did I state or ask where this complainant was the only one experiencing problems? Seriously...!

I am sorry if I misinterpreted your post as a criticism of the actions chrfish has taken.

[crhfish]

The notion that I ever received any sort of detailed explanation as to why my test was taking so long is silly. I never did and still have not. Look some of you who are project administrators get allot more detail about whats going on than those of us who are just getting tests run. Read what Sarmat has posted and what he said the owner of FTDNA told him. It is not all about process problems or "bad" samples.

If I go into a restaurant and I'm told it will be 20 minutes, I'm fine with that. If I sit there for 2 hours and a whole slew of people get seated ahead of me, we have a problem. If I needed a new kit for whatever reason they should have sent me one months ago. I have even suggested that they add this to their procedures. And at the end of the day, this one simple thing is very important, they need to have a process in place that achieves a decent level of customer satisfaction. They don't have that right now in my opinion and there are many comments here, not just mine, that lead me to believe that.

I started these tests to try and answer a family question for my dad who is in his eighties. The first 12 markers that I did receive have me directed towards a completely different surname. So I was highly interested in seeing the final results so I could tell my dad, while he is still here, what I found. I now basically have no faith in any of these test results. I base that on what I have seen others post here. I state this to highlight that for some of us these are very emotional issues. People need to be careful when they are dealing with emotional issues.

Meanwhile I will call FTDNA back on Monday. I will continue to work towards a satisfactory conclusion to my involvement with FTDNA, but I will not give up until that is reached. For me my complaint to the state is just the first step.

[Sarmat]

Sarmat, I am sorry you are having problems. Unlike some of the others that post here, you have my sympathy. Some of the smugness in the responses here is surprising, but they are from fanboys of FTDNA. I'm a big believer that you should never type anything on the internet that you would not say directly to someones face. Not everyone does that. I know some of the responses I have received here would have never have happened face to face. Again, you have my sympathy.

Thanks. I just hate being lied to and given the runaround by a company to which I have given thousands of dollars, and it's even worse when other customers try to make me feel guilty over it.

[ekc123]

The notion that I ever received any sort of detailed explanation as to why my test was taking so long is silly. I never did and still have not. Look some of you who are project administrators get allot more detail about whats going on than those of us who are just getting tests run. Read what Sarmat has posted and what he said the owner of FTDNA told him. It is not all about process problems or "bad" samples.

If I go into a restaurant and I'm told it will be 20 minutes, I'm fine with that. If I sit there for 2 hours and a whole slew of people get seated ahead of me, we have a problem. If I needed a new kit for whatever reason they should have sent me one months ago. I have even suggested that they add this to their procedures. And at the end of the day, this one simple thing is very important, they need to have a process in place that achieves a decent level of customer satisfaction. They don't have that right now in my opinion and there are many comments here, not just mine, that lead me to believe that.

step.

To continue your analogy, it would be like going to a restaurant and ordering a special soup for which the restaurant is famous. While you are there, the restaurant runs out of the key ingredients used for making this soup, and it is told that there is no longer an available supply of ingredients needed to make the soup. The restaurant, instead of informing customers that this soup is no longer available, sends the cooks out looking for different ingredients and gives them a cookbook to teach themselves how to make a new soup so that it tastes just like the old soup. All the while, you are sitting there waiting for the special soup that you have ordered, being reassured that it will only be 20 more minutes before your soup is ready. That is the cause of these most recent delays. It has nothing at all to do with poor samples and accuracy by the company's own admission. I hope you get your results soon and I know how frustrating it can be, because I've had to wait like this before.