CTC Membership Services

Anything relating to the clubs associated with Cycling UK
Edwards
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Location: Birmingham

Re: CTC Membership Services

Post by Edwards »

It is the Selly Oak area. I have met John from North Birmingham. A very nice and helpfull man. I know it was CTC Southern Wheelers and can get contact details from Cycle.
The reason I mentioned it was the possibility of others not being told and their details being passed on to the local group. Yet another thing wrong with the membership dept.
This is a bit tongue in cheek but, If we are not told the councilor to make a complaint to about membership. We can then not make an official complaint.
Is it possible to send an email direct to The Director at CTC National Office
Keith Edwards
I do not care about spelling and grammar
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Si
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Re: CTC Membership Services

Post by Si »

To be fair to David Cox the Midlands councillor (well, I think that it was him but could have been the other one), I did get an email out of the blue from him a while back, which I assume he sent to everyone in the region for whom he had an email address, asking for my views on the CTC and current issues. I replied to it and he seemed interested in what I had to say.

Although I can't remember what I said so I don't know if anything came of it :oops: But it does show that at least some councillors are interested in the views of the rank'n'file and haven't just gone of building duck houses and moats :wink: :D
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meic
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Location: Caerfyrddin (Carmarthen)

Re: CTC Membership Services

Post by meic »

There is a list of the Councilors and the Sections in the Good Old Fashioned magazine.
Every Issue. :D

Primitive but effective, I like paper.
Yma o Hyd
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Si
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Re: CTC Membership Services

Post by Si »

meic wrote:There is a list of the Councilors and the Sections in the Good Old Fashioned magazine.
Every Issue. :D

Primitive but effective, I like paper.


As long as you don't want to look at our website before contacting anyone- I know it was listed once but seems to have gorn agin (for the second time). Ho hum, another little job to add to the pile.
Edwards
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Location: Birmingham

Re: CTC Membership Services

Post by Edwards »

If somebody has just joined they would not know where to find out the information. I am not suggesting for a moment that David Cox would not have contacted me. Nor am I suggesting that any other councilor would not contact people.

The membership dept must tell them these people exist first :!:
Keith Edwards
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robgul
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Re: CTC Membership Services

Post by robgul »

Edwards wrote:It is the Selly Oak area. I have met John from North Birmingham. A very nice and helpfull man. I know it was CTC Southern Wheelers and can get contact details from Cycle.
The reason I mentioned it was the possibility of others not being told and their details being passed on to the local group. Yet another thing wrong with the membership dept.
This is a bit tongue in cheek but, If we are not told the councilor to make a complaint to about membership. We can then not make an official complaint.
Is it possible to send an email direct to The Director at CTC National Office


Your "local" group is CTC-Heart of England - see http://www.ctc-heartofengland.org.uk for events etc (until the end of 2008 we were Southern Wheelers but with all the DA/Member Group changes we created CTC-HoE for clarity)

AND - yes, getting details of new (or any) members from CTC is a challenge with the continual sheltering behind the Data Protection crap .... surely merely by joining most people would WANT to hear from the local group with which they can make contact or choose to ride with???????? We would like to make contact with all new members .....

Why not come out on a ride with CTC-HoE - every Sunday, and every Weds if you are man of leisure (or in reality old(er) and retired!)

Rob
(CTC-HoE webmaster and magazine co-editor)

EDIT : BTW ... John Bennett is the CTC HoE Hon Sec ... and he lives at Selly Oak
E2E http://www.cycle-endtoend.org.uk
HoECC http://www.heartofenglandcyclingclub.org.uk
Cytech accredited mechanic . . . and woodworker
malcd
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Joined: 21 Oct 2009, 11:38am
Location: Crawley, West Sussex

Re: CTC Membership Services

Post by malcd »

I joined in Derbyshire over 11 years ago, moved to West Sussex in 1998 and heard nothing about local member groups in either place - I do wonder if I'm on anybody's list now or ever have been? :?: :cry:
David Cox
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Joined: 14 Jan 2008, 9:15pm
Location: Birmingham

Re: CTC Membership Services

Post by David Cox »

Hi,

If "Edwards" or any other West Midlands member would like to receive my occasional email up dates and requests for views on Council business just send your email address to David.Cox@ctc.org.uk I've built the list from Member Group secretaries and Right to Ride Reps. Working in the NHS I've learnt to be a bit sensitive about Data Protection so you have to opt in or out.

Of course you can and should complain to the Director of the CTC if you wish to do so.

David
Edwards
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Re: CTC Membership Services

Post by Edwards »

I think I may have come across wrong. The point I was trying to make is that the system does not work.
People are supposed to be contacted when they join (as others have said). By my making the point others have said they were not contacted.
One of the problems for new members is not receiving cycle magazine, which is where contact details are listed. In cycle the only one that I could see that does not have an email address the complaints dept.
As membership is being run by an outside company for profit, could the company not be changed. I can think of lots of others who do not seem to have problem. BT outsource their money collecting dept maybe CTC could use the same company.
Rob I will be in touch about riding with you when I am a little more sorted.
Thanks to everbody for all the kind offers.

I am definitely not have a go at any of the CTC councilors or other volunteers. I only have great respect for people who give up their time to organise things and help others.
I do have a bee in my bonnet about paying for a company and them to fail to deliver for years.
Keith Edwards
I do not care about spelling and grammar
thirdcrank
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Re: CTC Membership Services

Post by thirdcrank »

A general point about membership organisations is that people join to ........be members of an organisation catering for that special interest. If such an organisation has local branches, they may be interested in making contact and even joining in. It seems to me that either, when people enrol the application form can be used to solicit their consent for their data to be passed on under the umbrella of the organisation, or they can be given details of the local organisation with their membership. Having either side engage in detective work to discover the other is likely to be unsatisfactory; data protection is intended to protect people from abuses, not to stop legitimate organisations carrying out their activities within the law.

(Eg. members of the RSPB receive the contact details of their local group annually on renewal.)
Regulator
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Joined: 27 Jan 2007, 10:13am

Re: CTC Membership Services

Post by Regulator »

thirdcrank wrote:A general point about membership organisations is that people join to ........be members of an organisation catering for that special interest. If such an organisation has local branches, they may be interested in making contact and even joining in. It seems to me that either, when people enrol the application form can be used to solicit their consent for their data to be passed on under the umbrella of the organisation, or they can be given details of the local organisation with their membership. Having either side engage in detective work to discover the other is likely to be unsatisfactory; data protection is intended to protect people from abuses, not to stop legitimate organisations carrying out their activities within the law.

(Eg. members of the RSPB receive the contact details of their local group annually on renewal.)



Very well put. All too often, 'data protection' is used an excuse to do nothing - and I'm afraid I see shades of that within CTC.
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Simon L6
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Re: CTC Membership Services

Post by Simon L6 »

I don't think 'Data Protection' is an excuse in this instance. I think it's a case of the National Office thinking 'what we have we hold'.

Of course this all presumes that the data is up to date. It isn't, as anybody who has tried to e-mail DA secretaries will know. We've been strenuous in the updating of our records, and keeping National Office informed and I doubt that the blank Annual Return has been sent to the right address more than once in five years. My recent round-robin e-mail to the DA contact addresses listed by National Office got a bunch of returns from non-existent e-mail addresses.

And Arvato do not apply themselves to gathering e-mail addresses - there is still a substantial slice of our membership roll that does not show an e-mail address. No DA can afford to post letters to members time and time again, and it really is incumbent on Arvato to get e-mail addresses from renewing members.
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Si
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Re: CTC Membership Services

Post by Si »

My membership card and confirmation of change in membership status has been conspicuous by it's absence...had to go off down the back to see if the cheque had been cashed....which it had a while back.

So got in touch to ask about it and was told (swift reply) that they'd sort it and pop it in the post ASAP, which was nice.

But, as I'd been inconvenienced I thought that I would chance my arm and pointed out that they were giving away these nice festive buffs to new members, and as my membership had gone a little astray would they like to send me one as a token of good will? Alas, "the computer says no".

But it's a thought - if someone's membership doesn't go through properly how about a token gift of some kind to make up for the hassle. It would show that the CTC does care and would cost a small amount - if there are not real membership issues then the cost would obviously be minimal, if there are many membership issues ten it would be an incentive fr them to get sorted out - either way it might help to lead to a happier membership!

And, no, I'm not complaining just because they wouldn't send me a festive buff :twisted: - I see the C+ are giving them away free with the current issue anyway :wink:

(reminds me of when I used to work for a deliveries firm - someone had the great idea of giving away free beer to any customer whose order didn't turn up when it was meant to - not only did it improve deliveries (the delivery staff got to drink any spare beer at the end of the month so their work improved) but it made the customers happy too - everyone's a winner baby)
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Simon L6
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Re: CTC Membership Services

Post by Simon L6 »

Bufftastic idea, Si. Given the number of times they've messed Greg's membership up, he'd be 'in the buff' - to the delight of all who know him!
Karen Sutton
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Location: Greater Manchester

Re: CTC Membership Services

Post by Karen Sutton »

Simon L6 wrote:
Edwards wrote:After reading this thread again I have a question?
When I took out my family membership nearly 2 years ago should I have received any information about my local group and councilor. If so I have not.
I joined and renewed by cheque. If I do not get a letter with the membership card showing correct information I will not pay for a phone call to ask why.
As I put before I do not understand why the CTC is paying for such second rate service.

You should have done - and your local group should have received information about you. Do you know if they did or not? And, if you don't mind my asking, whereabouts do you live? The secretary of the North Birmingham CTC is a breath away.......


I tried (and failed) to persuade CTC that more information needs to be sent out with the membership card. Obviously tailoring each welcome pack to include local information would require further work which is not going to be incorporated into the basic service we receive from Membership Services. It would probably cost more.

However receiving communications from your Local Member Group is a separate issue. If you joined on-line during the period from March to September this year your Local Group may only have recently have received your details. This is because there was an error which meant on-line joiners were not assigned to a database sent out to Member Groups until October, after the error was discovered in September. I have not yet caught up on the writing of letters to 80 odd addresses which appeared on our list in October. However there there is no requirement for Member Groups to make contact with new members, even if they receive a list from National Office. Some Groups have been doing it for a long time and it is considered good practice. I don't know how many Groups do it, but it was not widespread a couple of years ago. As all work done by Member Groups is voluntary a lot depends on how committed its Officers are, and how much voluntary help is forthcoming.

In my opinion National Office just expect members to find all the information they need from this website. Whether this is acceptable is up to National Council to decide.
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