A&H

BACS Bank Payments

FirsFox40

FirsFox40

Active Member
Level 5 Referee
How long are you going without being paid by bank transfer, before you start to get itchy?

Competition rules (that affect me) say immediately after the game, but they hark back to a pre-Covid world where you’d get your £40 or whatever in the clubhouse after a shower.

With the majority of clubs opting for a bank transfer, how long are you waiting before sending a gentle text reminder, then maybe an email, then telling appts sec, league etc..?

Put it in this section for relevance, keen to hear how others approach it, and the expectations and experiences from across the country (and overseas)
 
The Referee Store
48 hours is the standard for me, and Im
normally paid within that. 72+ and I’ll normally drop a reminder politely.

My academies near me state 5 working days, they’ll often take 7-8 before I nudge them and they’ll normally get it sorted.
 
Interestingly I find the teams who tell me “it’ll be paid tonight” are usually the slowest and have to be chased up for it a few days later
 
Big Cat said:
I'm starting to get sick of chasing Clubs
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Does the competition rules for timely payment only apply to cash?

Have actually had several clubs pay before the game when done via BACs, they aren't waiting on gate receipts or subs money to pay.
 
Paying via BACs was a covid-inspired idea that most clubs were obliged to adopt.

We had a thread on this subject a few years back in which I was very much against the idea of retrospective (ie after the match) BACs payments for grass roots football becoming the norm. There's so many things that can go wrong in the process. I always ask for my fee in cash.

Where I'm forced to accept that the club pays via BACs, if it's not appeared in my account within 48 hours of the game, I'd be straight on to the club.

A referee having to chase a club for their fee is totally unacceptable in my opinion.
 
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FirsFox40 said:
How long are you going without being paid by bank transfer, before you start to get itchy?

Competition rules (that affect me) say immediately after the game, but they hark back to a pre-Covid world where you’d get your £40 or whatever in the clubhouse after a shower.

With the majority of clubs opting for a bank transfer, how long are you waiting before sending a gentle text reminder, then maybe an email, then telling appts sec, league etc..?

Put it in this section for relevance, keen to hear how others approach it, and the expectations and experiences from across the country (and overseas)
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I would say, if you haven't got the funds by Tuesday then a gentle reminder. If then not paid buy the Thursday, refer the matter to the league committee. They do not want referees to suffer though slow payment. They will send a stronger reminder to the club (and the actual secretary, if he isn't the one to pay you); that normally gets action, as a fine normally follows.
 
I am against BACS even at senior level. I understand the post-covid changes and at the top end of non-league, hundreds are being paid to officials. However the colleague should have the option at all levels to be paid in cash on the day, for various reasons.
 
RefGod said:
I am against BACS even at senior level. I understand the post-covid changes and at the top end of non-league, hundreds are being paid to officials. However the colleague should have the option at all levels to be paid in cash on the day, for various reasons.
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Whether people like it or not, we are moving towards a cashless society, no point being paid in cash if you can't spend it. I know it varies in different parts of the country, but in London a very significant percentage of establishments no longer take cash. My local Sainburys has closed almost all traditional tills, and the couple that are left are never open, so you have to use self service and 75% of those are card only. I pay for everything on card, so for refereeing fees I need to pay them into the bank, and, as is the case across the country, my local branch is closing down next month. I would much rather be paid electronically, but there does need to be guard rails in place to ensure this happens quickly.

Refereeing will have to adjust with the times, and that will almost certainly mean that all match fees will be BACS, or other electronic methods, within a few years.
 
RustyRef said:
Whether people like it or not, we are moving towards a cashless society, no point being paid in cash if you can't spend it. I know it varies in different parts of the country, but in London a very significant percentage of establishments no longer take cash. My local Sainburys has closed almost all traditional tills, and the couple that are left are never open, so you have to use self service and 75% of those are card only. I pay for everything on card, so for refereeing fees I need to pay them into the bank, and, as is the case across the country, my local branch is closing down next month. I would much rather be paid electronically, but there does need to be guard rails in place to ensure this happens quickly.

Refereeing will have to adjust with the times, and that will almost certainly mean that all match fees will be BACS, or other electronic methods, within a few years.
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Can you use a Post Office to put your money in? I'm with NatWest and can use post office and have a standard bank account.
 
RustyRef said:
Whether people like it or not, we are moving towards a cashless society, no point being paid in cash if you can't spend it. I know it varies in different parts of the country, but in London a very significant percentage of establishments no longer take cash. My local Sainburys has closed almost all traditional tills, and the couple that are left are never open, so you have to use self service and 75% of those are card only. I pay for everything on card, so for refereeing fees I need to pay them into the bank, and, as is the case across the country, my local branch is closing down next month. I would much rather be paid electronically, but there does need to be guard rails in place to ensure this happens quickly.

Refereeing will have to adjust with the times, and that will almost certainly mean that all match fees will be BACS, or other electronic methods, within a few years.
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You're right in as much as the global machine is inexorably pushing us towards being cashless but for a myriad of reasons, I and many others will continue to resist it and persist in using cash for small payment stuff for as long as I'm able - but that's another thread title!! 😉

Use it or lose it people! 🙂😎
 
Kes said:
You're right in as much as the global machine is inexorably pushing us towards being cashless but for a myriad of reasons, I and many others will continue to resist it and persist in using cash for small payment stuff for as long as I'm able - but that's another thread title!! 😉

Use it or lose it people! 🙂😎
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It isn't the global machine, well not totally anyway, many vendors prefer it. They don't have to go to the bank every day to pay in thousands of pounds in cash, which makes it vastly safer for them as no one is going to mug them for their card machine.

From a refereeing perspective it is much easier for a club to press a button on a phone than making sure they have the right cash for every home game. It is inevitable that payments will become electronic only. Some leagues have already changed, and as it is the clubs that propose and vote for rule changes, others will be forced to follow. I've been at many league AGMs where rules are voted on, the majority of club reps at grass roots level are playing age and therefore likely to be bought into the cashless society.
 
At my grassroots level its cash and before the game. Sometimes immediately after too. I wont wait more than an hour or two to remind them. Bank payments usually show immediately now,even on weekends.
 
FirsFox40 said:
How long are you going without being paid by bank transfer, before you start to get itchy?

Competition rules (that affect me) say immediately after the game, but they hark back to a pre-Covid world where you’d get your £40 or whatever in the clubhouse after a shower.

With the majority of clubs opting for a bank transfer, how long are you waiting before sending a gentle text reminder, then maybe an email, then telling appts sec, league etc..?

Put it in this section for relevance, keen to hear how others approach it, and the expectations and experiences from across the country (and overseas)
Click to expand...
For me it depends on the game. If its a step 3-6 game then I would say that by the following Monday - Tuesday at a stretch is relatively reasonable as the person in charge of the clubs accounts may not be 'working' on game day.

If it's Local grass roots I would expect the day following the game at a minimum, probably the same day as the game.

I must say I got paid by bank transfer by a Step 3 club 30 minutes of the final whistle the other week - was very impressed!
 
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