Cycling UK Forum

gaz wrote:Clearly it's not intended to include "unwaged" Company Directors who receive income by way of Share Dividend rather than wages, thereby avoiding income tax;

As a point of interest you'd actually pay yourself the maximum wage before taxes (around 8k). Beyond that you can pay yourself via dividends but normal capital gains allowances and taxes apply.
It's not tax free either, you either choose to pay income tax on it or corporation tax - usually though the corporation tax works out a bit cheaper.

To avoid a discussion about tax wheezes, I'll suggest that the only sensible (ie not daft) way to do this would be to limit it to people in receipt of means-tested benefits and more specifically, Income Support and Income-based Job Seekers'. Anything else means that people in work on low wages are subsiding people who are potentially much better off.

I guess with any membership of any organisation you have to look at what you get out of it. I honestly have say very little for my £39 in my view the magazine is not great. I guess the forum is good however thats open to non members so no issue.
If it was members only that might be better ?

I joined CTC when I read about the successful campaign to resist some of the sillier proposals for the Highway Code (applying pressure on cyclists to use unsuitable cycle paths, etc.). I though that any organisation that respresented my interests in this way was welcome to some of my cash.

In some ways CTC has been a bit of a let down. I don't feel like I am a member of anything. I don't bother with the local groups as they don't cater for the type of cycling I enjoy. I have never taken part in any events, I have never met another CTC member. The magazine is OK, but W H Smith is full of magazines that I could buy.

The best thing about CTC is this forum, but it's free to anyone (and that's a good thing). I have also had the odd discount at Cotswold outdoor shops.

So is CTC a good use of my limited finances? I'm really not sure, it is of some value, but it could be a whole lot better.

My membership is up for renewal in the next week, and I'm just considering whether to renew or whether to divert to British Cycling.

Does anyone have much experience with what you actually get from British Cycling?

It's £15 cheaper,
but you don't get the magazine, which I'm not going to say is great, but I usually read a fair bit of it.
As far as I know it doesn't pretend to be a charity.
It has a weekly email - I always read Cycleclips so hopefully this'd be along the same lines.
It is of course more geared towards racers than tourists, but don't know how much difference this actually makes
if I ever ride competitively I'd need to pay an extra £12 for the insurance for BC - what counts as competitively - when I'm 'racing' a car to the traffic lights because he's on my tale and trying to overtake for the sake of overtaking? When I'm out with my mates and I decide to try and beat Fred to the pub? When I'm doing a club time trial? Or just when I'm in an official organised race? As long as it's not the first one I'm ok as I rarely go out on any club runs let alone time trials and I don't have any mates, but nonetheless I thought I'd ask.


also, if I go on Wiggle I can get 15 months of CTC membership for £36 - anyone know if can I do this as an existing member?

edit to add:
if i stay as a member for another 23 years I'll get a badge

It hurts me to say this as I despair of CTC ... but I would stay with CTC

BC's weekly newsletter is very thin on content, there is almost nothing on the site that is not racing related - and you seem to get a lot of "promotional offers" from Sky et al.

I joined BC for the sole reason of getting priority (and discounted) bookings for track event tickets (Revolution & the Olympic test event) .... I doubt that I'll renew.

Rob

thirdcrank wrote:I only mentioned the P45 because when I retired at the ripe old age of 52½, that's exactly what the CTC membership application info said was suitable as evidence of being "unwaged."

PS All that quote from snakes says to me is that he doesn't understand the benefits system very well (which is understandable because many people are in the same boat.) Jobseekers' is a case in point. When I retired, I could have signed on, on the basis that I was looking for work and I'd have got contribution-based JSA for nine months, no matter what my income.

In any case, the reality - as MickF points out - is that if you have at least some forms of income - in his case a service pension following a long career in the Royal Navy - then you will be treated as "unwaged" so long as you are not working (when the P45 would have gone to the new employer.) And as he said a bit higher up, that's daft.

I'm unwaged at the moment but on renewal I'll have to pay adult prices. They didn't ask for any reason other than you say you're a student. We'll trust you...

I could be on 100k for all they know

robgul wrote:It hurts me to say this as I despair of CTC ... but I would stay with CTC

BC's weekly newsletter is very thin on content, there is almost nothing on the site that is not racing related - and you seem to get a lot of "promotional offers" from Sky et al.

I joined BC for the sole reason of getting priority (and discounted) bookings for track event tickets (Revolution & the Olympic test event) .... I doubt that I'll renew.

Rob

Thanks, I guess I'll be renewing then. Much though I dislike the whole charity thing, I'd prefer to stick with CTC - just wanted to make sure I knew the options...

No, CTC full membership is not good value. My membership expires at the end of this month. After 21 years continuous membership I'm not sure what I'm going to do but I'm very tempted to let it lapse.

Also, I note that the rate will be increased by 5% to £41 in October. I haven't had a pay rise in the last 5 years (and I probably should consider myself lucky that I haven't had a pay cut....). What exactly was the advantage of becoming a charity supposed to be? I seem to recall that it was something to do with using income more efficiently but I must be mistaken.... I'm amazed that this increase apparently received so much support at the AGM.

My local group now doesn't receive a penny from the national CTC (in theory they could but they don't have a bank account so it's not worth the hassle because the bank charges would cancel out any benefit....).

sr19mc wrote:No, CTC full membership is not good value. My membership expires at the end of this month. After 21 years continuous membership I'm not sure what I'm going to do but I'm very tempted to let it lapse.

Also, I note that the rate will be increased by 5% to £41 in October. I haven't had a pay rise in the last 5 years (and I probably should consider myself lucky that I haven't had a pay cut....). What exactly was the advantage of becoming a charity supposed to be? I seem to recall that it was something to do with using income more efficiently but I must be mistaken.... I'm amazed that this increase apparently received so much support at the AGM.

My local group now doesn't receive a penny from the national CTC (in theory they could but they don't have a bank account so it's not worth the hassle because the bank charges would cancel out any benefit....).

I wonder whether any groups will be able to receive any funds from CTC after the full charity conversion has taken place.

Well, I've just cancelled my membership. I don't want to be part of an organisation which lies to and misleads its members.

Regulator wrote:Well, I've just cancelled my membership. I don't want to be part of an organisation which lies to and misleads its members.

I'm not surprised Greg. I won't be renewing mine when it comes up. Not being in London and having the benefit of the LCC I will have to find an alternative for insurance if nothing else before mine expires in a year or so.

All the best to you.
Karen

I'm resigning as Secretary and two other roles at our next AGM.

We're only a small club so I'll continue to lead rides until my membership expires next May. I won't be renewing.

Karen Sutton wrote:

Regulator wrote:Well, I've just cancelled my membership. I don't want to be part of an organisation which lies to and misleads its members.

I'm not surprised Greg. I won't be renewing mine when it comes up. Not being in London and having the benefit of the LCC I will have to find an alternative for insurance if nothing else before mine expires in a year or so.

All the best to you.
Karen

You don't have to live in London to be a member of LCC and get the benefits...

Regulator wrote:

Karen Sutton wrote:

Regulator wrote:Well, I've just cancelled my membership. I don't want to be part of an organisation which lies to and misleads its members.

I'm not surprised Greg. I won't be renewing mine when it comes up. Not being in London and having the benefit of the LCC I will have to find an alternative for insurance if nothing else before mine expires in a year or so.

All the best to you.
Karen

You don't have to live in London to be a member of LCC and get the benefits...

I might look at that then. I'm a commuted member of CTC and can't remember if it runs out this autumn or next year