Wow. What a story!
This raises the question of why our YA membership is handled through the clubs at all. Why can't we just buy our silver card direct from YA?
I don't have my silver card yet either but that's normal. It always takes ages for the club to collect subscriptions, send them in to Yachting VIC, and YV to send out the cards.
The system could be a lot simpler if we dealt with YA directly. And the clubs wouldn't be tempted to keep the money that we trust them with. I don't see how they can legally keep the $53 you paid for a silver card. If there was a liability case for a RQYS member I wouldn't be surprised if the RQYS ends up being the one liable. It's a bit like those insurance brokers who keep the premiums for themselves and just hope the customer doesn't have a claim.
Any club that offers YA membership with their subscription and then fail to pass on the appropriate fee are playing with fire.
In the event of an insurance claim etc being denied, I would hope that the club and it's executive employees have their public liability insurance paid up because they will probably be in hot water (not to mention potential criminal issues).
IMHO if any club have serious issues with YA, call a general meeting of it's members and if they concur, cease their affilliation, making it clear to all wo pay their money exactly what they are(n't) getting for their subscription.
For anybody interested, my YA card arrived on Thursday. NFI what it gets me but I have it anyway <img src="http://www.catsailor.com/forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />
Tiger Mike
