We belong to several clubs and other organisations, both local and national, all of which have had to cancel meetings and events or close facilities since lockdown - and of course have no date as to when they will resume.
Obviously ticketed events were refunded like RHS Flower shows
English Heritage was offering a 3 month membership extension for existing members and the National Trust had a 25% discount on renewal, both reflecting the time their properties were closed. The 5 (!) gardening clubs I belong to have all rolled over membership, so we get a free year as there have been no meetings since March (late Feb for those whose meetings fall late in the month) and no Flower Shows.
However our local U3A branch has decided to charge the full membership renewal for the membership year which started last month. I don't see how they can justify this. No speaker meeting have been held since February, so no costs associated with speaker fee and Hall hire. They have no date yet when they can resume. The hall is crowded normally, so social distancing will not be possible unless they vastly reduce numbers. They have talked about Zoom meetings, but nothing happened about that yet. A couple of interest groups have had on line meetings, but not the Family History group I belong to.
It cannot be an edict from the National U3A, because the branch in a neighbouring town have extended their subscription for a full year. And they started monthly meetings by Zoom in August.
I don't understand how my branch can justify the charge with no outgoings for the last six months.
Has anyone had similar experiences?
