Membership Terms and Conditions

PLEASE READ THESE TERMS CAREFULLY BEFORE APPLYING TO BECOME A MEMBER OF THE ROA.

Date of last revision: 30 January 2020

1. Our contract

1.1 These Terms form the basis of the contract through which the Racehorse Owners’ Association Limited (“We”) will deliver the Benefits to its Members (“You”). All capitalised but as yet undefined terms shall have the meaning given to them at clause 2.2 below.

1.2 On becoming a Member, You agree to these Terms and the processing of Your personal data in accordance with Our Privacy Policy (contained here).

1.3 Membership is subject to these Terms (as amended from time to time) and Your acceptance of these Terms constitutes a binding contract between You and the ROA. If You do not agree to these Terms at any time, You either must not become a Member or You must withdraw Your Membership in accordance with clause 7.1.

1.4 We reserve the right to amend these Terms at any time, without prior notice to You. Please refer back to these Terms, as any changes will be binding.

1.5 These Terms, and all other documents referred to, shall be governed by English law, subject to the jurisdiction of the English courts.

2.Terms

2.1 The ROA is a private limited company (number 00398604) registered in England and Wales with its registered office on the 12 Forbury Road, Reading, RG1 1SB. More information about the ROA and what We do can be found here.

2.2 In these Terms:

“Benefits” means all benefits available to Members in accordance with the relevant Membership, as listed on the Website at www.roa.co.uk/benefits and as otherwise made available by the ROA from time to time;

“BHA” means the British Horseracing Authority Limited (number 02813358) registered in England and Wales with its registered office at 75 High Holborn, London WC1V 6LS.

“BHA Rules” means any of the recognised rules of racing as issued by the BHA, applicable to the Sport and in force from time to time;

“Member” means the person in whose name the Membership is held;

“Membership” means any of the ROA’s membership packages contained in clause 3.2;

“Membership Fee” means any and all fees payable to the ROA (as advertised from time to time) in accordance with the relevant Membership;

“Membership Period” membership is a rolling and ongoing contract from the date the application is accepted by the ROA. Your membership will automatically renew upon the anniversary of your application. You will receive a renewal notice in advance of the anniversary of your application, including notification of any changes to your membership subscription. For Direct Debit payers any payment arrangements that have been made by Direct Debit will automatically continue, unless you notify your bank/building society that you wish to cancel it. For credit card payers we will attempt to take the payment amount from the original payment card and will contact you for alternative payment if this is unsuccessful. At the point of renewal of your membership, your renewal payment is confirmation of your continued acceptance of membership which shall remain ongoing until it lapses.

“ROA” refers to The Racehorse Owners Association Limited, a company incorporated in England and Wales (company number 00398604) with its registered office located on the 12 Forbury Road, Reading, RG1 1SB;

“Qualifying Ownership Stake” means 51% of a Racehorse (whether or not by leasehold interest) either held:

a) solely by a person;

b) collectively by that person together with their spouse, civil partner or cohabitee; or

c) by, or by that person or in conjunction with, an entity wholly owned by that person (or their spouse, civil partner or cohabitee);

“PASSCard” refers to the means of admittance to any racecourse and more particularly described on the Website here;

“Racing Partnership” means a partnership as defined by, and registered in accordance with, rules 47 and 61 of the BHA Rules;

“Racehorse” means a horse belonging to one or more owners, appropriately registered and qualified to compete in the Sport under the BHA Rules;

“Sport” means the sport of flat or national hunt racing in Great Britain presided over by the BHA or such other nominated authority from time to time;

“Weatherbys” means Weatherbys Limited, a company registered in England and Wales (number 00526599) and its registered office at Sanders Road, Wellingborough, Northants NN8 4BX; and

“Website” means the ROA’s website located at www.roa.co.uk.

2.3 Defined terms, such as “We” and “You”, shall be deemed to include the relevant first person pronouns (as applicable).

3.Membership

3.1 You can apply to become a Member:

3.1.1 online either directly through our Website or indirectly through the BHA’s website located athttps://www2.racingadmin.co.uk/JSCS001/enter.htm

3.1.2 over the phone by calling +44(0) 1183 385680 between 9.00am and 5.30pm Monday – Friday;

3.1.3 by post by completing the Membership form contained here, and enclosing a cheque for the relevant Membership Subscription payable to the Racehorse Owners’ Association Limited ; or

3.1.4 online direct debit via GoCardless here or postal direct debit here

3.2 The ROA offers the following Memberships for the applicable Membership Subscriptions, granting Members access to the Benefits.

Single	Membership for one individual person residing anywhere in the world;
Joint	Membership for two people residing at the same UK address
Company	Membership for one incorporated company

3.3 From the date Your Membership is activated in accordance with clause 3.4, it shall be valid for an ongoing period with subscriptions due yearly on the anniversary of your application date:

3.3.1 terminated earlier by us, or cancelled by You, in accordance with these Terms; or

3.3.2 renewed in accordance with clause 8.

3.4 Membership will be activated, and rolling ongoing access will be granted to the Benefits as soon as the:

3.4.1 ROA has approved Your application and verified Your compliance with the eligibility criteria;

3.4.2 Member has indicated its acceptance to these Terms; and

3.4.3 payment of the relevant Membership Subscription has been made up front in full (as applicable); or

3.4.4 the Member has set up a direct debit to enable the ROA to collect the Membership Subscription.

3.5 Membership is open to all persons who satisfy the eligibility criteria listed in clause 6. The ROA has absolute and sole discretion over who it accepts as its Members and reserves the right to deny Membership and access to the Benefits to any person at any time, without explanation.

3.6 Membership is personal to the relevant Member and cannot be assigned, transferred or otherwise disposed of without the ROA’s prior written consent.

4.Benefits

4.1 Subject to the contrary expressly stated in these Terms at clauses 4.4-4.6 and 10.2, all Members shall be entitled to all of the Benefits listed on the Website at www.roa.co.uk/benefits (from time to time) during the Membership Period. Please refer to the relevant pages of the Website (as updated from time to time) or contact us directly for further details. Some of the listed Benefits must however be shared between Joint Members.

4.2 Your entitlement to any and all Benefits shall cease on termination, cancellation or non payment of Your Membership, from the relevant date the same takes effect. All Members are required to deliver up and return to the ROA, or otherwise destroy, any physical passes granting access to any Benefits, including but not limited to parking, private hospitality and free admission to BHA events, from the cancellation or termination date.

4.3 Where the relevant Benefit is provided by an external third party, the contract will be between the Member and the relevant provider, not the ROA. You are strongly advised to read the relevant third party’s terms and conditions of supply of the relevant Benefit and to accurately disclose to that third party any relevant information requested for the provision of the same.

4.4 You will be eligible for the Racecourse Badge Scheme for Owners where You:

4.4.1 hold a valid Membership;

4.4.2 hold a valid PASSCard;

4.4.3 are registered as a Racehorse owner with Weatherbys; and

4.4.4 *no longer required*

4.5 To be eligible for the ROA sponsorship scheme, the Racehorse associated with the relevant Membership must either be:

4.5.1 registered to a Racing Partnership (where all partners are Members); or

4.5.2 owned solely by Members.

4.6 Provided that all ROA sponsored Racehorses display appropriate logos, trademarks and colours (as notified to Members by the ROA), Members eligible for the ROA sponsorship scheme shall receive:

4.6.1 Upon being accepted onto the scheme for the Sponsorship Period, the Owner will receive a non-refundable payment of £100 per horse (plus VAT if applicable) as the Sponsorship Fee payment.

5.Price and Payment

5.1 The Membership Subscription for Single and Company Memberships is £261.00 per year (or such other amount as notified to You prior to payment).

5.2 The Membership Subscription for Joint Membership is £435.00 per year (or £217.50 pp) or such other amount as notified to You prior to payment. Each Member on a Joint Membership shall be liable for the applicable Membership Subscription on a joint and several basis.

5.3 The Membership Subscription shall not apply to all current employees of the ROA.

5.4 All Membership Subscriptions shall be subject to VAT, which shall be charged in addition at the prevailing rate, unless the contrary is expressly stated.

5.5 The Membership Subscription will be renewed annually by direct debit. Members wishing to pay their Membership Fee by direct debit must complete a direct debit or AutoPay agreement online or through a direct debit form.

5.6 We accept payments by cash, BACS transfer, cheque, credit or debit card only. Payments made with by Direct Debit will renew automatically unless you wish to terminate your subscription. Payments must be made either up front or by direct debit in advance only. If You are not using Your own credit or debit card to pay the relevant Membership Subscription, You must ask the permission of the cardholder prior to payment.

5.7 Where the ROA decides to increase the relevant Membership Subscription, all Members will be notified in advance through The Owner Breeder magazine and the ROA Website. Members shall be given the option to refuse any increased Membership Subscription, at which point the relevant Membership will terminate from the date of the renewal.

6.Eligibility and Termination

6.1 To be eligible for Membership, You must be able to show to the ROA that, at the time of Your application, You:

6.1.1 are not subject to a subsisting ban from having any involvement in the Sport whether issued by the BHA or any court or competent authority anywhere in the world, at the date You submit Your application for Membership; and

6.1.2 have not had Your Membership terminated by the ROA in the previous 12 months (from the date You submit Your application) for any of the reasons listed in clause 6.2.

6.2 The ROA reserves the right to terminate or suspend Your Membership and withdraw Your access to the Benefits at any time if:

6.2.1 You are found to have provided inaccurate information when applying for Membership;

6.2.2 You become subject to any ban either from competing or otherwise being involved in the Sport issued by the BHA (or other appropriate regulatory authority or governing body with jurisdiction over the Sport from time to time) or by any other court or competent authority anywhere in the world;

6.2.3 You breach any of the BHA Rules at any time;

6.2.4 You fail to pay any part of the Membership Subscription (or We are unable to take payment of the same); or

6.2.5 the ROA reasonably considers that You will not comply (or has not complied) with these Terms at any time.

7.Cancellation and Refunds

7.1 Subject to the following and the rest of this clause 7, Your Membership is valid for the period specified in accordance with clause 3.3. However, you may cancel Your Membership at any time by notifying us.

7.2 If You cancel during the first 60 days of the Membership Period, and You have paid Your Membership Subscription in full in advance, You will be entitled to a full refund of the Membership Subscription paid in advance less a £60.00 cancellation charge deducted from the amount refunded. Any cancellation notice received after this time shall not receive a refund.

7.3 In addition to clause 7.2, You shall be entitled to a refund of any part of the relevant Membership Subscription paid in full in advance (pro-rated accordingly for the proportion of the unused Membership) where You seek to terminate or withdraw Your Membership where You do not accept any:

7.3.1 proposed increase in the Membership Subscription (in accordance with clause 5.7, from the date the increased Membership Fee is implemented); or

7.3.2 actual or proposed variation to these Terms imposed on You by us (from the date the variation takes effect).

7.4 All refunds shall be paid to You within 14 days of the date You notify us of Your intention to cancel, and paid via the same method of payment you used to activate Your Membership, (unless You specifically notify us of an alternative appropriate method). Direct Debits will be repaid by cheque.

7.5 You will not be entitled to receive a refund of the Membership Subscription (in whole or in part) where Your Membership is terminated or suspended by us for any of the reasons listed in clause 6.2.

8.Renewals

8.1 Where You choose to pay Your Membership Subscription by direct debit or online by debit or credit card, Your Membership will automatically renew for another 12 months on the renewal date, at which point We will take payment of the relevant Membership renewal fee from your account or credit card.

8.2 If You do not wish to renew Your Membership, You must notify us not less than 30 days prior to the renewal date.

8.3 Where You choose to pay Your Membership Subscription by any other means to those listed in clause 8.1, We will contact You prior to the renewal date to discuss whether or not You wish to renew Your Membership for a further 12 months.

8.4 You may renew Your Membership for a further 12 months from each renewal date by notifying us at any time. Your Membership will successfully renew on payment of the relevant Membership renewal fee.

9.Liability

9.1 We specifically exclude any liability to You for any loss or damage You incur as a result of any Benefits (including goods or services) provided to You by any third party.

9.2 The ROA shall not be liable to any Member for any indirect, special or consequential losses, loss of profits or prize money, or wasted expenditure, which may be incurred as a result of Your use (or attempted use) of Membership.

9.3 The maximum aggregate liability of the ROA to each Member for any claims (whether connected or unconnected) arising out of the Member’s use of the Membership shall be limited to the total amount of the Membership Fee actually paid for the relevant Membership in the 12 months prior to the date the liability arose.

9.4 Nothing in these Terms shall exclude or limit the ROA’s liability for death or personal injury caused by negligence, or for any other liability for which it would be unlawful to exclude or limit the same.

10.Competitions

10.1 Any and all prize draws and competitions operated by the ROA from time to time as part of the Benefits, including the ROA Owners’ Jackpot (details of which can be found here), shall be subject to separate terms and conditions as listed on Our Website at the time of the relevant competition, offer or prize draw.

10.2 To be eligible to participate in the ROA Owners’ Jackpot, the Racehorse associated with the relevant Membership must either be:

10.2.1 owned by Members holding more than a Qualifying Ownership Stake (for avoidance of doubt, 51% or more); or
10.2.2 registered to a Racing Partnership (where all partners are Members).

11. Communications and Marketing

The ROA will ensure your rights are protected under the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations in relation to the communications you wish to receive and the manner in which you wish to receive them.

However, there are certain communications that need to be sent to you regardless of your marketing preferences. These are what the ROA describes as essential communications to fulfil our obligations to you as a member of the ROA and to deliver the benefits as described in clause 4 above and which form an essential part of the membership contract.

Although not an exhaustive list examples of these types of communication are:

· Electronic transaction notification messaging, such as Direct Debit confirmation;

· Membership related E-mailings such as your renewal reminder;

· Financial Statement;

· E- Newsletter regarding free race days, member events, third-party liability insurance, emails from our partners Race Horse Trader and Racing Breaks (however we do not share your data, we only send occasional messages on their behalf) and access to voting and other membership benefits and services

· .Our regular The Owner Breeder magazine and AGM congress E mail notices; and

· Member news and information via email relating to any other essential services which form part of your ongoing membership package.

We use email as the primary method for contacting our Members. If we do not have a valid email address, we will contact you via post or phone where this is feasible.

By becoming a member of ROA you confirm that you also accept the terms of ourprivacy policy which we urge you to read at the following link here.

12.General

12.1 Any notice relating to these Terms must be sent in writing (which includes email).

12.2 If any part of these Terms become illegal, invalid or unenforceable at any time, such provision shall be deemed modified to the minimum extent necessary to make it valid, legal or enforceable. If such modification is not possible, the relevant provision shall be deleted without effecting the validity of the remaining terms.

12.3 Any failure by the ROA to insist upon strict performance of any part of these Terms, or any delay in exercising any rights to which the ROA is entitled, shall not constitute a waiver of such rights or remedies.

12.4 Use of our logo by members is not permitted unless granted express permission has been granted. All requests should be directed to the ROA.

12.5 Any Member, including former or prospective Members, has the right to contact the ROA with any queries or complaints relating to these Terms. Queries should be directed to [email protected] in the first instance.

12.6 Our events and courses are subject to separate terms and conditions. Please check these at the time of booking

12.7 These terms and conditions are governed by English law. You hereby irrevocably submit to the exclusive jurisdiction of the English courts notwithstanding the jurisdiction where you are based. If any court or competent authority decides that any of the provisions of these Terms are invalid, unlawful or unenforceable to any extent, the term will, to that extent only, be severed from the remaining terms, which will continue to be valid to the fullest extent permitted by law.