North Yorkshire LETS Members AgreementMembers Agreement
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Constitution Agreement
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1. North Yorkshire Local Exchange Trading Scheme, also
called "North Yorkshire LETS", "the LETS", or
"the scheme" is a non-profit organization operating within a Constitution
which enables members to trade by means of a local currency called Roses.
3. Aims: North Yorkshire 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 and the community. The
scheme also aims to contribute to best practice in how to run LETS successfully.
4. Administration: The work of running the LETS is delegated
to the Committee, also referred to as "the administrators", but members can
also be involved in specific tasks, reporting to members of the Committee.
5. Membership of North Yorkshire LETS is open to all individuals
regardless of class, gender, orientation, ethnicity, creed, religion, or ability,
who agree to and follow the rules of the scheme, subject to any geographical
or other criteria that have been published in advance about the scheme. However,
the Committee may, at their discretion, deny membership to an applicant
in exceptional circumstances.
6. Subscriptions: Joining fees, renewals, or occasional
contributions in national currency will be acknowledged by the deposit of an
equivalent number of Roses into the member's account. Where annual renewals
have not been paid in sterling, they will be taken in Roses.
7. Key Information is available to all members to facilitate
networking and trading. Members agree to North Yorkshire LETS holding their details
online and making them available to other members, and also to the directory
of goods and services being visible - anonymously - to the general public for
publicity purposes. The administrators may edit, recategorise (or delete if
deemed inappropriate) members' online information. They will advise members
of substantive alterations, and will provide support to individuals who need
help to access and update their accounts.
8. Data Management. Members undertake to keep their own
passwords secure, not to publish personal details of members outside
the system, to record their own transactions promptly, to keep their personal
information and listings up to date, drawing any change in their contact details
to the attention of the administrators, and not to publish in these listings
information which would identify themselves or other members. Likewise, the
administrators undertake to keep information secured and backed up and not to
convey information on individuals to anyone outside the system. It is the responsibility
of any members who are trading on a professional basis to account to the Inland
Revenue where appropriate.
9. Disclaimer: 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. The
LETS publishes a list of the resources and services available to members
but cannot be held responsible for the actual goods and services offered. Members
must therefore ascertain for themselves the quality of goods and services on
offer. Neither the Committee nor the Administrators
can be responsible for any member acting outside the law.
10. Mutual Credit: The wealth of the LETS is generated
by the activity of its members. All accounts start at zero,
subject to any initial adjustments in regard to fees, as referred to in section
6. Members may give or receive from each other credit in the local unit
of account, called Roses, which are considered equivalent in value to
sterling. Members are not obliged to be in receipt of any credit before issuing
another member with credit from their account, subject to any group or individual
limits that may be set by the management group as a result of "overspend",
which is referred to as being "in commitment".
11. Trading: Members are not obliged to accept any particular
invitation to trade, or to engage in a particular activity with other members
but should endeavour to keep their account as near to zero as possible over time
by giving as well as receiving. When members wish to trade on the basis of equal hourly
value, the recommended rate is TEN Roses per hour, but this is negotiable. Members
are advised to agree terms with others members prior to trading, in order to
avoid any misunderstandings arising.
12. Authorisation: Only the account holder can authorize
the transfer of Roses from their account to that of another. Members may
carry out their own transactions online or submit trading records to
the administrators to record them centrally, if there are resources available
to provide this service. Vouchers or printed currency
notes may also issued to facilitate trading by being
withdrawn as "cash" from members accounts, or issued
as exchange for sterling, and paid back into a
members account by an administrator. Members
may appoint a "buddy" to assist them in managing their
account, and should advise the administraror of the arrangement.
13. Trading Records: Members may engage in any transaction
entirely in Roses, or on a part sterling/Roses basis, but only the Roses
are recorded in the system. Trading records may be viewed online by members
when logged on. Members may avail themselves of the feedback facility provided
and may also use information about previous trading to obtain references prior
to trading.
14. Delinquent Accounts: the administrators may decline
to record, or may reverse on behalf of a member, a transaction carried out in
error or considered inappropriate for legal or other reasons. They may also
seek explanation or satisfaction from a person whose activity is considered
to be contrary to the interests of the membership. They may suspend the member's
account whilst investigating the problem, and as a last resort may
recommend to the committee removal of the member's account from the system.
15. Budgeting. No interest is charged or paid on member
balances. The management group may make service charges in local currency, which
may be time-based, transaction-based, percentage-based, or a combination of
these - the details of which
will be made known to members when the fees are taken. Reasonable notice must
be given of any change in the fee structure before it is actioned. Members
may also opt to donate at any time or tithe into
particular Project Funds, personal or other accounts
within the system. The Committee will maintain
an overview of budgeting, to ensure that payments to the Administrators are
sustained by fees taken in Roses.
They may also set up budgets for local Projects in order to stimulate activities
which will benefit the community as a whole, and will
seek to engage members in the planning of such
projects.
16. Meetings: The
times, location, agendas and minutes of meetings will be made available online and by
email, giving reasonable notice. Planning meetings have a separate
purpose from social meetings, but may be combined if appropriate.
Socials may be rotated
geographically and held at public venues or hosted by
members. Support will also be given to appropriate
events, for example, on community
or sustainability issues, organised by other
relevant groups, who will be encouraged to participate in the LETS, and/or promote
it to their members.
17. Code of Behaviour: Members are expected to treat
each other with courtesy and consideration at all times. Personal phone calls
and email messages should be returned. At formal meetings members should not
talk across each other. Allowances should be made for any disabilities. A facilitator
or chairperson should be agreed in advance or voted in at formal meetings in
order to provide a focus.
18. Disputes: If a dispute arises between members, the
aggrieved party should initially seek to resolve the matter with the member/s
concerned. If this is unsuccessful they should provide full details to the
Committee, who may recommend a mediator, with the agreement of all parties. If this
is unsuccessful, the aggrieved party/s, or the mediator should contact the LETSlink
UK Network, whose grievance procedure will then be initiated.
19. Closing Accounts: Anyone wishing to leave the scheme
must inform the administrators, and balance their account by donating a positive
balance to another account, (an individual, organisation or fund)or if they
are in commitment by working for another member, or a project, to bring their
balance to zero. Alternatively the member may request that their balance be
transferred to another LETS group where they have an account. As a last resort
a member whose account is in commitment may settle up by an equivalent donation
to the scheme in pounds sterling.
20. Membership of North Yorkshire LETS implies acceptance of
this agreement. North Yorkshire LETS aims to encourage
mutual support and sharing of good practice amongst its members
and all other LETS groups with whom it has contact, regionally and nationally.
LLL/MF: version as at 19/8/2013
Welcome About LETS
More Privacy
Constitution Agreement
JOIN HERE
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