Football 5 aside fee challenge

jd93

Hi there,

I used to work for company x and played 5 aside football with my colleagues. We would pay an annual fee which I paid in cash.

I left X company and continued to play the 5aside football. The person running the football also changed (colleague) and I was under the assumption that as I had left the company I no longer paid the fee for the 5 aside. No one has said anything for the last 5 months or so until today. I am being chased for backdated football fees of £35 + a company social fee of £22.

I've never signed a contract to say I am willing to pay the fee and have only been asked to pay the fee in the last month since the the person running the 5 aside (colleague) changed to a new manager.

I dont want to pay a company social fee as I am not a member of the company anymore and after a rather snotty email from the person running the 5 aside I feel I dont want to pay the £35 fee that he has quoted me. This is based loosley on my attendance at each 5aside game, which I doubt is accurate anyway.

1. Am i legally bound to pay the £35 fee and or the £22 additional social fee
2. If I pay the £35 and not the £22 social fee, am I legally bound to pay that fee.

it has been poorly run and is funded by the company and social club at company x.

Please let me know your thoughts!

jd93

In addition I will no longer be playing football with company x, and will be playing elsewhere.

naedanger

jd93 wrote: »

Hi there,

I used to work for company x and played 5 aside football with my colleagues. We would pay an annual fee which I paid in cash.

I left X company and continued to play the 5aside football. The person running the football also changed (colleague) and I was under the assumption that as I had left the company I no longer paid the fee for the 5 aside. No one has said anything for the last 5 months or so until today. I am being chased for backdated football fees of £35 + a company social fee of £22.

I've never signed a contract to say I am willing to pay the fee and have only been asked to pay the fee in the last month since the the person running the 5 aside (colleague) changed to a new manager.

I dont want to pay a company social fee as I am not a member of the company anymore and after a rather snotty email from the person running the 5 aside I feel I dont want to pay the £35 fee that he has quoted me. This is based loosley on my attendance at each 5aside game, which I doubt is accurate anyway.

1. Am i legally bound to pay the £35 fee and or the £22 additional social fee
2. If I pay the £35 and not the £22 social fee, am I legally bound to pay that fee.

it has been poorly run and is funded by the company and social club at company x.

Please let me know your thoughts!

In practice I suspect the company wouldn't bother taking legal action against you if you don't pay.

If they did sue you then personally I think they would probably win if they could show the charge was in line with the charges you have previously paid.

jd93

happy to pay the 'pay per game' fee of £35, but was not aware in any way that I would have to pay a social fee, I'm not part of the company and or the social club in my opinon.

naedanger

jd93 wrote: »

happy to pay the 'pay per game' fee of £35, but was not aware in any way that I would have to pay a social fee, I'm not part of the company and or the social club in my opinon.

You could pay the £35 and decline to pay the £22 and explain your reasoning (e.g. you don't get access to the social club?) and wait for their response.

(If membership of the social club is a requirement to pay in the 5 a side, or you have used the social club facilities, then they may still have good grounds for believing you should pay. But for £22 I doubt they will take legal action.)

unholyangel

Are they asking for this money for the games you have already played or is it to enable you to play in the future?

If its the former, just ask them for details of the agreement/contract - basically proof that there was an offer made and then that offer was accepted. If its the latter, not much you can do - either accept or decline. Perhaps first check its not covered in your contract of employment with them. The only similar setups I'm familiar with involve the company paying the membership for their employees or deducting it from their employees wages and paying the club directly. Thats with regards to the membership fee (which i'm assuming is what the £22 "social fee" is).

Not sure why you'd think you wouldn't still need to pay the fee for playing just because you left the company though. Think about it, it would result in all employees paying to play but non-employees getting to play for free.

pinkshoes

Why not ask them to clarify what the social fee is for and why you need to pay it?

Manxman_in_exile

unholyangel wrote: »

Not sure why you'd think you wouldn't still need to pay the fee for playing just because you left the company though. Think about it, it would result in all employees paying to play but non-employees getting to play for free.

Yes. I would agree with this.

Manxman_in_exile

pinkshoes wrote: »

Why not ask them to clarify what the social fee is for and why you need to pay it?

I suspect the "social fee" is payable to allow the OP to participate in (ex) employer's social and sporting events. I don't see why ex-employees can pay less than current ones!


As OP is no longer an employee, perhaps he should be paying an additional fee to play.

bris

These 5 a side pitches are a business like anything else. The team pays for a pitch at a certain time and day, this is a valid contract and everyone involved pays their share of this.


As you have been involved you can't just walk away without first finding a willing replacement to take your place.

LadyDee

I wonder if the social fee includes an element of insurance cover?