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Post by blackbeard on Apr 14, 2008 13:36:58 GMT
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Post by lofters on Apr 14, 2008 17:37:25 GMT
At last the wheels grind into action.
Several target dates in place whereby communication lines, training, local County reps etc are to be in place.
Appears that more new coats and ties are imminent, albeit for sale at cost. For those of us who purchased ECBOA gear in the last 18 months, its turning expensive.
Oh, and a quick kick to the privates of ICUS.
All in all I feel a little more comfortable now..... especially if my duplicated ACUS/ECBACO subs refund arrives soon!
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Post by jaybee on Apr 15, 2008 5:53:51 GMT
At last the wheels grind into action. ... All in all I feel a little more comfortable now..... especially if my duplicated ACUS/ECBACO subs refund arrives soon! The proof of the pudding is in the eating! Don't forget that the ACUS refunds are in the hands of those whose record in communicating to the footsoldiers left something to be desired. I suppose though that they were better with finances than their predecessors! |
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Post by blackbeard on Apr 15, 2008 8:06:17 GMT
Don't forget, most ACUS officers have a full time job to do as well as the voluntary work for ACUS.
Voluntary, unlike ECB who are paid full time 8 hours a day 5 days a week. So inlight of recent non events from ECB, John Rushton (treasurer) insn't doing a bad job, he does have a full time job and family life.
Further info
John could not start the refunds until ECB told him who had joined and who has not? A list was produced by ECB but the list was random and in no order, so the ordeal of checking names and membership numbers were made very difficult. ECB claimed they were unable to make the list in alphabetical order???
So don't shoot the messenger. Shoot the ECB?
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Post by jaybee on Apr 15, 2008 11:05:35 GMT
... So in light of recent non events from ECB, John Rushton (treasurer) isn't doing a bad job, he does have a full time job and family life. ... A list was produced by ECB but the list was random and in no order, so the ordeal of checking names and membership numbers were made very difficult. ECB claimed they were unable to make the list in alphabetical order??? So don't shoot the messenger. Shoot the ECB Fair comment - although it doesn't excuse the lack of communication from the ACUS in the past it does say a lot about ECB's (in)competence. |
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Post by blackbeard on Apr 15, 2008 11:25:14 GMT
Agreed. But it did depend on what type of Regional councillor you had? Some were very good at passing information and others were very slow. Unfortunatly in a volunteer organisation, you cannot tell someone off too much or sack them, as there were not many volunteers to take over.
A willing volunteer was hard to come by.
ECB are not that much different? They are dependent on volunteers in training and assessing, local committees etc. even though they are a multi million pound company, ACUS had no choice.
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dfk
Junior Contributor
Posts: 5
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Post by dfk on Apr 15, 2008 22:48:42 GMT
I admit to being confused. My ACU&S subscription was debited on the 1st November 2007. As I had joined the ECB OA in 2006 I expected to be debited the 2008 subscription on the 14th January but as this did not happen, I assumed that ACU&S would be transferring my 2007 subscription to the ECB. I contacted Sam Greaves and was advised that ACU&S would not now be transferring monies to the ECB and to request a refund from the Regional Treasurer.
ECB eventually debited me in February. If all ECB joiners either had to complete a direct debit form or to send payment with their application form, I do not see why ACU&S needed to wait before making a refund to all the members. Very strange!!!!!
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Post by umpire50 on Apr 16, 2008 7:26:50 GMT
My understanding is that John Rushton will only be refunding ACU&S subscriptions to those of us who have declined to join ECB ACO.
I suspect that those who were already members of ECB OA will have a more difficult job in gaining refunds of their ACU&S subscription. In all honesty I doubt whether anybody has given any thought to refunding ACU&S subscriptions to those who were both ACU&S and ECB OA members.
It is very easy for Sam Greaves to refer people to the former ACU&S 'Regional Treasurers' (Regional Finance Officers or RFOs). Unfortunately, if my region is anything to go by, the RFO will have no funds left with which to make subscription refunds. The regional 'floats' which only stood at a maximum of £200 have not been topped up for several months now.
The other question that must be asked is will the various RFOs be willing to undertake this work on behalf of an organisation which has ceased to exist when there can be no guarantee that expenses incurred (ie postage and stationery) will ever be reimbursed.
It is interesting to note that other contributors have commented upon the rising costs within ECB ACO. Somewhere else I have seen that the projected costs of their umpire training courses is likely to exceed £200. Anyone have any more detailed information on this?
I, too, noted the 'attack' on ICUS. I am going to be very interested to see how this pans out. If ICUS are successful at attracting members outside the UK, then ECB ACO may find that they will have to negotiate with ICUS and change their stance toward ICUS.
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Post by umpire50 on Apr 16, 2008 7:32:51 GMT
Agreed. But it did depend on what type of Regional councillor you had? Some were very good at passing information and others were very slow. Unfortunatly in a volunteer organisation, you cannot tell someone off too much or sack them, as there were not many volunteers to take over. A willing volunteer was hard to come by. ECB are not that much different? They are dependent on volunteers in training and assessing, local committees etc. even though they are a multi million pound company, ACUS had no choice. Blackbeard makes a very good point about volunteers. ACU&S had no choice other than to rely upon them. Apart from anything else it helped to keep ACU&S running costs down. If ECB ACO intends to rely on those same volunteers I fear that they may be disappointed. Many ex-ACU&S volunteers may well feel that now is a highly apporiate time to 'retire' from voluntary work. ECB ACO may well find it difficult with people who are so dedicated. After all, why would anyone want to work voluntarily for a multi-million pound company like ECB? |
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Post by jaybee on Apr 16, 2008 8:53:53 GMT
Agreed. But it did depend on what type of Regional councillor you had.... Unfortunately I came late on the scene and so had to rely on what I could glean from the Internet and the very few contacts I had. Info from Regional Councillors could (and really should) have been supplemented by something on the ACUS website. Anyway that's now history so we'd better move on... My understanding is that John Rushton will only be refunding ACU&S subscriptions to those of us who have declined to join ECB ACO. I suspect that those who were already members of ECB OA will have a more difficult job in gaining refunds of their ACU&S subscription. In all honesty I doubt whether anybody has given any thought to refunding ACU&S subscriptions to those who were both ACU&S and ECB OA members. ... It is very easy for Sam Greaves to refer people to the former ACU&S 'Regional Treasurers' (Regional Finance Officers or RFOs). Unfortunately, if my region is anything to go by, the RFO will have no funds left with which to make subscription refunds. The latest ECB statement " ACU&S refunds and transferring members" says: 'Refunds will be given once the final list of transferring members has been confirmed with ACU&S.'As far as I recall the ACO application form sent out by ACUS at the end of 2007 asked you to put your ACUS membership number if you wished to transfer membership. This seems to be the only way that transfers can be identified, so if your original ACO application form didn't contain an ACUS number you should be in line for a refund. The "ACU&S letter to Members, March 2008" a Word doc. linked from this page but not sent out to ACUS members says: " Refund of subscriptions
Members of ACU&S who have not applied to join ECB ACO, for whatever reason, including those who were already members through their membership of ECB OA, should receive a refund of their subscription paid to ACU&S.
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This is a major task. More than 4,000 subscriptions have to be repaid ... [and] ... is dependent on there being sufficient funds available.
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Members do not have to apply for a refund, as the refund will be made automatically." This seems to make clear that anybody who did not send in an application form with an ACUS membership number before the cut-off date of 11 April will get a refund. With regard to the RFO point the March 2008 letter says: ' Members who paid to their RFO, will receive their refund from him.' so it seems that only those who paid the RFO will need to go along that route. One more point - those who paid £30 sub and transferred to the new organisation (sub £20) will have no refund but those who join without transferring should get £30 back and pay £20 to ECB. Funny old world isn't it? |
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Post by missingleg on Apr 16, 2008 12:08:41 GMT
Has anybody received their membership cards yet?
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Post by jaybee on Apr 16, 2008 16:47:12 GMT
Has anybody received their membership cards yet? The letter I had from ECB said that these would only be issued when payment had been received & CRB clearance etc completed. I suspect that ACUS funds haven't yet been transferred and that's why the membership cards are held up. |
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Post by Number 6 on Apr 19, 2008 14:01:53 GMT
Has anybody received their membership cards yet? I was going to ask the same question. Disgraceful state of affairs, we should all have had up to date cards by the beginning of the season, there's no reason that I can see as to why they can't be issued. |
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