Sqn Address isn't a postal address

Adult Staff The Staff Mess
1

Hi,

Currently looking at getting our squadron broadband moved over (we’ve been with one supplier since the dawn of time) and we’re having some issues as we don’t have a postal address.

My committee has been struggling a bit as all the best deals are online, but as we have no postal address it’s proving difficult to achieve.

Has anybody had any experience of this? We are trying to work out how best to progress - we could potentially try and register for an address, but would we then start incurring council tax?

I’m sure out of all the knowledge and experience here that somebody else will have had similar issues. Any help very gratefully appreciated!

Many thanks,

Once

2

Same problem when we got broadband, we have a committee member use their address.
When we enquired about this when HQAC insisted everyone accessed the internet, it seemed we would have had to pay business rates. So a committee member did it. Not too sure what happens now though.

Not really sure HQAC thought it through when they decided to go online for everything. But squadrons manage so they don’t care.

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3

Just as your phone line supplier to provide broadband. They should have an address for your landline so therefore shouldn’t be an issue.

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4

Do you really mean that you haven’t got a postcode? The requirement to be eligible for a postcode is to have point to which mail may be delivered. This usually means a building or a point close to it. You must make an application through the Royal Mail and they will arrange a test delivery to validate the information that you have provided and issue you with a postcode

I’d did this a couple of years ago and found that it couldn’t (then) be done online but that you needed to speak to the unit that dealt with postcodes. I was put through to them after calling an enquiry number and found them very helpful. It seems that I may have been dealing with a similar issue, I didn’t actually want mail delivered, I just needed a postcode to geographically identify a building. Their suggestion; and it worked; was to use the nearest postcode to the location. Problem solved in our case, but this of course may not be applicable in your case.

Exmpa

5

Would you rather use carrier pigeons or something?

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That could be nearer to it. I know we definitely haven’t got a postal address - we have no postbox on the actual building.

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It wasn’t factored into the project costs that squadrons might be lodgers and not have their own phone connection, or not having phone connections to their huts/buildings or in some instances being so remote that it would cost a fortune to get the connection put in.

But squadrons either paid for connections, or used and one I know of still uses mobile broadband.

As for the pigeon comment how come we used the postal service for decades and operated perfectly well. Widespread use of email and online only became really usable when broadband overtook dial up. HQAC only really uses it’s online system for documentation that we have to print. Using electronic / online forms is still years away.

8

Would a mifi or the likes of Wimax work for you no need for phone etc

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One of my Squadrons spent a considerable time without telephone or internet access because of problems related to address, even though we were based in RFCA premises it cut no ice with BT. Bills were sent and not paid so BT cut off the service, and it took a lot of Civcom hours to sort it

But it is an interesting point because this leads to another area where HQAC has not exerted much thought - under charity law the public are able to request copies of charity accounts but considering that each Squadron has a supporting charity, there is no scope to comply with the Law; Squadrons do not a have a postal address and Trustee information is not made available to the public.

Besides which there are liabilities under Charity Law, whereby Trustees need to be identifiable, as well as having certain obligations under Fundraising legislation - it is not the ACO which raises money, but the supporting charity of each squadron.

And there is also the fact that, in order to operate and maintain a website legally, it is necessary for that site to have a defined postal address; if you doubt me take a look at European E Commerce directive for a start, and this appears not entirely exclusive to traders.

Apparently there are websites not following the legal parameters, and this seems to add to the many areas, to which the ACO seems to turn a blind eye; it wont be the ACO who is liable for a breach of the Law, because the ACO is apparently not a charitable organisation, and on its own admission, not a legal entity.

As I understand the situation, the Civcom volunteers go out of their way to enable the squadrons to function, but appear to be held back from being legally compliant because of fears about being open to public scrutiny, as well as a definite lack of legal understanding. Who would want to volunteer with a noose around their neck?

You can then understand the problem for the Utilities, where you dont have a legal identity. Looks like you get the Civcom to bail you out, because as a VRT you are not part of a legal entity, and as such also excluded from participating in the decision making process which is supposed to be the Civcom.

This might sound alien, but it is fact.

Aries

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I had this problem at my last Squadron when I was Chair. I did this to get round it.

Sign-up with your new supplier using your personal credit/debit card and home address for the bills. The installation address will be the Squadron and quote the postcode of the nearest house. For the installation, if the supplier needs you around, quote your mobile number. The fact that you have an existing phone line means they can find you.

Having switched providers and claimed your first bill on expenses, contact the supplier and say you need to switch the billing address and account details. They will point you to their website and tell you to update there but you can only do half the job i.e switch the billing address. Contact them again and ask for a paper based direct debit form as you need two signatures, they will send and you can get the committee to do what is needed. Job done!

It’s a pain but worth the trouble, good luck!

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Is there one they have?
HQAC project directives like someone with salmonella and no thought as to how it will work or consequences therein.
One day someone will do something because they have no choice due to HQAC’s insistance and be brought to account for their actions. I hope in mitigation they use HQAC’s gospel and then CAC is bought into it to explain why they are compelling people to do things, which have bought them into conflict with external legislation.

We did like @Ex-Everything as we don’t have any way of post coming to the squadron. It has been an embuggerance, but the alternative would be telling HQAC to take a running jump. I recall speaking to Wing about it and they had no answer and didn’t really care, as we had to comply or face sanctions.

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To get around this I contacted Royal Mail and they were happy to add us to their address database. All they wanted was a postbox and postcode for the street your squadron is in. We bought a cheap one for around £15 and attached it onto the outside of the gate to our compound.

Since then we’ve had no more problems getting services such as internet access.

As long as you get or already have a postbox (they send you a letter to check you exist) then just fill in the form here: https://www.royalmail.com/personal/receiving-mail/update-your-address

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With the prospect of moving my home residence, and having been a BT customer for 45 years, I thought easy, just submit on-line request. There was already a line from the pole to the property, and there had been a telephone at the property so what could go wrong? It was two months after the move before I was connected, despite promises and assurances from BT, and that the address was already on the data base. At one point, customer services actually cancelled the installation order, and claimed that I had phoned to do this. There are no local BT offices, so no face to face contact, which means an average of 45 minutes for each phone call, using a mobile with an intermittent signal. (More frustrating at my last Squadron where there was a mobile signal if you were lucky, and a mobile dongle was the only way to get internet access because we were on MOD property and the ACO provided no help in getting a separate BT line.

I can understand the reasoning behind trying to change suppliers, but there is a term like, if it aint broke don’t try to fix it! I am sure as a volunteer there are more beneficial applications for your time.

I should also add, that when my Squadron was disconnected, it was comforting to note that there was no involvement from any level of the ACO, even though the lack of communication prevented potential recruits./parents phoning up. It now seems the ACO website directs people to contact Wing, who undoubtedly advise of the most suitable Squadron. - selective recruitment? but it all helps W/Co’s claim credit for things you are doing.

Aries