paying to CAT

[noddyholder]

How do I do this?
I have subscribed before but can't see where and I need to CAT someone

you don't need to pay

under useful stuff is 'contact another talker'

just click there

Don't think you have to subscrice to cat someone - is the option not in the list above here?

you do pay now twig

£5 for a year i think

you dont have to subscribe

but you have to pay a yearly cat fee of a fiver
then make sure both parties are ticked to receive cats

if you click the cat thing then the option to pay comes up. Its £5 now.

you do have to pay now

oo er

how things change

I remember when you could come on here cat everybody and still get fish and chips on the way home

it used to be all green hills round here too

(as an aside if you pay subscriptions shouldn't you be allowed to cat automatically .. huh mumsnet? think that is a mite unfair)

no subscriptions now, jsut cat charge.

I wondered that twiglett. However I think it's a good way of them raising a bit of revenue and it's only a fiver after all. I didn't notice any announcement though.

You dont have to pay subs now just the £5 to CAT.

If you have recently subscribed you probably have a case in getting a 'freebie' but you'd have to take that up with HQ.

I would also be interested to know, if it makes any more revenue for the team than voluntry subs?

they sent me an email like a newsletter type thing

Don't think you have to pay to recieve CATs, just to send. It was in one of the recent emails they sent out, but if you've opted not to receive those, not sure how you might find out.

yes, it seems a bit mean to make those who already pay subscription now pay again.

I did also wonder if CAT shouldn't be freely available to those who have already subscribed (you can ask MN direct individually ) , at least until their subscription "anniversary". Not against it in principle but some of those who probably benefit from it most (ie.sellers) aren't the ones who will end up paying for it since to receive is still free I think, and they automatically get the CAT-ers email address to reply to direct.

deja vue or your questions answered

Below is copied from email I received.

Dear Mumsnet member,

Another new year has stolen up on us and as we approach our sixth (yes sixth!) anniversary we thought it time to bring you up to date on site developments and some cheerier (deep breath) news about our finances.

We spent a lot of time licking our Mumsnet Best reviews into shape last year and with your help we think we've turned them into a pretty definitive guide to the best stuff available for new parents. We've also published them in hard copy form - Mumsnet Best is available free to pregnant and new mums from Mothercare stores - look out for Issue 2 in March.

Meantime Mumsnet membership has swelled to getting on for 50,000, and each month around 150,000 different folk pay us a visit. So we've grown into quite a community.

Many thanks as ever to everyone who's contributed to Mumsnet talk, which continues to be a vibrant, supportive place where you can always get an answer (whether you asked for one or not ) It's your postings that makes Mumsnet the place it is.

And a special word of thanks to the many who have subscribed - a true act of generosity, as you saw nothing extra for your money and one that really did keep Mumsnet online. However, we think it's time to take a deep breath, roll up our sleeves and call a halt to our voluntary subscription scheme (though please may we reserve the right to whip it down from the attic and dust it off at a later date if need be?) We're still a little way off turning a profit but there's enough blue sky on the horizon to make us cautiously optimistic that one day we might and we think it would be wrong to ask for your cash just in case.

Of course there are plenty of other ways you can ensure we'll never be back with our begging bowls and it would be remiss of us not to take the opportunity to list them here :

Shop using the affiliate buttons on the home page or around the site and use the buy it links on our product review pages.
Shop through our discount partners (not only do you get a good deal but usually we get a few coppers too).
Keep sending in product reviews (from pushchairs to days out, breast pumps to baby monitors).
Fill in the surveys that we occasionally host on the site.
Buy a Mumsnet book, something from the Mumsnet shop, or a pictory set.
Click on the banner ads around the site (if everyone clicked on an ad once a day or so our accountant would be much happier!)
Recommend us to all your mates... even your enemies.
And most importantly of all keep posting your great advice, tips and support and talk.
As a way of making up the shortfall we have decided to introduce a small annual fee - £5 - for the ability to CAT (contact another talker) for the year. We hope it's a small enough amount not to put you off sending CATs and of course all the rest of the site remains entirely free. Just click on CAT in the normal way and follow the instructions to register for the year.

For our part, we promise to keep bringing you more and better competitions, to keep compiling your wisdom into the best product reviews for parents out there and to keep upgrading talk to let the conversation flow even better.

So all that's left to say is thanks again and all the best for the year to all Mumsnetters and their families.

Justine, Carrie, Rachel, JJ and Tech

oh well that sounds fair really.

no, sorry don't think it is fair to those of us who have paid up subscriptions for the year

twiggy, there've been a couple of threads about this already and Justine (I think) said that those whose subs are paid-up can email and ask for the fiver to be waived this year.

I hope they're going to keep a record of dates and send out reminders for this though!

Oh, it's the link in iota's post at 1.00pm

I paid my yearly sub in November and didn't see why I should have to pay again, so I contacted them and asked if that could count as having paid to CAT, and they have allowed me to have the CAT facility until the date my subs would have been due again.

Hi there

Think all the questions have been answered here (thanks) - if anyone has paid subscription, do contact us at Mumsnet HQ and we'll change your registration status which will allow you to CAT until your annual subscriptions runs out.
Cheers,