Coventry 2016

[21st century heathen 220]

 

I've said the club should change the rules to stop people flaunting the system in my original post.

 

The difference is, these multi-national corporations probably know the scam is going on...

 

What rules are you referring to? The club clarified more than once that the rule is that you must produce an NUS card. The statement is short, simple and absolute.

 

What scam? Those producing an NUS card are legally entitled to one. Unless of course the NUS have illegally issued one or the card produced is a forged card, neither of which I believe we're debating here.

 

You also seem talk about speedway in general which is unfair on other clubs that have not taken this stance. Incidentally, also a stance never before taken by Coventry Speedway (that I'm aware of - apologies in advance if this statement is inaccurate) which has accepted an NUS card to qualify for a discounted admission cost in the past.

[SpeedwayTShirts 307]

A lot of a little is better than a little of a lot. More people spending more money in the stadium will benefit the Bees in their final year of trading and create a better atmosphere assuming of course that the team is competitive. I'm more than happy to pay full price at the closing fixture of the 2016 season and say farewell to Brandon where I have many many memories however I doubt I'll be attending inbetween.

[Woz01 3,589]

The problem is it seems easy to get an NUS card, my mate did an internet course and was entitled to one. Any one of us could done the same without any intention of doing the course. I have more respect than to do something like that, shame some others don't have similar morals. The people it hinders most are the people who genuinely needed the rate, hopefully the club will announce how students can get a cheaper rate soon but they only way I can see it working is having a student age limit. The change is only temporary at this moment.

Edited April 5, 2016 by woz01

[damosuzuki 696]

Done it myself when I was younger - booked a course costing 60 quid and got all manner of discounts. Age limit is the way to go - Maybe under 20 or something.

[lisa-colette 6,032]

The problem is it seems easy to get an NUS card, my mate did an internet course and was entitled to one. Any one of us could don't he same without any intention of doing the course. I have more respect than to do something like that, shame some others don't have similar morals. The people it hinders most are the people who genuinely needed the rate, hopefully the club will announce how students can get a cheaper rate soon but they only way I can see it working is having a student age limit. The change is only temporary at this moment.

It is such a massive cut in price, I am not surprised people are abusing it!

Done it myself when I was younger - booked a course costing 60 quid and got all manner of discounts. Age limit is the way to go - Maybe under 20 or something.

Under 20 are you having a laugh? After doing A levels at college that takes you to 18 and then if you go to Uni for 3/4 years that takes you to 21/22. So should be at least that. Edited April 5, 2016 by lisa-colette

[SimonB 55]

A lot of a little is better than a little of a lot. More people spending more money in the stadium will benefit the Bees in their final year of trading and create a better atmosphere assuming of course that the team is competitive. I'm more than happy to pay full price at the closing fixture of the 2016 season and say farewell to Brandon where I have many many memories however I doubt I'll be attending inbetween.

 

Unfortunately spending more money in the stadium is unlikely to help the Bees as most of that will go to the stadium owners

[Woz01 3,589]

It is such a massive cut in price, I am not surprised people are abusing it! Under 20 are you having a laugh? After doing A levels at college that takes you to 18 and then if you go to Uni for 3/4 years that takes you to 21/22. So should be at least that.

Its not an excuse! People who need it most are now hurt by this more than the people who abused it! Agree it should be around 21-22 years of age, it wouldn't stop it being abused entirely but would certainly stop a lot of it. I know some football clubs do similar with students but cap it to a certain age.

[Shale Searcher 1,264]

It's easy for to get conformation from the educational institute involved, a conformation by return fax/email is easily achieved. Had a similar problem myself, easily sorted..

[A ORLOV 8,628]

It is such a massive cut in price, I am not surprised people are abusing it!

Under 20 are you having a laugh? After doing A levels at college that takes you to 18 and then if you go to Uni for 3/4 years that takes you to 21/22. So should be at least that.

Still sponging off the state at 22, shocking, should have had a job by then and paying tax into the system to pay OAPs pensions .

[Trees 2,814]

My son is now at uni at 26 so I'm not sure an age limit is the best way to go. Unless the offer really is aimed at young (not job experienced) students ..... probably it is?

[Woz01 3,589]

My son is now at uni at 26 so I'm not sure an age limit is the best way to go. Unless the offer really is aimed at young (not job experienced) students ..... probably it is?

I say it should be to 22 as that is around the natural time students generally finish education. If you're older and a student I guess more than likely that's a choice to carry on with education? Difficult one but there has to be an age limit.

[G the Bee 639]

 

What rules are you referring to? The club clarified more than once that the rule is that you must produce an NUS card. The statement is short, simple and absolute.

 

What scam? Those producing an NUS card are legally entitled to one. Unless of course the NUS have illegally issued one or the card produced is a forged card, neither of which I believe we're debating here.

 

You also seem talk about speedway in general which is unfair on other clubs that have not taken this stance. Incidentally, also a stance never before taken by Coventry Speedway (that I'm aware of - apologies in advance if this statement is inaccurate) which has accepted an NUS card to qualify for a discounted admission cost in the past.

 

You quoted the 'rule'. It appeared that the club (mistakenly) assumed that the NUS card was proof of full-time education. It isn't. So 'the rule' appears to be in the process of being changed.

 

And in terms of the 'scam', ignore the 'fake/forged v. genuine' argument, because NUS cards are easy to get hold of by legitimate means. To put it in black and white, I believe the 'scam' is people getting hold of NUS cards, which are relatively easy to obtain, with the purpose of using them to take advantage of discounts they would not have otherwise been able to claim. As far as I'm concerned, that's a scam. Also, as far as I'm concerned, anyone who is not in full time education, but is claiming student discounts by using an NUS card they have obtained by other means (albeit legitimate means) is claiming a discount that, in reality, was not intended for them. But, as long as the institution says they accept the cards, they can do it. It's a loophole that people have used for ages. Coventry have now closed the loophole, temporarily it seems, whilst alternatives are explored. Fair play to them. If other promotions or institutions choose not to do this, that's up to them.

 

Here's a case in point. My wife was offered an NUS card for doing a small after-school course on basic numeracy through our son's primary school which was overseen by the local adult education college. She earns over 20K a year (as a second income to our household). Is she really who the Coventry promotion were aiming the discount at? Of course not.

 

Back in November, when questioned on the student discount, and how a lot of people could fit that criteria, Neil Watson stated on this very thread 'Full-time education confirmed by the institution. Night-school or flower-arranging classes don't count!'

 

What it looks like they failed to realise is that by attending night school or flower arranging classes, in many cases an NUS card could be obtained. I suspect their mistake, as SCB pointed out earlier, was that they appeared to believe that possession of an NUS card was proof of 'full time' education. It's not. Or perhaps they just saw the good in people and assumed that people wouldn't take advantage of the promotion's intention to offer a discount to genuine full-time students who could not afford the full price.

 

We could go around in circles with this debate about the rights and wrongs of the situation. It seems to me that the loophole in the system was abused (they have said so themselves) and as a result they have removed the NUS card discount until they can devise a more appropriate method to offer a discount to those for whom it was originally intended.

 

In the meantime, genuine full-time students for whom the discount was intended are going to suffer. For that, they can blame those who took advantage of the promotions best intentions and exploited a loophole for their own personal gain.

Edited April 5, 2016 by G the Bee

[Skidder1 7,637]

Just re-instate the OAP concessions and all will be well.

[Woz01 3,589]

You quoted the 'rule'. It appeared that the club (mistakenly) assumed that the NUS card was proof of full-time education. It isn't. So 'the rule' appears to be in the process of being changed.

 

And in terms of the 'scam', ignore the 'fake/forged v. genuine' argument, because NUS cards are easy to get hold of by legitimate means. To put it in black and white, I believe the 'scam' is people getting hold of NUS cards, which are relatively easy to obtain, with the purpose of using them to take advantage of discounts they would not have otherwise been able to claim. As far as I'm concerned, that's a scam. Also, as far as I'm concerned, anyone who is not in full time education, but is claiming student discounts by using an NUS card they have obtained by other means (albeit legitimate means) is claiming a discount that, in reality, was not intended for them. But, as long as the institution says they accept the cards, they can do it. It's a loophole that people have used for ages. Coventry have now closed the loophole, temporarily it seems, whilst alternatives are explored. Fair play to them. If other promotions or institutions choose not to do this, that's up to them.

 

Here's a case in point. My wife was offered an NUS card for doing a small after-school course on basic numeracy through our son's primary school which was overseen by the local adult education college. She earns over 20K a year (as a second income to our household). Is she really who the Coventry promotion were aiming the discount at? Of course not.

 

Back in November, when questioned on the student discount, and how a lot of people could fit that criteria, Neil Watson stated on this very thread 'Full-time education confirmed by the institution. Night-school or flower-arranging classes don't count!'

 

What it looks like they failed to realise is that by attending night school or flower arranging classes, in many cases an NUS card could be obtained. I suspect their mistake, as SCB pointed out earlier, was that they appeared to believe that possession of an NUS card was proof of 'full time' education. It's not. Or perhaps they just saw the good in people and assumed that people wouldn't take advantage of their intentions to offer a discount to genuine full-time students who could not afford the full price.

 

We could go around in circles with this debate about the rights and wrongs of the situation. It seems to me that the loophole in the system was abused (they have said so themselves) and as a result they have removed the NUS card discount until they can devise a more appropriate method to offer a discount to those for whom it was originally intended.

 

In the meantime, genuine full-time students for whom the discount was intended are going to suffer. For that, they can blame those who took advantage of the promotions best intentions and exploited a loophole for their own personal gain.

Luckily they have week to find a solution before our next meeting. Whatever is said its a very good price to keep fans attending once they start or are in higher education. The drop off between the ages 16-18 attending meetings must be huge. Edited April 5, 2016 by woz01

[Islander15 1,065]

How the hell do you change the rules to only allow those who are in full time education with no other income in though?b They have to rely on people's honesty and integrity .....

You conveniently didn't quote the part of my post where I answered this. If you're in full-time education at a college or university and are issued with an NUS card, it will have the name of the college or university on it. Therefore people who receive one for an online course etc can be disregarded.

Edited April 5, 2016 by Islander15