smiiithy Posted September 23, 2009 Report Share Posted September 23, 2009 Hi all, I recently joined the Countryside Alliance and have had a bad experience, was just wondering if anybody has found them to be unreliable at all? Their first attempt at sending me my member pack resulted in it not arriving, I called to complain and they agreed to post another pack. I then got a letter and ‘replacement’ member card. I called them again to explain that I’d received a card but not the rest of the pack. They then agreed to again send the member pack first class. When it came I had to pick it up from the post office as they hadn’t franked it and I had to pay the postage and additional admin charge. I called once more to complain and they are now sending me a £10 M&S voucher as compensation. I have concerns holding my hunting insurance with a company that has so far proven to be unreliable in their admin of the simplest things, although I understand this is probably underwritten by another company; At present I wouldn’t like to rely on them for anything. On the other hand it’s only costing me £15 a year for under 25’s membership. Do I have good reason to be concerned? Cheers, Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
al4x Posted September 23, 2009 Report Share Posted September 23, 2009 you should be fine, the insurance will be through a broker so not their total responsibility. Some of yours is just bad luck, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Billy. Posted September 23, 2009 Report Share Posted September 23, 2009 You get a card? Never received one! I'd get insured with BASC rather than CA. I'm registered with both, just because it cost me a tenner with CA and I felt like supporting them Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toads Posted September 23, 2009 Report Share Posted September 23, 2009 HI,Yes they took £15 out my bank account in April I think.This was a donation without me telling them.Apparently if I didnt tell them not to that meant they could ! I will not be renewing membership in November!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smiiithy Posted September 23, 2009 Author Report Share Posted September 23, 2009 This was in addition to your annual membership fee? HI,Yes they took £15 out my bank account in April I think.This was a donation without me telling them.Apparently if I didnt tell them not to that meant they could ! I will not be renewing membership in November!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smiiithy Posted September 23, 2009 Author Report Share Posted September 23, 2009 Yes it's just a flimsy piece of laminated paper the size of a credit card though! I'll consider BASC but not keen on paying £64 yet as I’m not getting any shooting at the minute. You get a card? Never received one! I'd get insured with BASC rather than CA. I'm registered with both, just because it cost me a tenner with CA and I felt like supporting them Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smiiithy Posted September 23, 2009 Author Report Share Posted September 23, 2009 Cheers you should be fine, the insurance will be through a broker so not their total responsibility. Some of yours is just bad luck, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mayfly36 Posted September 23, 2009 Report Share Posted September 23, 2009 Join S.A.C.S MATE . http://www.sacs.org.uk/default.htm, 30 quid a year and no problems, reliable Organization. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
George1990 Posted September 23, 2009 Report Share Posted September 23, 2009 I'm a member of CA and they have been no problem so far. Cheap too. You just had bad luck I would think Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smiiithy Posted September 23, 2009 Author Report Share Posted September 23, 2009 Paying quarterly anyway so I think I'll stick at it and see how it goes Was only niggly little errors but not a good way to impress new members Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Imperfection Posted September 23, 2009 Report Share Posted September 23, 2009 I didnt have a problem when i joined the CA and received my pack with membership card & sticker about a week later. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cranfield Posted September 23, 2009 Report Share Posted September 23, 2009 None of the major organisations are perfect. The CA is as efficient as the others in my experience. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobt Posted September 23, 2009 Report Share Posted September 23, 2009 I left the CA after they went on TV during the foxhunting ban run up, saying how shooting was cruel. no way am I paying into a group who work against me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ozzy Fudd Posted September 23, 2009 Report Share Posted September 23, 2009 I left the CA after they went on TV during the foxhunting ban run up, saying how shooting was cruel. no way am I paying into a group who work against me. wot?! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Imperfection Posted September 23, 2009 Report Share Posted September 23, 2009 I left the CA after they went on TV during the foxhunting ban run up, saying how shooting was cruel. no way am I paying into a group who work against me. eh? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davie mac Posted September 23, 2009 Report Share Posted September 23, 2009 I joined CA and have no complaint's Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smiiithy Posted September 24, 2009 Author Report Share Posted September 24, 2009 Thanks to all that have replied. I agree I've probably just been unlucky and you've helped to restore a little faith. Just want to clarify I wasn't wanting to start a lynch mob or to have a moan, I just wanted to know if anyone else had similar experiences and have now been reassured. I find it hard to believe that the CA would have been making an anti-hunting hunting argument on TV? :unsure: Maybe thats for another topic Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David BASC Posted September 24, 2009 Report Share Posted September 24, 2009 With over 100k members sometimes things go wrong. Remember also that the post office loose mail as well or fail to deliver, you would be amazed at the amount of mail we get back! The CA are not insurance brokers or underwriters, as AL4x says the insurance in underwritten by a reputable company. Yes the 'extra' donation what has come out of quite a few CA member's bank accounts has caused a bit of a stir, but I guess has made the CA quite a bit on money - we will see when they publish their 2009 accounts I too was a member of the CA for about 10 years but I too left when their apparent stance to defend hunting was for hunters etc to attack shooters, at rallies on the radio on the TV… Funnily enough Simon Hart has just written to me asking to renew, I have written back to him listing my reasons why I will NOT renew - I hope he writes back. But at the end of the day, the CA is one of the largest organisations out there, second only in size to BASC, and they do offer some very cheap deals, so stick with them for now please and do not judge them by this one small mess up - which may not have been their fault anyway! Best wishes David Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobt Posted September 24, 2009 Report Share Posted September 24, 2009 Thanks David, you confirmed what I said. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cranfield Posted September 24, 2009 Report Share Posted September 24, 2009 I too was a member of the CA for about 10 years but I too left when their apparent stance to defend hunting was for hunters etc to attack shooters, at rallies on the radio on the TV… Funnily enough Simon Hart has just written to me asking to renew, I have written back to him listing my reasons why I will NOT renew - I hope he writes back. No doubt Simon Hart has not renewed his membership of BASC for a list of different reasons. Any Organisations that help to protect shooting and country sports deserves our support, all of their policies and utterances may not be to our liking and they have all dropped a few PR clangers over the years (incl BASC), but their "hearts are in the right place". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blackbart Posted September 24, 2009 Report Share Posted September 24, 2009 I have chopped and changed over the years for various reasons and the last 12 month i have been with both.Trouble is they both seem a bit "iffy" on the correspondence thing.The CA have just sent me a letter offering me half price membership because i didnt renew last time(even though i did)and BASC sent me a reminder that my membership is due for renewal soon.. even though it expired 3 month ago.Things like this are pretty simple things and will all be on a data base so it does make you wonder what's going on with the more important issues. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David BASC Posted September 24, 2009 Report Share Posted September 24, 2009 BASC members get a reminder the moth before they are due to renew, then if they don’t reply to that we send one the month after they were due to renew, than if they don’t respond to that we send a third reminder a month later, and then finally a fourth reminder to tell them their membership insurance etc has expired. We get a significant response level to all four reminders, but of course it would be much cheaper if members responded to the first reminder one way or the other, so if they did not intend to renew at all we would not spend member’s money writing to them again. But in reality I know this will never happen, so I will stick to the four letter renewal process for the time being. Simon Hart may or may not be a BASC member, under DPA I cannot say – but I am sure he is a member of the CA….. David Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gunny Posted September 24, 2009 Report Share Posted September 24, 2009 ................ four letter renewal process for the time being. Language, Timothy! :unsure: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dave1419 Posted September 24, 2009 Report Share Posted September 24, 2009 (edited) complain about the CA when you have a problem and they don't help,complaining beforehand about an organisation seems pointless. DAVID BASC has got it right when he states that all of the organisations have problems now and then and mostly out of their control.i recently put a cheque into one of the big banks by hand and they put it into somebody else's account,even when i used the proper paying in slips. got the money back mind----dave Edited September 24, 2009 by dave1419 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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