Overlapping Your Party Membership Portals Cause Member Confusion and Payment Issues
Two overlapping Your Party membership portals—one launched in September on a different domain and another started a week later by Jeremy Corbyn and other MPs—have caused serious issues for members attempting to manage their subscriptions.
The two portals are unable to communicate with each other, leaving subscribers unable to cancel memberships through the new portal or access their money or data via the original one.
Before the split, more than 20,000 people had signed up. Jeremy Corbyn deemed the initial portal unauthorized, while MP Zarah Sultana said her involvement aimed to safeguard grassroots participation.
Subscriptions were set up as recurring card payments, which offer weaker consumer protections than direct debits. Attempts to block payments failed, and a £5 charge was processed despite members trying to cancel.
In October, subscribers were advised to contact MOU Operations Ltd for refunds. However, the directors of MOU resigned, and responsibility for donations and data was handed over to Sultana, who became the sole director overseeing approximately £500,000 raised.
Sultana stated that all subscriptions made through her portal had been canceled and refunds were being offered. She directed subscribers to a dedicated email address to request refunds.
A party spokesman acknowledged that the unauthorized portal had caused problems, noted that refunds are the responsibility of MOU, and offered three months of free membership to those who signed up via Sultana’s portal.
