Meet the Other Phone. Flexible and made to last.

Meet the Other Phone.
Flexible and made to last.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

To not pay subs?

88 replies

PunkApple · 08/07/2025 15:35

Less of a AIBU and more of a WIBU..
My daughter attends a local club, volunteers run the sessions but we pay termly to cover costs (hall hire, craft materials etc). She's been attending since September last year and really enjoys it.
Now since Easter the people running the club have been very inconsistent, cancelling due to their holidays (2 weeks before Easter hols, and another 2 weeks of holiday last month) there's also been one week (last week) cancelled due to illness and another week previously cancelled due to 'appointments'. To put it bluntly this term she's missed 3 sessions and the term before 4 sessions. Next week will also be the last session as the end of term party which was planned has mysteriously disappeared from the planning too. To total it, thats 8 weeks in two terms that haven't gone ahead. Which is effectively a whole term's worth of cancelled sessions!
A message in the groupchat appeared this morning asking those parents who haven't paid subs to pay them this week, I asked wether it will be a discounted rate due to the amount of missed sessions lately but was told no as its the same cost every term and averaged accross the whole year. This covers materials, rent etc which I do understand to an extent.
AIBU to be a bit annoyed? WIBU to make more of a point about it? Or shall I just pay and shut up as my daughter enjoys the club and the volunteers are giving up their time..?

OP posts:
Fundayout2025 · 09/07/2025 21:12

Bushmillsbabe · 09/07/2025 13:16

They shouldn't have asked you to pay for a dbs. We only dbs our regular volunteers, not our occasional ones, and we pay for it. Why would you need to lose a day's pay? DBS check are now done online/video call. Our parent volunteers are for ratio purposes more than anything else, we have to have 1 adult to 5 children if we leave the hut, and with 2 leaders and 24 girls we just can't do it without them. They do have to be over 18 though, was his sister over 18?

We do ask parents for help with the banking/finances (have to submit accounts for audit each year, which is madness), admin bits etc, but no help is forthcoming. We also sometimes do things on weekends, which would think would be much easier for most to help, but nope.

If lose a days pay as if have to take it off work to get to the beavers an hour earlier. And I cant hear on video calls as no subtitles . Besides this was 15 years ago

Yes his sister was 18 at the time

TheWonderhorse · 09/07/2025 21:16

OP it's £25 per term. I'm cringing for you.

hopspot · 09/07/2025 21:17

PunkApple · 08/07/2025 16:03

I did fill out a form when she started the club saying I didn't mind helping out to run sessions (although with a 2 and 3 year old at home, dinner to cook, bathtime to sort etc, it couldn't be every week) but I've never been asked or invited to help with events so I assumed they didn't need anybody extra? Maybe I'll remind them the next time I drop her off.

You couldn’t make every session and that’s ok. But they can’t make every session and that’s not ok?

TheNightingalesStarling · 09/07/2025 21:21

Fundayout2025 · 09/07/2025 21:08

Why would you need one to do admin. Nowhere near the kids.

The admin involves financial information and other sensitive information

CarpetKnees · 09/07/2025 22:49

PunkApple · 08/07/2025 18:05

I've paid all of them (including now this current term). I said this is WIBU, don't be ridiculous.

So why didn't you pay this term's subs in April, as you knew it was £25 for the term ?

I do understand it is frustrating when you are expecting 12 sessions a term, to have 4 missed BUT that is ridiculously cheap, so still very good vfm even if half of them were cancelled.

YABU.

IbizaToTheNorfolkBroads · 09/07/2025 22:57

TheNightingalesStarling · 08/07/2025 16:10

Obviously no idea what your club is but to put it into perspective for our Scout group...

Subs... £120
Capitation... (payment to HQs covering insurance, training etc)... £65
Then we have stuff like the Hut insurance, the electricity bill, the water bill...the council tax... another big chunk gone.
The badges add up...

The actual money we get to run a session for equipment etc? Just a few pounds a term. That's for craft stuff, for ingredients, and replacement sports equipment....

Most if put money is from fundraising, not the Subs.

When I was a Cub leader (I moved to Explorers 3 years ago), we worked on 75p per Cub per week.

Fundayout2025 · 09/07/2025 23:08

TheNightingalesStarling · 09/07/2025 21:21

The admin involves financial information and other sensitive information

So do many office jobs that don't require a dbs. Or certainly didn't in 2009

PunkApple · 09/07/2025 23:20

CarpetKnees · 09/07/2025 22:49

So why didn't you pay this term's subs in April, as you knew it was £25 for the term ?

I do understand it is frustrating when you are expecting 12 sessions a term, to have 4 missed BUT that is ridiculously cheap, so still very good vfm even if half of them were cancelled.

YABU.

The fee wasn't due until June. I paid previous terms. I paid for the Easter term. The reason this one was late was the leaders cancelling so many sessions meant we werent physically present to pay, I wasn't the only parent who hadn't paid up until this point and the leaders understood this. It was paid for yesterday.

OP posts:
ExpertArchFormat · 09/07/2025 23:27

Pay and keep shtum.
When they cancel due to illness they still have to pay the hire fee for the hall.

You coukd volunteer yourself then there would be fewer cancellations

Theroadt · 09/07/2025 23:53

Options: (1) volunteer to help so they don’t have gaps & cancellations (2) move to another club.

UsingAMansNameInAWomensWorld · 10/07/2025 09:49

Fundayout2025 · 09/07/2025 21:08

Why would you need one to do admin. Nowhere near the kids.

Because you have access to personal details

And you have to work with the adults. DBS isn't just about kids

drspouse · 10/07/2025 10:21

UsingAMansNameInAWomensWorld · 10/07/2025 09:49

Because you have access to personal details

And you have to work with the adults. DBS isn't just about kids

It's not actually legal to ask for an Enhanced DBS if you do not work directly and regularly with children or vulnerable adults (I doubt that Scout leaders would count as vulnerable).
Nevertheless, many organisations will require one for roles where it's not legal to ask for one (e.g. schools where you will be going on one single daytime trip).
For an admin role in Scouting it's a bit of a grey area because you might need the lower level DBS for the financial aspects (with a large group of 100+ kids and £300-400 per year per child for subs, camps etc. that's over £30K turnover per year) (my DH had one of these for his former job in finance), but it could be argued you will be a regular at meetings (even if it's just start/end to pick up financial things) and therefore work with children "regularly".

Fundayout2025 · 10/07/2025 16:56

UsingAMansNameInAWomensWorld · 10/07/2025 09:49

Because you have access to personal details

And you have to work with the adults. DBS isn't just about kids

Do all call centre workers in insurance companies or banks have DBS? After all they have access to financial information Friend of mine has done 30 years in accounts and payroll and never had one

New posts on this thread. Refresh page
Swipe left for the next trending thread