Red Arrow, Lutterworth - Sponsor Not Paying - Advice?

Hello all, this post is just to ask if any of you have either experienced or have any advice on the following?

Our local pub, the Red Arrow in Lutterworth, acquired new management about 12 months ago and as a result we agreed a sponsorship deal with them.

The deal made was only verbal, but the agreement was that we would receive £500 to fund a new kit with the Red Arrow logo, and the players themselves would pay for printing of the Red Arrow logo on our training kit.

In exchange, we would eat and have a few drinks after Sunday's games.

Our chairman bought the new away kit at a cost of approximately £550 with his own money, on the proviso that he would receive £500 back from the pub.

Our squad is approximately 22 players, and usually we get at least 15 of them to eat and drink after the game at a cost of approximately about £10 per player, thus the pub would receive about £150 each Sunday.

In theory, it would only take about four weeks to earn their money back so the deal represented excellent value for them.

Without exaggeration, we have probably missed a couple of Sundays there this season due to away trips, but we have also been in there for Monday Night Football, Champions League football and were also planning on watching England in the Euros there.

However, our chairman has just informed us that the pub have now refused to give us the £500 owed, due to us having not been in there enough, which is absolutely scandalous.

We are going to have a board meeting to discuss our response in due course, which may involve legal action and reporting the pub to the local newspaper, but are unsure if our argument would stand in court as the agreement was only verbal.

Have any of you been in this situation before and what would you advise?

Many thanks.

FUFC

How many people were present when the verbal was made, and were any of them not involved with the team, people who could back you up as an impartial witness, in all honesty i'd move on, see if you can get a new sponsor, someone who will do you the same deal, so you wouldnt lose your money in the long run..... get down the offy after the games, sit outside that pub and make them jealous.

Three members of our coaching staff made the agreement, with the Red Arrow's manager.

From my vague Uni memories, a verbal contract is just as binding as a written contract, the problem would be determining what would be a 'sufficient' amount to warrent a new kit. You may say 90% of the Sundays, they may say 95% of the Sundays. Unfortunately this is probably where you would come unstuck as i would doubt you had agreed what constituted a sufficient number of visits.

If it was me, i would probably go to them with the following plan:

1) Advise them that you feel they have reneged on their agreement and that you felt you had given them 'value for money'
2) Advise them that you planned on using the pub again next season
3) Advise them that you plan on using the pub for the Euros and end of season 'do' etc
4) Money is hard to come by though, so appreciate their situation, and give them a new written proposal, perhaps asking for £200 prior to the season starting, £150 at Christmas and then the balance to be paid at the end of the season

I wouldn't be too aggressive just yet, you have a partnership that both parties can and will benefit from if you can mend the bridges.

Just my personal thoughts and the way i would handle it....

I would say personally you may have to take the hit. You say the 500 would be made by the pub in 3 or 4 visits but reality is they make a pound a pint roughly so thats 500 pints before they break even. Unfortunately the climate we are in it seems clubs are stfuggling for sponsors all over the place i have spoken to a few pub landlords that have.forked out upto a thousand quid and have.seen relatively small returns recently.

a verbal agreement is binding, just as a written agreement is

Polska legend II wrote:

a verbal agreement is binding, just as a written agreement is

So if england were to win euros and you didnt pay malc he would win in court?

In theory yes, but unless you have independent witness, no one can prove what the other one said surely? widds has promised me some free spanners, but ive not seen any yet..

No no no....i said you are a useless tool, not a free spanner

we ended up in the arrow a fair few times last season cause our sponsor refused to pay us after we came back after every game and bought aleast 1 pint each, in most cases 5 pints.. we resorted to drinking at the arrow or drinking at our club. speak to browny if you know his number? other than that - they all seem like utter tw---

"A verbal agreement is not worth the paper it is written on" - that is why they do not happen in the real world. I am sure they are legally binding but enforcement is nigh on impossible.

When you stole our sponsor of many years (the arrow). I was initially fuming but took an immediate dislike to the landlord, so decided to move onwards and upwards. We were sponsored by the White Lion in Kilworth last year and were in exactly the same boat as you! The buggers didn't pay me, but I hadn't spent the money in advance. It would be crazy to have done so.

I had both Saturday sides and our Sunday side, coming back and spending a fortune for 6 months.. He took us for granted and as we hadn't been paid, we left. It was quite satisfying when the pub closed... (cruel and not solely down to losing our business, obviously)

But basically I would say you are screwed in regards to the money, but maybe stop spending in there and go to the Whittle or the Shambells as the whittle would be grateful of the business and I believe the bells lost its team, this season...

I know that Magna 73 are struggling to claim £250 of the Bulls Head in Countesthorpe that was promised at the start of the season and was spent on some tops

Ive boycotted the arrow in light of this post, you'll find me drinking in the bells, whittle or elms on fridays lunchtimes n after work from now on.

NiffyA wrote:

Ive boycotted the arrow in light of this post, you'll find me drinking in the bells, whittle or elms on fridays lunchtimes n after work from now on.

....and Thursday nights......

Yeah down whittle last night.