The Trust received and collated several questions regarding the Goldbond/Lotto scheme from its members that it wished to put to the board when they met the directors two weeks ago (The report of the meeting was published the next day on Trust web and social media pages and is availlable HERE).
However due to time constraints on both sides it was not possible to deal with the Lotto/Goldbond in any detail on the night, but we did raise it and furnished the club with the written set of questions which they promised to address, we also furnished them with questions sent in by email from a member, Those two sets of questions are below, there is some duplication of questions but as we got answers on all we included both sets of questions and the answers the club provided.
The following are a set of questions the Trust received via email from a member:
Under the Goldbond scheme 100% of money raised went to Rochdale AFC. Under the new scheme, does 100% of incoming money go to the club or are there any other beneficiaries?
The club replied. On the new scheme, of every new member, 20% of funds is donated to the Barry Kilby Prostate Cancer Appeal. The remainder of all monies goes directly to Rochdale AFC. Of the Goldbond existing members, 100% of these monies goes to Rochdale AFC. The Charity Partner can be reviewed annually.
If there are any other beneficiaries, who are they and how is the money split in percentage terms?
The club replied. There are no other beneficiaries.
Has the scheme as we now operate seen an increase in the cost of overhead?
The club replied, The overheads have actually gone down. Wages have been reduced and staff expenses have been reduced.
How many NEW members has the new scheme recruited ?
The club replied. The Dale Lotto has recruited an additional 1,208 members since January 2019.
How many Goldbond members have switched to the new scheme and signed up to direct debit?
The club replied. Less than 50.
How are areas now canvassed for new members?
The club replied. Our Lottery Partner have a professional canvassing team who target areas and events within Rochdale Borough. In addition, from 2020, Ray Parry will take a more active role in canvassing within the town.
Has there been a nett increase or decrease in the number of Agents since the introduction of the new scheme?
The club replied. The decline in Agents continues to be an ongoing issue and has not improved since the introduction of Dale Lotto.
Is there a two tier commission scheme now in place?
The club replied. A number of ‘Super Agents’ are paid an additional 2.5% commission at the discretion of the club.
The Agents’ weekly prize no longer appears on the results sheets. Has this prize been withdrawn?
The club replied. Yes – the reasons behind this will be communicated in full to all Agents.
At the Christmas party last year the number of free drinks was reduced to agents. Will this reduce further for this year? What is the date of the Agents’ Christmas party this year ?
The club replied. Details of the Agents Christmas Party will be communicated in full to all Agents.
When will the Christmas Draw tickets be available?
The club replied. There will be no Christmas Draw tickets issued this year.
Along with the above the Trust supplied the following questions:
We have had several queries from Goldbond/Dale Lotto Agents, most being Trust members, but we have also been approached by agents who are not Trust members regarding same
Because the Trust had received numerous concerns, and being itself a Lotto agent, the Trust felt it needed clarification on certain aspects of the Goldbond/Lotto scheme which were being raised to us, and whilst it has advised members to check themselves with the club, some felt the answers they got were unsatisfactory. Below are the points we asked and sort clarification on, They are in no set order of importance
- Commission rates earned. Agents have become aware that there are two commission rates which agents have been getting.
The club replied. As mentioned above, a number of Super Agents are paid an additional 2.5% commission on top of the 15% paid to all Agents at the discretion of the Club.
Q1, Can the club clarify this please, is there a two tire system where agents rates vary between 15% and 17.5%?
The club replied. Please see response above.
Q1a, Is there a criteria used where agents if they meet certain thresholds would become become eligible? ie, amount of members on their round, success rates in collecting monies or how many rounds they do become factors in this decision, and are there any other factors used?
The club replied. If you are interested in becoming a Super Agent, please speak to Ray Parry.
Q2, If this is the case, can we know exactly what the rates are for and how they are actually decided for the agent.
The club replied. This is determined by factors including the number of members and number of rounds.
Q3, We appreciate that some agents may have small rounds featuring only a few members and some are institutions like pubs etc, if one of the criteria is amount of members on a particular round, could that agent become eligible if they took over additional small rounds? This is just an example.
The club replied. Yes, please speak to our Lotteries Manager Ray Parry to discuss further.
Can the club clarify exactly how many numbers are given to the members which agents collect from, and we are referring to the one pound and 50p members. In the past all members were given a membership card which had either seven numbers on if they paid 50p and 14 numbers on if they paid a pound.
Q1, Can the club confirm that those members still have those numbers and that they are entered each week into the draw? This obviously goes for both the 50 pence people and the one pound people.
The club replied. Under the old Goldbond Lottery, members had 7 numbers if they paid £0.50 and 14 numbers if they paid £1.00. With the introduction of the £2 lottery, members would have to have 28 numbers to continue with this system. To simply the system, all members have had their numbers changed to a 4-digit number. For each 50p they have 1 x membership number and 1 x jackpot number. Please note importantly, the odds of winning are exactly the same.
Q2, Can the club confirm that if an agent signs up a new member, be it 50p or a one pound person that each person gets the seven or 14 numbers allocated and that they will be entered weekly.
The club replied. As above. Any new member will be assigned a new membership number and if they pay, they will be entered into the weekly draw.
Q3, if this is not the case, can the club now confirm exactly how many numbers a 50p person will get and a one pound person will get? If this differs from above can the club explain why, and again if it is different can we have a reason why each week there will be a disparity in the winning chances each 50 p or one pound person would have against others.
(Trust, No answer was given for this, but it has been addressed above)
We have been asked about the results sheets which agents hand out each week
Q1, Can the club clarify please exactly who is on that sheet, is it all the lotto members, that is the new £2 pound ones, and the existing £1 and 50p members? If this is the case
Q2, are all members entered equally, that is, does the computer makes the random draw using all the numbers which both Dale Lotto £2 have been given along with the existing numbers allocated (one pound people and 50p people) or is it weighted in any way to make separate draws for the new £2 members against the existing older members?
The club answered for the two above. Every paying member is entered equally. If they don’t pay, they don’t get entered into the draw.
Q2a. One of the reasons we seek clarification as a member who pays £2 has pointed out that if for the basic prizes they could have the same chance as a £1 member then they will drop the £2 and take up the lotto at a lower rate but still retain the same game of chance.
The club replied. Double chance of winning and chance to win the one-off prizes.
Q3, is there a reason why the so called “unique” prizes offered above the normal lotto prizes has not been published on the result sheets, or if in the case of no winner then that is also said.
The club replied. There is no reason these have not been added. These have all been won and the Club takes on this feedback and will publish this information on the Results Sheets in the future.
In relation to the above questions can the club clarify
Q1, How many new £2 members do we now have.
Club replied. Please see answer to previous question.
Q2, How many other existing members do we have
The club replied. Approximately 5,500 existing members.
Q3, Do all agents pay the £30 asked for each season ticket they get?
The club replied. The Super Agents receive a free season ticket. Two other Trust Members have been awarded a free season ticket at the discretion of the club. All other Agents who pay in a minimum of 50 x paying members each month can apply for a £30 season ticket. If an Agent has less than 50 x paying weekly members, they do not quality for a £30 season ticket.
Q1, What is the criteria used for the allocation of a season ticket? Traditionally agents were under the impression that you had to have a minimum of 50 members on a round to be eligible, is this still the case? If a member has several rounds which have the magical 50 members are they eligible for a season ticket for each?
The club replied. Yes 50 paying members.. The Agent must pay in a minimum of 50 x members per week. They may have 50 x members but only pay in for 30 x members per week. This would not make them eligible for the £30 season ticket. They must pay in for a minimum of 50 x members per week.
The Trust has been asked about the Christmas Agents Party.
Traditionally agents were invited to a Christmas Party/Function given for them, and were under the impression that the £30 paid for each season ticket given was to fund this.
Q1, Will there be a Christmas party this year?
The club replied. Yes – this will take place in the Ratcliffe Bar on Saturday 21 December. Details will be communicated to all Agents in the next week.
Q2, for those that do not attend the event, and we know some never do or are unable, will they still have to pay the £30.
The club replied. Yes. The £30 is actually for the Season Ticket and this will have already been paid for.
Q3. If the £30 mentioned above is not used to fund the party, what is it actually used for?
The club replied. The £30 is a contribution towards the Season Ticket.
Regarding the agent’s £10 weekly bonus draw. With the club now stopping this agents prize
Q1, Can the club just clarify exactly why this has stopped
The club replied. This has been stopped due to efficiency savings. Further information will be communicated to all Agents.
The trust furnished questions on Standing orders. Where an agent converts a member to a standing order on their round, or persuades a member to come in and change it, and with these people still being on a Agents sheet, how is the commission taken by the agent?
Q1, Does the agent take, for example the 15p in the pound out of their weekly takings before handing their monies are given in, if this is the case can a extra section be added to the cash sheets to show this.
The club replied. Yes
Q2, if this is not the case does an agent accumulate the monies via their name on the computer which would show the commission taken and earned by them each week.
The club replied. N/A
Q3, does the above apply if the agent leaves all their takings with the club each week and to which they accumulate their commission with the club, i.e., still take the 15p or whatever at source before handing the money in?
The club replied. Yes
Finally and more sensitive. Agents have reported that they find it difficult in talking to and getting answers from the Lotto staff, and some with some correspondence being incorrect or misleading. Now the trust appreciates in this some of this is anecdotal.
The Trust wonders, in answering the above so we can publish the answers, and looking to the future where correspondence is needed, if the sales and marketing team manager could be responsible for future communications. We realise this may be contentious but we are though also aware of just how much pressure the existing staff are under work wise and the load asked of them per week, so we appreciated there may be extenuating circumstances
The club replied. The club recognises the importance of communication and improving communications with Agents. All mass communication to Agents will be done in conjunction with Rochdale AFC. Ray Parry is the club’s Lottery Manager and will continue to be the day-to-day point of contact for all Agents and should be the first point of contact.
If any Agent has any issues they feel are not being dealt with in a satisfactory manor by Ray, these should be reported to the Commercial Director, Frances Fielding on Tel: 01706 753 581 Email: frances@rochdaleafc.co.uk or to the Chief Executive David Bottomley Email: david.bottomley@rochdaleafc.co.uk
The Trust appreciates that there has been a week’s delay in publishing these questions and answers but this is down to a serious illness within the family of the Trust board member concerned.
The Trust thanks the the club for the above information and draws members attention to the final paragrapgh should further questions be raised. As normal if a member feels that any answer that they have been given is not substantial the Trust will raise any concerns by the member/s at its next routine meeeting with the club management.