Concessionary Licences.

cg74 · Jan 5, 2015

Should clubs, syndicates and day ticket fisheries offer concessionary tickets?

Is it right that just because someone has reached retirement age or because they're registered disabled, they should be entitled to a reduced price licence.
Especially when you consider catering for their needs will in all likelihood bring a financial burden. Also it's highly doubtful that they'll attend work parties.
And what about juniors, why give them a cheap ticket?

Your thoughts.

yoffer · Jan 6, 2015

Personally, I think it's really important to offer a reduced rate for junior members, youngsters need to be encouraged into the sport and offering a discounted ticket price goes someway towards this.

For the retired concession my heart says its the right thing to do, but I do think that quite a large number of people who are retired are financially bettor off than a large number of working people, and they certainly have more time to fish than somebody who works full time.

But I would hate to think that somebody who had worked all there life and finally reached retirement age, was unable to fish because they couldn't afford the cost of a club membership.

I can see there are merits in the points you raise, but personally I do believe its the right thing to do.

Also there has got to be something to look forward about getting older

sam vimes · Jan 6, 2015

It's a dilemma for clubs that's getting worse every year. The average age of club members is steadily getting older. That's the very reason for offering juniors a concession and why it's getting harder to justify offering OAPs a concession. We a rapidly heading towards the scenario where clubs will fold, unable to pay their rents due to lack of income. The sums don't really add up when it all ends up with the majority of the membership getting a concession.

Clubs will increasingly have to look at the age where concessions come into play or whether they offer them at all. In an ideal world, the general prospect of offering all pensioners a concession is laudable. Unfortunately, we don't live in an ideal world. The truth is that many pensioners don't really need any concession.

Syndicates and day ticket waters are a little different. There's no way on god's green earth that a true syndicate should be offering concessions. I'd suggest that any syndicate doing so isn't a genuine syndicate at all. Day ticket waters, it's up to the owner. If it serves them best to do so, they'll do it. However, there should be no compulsion for them to offer any concessions.

Bob Hornegold · Jan 6, 2015

I suppose it depends how are you are ?

Now being a pensioner and having paid a full subscription for all of my life, I would of course say there should be concessions.

But being realistic and looking at the number of OAPs in my club, it seems logical that the rate for a concessionary ticket will have go up, if we are to keep many of our waters.

The argument about mortgages, children etc., does not was with me, we have all been there, I can remember when interest charges on mortgages were running at double figures.

Many pensioners don't have huge pensions and struggle to make ends meet, the concessionary membership, licence and travel pass all helps.

Bob

Terry D · Jan 6, 2015

It's the juniors we really need to attract into our sport. We need the young to get interested in angling and, hopefully stay in the sport. The more we can do for them and educate them in order for them to become better anglers will benefit us all. Yes they should have a reduced licence fee and club membership fees etc., for soon they will be adults and then able to pay their way. We certainly don't want to lose them well before they reach this stage as that'll be really sad. Stop being a scrooge and encourage the young will always get my vote.

Bob Hornegold · Jan 6, 2015

Terry D said:
It's the juniors we really need to attract into our sport. We need the young to get interested in angling and, hopefully stay in the sport. The more we can do for them and educate them in order for them to become better anglers will benefit us all. Yes they should have a reduced licence fee and club membership fees etc., for soon they will be adults and then able to pay their way. We certainly don't want to lose them well before they reach this stage as that'll be really sad. Stop being a scrooge and encourage the young will always get my vote.

Totally agree and encourage them into angling in every form, be it general, match, pleasure or Carp fishing, Sea or Game fishing.

And make sure they learn the basic's of Fish Care and courtesy to other anglers.

Bob

Mr Cholmondeley-Corker (PaSC) · Jan 6, 2015

Bob Hornegold said:
Many pensioners don't have huge pensions and struggle to make ends meet

yoffer said:
somebody who had worked all there life and finally reached retirement age, was unable to fish because they couldn't afford the cost of a club membership.

Possibly come about because they put fishing as a priority through out their working life rather than financial planning for their future.

You make your choices in life an end up where you are because of them.

I pay for myself and my son (now 17) for one club and myself, my son and my daughter in another.

I'm working, my wife is working (7 days a week) and fishing tends to be a rare treat these days - it would be cheaper for me to pay for day tickets.

From one perspective, I could say that it's people like me that prop up the club financially so that the pensioners can enjoy a reduced rate and go fishing 3 to 4 times a week (more in some cases).

nicepix · Jan 6, 2015

Good subject!

My view is that this was a good idea in years gone by when typically pensioners had less disposable income. Now, in a lot of cases the reverse is true and it tends to be young families that are struggling financially.

Also, there is the all enveloping discrimination aspect. In today's age no one should be discriminated against. How do you justify giving a well off pensioner a discount?

However if you stopped the old age concessions now there would be a back lash from disgruntled people who would refuse to pay, and that could terminally cripple some clubs.

Not an easy matter to resolve.

thecrow · Jan 6, 2015

cg74 said:
or because they're registered disabled, they should be entitled to a reduced price licence.
Especially when you consider catering for their needs will in all likelihood bring a financial burden. Also it's highly doubtful that they'll attend work parties.

I don't see why a disabled angler should be a financial burden on a club, clubs that I have belonged to have offered nothing that was there because of disabled anglers, some of the clubs have recognised that a lot of disabled anglers live on a restricted budget and offer membership at reduced rates.

I have known disabled anglers turn up at work parties, even if its just to make tea for the able bodied that are there.

Mr Cholmondeley-Corker (PaSC) · Jan 6, 2015

What about concessions for women?

Many clubs offer a significantly reduced rate for women.

Could the clubs be 'charged' with discrimination?

thecrow · Jan 6, 2015

Mr Cholmondeley-Corker (PaSC) said:
Possibly come about because they put fishing as a priority through out their working life rather than financial planning for their future.

And if the angler hasn't been able to do that because of their circumstances during their working life ??

---------- Post added at 11:34 ---------- Previous post was at 11:34 ----------

Mr Cholmondeley-Corker (PaSC) said:
What about concessions for women?

Many clubs offer a significantly reduced rate for women.

Could the clubs be 'charged' with discrimination?

Its illegal.........

nicepix · Jan 6, 2015

I would think that technically they could be found guilty of discrimination. Whether anyone feels strongly enough to risk taking a matter to court is another matter though.

Regards disabled people automatically receiving discounts; again I think that is well meaning but flawed. I have been registered as 'disabled' since receiving an eye injury in 2006. I won't receive any benefits as the disability isn't graded high enough, and it didn't stop me continuing as a front line police officer for which I received full pay. So why should I be entitled to a discounted club membership?

Bob Hornegold · Jan 6, 2015

Mr Cholmondeley-Corker (PaSC) said:
Possibly come about because they put fishing as a priority through out their working life rather than financial planning for their future.

You make your choices in life an end up where you are because of them.
.

What a load of rubbish, I worked all my life, I paid into a private pension, which came to nothing.

And I supported pensioners when I worked.

You do talk a lot of "£$%^&&^%

Bob

Mr Cholmondeley-Corker (PaSC) · Jan 6, 2015

thecrow said:
And if the angler hasn't been able to do that because of their circumstances during their working life ??

Many 'circumstances' occur because of an accumulation of choices made throughout a person's life - however, most people find this difficult to accept and instead look to blame something or someone else.

nicepix · Jan 6, 2015

Bob Hornegold said:
What a load of rubbish, I worked all my life, I paid into a private pension, which came to nothing.

And I supported pensioners when I worked.

You do talk a lot of "£$%^&&^%

Bob

There are other circumstances though. I used to have two customers on my milk round who lived next door to each other in what used to be called OAP bungalows. One couple had saved all their lives and been careful with money. The other had pi$$ed their money up against the wall all their lives. The first couple received far less in pension and benefits that the second couple because they had £6,000 in the bank.

Life isn't always fair.

thecrow · Jan 6, 2015

nicepix said:
I would think that technically they could be found guilty of discrimination. Whether anyone feels strongly enough to risk taking a matter to court is another matter though.

Regards disabled people automatically receiving discounts; again I think that is well meaning but flawed. I have been registered as 'disabled' since receiving an eye injury in 2006. I won't receive any benefits as the disability isn't graded high enough, and it didn't stop me continuing as a front line police officer for which I received full pay. So why should I be entitled to a discounted club membership?

The clubs I have been a member of that offer reduced rates to the disabled have all insisted that the member proves they are in receipt of the highest rate of disabled benefit.

Regarding women anglers, I don't know of any clubs that offer reduced rates for them now, not since the insurance industry were forced to stop offering reduced insurance rates just for women.

Bob Hornegold · Jan 6, 2015

Mr Cholmondeley-Corker (PaSC) said:
Many 'circumstances' occur because of an accumulation of choices made throughout a person's life - however, most people find this difficult to accept and instead look to blame something or someone else.

More Rubbish !!

If you work in a poorly paid job, prey tell me how you are suppose to save up for retirement ?

Bob

Mr Cholmondeley-Corker (PaSC) · Jan 6, 2015

Bob Hornegold said:
I paid into a private pension, which came to nothing.

I assume that was your choice? No one made you do it.

You could have chosen to put your money into property or build a business of your own that would set you up for life. But a series of life choices led you into a different direction and mindset. Like I said, most people find it difficult to accept.

I am where I am because of the choices I made. If I had made different choices then my life would be different.

Titus · Jan 6, 2015

Mr Cholmondeley-Corker (PaSC) said:
Possibly come about because they put fishing as a priority through out their working life rather than financial planning for their future.

You make your choices in life an end up where you are because of them.

We all hope this will be the case but unfortunately it often isn't. My mother in law has worked all her life and saved for retirement, during that time she managed to buy herself a modest two bed second storey ex-council flat.
Due to ill health she has recently had to go into sheltered housing and sell the flat to pay for it.
That seems fair until you discover that her new neighbor is a retired farm worker who lived near her in a rent free tied cottage, drank smoked and gambled all their money, never saved a penny and has lived in this sheltered housing for 15 years rent free since he reached retirement age.
Mother in law is now questioning the wisdom of scrimping and saving all those years and convinced she would have been better off just blowing the lot. I have to say she has probably got a point.

nicepix · Jan 6, 2015

Mr Cholmondeley-Corker (PaSC) said:
Many 'circumstances' occur because of an accumulation of choices made throughout a person's life - however, most people find this difficult to accept and instead look to blame something or someone else.

Agreed. Too many people live for today and then cannot cope tomorrow. The credit crunch proved this.

Concessionary Licences.

Well-known member

Member

Well-known member

Well-known member

Well-known member

Well-known member

Senior Member

Well-known member

Well-known member

Senior Member

Well-known member

Well-known member

Well-known member

Senior Member

Well-known member

Well-known member

Well-known member

Senior Member

Banned

Well-known member