Charlie Tango 2020 XMAS COMPETITION - Win a Yaesu FT891

Well maybe in future anyone in control of a competition should give their full contact details and there should be more than one person doing it.

Still nothing from firetrap its not looking good but i am still here send me a pm still here to chat

Monty wrote:

Well maybe in future anyone in control of a competition should give their full contact details and there should be more than one person doing it.

The person in control of this competition has given email address, Phone number and social media  as contact details. 

I am inclined to agree with your second point. Although if this doesn’t get resolved I fear our Great Membership will have lost trust in the Group, this breaks my heart. All I can do is apologise wholeheartedly every time you post and reiterate, as soon as we hear anything we will let you all know.

Hi paddy, I think you make a valid point that this could damage trust in the group. I did not enter this competition, but entered the last one. As a member of the group I thought the running of the competition was a great idea, not anymore ,so on that point trust, in these terms has gone. Six months after the draw was due to take place and still no answers is not acceptable for the members who placed trust and their cash in this forum. I really hope lee and family are all safe and well, but that just creates to questions nobody wants to ask.
1) is lee and his family safe and well
2) was it a scam
It maybe unpleasant of me to raise the questions, but better then a member taking a more formal route. Please don't shoot the messenger, I'm waiting for the backlash as I send this post.
regards.

Fair points raised, here's my view

It's been 6 months and NOTHING has been done. 

This raffle must have been agreed by the club committee and approved. But , the family problems aside' it seems like the club is hoping it all just goes away.  I'd not long joined and the first interaction with the club is I get ripped off in a raffle. 

I hope that at the next GM that rules are put in place where no one person can run a raffle or competition again

Please let me clarify a few things 

Lee is the sole owner and founder member of this forum and is responsible for all the running costs, initial setting up etc 

The raffle was totally his idea and was responsible for running of it 

All other admins are just members like everone else apart from having access to the various forum control panels to ensure the whole forum is moderated and kept in some sort of order 

Gary puts in many many hours per week issuing /updating members requests for call signs etc 

We don’t have a GM meeting and we don’t set any rules , we don’t have any membership subscriptions it is all free 

This forum totally relies on member input which is moderated by a handful of hard working members 

Now I completely agree that the current raffle situation is not acceptable but we have all tried our best to contact Lee but have heard absolutely nothing from him 

I really really hope Lee is all ok and can come on here and resolve this highly unsatisfactory situation 


Craig

Markone wrote:

Hi paddy, I think you make a valid point that this could damage trust in the group. I did not enter this competition, but entered the last one. As a member of the group I thought the running of the competition was a great idea, not anymore ,so on that point trust, in these terms has gone. Six months after the draw was due to take place and still no answers is not acceptable for the members who placed trust and their cash in this forum. I really hope lee and family are all safe and well, but that just creates to questions nobody wants to ask.
1) is lee and his family safe and well
2) was it a scam
It maybe unpleasant of me to raise the questions, but better then a member taking a more formal route. Please don't shoot the messenger, I'm waiting for the backlash as I send this post.
regards.

It was not a Scam, I assure you.

Hopefully some of the following helps somewhat, but is given in my very best attempt to explain where we are at :-
__________________________________________________________________________________________

Was it a scam?

If you think it was some sort of 'scam' it wouldn't have exactly been the brainchild of a mastermind or genius 'criminal'.

Surely the 'perfect scam' would have no one the wiser to such an event??

There had been 'prize draws' before on the forum, all handled well as could be told with appropriate winners drawn. Membership had increased due to the draws and the forum saw some 'bell & whistles' added regarding forum storage space, domain names, email addresses, etc.

The winners of last summers draw was a brand new member who was contacted to see if they had received their prize which was confirmed by the parcel tracking and their response. Unfortunately they didn't want to leave any sort of feedback to the forum on winning such a great prize and were never seen or heard of again. Completely up to them and you can make your own conclusions as to why, but they definitely existed.
__________________________________________________________________________________________

Where is Lee?

As has already been mentioned, we simply do not have any idea whatsoever.

It's very disconcerting to all involved that someone should disappear right before a prize draw on what up to now has been a successful forum with a great and vast membership. The last anyone had heard was that Lee himself and one of his young daughters had been taken ill which had left us all rather concerned and worried for him and his family's well-being. This was especially true at such a time in the pandemic and as time passed over Christmas and the New Year we lost literally tens of thousands of people to this terrible disease in the UK alone. The longer we had no contact with Lee the more worried we were for his well-being let alone that of his young family.
__________________________________________________________________________________________

As Craig, (Sydthecat), has explained, all the members of the admin team here are simply members that volunteered and/or were invited to help out with the day to day running of the forum.

I myself was invited by Lee almost a year ago after I had showed an aptitude for welcoming new members as well as offering as much assistance as I could to fellow members. I've never met Lee in person let alone spoken to him but that is also true for pretty much the rest of the admin team as well as all the members here at Charlie Tango. My only contact with anyone is via the forum, email or social media and I'm pretty sure true for many of you.

I know that for myself Charlie Tango gave me some sense of worth and still very much does every time a new member is welcomed, issued a callsign or helped with their radio exploits in some way. As a man who has now been left housebound for the last seven years through disability Charlie Tango and the community therein has been a firm rock for me as well as a much needed confidence boost.

I happily volunteer my free time to perform such tasks as well as the rest of the admin team who also juggle busy work lives and family commitments. I wholly commend each and every one of them for their efforts as well as all the fantastic members here that also give their time freely to help and assist each other.


There are no 'committees', no AGM, no membership or subscription fees and there are definitely no 'Charlie Tango Towers' residing on Canary Wharf. Not one of us are paid to do what we do, no one is charged for a membership or a call sign and all are free to use the forum especially if they embrace every aspect of radio interest.

It is for these very reasons that I happily volunteer my time here.
__________________________________________________________________________________________

This whole situation is terrible as I'm sure you would all agree.

There is frustration, there is worry and there is concern, let alone the terrible consequences this has had in 'tarnishing' Charlie Tango's reputation somewhat.

We have made every effort available to resolve this situation, have faced the possibility of what could be the worst outcome imaginable and yet still have no answers.

In the mean time we ensure that Charlie Tango still remains a viable and operational place, call signs are still issued and help is still freely given.....but I can assure you that none of this has been simply 'swept under the carpet'.
__________________________________________________________________________________________

My words may not be the best assurance or successful conclusion but again given freely in an attempt to hold Charlie Tango and what it stands for together in some shape or form.


All my very best to you all,
Victor

Well said Victor i love this group and it means lots to me as i am disabled and i use one finger to type with, and not
the fastest way to type, but it means alot to me and all my hill topping i can drive to the top of them, and i enjoy it lots but, i will not blame any charlie tango members, and trust its all here it will never go , but the this virus has taken lots and affected lots and he is a member after all said trust its still trusted do not let this hick up, spoil the group and in my eyes it has not and never will spoil it, please still join the group, the group will survive and move one ,lets make this year a good one try and move one for the better, and its the longest day and from now on the nights get a little longer, lets enjoy the sun and get them contacts we will overcome this and learn and so far its been great year for the contacts.

stephen Gunrunner wrote:

Well said Victor i love this group and it means lots to me as i am disabled and i use one finger to type with, and not
the fastest way to type, but it means alot to me and all my hill topping i can drive to the top of them, and i enjoy it lots but, i will not blame any charlie tango members, and trust its all here it will never go , but the this virus has taken lots and affected lots and he is a member after all said trust its still trusted do not let this hick up, spoil the group and in my eyes it has not and never will spoil it, please still join the group, the group will survive and move one ,lets make this year a good one try and move one for the better, and its the longest day and from now on the nights get a little longer, lets enjoy the sun and get them contacts we will overcome this and learn and so far its been great  year for the contacts.

Stephen, I can’t tell you what this post means to me, thank you so much for posting it. We are all worried, upset and everything in between. You have made me a lot happier today my friend.

I second that Paddy!

Well said Stephen, you are and always will be a fantastic member of Charlie Tango. 

hi all, directors and members.
in my post I clearly stated I had not bought a ticket and made no accusations in any way, shape or form. Also I did not diminish the great work of the directors and never have. Every post I have ever made as been positive and to encourage other radio users to enjoy the hobby. Twice in the post I hoped Lee and his family are safe and well. I simple offered to questions in response to someone else's post. There was no reference to the forum, apart from I had lost trust in the raffles.
point 1)lee stated 6/7/2020 someone who had been on the forum twice had won a previous raffle
point 2)victor pointed out the summer 2020 raffle was won by a new member, who was never heard of again.
point3)2020 Christmas raffle never happened.
Also I think most of the 4k CT members, including myself, knew the forum and finances were controlled by one man that the admin staff had not met.
I understand the directors being upset with me, but what type of forum is it if you cannot ask a question. The CT forum has not been attacked  by me, I have only positive things to say about it.
so inconclusion, since only MONTY has ever commented on the raffle ,I will take it as only one ticket sold and move on.
I really do hope Lee and family are well and back with us soon
peace and love to you all

Hi Mark,

Please don't worry or presume that anything has been referenced to you in any way.

My posting was to hopefully enlighten all members regarding the current situation and keep everyone abreast of where we currently stand on this. In no way was this ever directed or intended to point at any individual.

I'm not upset with anyone at all but obviously I still have concerns over Lee's well-being as well as Charlie Tango's reputation and it's valuable members. This was why I made this posting in the hope that it would shed some light on matters.

You are indeed a valued member of the Charlie Tango fraternity and your interaction with the group as well as input to it has always been exemplary. So please don't fret, this is all obviously a situation where many of us have showed concern.

I echo your sentiments exactly in that we all do really hope that Lee as well as his family are well.


All my best to you,
Victor

Mark,

I don’t think anyone is upset with you Mark, not in the slightest. Your post was as valid as any other, I just couldn’t answer Q1 but Q2 was easy so I answered it. No problem at all. 

P.S. I bought 3 tickets £60 down the Swannee.

it looks like this virus has taking some good friends it does not look good, it would be good to find out if any good members
have passed away and could it be possible to find out, and try include a little memorial to them thats gone , A could it be read out at the buxton bash it will help every one thats lost friends and fellow members.

Hi Stephen, nice idea but probably too late in the day now. I think it is really important not to let this thread go off topic though.

Hi Guys, we are approaching 10 Months since Lee’s last login to Charlie Tango. I want you all to know I am still actively seeking to find any news on Lee. I have spoken today to an old friend of his and explained the situation. He is now as worried as me, but has stated a desire to get to the bottom of it. 

Of course I will update this thread as soon as I hear anything concrete. I must say at this moment I am so deeply despondent and not in a great place mentally. I maintain that the reason for Lee’s absence is NOT related to this Competition.

I continue to pray for a good outcome to this mystery, regards Paddy.

take care Paddy, and look after your self, it will get resolved at some point and not worth getting stressed about something out of your control,
best wishes 
mark

still not heard any thing but if you see this talk send a message lee

Hi Stephen, I hope that you're well mate.

Unfortunately Lee hasn't logged in to the forum since October 15th last year. Sadly he's almost certainly not seeing any of this. We can only hope that he's okay and look forward to hearing from him in the future.

73's Gary.

yes i am fine good days and bad days fingers crossed hope lee and family are all ok

Hi all,

I have to say, after reading through this competition thread (which I nearly entered last year, but didn't for some reason), it makes very sorry reading unfortunately.  I'm really disappointed that our CT group of good trusting members has had to go through this.  I used to work in information security and, I must say, the CT group has not been run with security or accountability mind.  To be fair, I'm absolutely astounded that this group has even got to the size it has, based upon trust alone.  For a single person to be in total control of the domain, membership, forum and a competition with an individual PayPal account, is a major no-no, irrespective of their standing within the community.  The likes of Facebook and Instagram have multiple check-points to deal with this type of thing, purely because they now have to.  However, in the realm of the 'world wide web', anyone can set up a website, stick a forum on it and invite a few influential community members to join as admins or directors, and proceed to extract money from people unchecked.....

There may be other reasons why Lee hasn't responded to the competition, but we've all gone through the same pandemic with exactly the same fears and exactly the same reality.  With a group of people running the CT website, and an associated PayPal account, these issues would have been avoided.

As such, my advice would be for the Directors and other major contributors to get together 'virtually' and plan to migrate the CT callsign to a new home as soon as possible, and certainly before it becomes worthless.....I for one joined this group for a reason!!!  It makes me angry to think that honest people have spent £20 on a competition that never was, and that Lee has walked away with the money, as no one has actually confirmed his identity!!!

Hi Simon, I tried to raise some issues in an earlier post. Please read if you missed it. But one point over looked, In a post made by Lee after the summer raffle, he said the group was financially succoured until 2022. Don't know if that is January 2022 or December 2022,only time will tell as we approach the new year. My real worry is without contact with lee and administration  staff stuck  in the middle, will I wake up one day and the forum gone. basically  do we have a plan B. NO offence to administration  staff who do a great job for nothing and in their spare time. Its been nearly a year, what ever your view on this, things don't seem well.

Hello Simon & Mark, 

In honesty it's hard to disagree with much of what you both say. What I can clarify for you is the following. 

Lee is the sole owner of the C.T. forum and Brand and has complete control over the way in which it is run and financed. 

The C.T. "Brand" is copyright protected https://www.copyrighted.com/work/qv5m1ay9teqefekv so the idea of splitting away is not something that could happen even if we wanted to.

The forum itself is hosted by Forumotion who do both subscription and free versions of the software so we won't be disappearing. If anything happens at all some features of the site might change. We've been in this situation before and there's no noticeable difference to front end users. 

We can't have a "Plan B" I'm afraid because we don't own the right to do so.

Other than that we the "Admin team" feel as disappointed as everyone else that this has happened. Above all we feel worried for Lee and his family's well being. 

Best 73's Gary.

C.T. Admin.

I really, really hope that I'm in the wrong here guys and it's all just a misunderstanding, or there has been something more important going on in people's lives which has caused this issue. It may even be something simple like low ticket sales for the draw has made it commercially unviable.  Either way, I hope we hear something soon and, let's face it, from what I see on here, we're a helpful, understanding and forgiving bunch who are willing to accept anyone and handle anything thrown at us.