Heart of England Co-operative Society Limited Membership terms and conditions – Company number IP02399R
- About these terms and Conditions
- How to become a member
- Your membership card and account
- How to manage your account and change your details
- Member Rewards
- Cancelling your Membership
- Refund or return of goods
- Shares
- Data Privacy
- Changes to these terms and conditions
1. About these terms and Conditions
1.1 When we say “we”, “us”, “our” or “Society”, we mean Heart of England Co-operative Society Limited.
1.2 When we say “you” and “your”, we mean the person whose name is on the front of the Membership card.
1.3 When we say “Your Membership Card” this may be a physical card or a digital reward card as issued post February 26th, 2025.
1.4 These terms and conditions should be read alongside our Rules, which can be found here.
1.5 Where there is a conflict or discrepancy between these terms and conditions and our Rules, our Rules take precedence.
1.6 These terms and conditions together with our Rules set out the rights you have as a Member of the Society and the additional benefits you are entitled to under these terms and conditions.
2. How to become a member
2.1 We welcome Membership applications from customers who share our co-operative values of self-help, self-responsibility, democracy, equality, equity and solidarity.
2.2 As a Member, you are required to hold and retain at least one £1 share fully paid in Heart of England Co-operative Society Limited. Full Membership, with associated democratic rights, takes effect six months following the full payment of the minimum one £1 share to the Society.
2.3 The £1 share must be paid upfront upon becoming a Member of the Society.
2.4 You must live in the UK and be aged 16 years or over.
2.5 We reserve the right to refuse any application for Membership.
2.6 You can apply to become a member online at; membership.heartofengland.coop or by scanning a QR code in one of our Heart of England Co-op Food Stores or Funeral Homes.
2.7 By agreeing to become a member of the Society, you agree to be bound by our Rules.
3. Your membership card and account
3.1 A Heart of England Co-operative Society Limited card is issued subject to the Member agreeing to the full Membership Terms and Conditions. From the 26th February 2025 this will be a digital card only.
3.2 The Membership card is not a loyalty card, credit card, payment card or cheque guarantee card. It is purely for Membership purposes only.
3.3 The card remains the property of the Society, who may withdraw the card at any time.
3.4 The card is valid in food stores and funeral homes operated by Heart of England Coop Society.
3.5 The card can only be used for the benefit of the person who completed the online application form and paid £1. You may not transfer any of your rights and duties as a member of the Society. Persons residing at the same address must apply separately in order that they have a shareholding in the Society.
3.6 The card can only be used in respect of purchases made by and for the individual Member and for their immediate, dependent family.
3.7 The card cannot be used by anyone other than the Member as evidence of a right to exercise democratic rights save to the extent that this may be permissible under our Rules.
4. How to manage your account and change your details
4.1 As a Member, it is your responsibility to inform the Society if your details change, such as your name or address. Should this be the case, please use the Contact Us form on our website.
This will ensure we are able to send you any communications relating to your Membership. Please quote your Membership number, and name and postcode to help us to find your Membership record.
For a change or name, we may require you to provide relevant documents, such as a marriage certificate or change of name deed.
4.2 If your Membership card is lost, damaged or stolen, replacement cards can be requested by completing the Contact Us form on our website. A new replacement card will be provided digitally to the email address you have provided.
4.3 We may provide appropriate authorities any information considered important about the loss or theft of a card.
4.4 In the event of a dispute, the Society’s decision on the matter shall be final and binding.
4.5 You can contact our Membership Team for any membership matters or questions about these terms and conditions or our Rules via the contact us form on our website.
5. Member Rewards
5.1 Until 22 February 2025, Members were able to earn Member Rewards when they made in-store purchases.
5.2 After 22 February 2025 you can no longer accrue Member Rewards on your reward card. Instead, we’re delivering value to Members in other ways including exclusive Member Prices across our Food and Funeral divisions
5.3 Member Prices are available on selected products in Heart of England Co-op Food stores. These limited deals are subject to availability and can only be purchased when you use your Membership card. Prices may vary and, if we need to, we can cancel a deal at any time without notice.
5.4 When you buy a funeral plan or arrange a funeral in a Heart of England Co-op Funeral home and present your Membership, you’ll benefit from exclusive Member prices on selected purchases as an upfront discount including
- At Need Funerals £200 off excluding third party fees
- Masonry 10% reduction for orders over £350 excluding third party fees
- Pre-paid funerals £200 off Discount is not available on unattended funerals and unattended funeral plans.
- 10% discount on sundries
- 5% discount on legal services
5.5 You must be a member of the Society for at least three months to qualify for member prices on funerals.
5.6 Pre-paid funeral plans
Direct funeral plan discount – £25
Essential funeral plan discount – £125
Traditional funeral plan discount – £200
Bespoke funeral plan discount -up to £200 for any plans over £4,290.
Separate terms and conditions apply to funeral plans and this offer. Funeral plan terms and conditions can be found here.
Membership discount terms and conditions can be found here.
Offer available to over 18s, new customers only, one discount per attended funeral plan. It is not transferable, there is no cash alternative, and it is withdrawn if the plan is cancelled. Heart of England Co-op Funerals which is a trading name of Heart of England Co-operative Society Limited, Whittle House, Foleshill Enterprise Park, Courtaulds Way, Coventry CV6 5NX Reg. No. IP02399R is an Appointed Representative of Ecclesiastical Planning Services Limited Reg. No. 2644860, registered in England at Benefact House, 2000 Pioneer Avenue, Gloucester Business Park, Brockworth, Gloucester, GL3 4AW, UK, which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. Firm Reference Number 958152. The Financial Conduct Authority regulates pre-paid funeral plans.
Spending your Personal Member Rewards
5.6 You can see the balance of any Member Reward you have available to spend on your Food store receipt. Should you have any queries about your reward card balance please use the Contact Us form on our website.
5.7 Any Personal Member Reward that you have earned prior to 26th February 2025, since becoming a member is still valid but must be spent in any of our Heart of England Co-op Food stores before 31 December 2025.
5.8 To spend your Personal Member Reward, you must present your physical or digital Membership card or present your Membership number in our Funeral division at the point of purchase.
6. Cancelling your Membership
6.1 You can cancel your Membership at any time by contacting the Membership Team. Your continued Membership of the Society is also subject to the provisions set out in our Rules.
7. Refund or return of goods
7.1 If you purchase goods from us and return them for a refund, we will refund the value of goods as purchased including any member rewards discounts which had been applied at the time of purchase.
8. Shares
8.1 Heart of England Co-operative Society follows a strict Code of Practice and is required to inform members of the nature of their shareholding and any changes which affect it.
8.2 Members are shareholders of Heart of England Co-operative Society Limited. If the Society is unable to meet its debts and other liabilities, members would lose the full amount held in shares. It is known as ‘risk capital’ and might therefore be an inappropriate place to invest savings.
8.3 All Members must hold at least one £1 share in the Society.
8.4 As a member you can also invest in Withdrawable Share Capital with the Society by opening a Share Account. This includes and is subject to the requirement of holding the minimum £1 share in the Society for six months.
8.4.1 Not more than 10% of the paid up share capital as at 1st January in each calendar year.
8.4.2 For more information on Share Accounts and Withdrawable Share Capital or to apply for a Share Account, contact us here.
8.5 A Member must provide one week’s notice to withdraw their capital subject to the minimum shareholding requirements.
8.6 The Financial Services Compensation Scheme, which covers bank and building society accounts, does not apply to share accounts with the Society. No compensation claims can be made in the event of the Society becoming unable to meet requests for withdrawal of shares. The Society does not require authorisation under the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 to issue withdrawable share capital. Societies are not subject to supervision by the Financial Services Authority for the issue of these shares.
8.7 Money may be withdrawn from share accounts at any time unless the Board of Directors has decided to remove this facility under the Society’s rules.
8.8 Withdrawable share capital does not characterise an investment in the conventional sense. The withdrawable share capital held in share accounts may receive interest, but the shares do not increase in value. It should be viewed more as supporting rather than investing in the Society.
8.9 From 1st June 2025 the interest rate payable on member share accounts will be 2.25% for balances over £10.00 up to £200.00 and 3.75% for share accounts with balances of £200 up to £8,000.
8.10 The Financial Ombudsman Service does not apply to your share account or your relationship with the Society.
9. Data Privacy
9.1 The information that you provide will be used to process your application to become a Member of the Society and to send you information you are legally entitled to, or there is a legitimate interest in you receiving such as:
- notice of Members’ meetings
- voting papers for elections
- membership updates
- general Membership administration
- membership surveys
9.2 We will also use your contact details to send you marketing if you have given us permission. We take great care to protect your personal information and only use it in accordance with our Privacy Policy.
10. Changes to these terms and conditions
10.1 In accordance with our Rules these Terms and Conditions may be amended and then publicised on our website having an immediate effect, replacing previous Terms and Conditions. Your continued use of your Membership card will be deemed acceptance of any changes.
10.2 These terms and conditions were last updated in February 2025.