Following failures in procedure with our previous bank and as recorded in The Chairman's Annual Report to the Association's AGM we transferred our current account to HSBC with effect from 1 January 2026. In doing so the current account with NatWest was closed at the same time. This has created a number of actual and potential issues which we must bring to your attention.

Several members have noticed their Direct Debits have not been drawn down. This is the result of difficulties in transferring the appropriate authority from one bank to the other despite the assurance we received that it had been done before Christmas. We are hoping this transfer will be complete shortly and there will follow a period of ten days or so before drawdown. We cannot pinpoint a date yet when drawn down from individual accounts will take place. We only hope this will not prove awkward and apologise for any inconvenience. Please rest assured the Trustees have spent a great deal of time trying to resolve this situation.

Members have used BACS payments to pay for donations, subscriptions, conferences, lunches, dinners, quartermaster's stores etc. We encourage this as a form of payment. The total committed reaches our bank account. Details of our old bank account with NatWest may well be set up and stored as a 'favourite' on your computer systems/bank apps. Please note they should be deleted immediately. We shall be very pleased to provide BACS details applicable to the account we have set up with HSBC.

Please contact [email protected] or [email protected] as necessary.

Peter Luff, Trustee & Membership Secretary

March 2026