# GCCF charge for complaints??



## Cat_Crazy (Jul 15, 2009)

Just browsing the GCCF site and spotted that they are now charging for people to make complaints, £15 admin fee and then possibly an additional £160 depending on what the complaint is (refundable if complaint is proven).

This seems shocking to me and seems like it will do nothing but put people off making genuine complaints, i'm all for charging people who make malicious complaints to waste time but how many genuine welfare concerns are going to stay un-reported because of this?

Anyone know what has prompted this and how they are justifying it??


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## carolmanycats (May 18, 2009)

If it is a welfare case there is only the £15 to pay -

Quote - "There is a £15 administration fee for processing all complaints. *If the complaint relates to cat welfare or can be dealt with under the fixed penalty system there is no further charge*. "


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## Dally Banjo (Oct 22, 2009)

carolmanycats said:


> If it is a welfare case there is only the £15 to pay -
> 
> Quote - "There is a £15 administration fee for processing all complaints. *If the complaint relates to cat welfare or can be dealt with under the fixed penalty system there is no further charge*. "


I think £15 will still put people off complaining


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## carolmanycats (May 18, 2009)

I think that if the complaint is a serious welfare one and the complainant knows it can be proven then they will pay, usually in these cases several people know about the mistreatment, selling of sick kittens or inadequate conditions etc so may even share the cost. 

At least part of the idea of introducing a charge was to stop the numerous petty and malicious complaints that were being made simply because people had fallen out and wanted to cause trouble. If you have seen how much disciplinary used to cost - and still costs - to run when a complaint gets to the point where solicitors etc have to be involved then you will understand why they had to do something to try to stop purely malicious complaints and also cover some of the costs of the other, non-welfare, genuine cases. 

At the end of the day £15 is not a fortune, especially when we are talking about exhibitors who not only have probably paid at least £300 or more for their cat(s) but who then also regularly spend £25-£30 or more per cat plus petrol costs, to enter a show. Let's put it into perspective, £15 is around half a single entry fee (and most enter at least 6 to 10 shows a year, often with more than one cat), is the cost of fuel to travel to and from a failry local (within say 50 miles) show and is a fraction of the cost of a cat or a stud fee.

Carol


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## Cat_Crazy (Jul 15, 2009)

It isn't a fortune no but what if people genuinely have not got it?

Not all complaints will come from other GCCF members, it may be a person who has bought a kitten (after months of saving) who has a complaint etc.

The extra £160 is for complaints of a non-welfare nature then, so missing paperwork etc? That is very high but I suppose no more than taking the breeder to court for the same reason really.

I don't think they should charge for welfare complaints however.

Imagine the RSPCA charging people to report animals as neglected!!


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## momentofmadness (Jul 19, 2008)

A lot of places charge for you to put a complaint in.. Most times you are advised complaint to be in writing accompanied by x amount..

But £160.00 sounds a bit steep..


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## havoc (Dec 8, 2008)

> Imagine the RSPCA charging people to report animals as neglected!!


There's nothing to stop someone making a report to the RSPCA if they have genuine concerns about the welfare of any animal is there? The RSPCA have statutory powers and are, in my opinion, the correct organisation to approach for welfare issues. Maybe the real question should be why anyone contacts the GCCF over welfare.


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## Cat_Crazy (Jul 15, 2009)

Well it depends on the issue dosn't it.

For example:

Lets say you live next door to a kitten farm, hundreds of cats living in cages and being bred constantly. These are pedigree kittens and all registered to get maximum profit but they are over-bred, un-healthy and treated poorly.

The general public don't see that however as when they come to visit the kittens just 1 mum cat and their kittens is taken into a nice clean house and the 'behind the scenes' part isn't mentioned.

It isn't until you take your kitten home and realise it has health problems, fleas. worms etc. that you put the 2 together.

Now by all means the neighbour who see's this and knows what is going on can phone the RSPCA but the cats are fed, given water and have shelter and so it is out of their remit, there is nothing they can do to stop this.

The GCCF however as the registration body can do something to help stop this as it goes against their registration policy.

Too many people think a GCCF registered kitten = a well cared for healthy kitten, the same way people think a Kennel Club registered dog is a good dog. This is not always true and so the registration bodies have powers to revoke registration and /or fine the breeders in question.


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## havoc (Dec 8, 2008)

> The GCCF however as the registration body can do something to help stop this as it goes against their registration policy


There's a lot of misunderstanding about this. The GCCF cannot 'stop it'. They are effectively nothing more than a private club and as such can rescind membership of that club for an individual who breaks their rules or does something to bring their name into disrepute. The GCCF is not 'the' registration body. It is 'a' registration body.



> Too many people think a GCCF registered kitten = a well cared for healthy kitten, the same way people think a Kennel Club registered dog is a good dog


Not arguing with that at all and it's a favourite bugbear of mine. The (fairly) modern trend for people to register a prefix and then refer to themselves as 'registered breeders' really hasn't helped. The very first line of the GCCF code of ethics makes it very clear that ALL registered owners of GCCF registered cats are under GCCF jurisdiction.


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## messyhearts (Feb 6, 2009)

I think if GCCF didn't charge then there would be no complaint process AT ALL due to funding issues. At least there is one this way...


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## havoc (Dec 8, 2008)

> I think if GCCF didn't charge then there would be no complaint process AT ALL due to funding issues. At least there is one this way...


I agree. There are alternatives, the RSPCA for genuine welfare concerns and the civil courts for most else. I do understand someone's initial shock at finding there is a charge for complaining but it should be remembered that if a complaint is upheld then that money is refunded and it's a very small amount compared with the price of a pedigree kitten. It's unlikely that someone who has been able to buy a kitten would find it too much and I don't believe it's intended to put anyone off if they have a real grievance.


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## Dozymoo (Feb 26, 2009)

With the cat fancy being as it is, I'd imagine that the GCCF receives countless petty and pointless complaints from people just trying to score points against other breeders and exhibitors. A fee will hopefully help to curtail that. 

Also the GCCF is in financial dire straits at the moment and the cost to investigate complaints and take disciplinary action is considerable. With that in mind, an admin fee would seem sensible. It's by no means ideal but it's better than no complaints process at all. Pity that it has come to this but not surprising. 

And as Havoc says the money can be refunded when complaints are upheld.


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