THE ASHBURTON PERMANENT BUILDING AND INVESTMENT SOCIETY.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume V, Issue 1555, 11 May 1887, Page 2

THE ASHBURTON PERMANENT BUILDING AND INVESTMENT SOCIETY.

TO THE EDITOR. Sir,—As tho above Society is accnstomed to advertise the advantages which it offers to investors, will you afford me space to state my own practical experience of those advantages, as a warning to tho unwary. s' Last August 1 met a Director o/" the Society, who wavmly urged me to hecome an investing member, telling me that the subscription was only 5s a share a month ; that interest at the rate of 7 per cent per annum was guaranteed upon all monies so paid m, and m addition, the investing members were ontitled Co a share m tho profits, which made a Lrge addition to the interest, while, the deposits with interest added could be withdrawn at any time. Allured by this seductive bait, I proceeded to the Society's office, whore the manager (who is likewise a Director), corroborated bis colleague's assurance. I accordingly applied for ten investment shares, And my enlightenment commenced. As the issuo of the shares began m the previous February, it was necessary for me to pay 7 months' subscription at once, viz ,£l7los, at which, of course, I do not complain, I was then required to pay £]. 5s entrance fees, and 10s working expenses. These little flies m the ointment tho seductive Director, doubtless through inadvertence, had omitted to tell me about. However, I paid the money ; but then came the further demand of 3s 9d for interest. Now, as the borrower, and not the londoi, generally pays the interest, I naturally asked why, seeing that I was lending the Society £17 10s, I should pay interest for it; whereupon it was suavely explained to me that inasmuch as I was to be paid interest for my £17 10s from February, and as, if I had paid my subscription of £2 10s every month, the Society would have had the use of those subscriptions, it was only fair that I should reimburse it for the loss of interest thuß entailed. There was a certam amount of plausibility about this argument, so I parted with my 3s 9d and left the office, reflecting that I had advanced my money on very peculiar terms indeed, but flattering myself tbat I should receive my reward at tho end of the year. I paid my subscriptions punctually every month, spurred thereto by the consciousness that if I paid any subscription a day too lalo a sharp fino would be imposed, although tho rules do not provide for the Society paying fines to investing members should it fail to keep its engagements with them. By the end of January last —the close of the financial year —l bad paid altogether £30 subscriptions, and £1 18s 9d entrance foes, working expenses and interest. Now for my reward. In April the Directors make a division of profits amongst the investing mombers to tho extent of 3 per cent per annum ; m other words, tho investing mombers are to receive 10 per cent por annum upon thoir subscriptions, instead of the 7 per cent guaranteed. It did not require a skilled accountant to compute the amount of interest which had then accrued to mo ; I therefore made the calculation aud found it to bo £2 1h 3L The Society, however, by some inscrutable process of calculation, insists that it only amounts to £1 Us Bd, and accordingly credits me m its books with the sum of £3111s 8d as being the total value of my shares on Ist February, 1887. You will thus observe that having boon induced to deposit my money on the distinct guarantee of 7 por cent interest and a share of tho profits, the net rojult of tho year's operations is that instead of receiving interest, I am mulcted m the sum of 8s Id, I nctuaHjr paid m £31 188 9d, and I am credited with £31 11s 8d only. 1 have confined myself to a narrative of the baro faefs of tho case Your readers can draw th.cir own ponclusioru I am, ctp., Victim. PS. —I may add that m the beginning of February I had to pay 10s more for working expenses, so that I am now 18s Id to the bad.