You haven’t got someone who works for one the utility firms on your CWC have you? Because this is the same crap system they use so they can lay people off. So what’s your sqn’s excuse?[/quote]
A banker for international banking firm
an Ex-Group Captain
A RAF Reservist (parent)
and about half a dozen parents from what i understand
i’m not sure how offering a “discount” by electronic payment leads to laying people off…or why the Sqn needs and excuse for making everyone’s life a little simpler…[/quote]
Penalising people who might not choose to play along is wrong on about as many levels as you care to take it. I couldn’t subscribe to a system at the squadron where not paying by STO meant paying more. It might not be much but it’s the principle. Just because it’s more convenient / preferred method doesn’t mean you have differentiated payments, something I think the utility firms should be reminded of and enacted in law. The group I’m currently a treasurer for don’t get a discount because we pay things by transfer and nor should we.[/quote]
I think you need to think about this a bit more - the persons not paying by STO are not paying more than the prescribed rate - they are paying the rate that is set. Those paying by STO are getting a discount from the rate - this happens all the time for other bill payment mechanisms. It also saves the amount of work that comes with cash etc.
If the rate was say £2 and everyone who paid by electronic means paid £2, but those who used cash or cheque had to pay more than £2 (or the rate was artificially inflated) then your arguement would be valid.
Completely agree - having set aside funds (i.e. Minibus) is fine, but if not then it should be spent on the Cadets here now.
Subs
The vast majority are on standing order which works really well - reduces the amount of cash flowing through the unit and the admin to effectively manage it.
We offer £1 off per month if you pay by standing order.
Buying Stuff
We do a lot through BACS, but we also use PayPal and the Civ Comm execs all have Sqn debit cards so we can buy online easily. Management of this is obviously through the committee.
We are also looking at having some pre-paid credit cards for the SOVs so we can refuel in an emergency - ongoing that one.
I see it that people not electing to pay “electronically” are being penalised. I don’t agree with how utility companies operate. I changed to DD and then changed back to over the counter as I lost the control over what happened to my money and when, given that the utlility companies are stupid and all ask for the money at about the same time. If say electric was one month, gas another, water as it is and so on, then I would. So I now do what I did before and elect to pay some in one pay month and others in the next, they keep sending me letters saying how much I could save, but nothing about the potential inconvenience to me the customer of having a number of bills coming out when it might not suit me. I personally don’t see how people paying by DD saves money because they send you a “bill” any way. I won’t do set monthly payments as I’ve seen family members and friends come unstuck.
The only reason we have the preferred method as STO for subs is to avoid accruing amounts when cadets miss a night. No other reason and I would suggest most squadrons do it for this reason.
I get annoyed by online shopping as nothing looks like it does in real life in a picture and you are relying on someone picking the right thing at 0300 hours. I don’t mind “click and collect” as there is still the option to fondle the item. My daughters who were slaves to online shopping have given up, as they ended up sending as many things back as they kept. We have had similar problems at the sqn.
we do the same. i’ve no idea how it works but i turn up to any Shell garage i can hand over the card with PIN and “magically” that sorts it out!
I thought the whole point of the DD guarantee was you still have control?
I have British Gas (who supply both gas and electric) and can adjust my DD accordingly. £30 one month, £50 the next…whatever i choose and their forecast will determine if i wil owe or be owed fund at the end of the "term"
for my own convenience i set it as a fixed amount each month. in the summer i am paying too much but the winter that claws back when i am using more.
As a side issue, i have seen a couple of mentions of the use of debit cards for making payments for things from Sqn funds … is this ok considering ACP10 states that 2 signatures are required for a cheque to be written? Use of a debit card would appear to completely rule this as being unnecessary?
We have used a fuel card in the past, but we found that there was an overhead for using it, an admin fee, and it was thought to be not in the best interest to “waste” money on un necessary financial overheads.
The multple signature is bowlocks.
When the group I’m currently treasurer of went over to online banking 18 months ago, we acquired a debit card, and we enquired about multple signatures and we were told they only ever look at one signature, plus with a debit card as said you don’t need any signatures. Anyone from our group can pop round to ask to look at the account state and I produce a reconcilliation each month for our meetings and they are submitted for scrutiny each year. We stlll have cheques and they are single signature (one of three). Speaking from practical experience it’s no more or no less hassle than the old style. The only real benefit IMO of online payments is it’s gone as soon as you click.