Please come and sign the petition,nearly 100 signed up already


Clarets Trust to Raise Profile of Season Ticket Credit Card Scandal

Burnley FC Chairman, Barry Kilby, at the Clarets Trust Members meeting
last Saturday confirmed a significant banking problem concerning Season
Ticket sales by Credit card. He also expressed his concern highlighting
the detrimental affect this could have on the Club's financial
planning.

It would appear that it's the policy of banks to hold back money for
season tickets paid for by Credit cards .Debit Card payments are also
affected. This is due to banks being worried that a club may not
complete its fixtures in a season and that the bank would have to refund
money paid through the Cards. This means that the club is paid in
instalments throughout the year for sales taken directly off a
customer's card. The club are thus still receiving payments for THIS
season's tickets!!! It should be noted also that this affects all
Premiership & League Clubs

Clarets Trust were first made aware of this situation at a meeting with
the Club earlier this year when the Trust urged the club to publicise
the problem. This the Chairman formally did at last Saturday's Clarets
Trust Members Meeting.

This situation is considered to be unfair on both the Club, with the
potential for cash flow problems, and on the fans that in good faith are
paying money to the Club for which they expect them to immediately
benefit. This also would appear to be a ploy by the banks to make money
based on a feeble excuse. Which clubs in modern times have not completed
fixtures in a given season? Clubs threatened with administration at our
level in the League have always completed their fixtures. You have to go
back to 1992 when Aldershot were unable to complete the season's
fixtures and before that to Accrington Stanley in 1962. The banks are
therefore penalising all 92 Premier & Football League Clubs, based on an
argument that has affected only two clubs in over 40 years. If a club
goes into administration during a season now, it will have points
deducted and may face relegation but in all cases where this has
happened since the law was introduced the fixtures have been completed.
The most recent example of this being Wrexham.

Clarets Trust are disgusted by this situation, so much so, that Clarets
Trust Chairman, Peter Pike has approached our new Burnley MP, Kitty
Ussher to see if she can raise the profile of this issue. She has agreed
to investigate further so hopefully something can be done for the
benefit of both Club and fans alike.

The Trust have also approached Supporters Direct to widen this issue
across other clubs and have now devised a petition for anybody to
protest about this issue. All football fans are asked to go to the
Clarets Trust website address below and sign the petition electronically
online by following the links

http://www.claretstrust.co.uk <http://www.claretstrust.co.uk/>

The petition will be sent to all major banks and credit card companies,
via our MP Kitty Ussher. The Trust will report on progress in due course
once information becomes available.



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