[HCoop-Discuss] Misconcenptions about the deposit requirement

[Nathan Kennedy]

There seem to be a few misconceptions with regards to the new deposit 
requirement.

Misconception 1. If you forget to check the portal all the time and pay 
one month, the first way you will know is that your website is down and 
you can't log into HCoop.

Truth:
First, you will still be receiving just as much advance notice for low 
balances as you did before.

Second, your account will not be frozen immediately once your balance 
reaches zero now!  Once the new system is fully implemented and members 
have been fully informed and had the chance to pay up their deposits, 
accounts will only be frozen when your balance is more negative than 
your deposit is positive -- a negative balance of about three month's 
payments.

This means that you ignored multiple low balance emails until your 
account balance became zero, and then ignored repeated negative balance 
emails for three months without paying.  There will actually be more 
notice than before.  Anyone in this situation is someone whose account 
we would have wanted to be able to freeze before.

Misconception 2. HCoop just took a big chunk of my money!

Truth:
No, it just allocated part of your balance to a refundable deposit 
viewable on the Financials page of the portal, which is payable to you 
when you leave HCoop just as your old balance was.  This was not a 
billing event.

Misconception 3. I can't afford this deposit.

Truth:
Anyone who could afford to be an HCoop member before can afford to be an 
HCoop member now.  We are billing members at the same times and in the 
same amounts as before.  If you are a member who can't afford to pay in 
your whole deposit all at once, we can work with you to gradually bring 
your balance up to being positive.

What this does mean is that in the future we will have pretty much 
eliminated the problem we have had multiple times in the past where 
members left the co-op footing the bill for their negative balances when 
they departed.  These amounts had to be billed out to members; so 
actually, your bills will go *down* under the new system in the future, 
which was the whole point.

This system was not implemented to make life more convenience for 
admins.  It was implemented to protect members and reduce their bad debt 
exposure and expenses.

-ntk