Tennis Club charged full price throughout lockdown

Remo3030

MalMonroe said:

This sentence "Being a private members club and not a business, we relay[sic] on our members to support their club even during difficult times" - is a bit of a slap in the face. What they're actually saying is that you are going to lose your money.

And when they say this - "no other members have raised any issues, therefore they have opted not to offer any discounts/membership extensions". They have to be lying! Surely other people won't want to pay for a facility they have not been able to use through no fault of their own. I know it's not the club's fault either but these circumstances are not the norm.

I'd definitely try to get some of my money back, or an extension of membership. How dare they keep it when the club has not been available to members? What have they been doing with the money collected if the club has not been open?

If you know any other members you could perhaps contact them and put pressure on the committee. There obviously aren't any proper terms and conditions of membership, or they'd have sorted this all out when you first enquired.  It really is not on.

Hello Experts

I am on a similar line to find out the situation for my kids (8 yrs old) tennis lesson. For the last 1 year, my kids Junior tennis lesson not happened due to lock down and this club in Newcastle running school term junior tennis lesson a block of fee + £70 annual membership for kids. Last year, he went for block of 8 lessons (when lock down was over) and only 4 lessons done and rest 4 cancelled due to bad weather.  Then lock down again, so i decided to not to book any course after this.

After 1 year, they are asking i need to pay outstanding junior membership fees . Are they kidding?

Please let me know from your experience how should i approach this.

Thanks

Undervalued

Remo3030 said:

MalMonroe said:

This sentence "Being a private members club and not a business, we relay[sic] on our members to support their club even during difficult times" - is a bit of a slap in the face. What they're actually saying is that you are going to lose your money.

And when they say this - "no other members have raised any issues, therefore they have opted not to offer any discounts/membership extensions". They have to be lying! Surely other people won't want to pay for a facility they have not been able to use through no fault of their own. I know it's not the club's fault either but these circumstances are not the norm.

I'd definitely try to get some of my money back, or an extension of membership. How dare they keep it when the club has not been available to members? What have they been doing with the money collected if the club has not been open?

If you know any other members you could perhaps contact them and put pressure on the committee. There obviously aren't any proper terms and conditions of membership, or they'd have sorted this all out when you first enquired.  It really is not on.

Hello Experts

I am on a similar line to find out the situation for my kids (8 yrs old) tennis lesson. For the last 1 year, my kids Junior tennis lesson not happened due to lock down and this club in Newcastle running school term junior tennis lesson a block of fee + £70 annual membership for kids. Last year, he went for block of 8 lessons (when lock down was over) and only 4 lessons done and rest 4 cancelled due to bad weather.  Then lock down again, so i decided to not to book any course after this.

After 1 year, they are asking i need to pay outstanding junior membership fees . Are they kidding?

Please let me know from your experience how should i approach this.

Thanks

As I have said repeatedly in this thread it all depends on whether this is a club, in the proper sense of the word, where the members have voting rights etc. If it is then the club will ultimately have to do what a majority of the members want.

If on the other hand it is a commercial profit making business (which just calls itself a club) then your individual rights are stronger. Basically if they can't supply the service then you are entitled to a proportional refund.

Please read the earlier posts where this is explained in greater detail.

JGB1955

If the 'club' is a commercial profit making business they are likely to have been receiving grants to cover their losses during Covid. 

Even if they're not a profit-making business they may have received grants - my husband is Treasurer of a members-only shooting club.  Because they pay business rates for their premises (but get 100% relief) they have been paid £16,000 in business grants during Covid.  It seems immoral to accept the money but the Local Authority have insisted it is all above board.  Bizarre!

Undervalued

JGB1955 said:

If the 'club' is a commercial profit making business they are likely to have been receiving grants to cover their losses during Covid. 

Even if they're not a profit-making business they may have received grants - my husband is Treasurer of a members-only shooting club.  Because they pay business rates for their premises (but get 100% relief) they have been paid £16,000 in business grants during Covid.  It seems immoral to accept the money but the Local Authority have insisted it is all above board.  Bizarre!

Indeed.

I used to be a committee member of a "proper club" (where the members elected the committee to run it on a day to day basis). It rented substantial amounts of land for its activities. In addition to paying a hefty annual membership fee just to belong members also paid, in effect, each time they chose to play. It also generated some additional income from commercial "experience" packages which helped with the running costs.

Although I am no longer involved I stay in touch with a number of members and look at their website from time to time.

Their membership year happened to coincide with the first Covid lockdown last year. The committee were absolutely pleading with members not to delay renewing their subscriptions otherwise the club would not survive. I believe most did renew but obviously have had little if any benefit from their membership in the last year. 

Most of the club's expenses (rent, and many other fixed costs) have stayed the same plus their other income has been drastically reduced. They are balanced on a knife edge. If a majority of the members got together and demanded a proportionate refund in fees it would go under. If one or two "stroppy" members demand money back they could probably be paid. How do you fairly resolve that one?