is vitalchek legit and good way to get your vital check? Reviews 2023

Is Vitalchek a Legitimate and Reliable Company?

Vitalchek has been in business for over 30 years providing vital records to individuals. But how safe, reliable and trustworthy is the company really? In this detailed review, we’ll take an in-depth look at Vitalchek’s operations, policies, customer service and more to determine if it’s a company worth using.

Company Background

Founded in 1987, Vitalchek is a subsidiary of LexisNexis, a large data and information services company. Vitalchek works with individual state governments to provide certified copies of birth certificates, death certificates, marriage licenses and divorce decrees to those who are authorized to request them.

The company operates exclusively within the United States and adheres to each state’s laws and regulations regarding the release of vital records. Vitalchek maintains contracts with over 5,000 agencies in all 50 states, Washington D.C., Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands to ensure orders are fulfilled properly.

Given its long history of operations and parent company relationship, there is little credible evidence that Vitalchek itself operates as a fraudulent business. Complaints tend to focus more on customer service and order fulfillment issues rather than illegitimate business practices.

Security and Privacy

When placing an order on Vitalchek’s website, customers must provide personally identifying information like name, date of birth, addresses and payment details. It’s important for any company storing this data to have robust security and privacy policies in place.

Luckily, Vitalchek appears to take security and privacy seriously. The site uses TLS encryption for all pages and forms where personal data is entered. Authentication is also implemented through CAPTCHA systems to prevent bot access.

Vitalchek’s privacy policy states it does not sell customer information to third parties. Data is primarily used for order processing and may be disclosed if required by law. The company is also compliant with regulations like HIPAA and employs security controls defined in the NIST Cybersecurity Framework.

In Summary, while no website is completely hack-proof, Vitalchek’s parent company resources and technical security implementations provide reassurance for customers concerned with protecting their personal information. Fraudulent access or data breaches appear relatively uncommon.

Reliability and Customer Service

Unfortunately, Vitalchek’s reliability and customer service are more mixed bags according to online reviews. Here are some of the common complaints customers have:

• Slow Processing Times – Many report waiting 4-6 weeks or longer to receive certificates, even with express shipping. Estimated delivery dates are often missed.

• Poor Communication – It can be difficult to get updates on order statuses. Attempts to contact customer support sometimes go unanswered for days.

• Missing/Incorrect Documents – In some cases, the wrong records are sent or certificates are allegedly “lost” by Vitalchek with no resolution.

• Unexpected Charges – Fees are occasionally added after the fact for rush processing or extra documents without customer consent.

• Difficult Returns/Refunds – Return merchandise authorizations can take a long time to obtain if orders need correcting.

While not everyone experiences these issues, they do seem relatively common based on reviews across sites like Trustpilot and SiteJabber. Vitalchek’s customer ratings on both platforms hover around 2-3/5 stars.

The company does offer a money-back guarantee if orders are not fulfilled correctly. But actually getting compensated can take persistent customer complaints in many cases. Some also report poor response to disputes from their credit card issuers over Vitalchek charges.

In summary, while Vitalchek has been operating legitimately for years, its reliability in accurately and quickly fulfilling orders leaves much to be desired according to existing users. Customer service also seems to be an ongoing concern that needs improvement.

Ordering and Delivery Process

Ordering from Vitalchek is generally straightforward, but there are a few key things customers should know:

• Vitalchek acts as an intermediary – it does not have direct access to state records. Orders are submitted and fulfilled based on regulations from the state of record.

• Standard shipping takes 7-10 business days for processing after the order, plus additional transit time. Express is 3-5 days for processing.

• Supported record types include birth certificates, death certificates, marriage and divorce licenses. Availability varies by state and year.

• Valid ID must be provided for the person on the record as well as the requester. Digital copies or notarized signatures may be accepted depending on the state.

• Payment is made online via credit/debit card or money order by mail. Processing fees vary between $8-25 typically depending on record type and state.

• Once submitted, the order status can be checked online with an order number. Notifications are also sent by email when available.

Provided Vitalchek actually comes through as promised, the process itself is clear and user-friendly for most users. However, as noted earlier, fulfillment reliability is where the company seems to drop the ball most often according to reviews.

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Alternatives to Vitalchek

Should someone want to avoid the headaches that come with Vitalchek’s spotty service, here are some potential alternative options to consider:

• Ordering directly from your respective state’s vital records office. This cuts out the middleman but can take even longer and involve more back-and-forth.

• Using sites like USArchives.net that specialize in specific state records rather than being an all-in-one service like Vitalchek. Reliability may be higher.

• Checking if records are available digitally through your state that you could download or receive by mail instead of going through a third party.

• Searching genealogy websites as some individuals upload public records they’ve obtained, saving you the ordering process entirely if lucky.

• Only using Vitalchek if an urgent need and willing to pay extra for expedited/guaranteed delivery. Standard times seem to be where it most lacks.

• Considering sites like VitalRecords1.com, QuickVitalRecords.com or others as alternatives though they have fewer overall reviews to assess reliability as well.

Weighing options is sensible given the uncertainty some customers report with Vitalchek’s fulfillment. Having a backup plan in place is advisable for critical records needed on tight deadlines.

Additional Services and Features

While fulfilling basic record orders stands as its core function, Vitalchek does offer some extra services worth mentioning:

Genealogy Records Search

For an additional fee, Vitalchek allows searching their records database which contains billions of public birth, marriage, death and other records. This can help genealogists find leads without ordering individual documents.

Name Change Services

Assistance is provided to order certified name change documents from court records. This helps update vital records like driver’s licenses or passports after a legal name change event.

Rush Order Processing

As previously noted, standard times are 7-10 business days for processing once the state provides the record to Vitalchek. Rush options like 1-3 day processing are available for an added fee of $25-35 typically.

Record Translation

Some documents can be translated into Spanish or French for customers who need language assistance. A fee of $15-25 based on word count applies.

Document Apostille

This legalizes public documents like birth certificates for international use following the Hague Treaty. Authentication by the U.S. Department of State is included.

International Shipping

While most orders are domestic within the US, select international locations in countries like Canada, Mexico and certain European nations can also receive record orders from Vitalchek.

So in addition to basic records fulfillment, Vitalchek covers some related use cases that are convenient if service proves timely and reliable based on experience. But those extra features do come with supplementary fees in many instances.

Final Thoughts on Using Vitalchek

To summarize, Vitalchek appears to offer a legitimate service in providing access to vital records through its partnerships with various state agencies. But reliability in processing orders accurately and fulfillment times remains a significant question mark based on reviews.

If Vitalchek comes through without issue, it’s a simple way to order documents online. However, it’s also prudent for customers to be aware of complaints, use expedited options if in a rush, confirm details are correct upon arrival, and push back if complications arise to assert rights under the money-back guarantee.

For urgent needs, considering alternatives or state offices directly may ensure records are received quicker. And using Vitalchek as a last resort over other companies that offer similar services but with less questionable service histories could provide better peace of mind.

Customer service also seems to be an ongoing problem area that Vitalchek must work to improve through things like quicker response times, more reliable order tracking tools and a fair resolution approach to complaints. Putting customers first will build more trust over time.

So in summary – Vitalchek appears legitimate, but reliability makes it a higher risk option versus safer competitors based on user experiences. Managing expectations, having backups ready and asserting rights firmly are prudent steps for anyone placing an order through their site.