Interesting subject for a PhD in social change.
Most of our members have e-mail addresses, mobile phones or both. I produce an e newsletter at the beginning of each month and in September's and October's newsletter I flagged rent collection dates as the first two Sundays in October. I would be in our Community hut for two hours to collect the rents.I also put up notices at the two entrances to allotment.
We ask people to attend in person to pay their rent. It's an opportunity to meet people you'd otherwise not see from one year to the next and we like them to sign off that they've read and accepted our allotment rules.
All very straight forward. Except it isn't. As well as some people seemingly unaware of their e-mail or notices or the fact that we collect the rent the same time each year I've discovered a major problem for us.
Currently we expect people to pay by cheque ( or cash), we don't do bank transfer.
I found that people who still have a cheque book (like me) use it so infrequently (like me) find that writing out a cheque has become somewhat of a lost art. I've received cheques undated, unsigned, undated and unsigned and have full grown adults near to tears trying to fill out a cheque. Our allotment association's name is quite long winded. People ask where can I write it - it's too long for the first line. Do I write the pence figure as number? Do you want my cheque card number on the back?
There were so many people who asked would you take cash. Not because they're Luddites - most have signed up to the cashless society. They do all their dealings on line - all they have is a debit card - they've never used a cheque book. They'd make a bank transfer, a credit card payment or use their PayPal account but a cheque? So they go to a cash point and draw out the rent. Except that means I have to have a cash float, which is a pain. Cash is heavy and awkward in bulk.
We had to pay in over £700 in notes and £1,200 in cheques - except some of the cheques didn't get to the bank 'cause they had no date, no payee, no signature!
I am still trying to collect rents. After e-mailing, I've texted threatening loss of plot if not paid pronto. I've asked people to send me cheques by post, or in desperation I call on them on my way to somewhere else.
This has to change. We will offer bank transfer, even a PayPal payment or credit card payment so I don't have to sit in a cold Community hut every Sunday in October and our allotmenteers can pay their rent from the living room.
My mother wouldn't recognise the way we are today.
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