Hi Telboy
Well, perhaps to some it does not matter.
But the fact that our trade federation is making false claims about it, makes me (and presumably prespctive members) wonder what else there is that is not true.
For example, reason 15 they give for joining is "Tender list inclusion". Now if any members of the fed here have been given any details about this, I'd be glad to hear about it. I havent been included on any tender lists. Not only that, but I have since learned that this costs nothing to do on your own, you simply contact the procurement department of your local council. This also is not a benefit exclusive to fed membership.
The problem is, the fed claim that as a benefit, as something you get for your membership fee. That would be like us saying to customers : "If you get me to do your windows, you get free entry into the local park"
But of course anyone can go into the local park, regardless of wether or not they are your customer. How long would it take for people to complain about that claim?
Not only that, but despite the fact it subscription to C&M is available to anyone, the fed dont even bother to subscribe to it in your behalf. You have to do it yourself.
By claiming to have benefits that are not really there, it brings the whole perception of the federation down. It makes it look like there really is no point being a member, so they have to make up reasons to join that arent true.
Now this is not the case at all, there are many good reasons to join the fed. One I learned about the other day was a discount on some window cleaning software. The makers of the software offer a £100 discount to fed members. That really is a benefit, this would make the fed membership pay for itself instantly (Membership fee is only £58). This should be included in that list, not things that arent true.
If someone complained to the Advertising Standards Authority, my expectation is that the Federation would be ordered to stop making these two claims, because they are simply misleading.
But I would hope they would just see common sense and remove them of their own accord.
-Philip
