Membership Agreement

Liverpool LETS: Members Agreement

1. Liverpool LETs is a non-profit organization whose rights and authority are vested in the members who delegate that authority to the management group who act on their behalf.

2. Liverpool LETs provides an information service through which members can exchange goods and services, and maintains a central account of those exchanges for the benefit of members.

3. Members agree to Liverpool LETs holding their details on computer and distributing to other members those details relevant to the purpose of exchange, according to the provisions of the Data Protection Act. Members also agree to the directory of goods and services being distributed to the general membership for publicity purposes without contact details of individuals being displayed.

4. Members may give or receive from each other credit in the accepted Liverpool LETs unit of account called _____ (yet to be agreed). These units are considered to represent the nominal value of £1 (e.g. 5 _____ = one hour’s work) and are recorded centrally - and this is considered to be the standard rate per hour for those who wish to use it (exact amount yet to be confirmed).

6. No money is deposited or issued. Members may engage in any transaction entirely in LETs, or on a part cash, part LETs bases, but only LETs are recorded on the Liverpool LETs system.

5. Only the account holder can authorize the transfer of units from their account to that of another.

10. No interest is charged or paid on balances. The management group is authorized to charge joining or renewal fees in LETs on a cost-of-service basis as the situation requires, and to levy service charges on member's accounts at rates assessed in consultation with the membership or advisory group.

7. All accounts start at zero. Members are not obliged to be in receipt of any credit before issuing another member with credit from their account, subject to any limit that may be set by the management group from time to time.

8. No member is obliged to accept any particularly invitation to trade, or to engage in any transaction whatsoever with other members. On leaving the Liverpool LETs however, members with commitments outstanding are obliged to balance their account (if necessary in sterling). Alternatively, the organisation may be able to arrange through LETSlink UK the transfer of a members's balance to a group elsewhere, if this group is willing to accept the individual into membership.

9. All member will have access to the balance and turnover of another member’s account.

12. No warranty or undertaking as to the value, condition or quality of services or items exchanged is expressed or implied by virtue of the introduction of members to each other. Liverpool LETs publishes a list of the resources and services made available to members but cannot be held responsible for the actual goods and services offered. Members should therefore seek to determine for themselves the quality or standard of workmanship offered before agreeing a transaction.

12a The vast majority of LETS activity is of no interest to the Tax or Benefits authorities. However, those members who are engaged in business activity are individually responsible for their own personal tax liabilities. Liverpool LETS has no liability regarding members' tax or benefits entitlements, and has no obligation or liability to report to the tax or benefits authorities or collect any payments on their behalf.

11. The Liverpool LETS administrators may decline to record (or may reverse) an account or directory entry considered inappropriate for legal or other reasons.

13. Members have the right and are encouraged to attend any meeting of the management group and to participate in decision making. Members have a right of appeal to the Advisory Group on all management decisions.

14. The management group may act on behalf of members in seeking explanation or satisfaction from a person whose activity is considered to be contrary to the interests of the membership. The management group, in consultation with the advisory group, may suspend membership in the case of delinquent accounts and as a last resort may remove members from the system. The management group may also reserve the right to deny membership to an applicant in exceptional circumstances at their discretion.

15. Membership in Liverpool LETs implies acceptance of the conditions of this agreement.

16. This agreement may be updated, changed or modified at the discretion of the management group after due consultation with the members.