A long-standing senior member of the Trust recently wrote to it after receiving confirmation of his renewed membership. The member had noticed from the (very) small print on the back of the renewal letter that more information about senior membership was available at the Trust website. Curious, he discovered from that website that nearly a million members receive a ‘concession’ of a lower annual fee provided they have been a senior member for at least five of the previous ten years, noting that “The Trust likes to give members the power to make decisions about their membership, and for every person who is happy and able to decline the discount, the places it looks after will benefit from at least £19 extra”.  He invited the Trust to explain how members could have “the power to make decisions about [their] membership” if they remained unaware of the existence of such a “discount”. Many senior members (who must form a significant proportion of the Trust’s membership) might not be “happy” to discover that they could have paid less but that the Trust prefers, for obvious reasons, that they should not find out. 

The member pointed out to the Trust that approximately 40% of its renewal letter is a largely blank panel with fatuous text and graphics about biodegradable membership cards: commendable, but perhaps not a matter of the greatest concern to the vast majority of members. Most seniors might consider some mention of special rates more important. The matter could be dealt with in only a few words: “Longstanding Senior Members may be entitled to a reduced membership fee. Please contact the Trust for details”, or similar.

In response the Trust claimed that it gave details about each category of membership – including senior membership – in every renewal letter: “The letter asks members who think they qualify to contact the SSC.” That statement is untrue. In fact the letter says, “Visit [the Trust website] to find out more about senior membership”: there is not the slightest indication that a discount might be available. The Trust has been invited repeatedly to explain its false statement (for which no apology has been offered), and to reveal how many senior members are paying the higher membership rate. The Trust has failed to respond to both requests. Instead, a terse letter advises that the correspondence has been closed.

Many senior members, especially those with limited budgets, will have their own views on the matter.