PRODUCT NEWS: Support the BMC for £1 / month

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 UKC/UKH Gear 22 Oct 2020
U27 Membership

The BMC has launched a brand-new digital-only membership for the U27s. This new membership not only supports the great work of the BMC, but it's also packed full of personal benefits. 



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5
 Michael Hood 22 Oct 2020
In reply to UKC/UKH Gear:

Is it April 1st?

or have the BMC really just launched an overtly discriminatory ageist product?

I'm a bit shocked really - is it actually legal to sell products like this - you couldn't sell a "black" membership and I was under the impression (correct me if I'm wrong) that age was a protected characteristic like race.

25
 Rob Kelly 22 Oct 2020
In reply to Michael Hood:

You can get a railcard for discount fares if you're under 30 or over 60 for example. What's the difference?

 neilh 22 Oct 2020
In reply to Michael Hood:

Have to admit this does not look good or well thought through.

Are they saying that those over 27 are not digitally savvy?

Good grief.Come on, get real BMC.

Scraping the barrel .

17
 neilh 22 Oct 2020
In reply to Rob Kelly:

Plenty of other discounted rail fares on offer for everyone in a complex pricing proposition form the rail network.

 Rob Parsons 22 Oct 2020
In reply to Michael Hood:

The weird thing is that the £1 per month is a first-year-only offer; after that it rises to £2 per month, which is more than the standard membership of £1.66 per month.

Post edited at 14:21
2
 Michael Hood 22 Oct 2020
In reply to Rob Kelly:

> You can get a railcard for discount fares if you're under 30 or over 60 for example. What's the difference?

Hmm, suppose so - still doesn't look very good - it's not quite like a junior membership is it?

 Michael Hood 22 Oct 2020
In reply to Rob Parsons:

Is the £1.66 not a first year offer as well - pretty sure my membership is more than £20.

 Rob Parsons 22 Oct 2020
In reply to Michael Hood:

> Is the £1.66 not a first year offer as well - pretty sure my membership is more than £20.


Ah right. https://membership.thebmc.co.uk/ is not exactly clear on that.

 Rob Kelly 22 Oct 2020
In reply to UKC/UKH Gear:

On a slightly different note, this got me thinking about BMC membership. It has never even occurred to me as something of interest before. Looking at the benefits and as far as I can see it's a magazine, some fairly useless discounts and then a load of insurance stuff. Spent a few minutes trying to look at what this insurance is but gave up when there was nothing obvious on the BMC website other than saying it's personal accident and combined liability insurance with no further explanation of what that actually means. Don't think I'll be joining somehow!

Post edited at 14:35
1
 jcking231 22 Oct 2020
In reply to Michael Hood:

You could equally say that the scheme was ageist before since people under the age of 27 typically have less disposable income and were therefore paying a higher percentage of their earnings towards a BMC membership than those who were older. Should the BMC be less accessible to young people because of their lower income?

(For clarity, I don't benefit from the U27 membership, just playing devils advocate)

11
In reply to Michael Hood:

Aren't age based discounts fairly commonplace - children, students, OAPs etc...

Given that rail has been mentioned a few times I thought I'd Google the various discounts that are out there and it would suffice to say there's a lot of them (and I'm presuming not all of them are illegal).

Post edited at 14:40

 Rob Parsons 22 Oct 2020
In reply to jcking231:

> You could equally say that the scheme was ageist before since people under the age of 27 typically have less disposable income and were therefore paying a higher percentage of their earnings towards a BMC membership than those who were older.

Raises the obvious question: what's significant about the age of 27? Why not 21? 30? Anything else?

What about older people surviving on small incomes?

Means-testing would be the only real way to achieve what you're implying.

 jcking231 22 Oct 2020
In reply to Rob Parsons:

> Raises the obvious question: what's significant about the age of 27? Why not 21? 30? Anything else?

> What about older people surviving on small incomes?

> Means-testing would be the only real way to achieve what you're implying.

You're absolutely right, we should means-test every individual BMC member rather than applying an easy metric that's fair for 90% of people.

The new scheme is practical and fair for the majority of existing members and will encourage more membership from the younger population (The average age of a BMC member is currently 42: https://www.thebmc.co.uk/bmc-membership-numbers-latest-update)

4
 steve taylor 22 Oct 2020
In reply to Rob Kelly:

> On a slightly different note, this got me thinking about BMC membership. It has never even occurred to me as something of interest before. Looking at the benefits and as far as I can see it's a magazine, some fairly useless discounts and then a load of insurance stuff. Spent a few minutes trying to look at what this insurance is but gave up when there was nothing obvious on the BMC website other than saying it's personal accident and combined liability insurance with no further explanation of what that actually means. Don't think I'll be joining somehow!

You missed out arranging-for, and ensuring continued access to the cliffs. Membership is worth it for that alone.

 tehmarks 22 Oct 2020
In reply to Rob Kelly:

> Looking at the benefits and as far as I can see it's a magazine, some fairly useless discounts and then a load of insurance stuff...don't think I'll be joining somehow!

Or, arguably, a charitable donation in support of access and conservation, and anything material you get in return is a perk.

 Rob Parsons 22 Oct 2020
In reply to jcking231:

> You're absolutely right, we should means-test every individual BMC member ...

I wasn't suggesting doing it.

> ... rather than applying an easy metric that's fair for 90% of people.

Where are you getting your 90% figure from? I suspect you have plucked it out of thin air.

As I asked: what's significant about '27'?

2
 tehmarks 22 Oct 2020
In reply to UKC/UKH Gear:

Why on Earth is a digital-only subscription age-specific? I'm 31 - what if I don't want bits of paper through the post? Can I opt out? Do I get charged a full membership regardless? Do I have to be part of the wastage against my will?

Absurd.

 Rob Kelly 22 Oct 2020
In reply to steve taylor:

Very true! And I really should have thought of that, not sure why I didn't. Wonder if it would be worth them adding to the list of 'benefits' to remind numpties like me.

Although, as has been alluded to above, perhaps a bit cheeky to not make it clearer that the prices listed on the membership page are a first year only offer.

 jcking231 22 Oct 2020
In reply to Rob Parsons:

> Where are you getting your 90% figure from? I suspect you have plucked it out of thin air.

Clearly not an exact figure, but people aged 20-29 on average earn 26% less than those over 40, and 21% less than those ages 30-39. (https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/research-briefings/cbp-8456/). 

In a time where young people are disproportionately losing their jobs and being locked out of the housing market, paying 66p less per month for a BMC membership seems like a minor win

> As I asked: what's significant about '27'?

 At a guess, I suspect it's probably the demographic that currently has the lowest proportion of BMC members, but that's probably a question for the BMC

3
Alex Messenger, BMC 22 Oct 2020

Hi everyone

Thanks for the interest!

We’ve been working on developing our membership plans for a couple of years. A key part of this is launching this new digital-only membership and making membership a lot easier to take out on your phone. 

We’re hoping that this new digital membership will be successful and increase our younger members. Whilst it is only for U27s at the moment, we're looking to make it available to everyone after the initial 12-month trial.

BMC individual membership is currently:

  • £12 / year intro Direct Debit offer for U27s
  • £24 / year U27 membership
  • £19.97 / year intro Direct Debit offer for full individual membership
  • £39.95 / year full individual membership

Why join? You’ll help us:

  • Be a powerful voice for all climbers
  • Protect our crags and mountains
  • Campaign for improved access
  • Promote environmental sustainability
  • Provide technical and safety advice
  • Help climbers improve their skills, confidence and achieve personal ambitions
  • Keep our climbing heritage alive

And you’ll also get the personal benefits including liability insurance. This means that you’re protected if you’re involved in a climbing accident (such as a belay accident or dropping rocks on someone). In the event of a claim against you, you have £15 million of insurance cover.

Steve McClure explains more: 

https://intouch.thebmc.co.uk/rock-climbing/

This digital membership is just the start of our plans. Look out for some members-only GB Climbing coaching content and hill walking skills content, coming soon. This has been developed for the U27 members but will be available for everyone.

Thanks Rob for that feedback on the insurance, we'll work on explaining that more. 

Feel free to fire any membership questions or feedback at me and I'll try and help. 

Alex
 

1
In reply to UKC/UKH Gear:

what a joke

9
 Rob Kelly 22 Oct 2020
In reply to Alex Messenger, BMC:

Thanks for that Alex. And, for me at least, that list of "why join us" is of far more interest/incentive than the list of personal benefits currently on the membership page of the website. Maybe worthwhile having those on there somewhere?

 Qwerty2019 22 Oct 2020
In reply to UKC/UKH Gear:

Can anyone confirm last years costings please?  I have a feeling 12mths membership was £30 or close to that for my young daughter.

 toad 22 Oct 2020
In reply to tehmarks:

> Or, arguably, a charitable donation in support of access and conservation, and anything material you get in return is a perk.

A fairly important point- the BMC is not a charity, the ACT is a separate organisation

BMC proper is more akin to a trade union or a pressure group

Alex Messenger, BMC 22 Oct 2020
In reply to Rob Kelly:

Yep, you're right. We've just redesigned the membership pages for mobile and it feels like we now need to add another internal membership landing page on our site for the "why join us". On the list!

 

 spenser 22 Oct 2020
In reply to Alex Messenger, BMC:

As someone who is generally pretty supportive of the BMC I am going to pull you up on "Keep our climbing heritage alive". To the best of my knowledge the BMC halted all funding to the MHT at the start of lockdown and has not yet reinstated this? 

You/ the BMC do good work so please don't undermine that by making erroneous claims of doing things which the organisation has stepped away from.

My perception of Summit is that it has a very low readership and is probably a poor use of the organisation's money for the majority of people receiving it (personally I don't think I have ever read more than 1 article across all of the issues I received since 2012). Presumably the readership of the digital copy of summit sent out over lockdown should give you some good data about how many members chose to read any of it?

6
Alex Messenger, BMC 22 Oct 2020
In reply to spenser:

Well, it's not my area, but heritage isn't only the Mountain Heritage Trust. It's the promoting the shared heritage of climbing, which could be book projects, films,  archive films, the BMC photo Gallery of mountaineering. I know that MHT funding was paused as Coronavirus started but I couldn't give you an update on it this moment. 

Summit is more my area. Summit is sent to all our individual members 4x/year and club members 1x/year. This gives it a significant reach and most of our feedback is generally very positive. However... whilst print is a brilliant medium it can't be personalised easily, which will end up being the downfall of most magazines. So for everyone who loves an issue, it'll leave someone else cold. 

This is part of our digital membership project, we're aiming to be more sophisticated about who we send Summit out to, so look out for easier ways to opt in and opt out. This is will all be managed through our new mobile-first membership site, which we're working on right now. 

This will be a big upgrade and will allow you to easily find all your membership, insurance, shop, event info, together with local area updates and members-only content.

Hope this helps.

(I'll find out the answer to MHT)



 

Post edited at 16:20
 Qwerty2019 22 Oct 2020
In reply to Alex Messenger, BMC:

Can anyone confirm last years costings please?  I have a feeling 12mths membership was £30 or close to that for my young daughter.

 spenser 22 Oct 2020
In reply to Alex Messenger, BMC:

Thanks Alex, good to hear that members will be able to opt out of Summit if they don't want to read it.

I appreciate that the BMC contributes to climbing films and so on as well (the expedition reports are good), it just felt as though the withdrawal of MHT funding undermined the long term retention of the heritage. I'm aware that the BMC website is being rebuilt, hopefully this will make it easier for members to access things (let's face it, the search facility is not helpful).

Alex Messenger, BMC 22 Oct 2020
In reply to Qwerty2019:

Hi

If you email Arun@thebmc.co.uk with your daughter's membership number then he'll be able to help and work out which membership option is best for this year if you want to renew. 

 

 steveriley 22 Oct 2020
In reply to UKC/UKH Gear:

Bargain. Even if you never go to Horseshoe Quarry in your life, this is worth thinking about. Regardless of recent crackpottery.

Alex Messenger, BMC 22 Oct 2020
In reply to spenser:

Yep, we hope to re-build the main site in 2021 - Coronavirus depending...

Also, if you want to opt out of Summit, just email arun@thebmc.co.uk and we won't send you another copy.

1
 Offwidth 22 Oct 2020
In reply to Alex Messenger, BMC:

Please, please, get the landing page updated with a version of your list. Add the following: the major environmental campaigns and fundraising; being the governing body for climbing competitions in the UK and running the youth series in England; the linked charities ACT MHT, Land management (and don't forget the huts fully or partly run by the BMC); the 11(?) crags purchased by the BMC when access was potentially threatened; the close relationship with clubs and  partner organisations and the significant lobbying power that enables for the mountain, hill, crag and seacliff environment; the international links and input to the the IFSC and UIAA; the related mountain and climbing and hillwalking festivals support; the Peak, Lancs and Cheshire guidebook work and support for guidebooks elsewhere, including being part of Wired initiative.

The current website benefits list is too much based on things like discounts and not enough on the fabulous good work.

As for the MHT this is the most recent BMC communication:

https://thebmc.co.uk/mountain-heritage-20th-anniversary-fundraising-campaig...

The  MHT is an excellent charity that could do with some extra funds as it has a wealth of recent archive donations (including the Chris Craggs photo collection) and needs time and money to process them.  People can donate via the link above.

1
 FactorXXX 22 Oct 2020
In reply to Rob Parsons:

> Raises the obvious question: what's significant about the age of 27? Why not 21? 30? Anything else?

Here you go:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/27_Club

 Michael Hood 22 Oct 2020
In reply to Rob Kelly:

> and then a load of insurance stuff

This to me is the prime reason I joined (although there are others) - 3rd party insurance. You may think, well we're all climbers, we're not going to sue one another. But what if you accidentally injured some innocent bystander and they sued you - regardless of whether you won or lost, it'd cost you a lot.

 Jamie Wakeham 22 Oct 2020
In reply to Rob Kelly:

I've been beaten to it - but regardless of anything else, I would not consider climbing outside without personal liability insurance in place.  The financial consequences of accidentally knocking a rock or dropping a bit of gear onto someone's head simply aren't worth thinking about - for you or for them.

 spenser 22 Oct 2020
In reply to Alex Messenger, BMC:

Thanks Alex, not sure what the dislike was for, that's helpful.


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