Joining the FSB - forced to have meeting first?

Tea3

I am trying to find out some information from them regarding their tax inspection cover but they say they cant (wont?) discuss this over the phone or email and I HAVE to have an appointment at my presmises! As I work from home and part of the insurance stipulations was that this is an admin base only with no work related people on the premises I cant have a meeting here - also time away from the pc means lost money for me so meeting up to be more than likely hard-sold the package does not seem like a good idea to me.

I want to join but just needed a couple of questions answered first so dont understand why they cant answer the simple tax insurance questions over the phone or email and wondered if anyone else who is a member had to have a face to face meeting first?

Maybee0105

We used to be with the FSB & it wasn't that good for what we paid.
Our accountants offer a similar tax inspection cover that we subscribe to. Why not try asking your accountant if they can offer this?

Tea3

Our accountants' equivalent tax cover costs alot more than the FSB package so we figured the FSB package may be best as there are other benefits included but the main issue was the tax cover. If they can only do this via face to face appointment I think I will forget it - am always wary when companies without physical goods insist on a face-to-face meeting to discuss selling me something as it makes me think I will be stuck there for hours until I agree to the hard sell. This may not be the case with the FSB but i'm too busy to take hours off work to go through some questions that they cant or wont spend 5 mins to answer via email prior to sign-up.

COOLTRIKERCHICK

i must admit when hubby had a shop he was a member in all honesty they were a waste of time for us... we gained nothing...

it its only that reason why you wanted to become a member, as Maybee said why dont you ask your accountant or do some reasearch on insurances etc on-line

Pennywise

You're all worrying too much. FSB is a respectable business organisation that really does exist for the benefit of its members. I'm a member and was also slightly worried that the required meeting would be hard sell, but it isn't. The guy was in and out within half an hour, most of the time spent filling out the application form and bank mandate - I actually found it useful as he told tell me about their services/benefits - he did try to persuade me to use their telephone call package but I said no and he was fine with that and moved on quickly. He explained that they wanted a meeting for admin ease - so they didn't need an army of administrators at head office to deal with the paperwork - by doing it in person, it was quicker and more reliable. He also said that they have to make sure a prospective member really is in legitimate business to try to weed out fraudsters etc who would try to gain respectability by being an FSB member, by trying to take advantage of their benefits like cheap banking/credit card processing, or by being in the black economy. All in all, it was a positive experience - he's never hassled me since, never even heard from him at all. I recommend the FSB to my clients and many have got a lot out of it.

Tea3

I can understand to a point visiting a persons place of work to do the sign up to check they are a valid business and to go over fine aspects of the plan, however I dont see the point in them insisting on a meeting just so they can answer 2 small tax cover questions (unless this is to be followed by a 'take our plan' sell). In my case if the answers to my tax cover questions are no then the policy wont be any good for me at all so there is no point wasting my time and theirs on a meeting. If the answers were yes to my questions then perhaps we could set up a meeting to sign up, but not even being able to answer two small questions prior to the meeting concerns me.

I would still like to be a member of the FSB but they need to be able to answer general questions in advance before the meeting just so nobody is wasting their time i.e. if you wanted triple locking windows you would not get a double glazing company in for a quote/sign-up without checking first they actually could install triple locking windows.

Rooster_Norwich

Save your money, my local FSB were about as much use as mudflaps on a tortoise.

When we asked for help it never came, when we asked for lobying, they wouldn't do it.

Although the bloke who ran it had a very nice car.

I'd have been a lot better saving my money and going out down the pub!

Tea3

Forgot to say - I originally emailed them my two questions in mid-December with no reply, then emailed again mid January with no reply and finally emailed for a third time on the 28th January with a reply the same day insisting on a meeting to answer the questions! Not a good sign that they would be there for me if needed if its this much hassle just to get two yes/no questions answered!

Think I will keep my cash and let others be members if they want too as i'm too busy to chase a company for months to answer two questions so that I can then join and give them money every year!