We mentioned at the start of the term that subs would be changing from January and we are quite a long way down the road on our journey to switching to being able to take payments by direct debit.  There are still some changes that we need to put in place but in the meantime we’d like to summarise the changes to subs, the communications you should expect to receive from us and the things we need you to do to make this work.

So here goes:

• The following changes below will take effect from January

• Subs will change to £120 per year per child

• The preferred payment method will be 12 monthly direct debit payments of £10 across the year

• In exceptional cases where direct debit is not possible we will accept 3 termly cheques/cash of £40

Now obviously we’re not a bank and we can’t go setting up direct debits on our own so we will be using a 3rd party called Go Cardless who integrate with our online records system Online Scout Manager which holds all our member details and badge records.  In order to set up a direct debit you will need to set up an account with Go Cardless.  You may be able to do this yourself but we strongly recommend you wait until you receive an invitation email from us, which brings me to our next point…

In order to get you all set up we must have a valid email address for a parent/guardian for each child in the group.  The simple action for you is to email [email protected] to confirm your email address. Please confirm which child/children you are parent/guardian for as this is not always clear from your email address. Also, please do this regardless of whether you may think that we have valid details for you.  It really doesn’t hurt to be sure.  This needs to be a valid email address that you use and check.

The next thing you should receive is an email from Go Cardless/Online Scout Manager (or both!) inviting you to sign up or log in and provide your details.  Once you have minimal account details in there we can communicate with you that way.

You may already pay us by standing order which has been an OK interim measure for a couple of years but managing 100+ standing orders would not be sustainable for the future, nor would working with cheques in the 21st century.  Having said that, until you get positive confirmation that you have a successful direct debit set up, please do keep paying us the same way you always have and we will make sure that double payments are avoided, and if you have a genuine reason that DD won’t work for you then come and speak to us and we’ll do what we can to accommodate you.  No-one will be excluded because of their circumstances.

Please bear with us as we plough forth into this brave new world!