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Huge membership-fee spike

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This thread is now closed. Please contact Anna DUK, Ieva DUK or everydayupsanddowns if you would like it re-opened.
robert@fm

robert@fm

Much missed member
Relationship to Diabetes
Type 2
I have received a letter from DUK, saying that my membership fee is increasing from the £10.50 I have been paying for countless years -- to £36! 😱🙄

Have they abolished the concessionary membership rate, or what? Given how much I have donated to them, I am rather annoyed to say the least...
 
I've not been aware of this Robert, hopefully @Hannah DUK can clarify 🙂 I pay by direct debit each year and it hasn't changed this year (September).
 
I pay £3 a month DD so that’s £36. That is the minimum I believe. I am a fairly recent subscriber though.
 
robert@fm said:
I have received a letter from DUK, saying that my membership fee is increasing from the £10.50 I have been paying for countless years -- to £36! 😱🙄

Have they abolished the concessionary membership rate, or what? Given how much I have donated to them, I am rather annoyed to say the least...
Click to expand...
I was thinking the same about DUK. What happened with the £26 million raised with the help of TESCO & the Great British public. EH ?
 
I know we can we can spend a lot of time complaining but who is running Duk now ? Richard Lane was superb. I walked part of the Roman Wall with him & we raised £25.000 between us all. Mr Lane sponsored me twice & very good T1.😎
 
I forgot we need to pay the staff of Duk who come on the site ? 🙄
 
Hi @robert@fm and @HOBIE - I apologise, I had missed this thread before so thank you for bumping it up.

Yes, the membership scheme has been running for many years, but we have need to continue to revaluate our membership offer and ensure that it is meeting the needs of our supporters. The membership offer had lost focus a little and so improvements have been made. Members will receive monthly emails, updates on research and various discounts.
I'm very sorry to hear that you feel annoyed about the change in fee @robert@fm . The previous offer of pay-what-you-like was unclear and after conducting research, including surveys to supporters, results suggested £3 a month to be a reasonable donation and good value for money. The flat-fee structure is much clearer to our members and helps to give the membership more focus.

If you would like to talk to us about your membership change, you can contact the Helpline on 0345 123 2399 (Mon-Fri, 9am-5pm) or email helpline@diabetes.org.uk and discuss your worries further.
 
HOBIE said:
I know we can we can spend a lot of time complaining but who is running Duk now ? Richard Lane was superb. I walked part of the Roman Wall with him & we raised £25.000 between us all. Mr Lane sponsored me twice & very good T1.😎
Click to expand...

Wonderful that you met Richard Lane, he has been such a key part of Diabetes UK over the past decades. 🙂
 
Richard Lane sponsored me Twice. A very nice T1 who done things very fairly. How many Millions did you make at TESCO ?
 
(I know that Hannah has now left DUK; this reply is FAO the current DUK reps here @Martha Diabetes UK and @Gwen Diabetes UK )

Hannah DUK said:
Yes, the membership scheme has been running for many years, but we have need to continue to revaluate our membership offer and ensure that it is meeting the needs of our supporters. The membership offer had lost focus a little and so improvements have been made. Members will receive monthly emails, updates on research and various discounts.
I'm very sorry to hear that you feel annoyed about the change in fee @robert@fm . The previous offer of pay-what-you-like was unclear and after conducting research, including surveys to supporters, results suggested £3 a month to be a reasonable donation and good value for money. The flat-fee structure is much clearer to our members and helps to give the membership more focus
Click to expand...

So it's as I thought -- DUK has abolished the concessionary membership fee. :(

When I first joined, I paid the concessionary rate, which I think was £10 a year. This later increased to a massive £10.50{😉}; then the fixed membership fees were dropped and the fee became "pay what you think your membership is worth", so I continued to pay the £10.50 I was previously paying.

I gather from the above reply that DUK now feel that the "pay what you like" scheme isn't working; fair enough, but the £36/year rate is a huge amount for most benefit claimants, even if expressed as £3/month.

How about re-introducing the concessionary rate, at (say) £12 or £18 per year?
 
Last edited by a moderator:
robert@fm said:
(I know that Hannah has now left DUK; this reply is FAO the current DUK reps here @Martha Diabetes UK and @Gwen Diabetes UK )



So it's as I thought -- DUK has abolished the concessionary membership fee. :(

When I first joined, I paid the concessionary rate, which I think was £10 a year. This later increased to a massive £10.50{😉}; then the fixed membership fees were dropped and the fee became "pay what you think your membership is worth", so I continued to pay the £10.50 I was previously paying.

I gather from the above reply that DUK now feel that the "pay what you like" scheme isn't working; fair enough, but the £36/year rate is a huge amount for most benefit claimants, even if expressed as £3/month.

How about re-introducing the concessionary rate, at (say) £12 or £18 per year?
Click to expand...

Hi there. We have had similar comments from some supporters that the increase in fees is too drastic for those living on a tight budget. The Membership Team is aware of this as we share all feedback like this with them so let's hope they reintroduce it in the future! It would be great if they did 🙂
 
robert@fm said:
(I know that Hannah has now left DUK; this reply is FAO the current DUK reps here @Martha Diabetes UK and @Gwen Diabetes UK )



So it's as I thought -- DUK has abolished the concessionary membership fee. :(

When I first joined, I paid the concessionary rate, which I think was £10 a year. This later increased to a massive £10.50{😉}; then the fixed membership fees were dropped and the fee became "pay what you think your membership is worth", so I continued to pay the £10.50 I was previously paying.

I gather from the above reply that DUK now feel that the "pay what you like" scheme isn't working; fair enough, but the £36/year rate is a huge amount for most benefit claimants, even if expressed as £3/month.

How about re-introducing the concessionary rate, at (say) £12 or £18 per year?
Click to expand...

Robert, you could always become an officer of a local DUK group. The three officers of each group (Chair, Secretary and Treasurer) receive a complimentary membership, along with the Balance magazine and so on.
 
Gwen Diabetes UK said:
Hi there. We have had similar comments from some supporters that the increase in fees is too drastic for those living on a tight budget. The Membership Team is aware of this as we share all feedback like this with them so let's hope they reintroduce it in the future! It would be great if they did 🙂
Click to expand...
Well said Gwen. I know it affecting lots of people. 🙄
 
AndBreathe said:
Robert, you could always become an officer of a local DUK group. The three officers of each group (Chair, Secretary and Treasurer) receive a complimentary membership, along with the Balance magazine and so on.
Click to expand...
I didn’t know that! Wow! I’ve recently started going to my local group and I wondered how the officers and committee are appointed. Is there a common set of procedures for this?
 
Radders said:
I didn’t know that! Wow! I’ve recently started going to my local group and I wondered how the officers and committee are appointed. Is there a common set of procedures for this?
Click to expand...

There should be an AGM (annually, funnily enough!), and the group Committee will be nominated, or agree to continue. Officers should be elected (or more often agree to continue!).

The DUK guidelines suggest that officers should rotate, with a suggested maximum term of 5 or 6 years, if my memory serves me. Of course, it is often tricky to get people to step forward to become officers, so some officers go on much longer. Our Treasurer retired a couple of years ago after fourteen (yes, 14) years in post, as nobody else would volunteer. As an accountant she could to the job whilst standing on her head, reciting the periodic table backwards.

Go for it!
 
Not sure what to think about the new membership fees
as i have just found out i need to pay more ,and if not , i can help in any other way volunteer mmm
let me see , my membership started in 1963 when i got my first job .
somewhere i have certificate for volunteers 25 YEARS of service to the West Suffolk Diabetic branch Bury st Edmunds
Also as i have suggested anybody who have diabetes for 50-60 -70 gets a different membership .
me 62 years on insulin
and last ,not sure a fair way of asking 1000 + members for a price rise when the ass has over 180-000 plus mmm
will have to raid the piggy bank as i donate to 3 other research charities have a good day all vic
 
Status
This thread is now closed. Please contact Anna DUK, Ieva DUK or everydayupsanddowns if you would like it re-opened.
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