William Loveless Hall deposits

matthewlinley

I'd be interested in peoples views on this. One of those niggling little bug bears!

After an unfortunate (sic) incident the WLH have introduced a damage deposit. Thats not unusual - and most people would agree its a very good idea. Whats different about the WLH is the deposit has to be in cash. Its this bit which has been problematic for both the panto group and also for Eastern Angles. heres a few reasons why:-

a) the nominated person ends up carrying cash around - for EA this was me picking it up from the office in Ipswich one evening then carrying it home via a bike ride and public transport one night before paying it in the following morning. Its not heavy (obviosuly) - but as soon as I took it off the EA premises that cash wasnt insured - and if my bag had been lost or stolen en route during that period the whole lot would have been lost. Picking up is also going to be a pain - but it would have been even worse if I didnt live in Wivenhoe. I know this is a little bit utopian but I dont feel that WTC should from a public safety POV should be requiring people to carry that amount of cash around

b) for local groups who might not have £300 in cash in a safe in an office £300 is an awkward number. It means a trip to the bank (getting two signatories on a cheque etc etc) or two trips on separate days from a cash point.

c) if your a user of the hall and not from Wivenhoe itself this is a real pain. I happened to be in the town council office to drop off some posters when the panto producer was trying to pick up the cash deposit. She'd come all the way in from Harwich to collect but it wasn't ready to be returned....

In these days of e money this does seem all a bit outdated. Most places operate a cheque thats never cashed deposit scheme (or only cashed if damage is done). if thats not possible could the WLH have a special deposit bank account that groups could transfer money into? Surely there has to be a better and safer way?

puffin

I agree completely Matt: there must be easier ways of achieving this. Anyone from WLH on this Forum who can have a look at this?

HazelH

There was a £100 cash deposit when I had my wedding reception there 6 years ago (great party, sadly the marriage aspect of it didn't work out). I stayed at the hall till 1am ensuring that it was being cleaned - but the deposit was still kept by WTC. Have heard this is usually the case. This amount seems to have gone up an awful lot in the intervening years and maybe there should be a better system of dealing with returns - especially when it comes to non profit making community groups who do the town a credit by putting on entertainment at the Loveless - the cheque idea certainly makes more sense.

SheilaFoster

The fee should include normal cleaning. A deposit should be a returnable cheque, and only used where damage is done. In the past I have spent half a day debating with a councillor whether a small dent on the floor pre-existed or was caused by a panto fit-up and strike, and whether it would need the whole floor re-varnished at Panto group's expense. Luckily common sense eventually prevailed.

I agree this needs looking at again by the Hall Committee, and the situation made transparent to users..

Daisy

I agree. I found it particularly irksome as I booked the hall for my U3A Art Group way back in June and the day before our first meeting in September, i received a phone call asking for £100 in cash as a deposit - this was the first I had heard to this charge. That day was particularly difficult for me to get to the bank as I had a family crisis - but I did manage it and paid the money as it was too late to cancel my advertised meeting. Luckily for me, when the U3A heard about this they agreed to reimburse me the £100 and cover the deposit themselves.

Jason

Cllr Kraft has explained more about the current policy, over on the WTC website.

Marika

It would have been clearer, for the purpose of general discussion, if
the TC website post had included the number of days referred to in the
hire agreement ("in bold") that have to elapse before cash deposits can
be collected.

How much shorter is that period than the interval between TC meetings?

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