Online payment goes live as retention fee forms are sent out
The Royal Pharmaceutical Society's facility for the online
payment of retention fees (PJ, 13 December, p828) has now gone live, following the mailing of retention fee forms for 2004.
For 2004, online payment is available to members in Britain working full
time and those living abroad who pay the reduced fee for overseas members.
The Society hopes to extend the facility to other membership categories
and other online services over the next few years.
Members wishing to pay online should visit www.rpsgb.org.uk/payment and
have ready their membership number and retention fee form number, both
of which appear at the top of the first page of the form. Payment can
be made by Mastercard, Visa, Visa Delta, Visa Electron, Visa Purchasing,
JCB, Solo, and Switch cards.
The online payment service also allows members to make a donation to
the Society’s charitable funds. UK taxpayers can increase the value
of their donation by electing to treat it as Gift Aid, which allows the
Society to reclaim from the Inland Revenue the tax paid for the amount
of the donation.
Online payments are handled through a secure service and secure internet
server provided by a part of the Royal Bank of Scotland group. Members
with concerns about the security of the service are referred to the security
policy/statement on the online payment site and to their individual credit
and debit card providers’ policies.
Those paying online should still return the retention fee form, in the
envelope provided, after entering the online transaction, which the Society
needs to update its records. It also needs to collect the regulatory
information requested on the form.
Payment by credit or debit card is not restricted to those who pay online.
A new facility this year allows all payments to be made by filling in
credit or debit card details on the retention fee form. (The Society
is not able to take card payments by telephone.)
All credit and debit card information will be handled in a high security
payment processing centre. Once payments have been processed, the information
will be securely destroyed. A protocol is also in place at the Society
for ensuring that payment details received there remain confidential,
with access being restricted and monitored.
Retention fee packs were due to be mailed by 18 December to reach members
and pharmacy owners before Christmas. All fees are due on 1 January 2004.
Those who fail to pay by the end of January will receive a reminder and
any who still fail to pay after receipt of a statutory notice may be
erased for non-payment, when their details will be published in The
Journal.
The Society is getting tougher with late payers, and strikings–off
for non-payment will happen earlier than in recent years. Restoration
to the register after erasure will then cost a further £395 for
pharmacists and £336 for premises on top of the retention fee.
Any members or pharmacy owners concerned about not receiving a retention
fee pack should contact the registration section, Royal Pharmaceutical
Society, 1 Lambeth High Street, London SE1 7JN (tel 020 7572 2322; e-mail
registration@rpsgb.org.uk).
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