FSB, a comfort blanket ?

[dartissimus]

I've been a member of the FSB for about 10 years

I originally took it for the free helplines, resourses which I now have elsewhere

I used their consultation services a couple of times, for legal advice/opinion on employment issues, a phone call or two and nothing more.

So it's renewal time, the price has gone up, due to more employees and I'm wondering, do I really need this?


FSB worthwhile or not ? Experiences to share?

Edited by dartissimus on Wednesday 27th September 09:50

[cheekymeerkat]

I've just renewed, I treat it as an insurance policy.
They are invaluable to me when it comes to questions about HR, and the like. They outsource to legal firms and accountants.
Great for professional advice, although I think the price is quite high considering their buying power!

[akirk]

For many years it was a cheap option to buy their membership to get their deals on credit card handling - not sure whether this is still the case, if not then their value might be reduced.

[andyb28]

I faced the exact same question myself recently.

In the end, we did renew (just in case), but will be looking at how much we need it over the coming year. I couldn't think of any service we have used for a long time, but wasn't sure if our insurances covered exactly the same as FSB does.

[mjb1]

We switched to Business First Network a year or so ago. The local FSB rep (who'd been doing it for years), switched over to Business First, and basically took most of his client base with him. Can't remember what the issue was, but I think FSB quietly dropped something useful from their package, and changed their membership/pricing structure in a way that they'd always promised they wouldn't. Supposedly BFN is better value with more/better cover.