Membership Query

[John Upham]

Just about to renew my membership and currently am Au.

The benefits are:

About membership
GOLD ADULT

Benefits
Free grading of results in Club competitions, Leagues, County championships, Congresses, FIDE-rated events
Receive the monthly ECF e-newsletter
Join ECF online clubs, play in ECF online events, gain an ECF online rating
Eligibility for ECF Master Points Scheme and inclusion in the ECF Grand Prix

and I was curious of the extra benefits of Pt membership and these are apparently:

About membership
PLATINUM ADULT

Benefits
Free grading of results in Club competitions, Leagues, County championships, Congresses, FIDE-rated events
Receive the monthly ECF e-newsletter
Join ECF online clubs, play in ECF online events, gain an ECF online rating
Eligibility for ECF Master Points Scheme and inclusion in the ECF Grand Prix

Forgive me for being thick but apart from losing a single proton I cannot determine any difference in the stated benefits.

Is it that the differences (if any) are not revealed on

https://ecf.justgo.com/

for security reasons?

[Andrew Zigmond]

The platinum scheme has really always been a donor's scheme for those who can afford it (the then CEO admitted as much when he addressed the Yorkshire CA in 2012). It did at one time have a few extra bits thrown in like a diary or a free yearbook but that was about it.

Platinum members do have their own representation at council and I suppose you could argue that as the number of platinum members will always be relatively small it gives you slightly more voting power.

[John Upham]

The platinum scheme has really always been a donor's scheme for those who can afford it (the then CEO admitted as much when he addressed the Yorkshire CA in 2012). It did at one time have a few extra bits thrown in like a diary or a free yearbook but that was about it.

Platinum members do have their own representation at council and I suppose you could argue that as the number of platinum members will always be relatively small it gives you slightly more voting power.

Thanks Andrew. It might be handy to allude to the above in the product description when offering renewal options.

[Mike Gunn]

I got the free yearbook last year but noticed when I rejoined a couple of days ago that it is no longer mentioned as a benefit. As far as I know there has been no announcement about its being discontinued so I continue to live in hope that it will pop through my letterbox one day.

[Richard Thursby]

As of now this link https://www.englishchess.org.uk/ecf-mem ... g-details/ includes listing a printed yearbook as a benefit of being a platinum member. I personally wouldn't mind not receiving a printed copy of the yearbook to save a few trees. There is a publicly available link to a PDF archive anyway. This year's version also underwent a substantial revision after the print version had been produced, so I understand.

The most confusing thing I find about membership renewal is the section in the payment notice instructing to "cancel your existing payment plan," if I wish to change payment arrangements or category. I cannot for the life of me see where do to that on the membership screen.

[Dragoljub Sudar]

A mate who was Bronze until 31 Aug 2023 decided to renew as Silver. Instead of renewing him to 31 Aug 2024 it only gave him to 31 July 2024 (it did refund him 1 month's Bronze).
Therefore if you wish your membership to expire after 31 Aug 2024 but you want to move to a different level you should wait until September.

[John Upham]

As of now this link https://www.englishchess.org.uk/ecf-mem ... g-details/ includes listing a printed yearbook as a benefit of being a platinum member. I personally wouldn't mind not receiving a printed copy of the yearbook to save a few trees. There is a publicly available link to a PDF archive anyway. This year's version also underwent a substantial revision after the print version had been produced, so I understand.

The most confusing thing I find about membership renewal is the section in the payment notice instructing to "cancel your existing payment plan," if I wish to change payment arrangements or category. I cannot for the life of me see where do to that on the membership screen.

Would it be sensible to synchronise the content on the above URL with that of

https://ecf.justgo.com/Workbench.mvc/Show/5 ?

I suspect that the issue here is that justgo.com will charge a stupid fee to make trivial textual update: one of the intended consequences of out sourcing.

[Paul Habershon]

I haven't had to do anything to renew this year. I am on automatic renewal of Gold membership and had an email this morning (1st September) confirming membership for another year. Excellent system.

This happens to me with some insurance company renewals, but obviously more care is needed there. You've always got the 14(?) days cancellation period.

The thing is, ECF membership is a comparatively small amount and you would usually be aware of any proposed increases.