Bolton Wanderers Supporters' Trust fail to waive renewal fees

You may remember that back in October, the Bolton Wanderers supporters' trust agreed to waive any renewal fees for existing members.

The trust released a statement which said the following:

"At our AGM on 29 September 2016, we raised to matter of membership fees. We advised that we were exploring alternatives relating to future fee structures for individual members.

At a board meeting held on 20 October 2016, it was unanimously decided to implement the following:

• With immediate effect, renewal of membership subscriptions will be waived. As a consequence, all existing individual members who have already paid the initial £10.00 subscription will not be required to pay an ongoing annual subscription.

• Any new members will still be required to pay a £10.00 subscription to cover issue of a share certificate and associated administration costs. However, no further subscriptions will be required and the initial payment of £10.00 will effectively be viewed as a joining fee.

We find ourselves in a position to extend this initiative to our members due to the excellent progress made over the recent months in negotiating sponsorships and partnerships and in the fundraising events held to date. Whilst it is envisaged that this arrangement will be a permanent feature, as a prudent measure, we will review on an annual basis.

The free U16 membership and annual corporate membership subscriptions will continue as before, voluntary donations will still be welcomed, of course!"

So you may have been surprised to find that, like me, you'd received an email confirming the yearly renewal of your membership, along with a bill for the £10 renewal fee.

Now, I have no problem with paying £10 a year. But to say they are waiving renewal fees to then charge members isn't on. The lack of communication is astounding.

Despite failing to tell people about their site getting hacked last month (and only did after we published a story on it), the Supporters' Trust had turned a corner in recent times.

Last Thursday's announcement that the Macron Stadium is now an Asset of Community Value was a fantastic achievement. The registration of the ACV status of the stadium provides the BWFCST members with an opportunity to influence any future sale of the Macron Stadium by being part of any such process.

The trust are also in discussions with both Dean Holdsworth and Ken Anderson to explore, in their words: 'further ways of increasing our members voice in our club'.

So, BWFCST, what's going on? Why have you failed to waive renewal fees?