Serious Ethics

(updated 2nd April 2006)

Step 1. Member submits an “Incident Report”

A member submits an Incident Report which draws attention to some aspects of unusual behaviour. Such unusual behaviour will generally include one or more of the following:

Highly unusual bidding or play Exceptional lead Inspired switch Extreme success rate in finessing or when playing for the drop Long delays before unusual plays when there appears to be no connection problems It is perfectly normal to experience some of the above, concern will arise however if such events occur over an extended period of boards and if there is an inconsistency involved. Once a member has submitted an incident report, he or she should keep the matter private and confidential and should not solicit support from other members nor take any such action that may undermine another member’s credibility. Any member who does submit an incident report and makes the matter public knowledge will face an automatic seven day suspension if it is a first offence, and more serious repercussions if this action continues or is repeated. We have the procedure in place to investigate in a discreet manner and actions which may hamper this procedure will not be tolerated.

Step 2. Log “Incident Report” and decide whether to proceed further

The incident report is submitted into the ethics database system. The Serious Ethics Consultant will review those items submitted under the "Serious Ethics" category to verify that the incident is not frivolous and then log it as a SERIOUS ethics INCIDENT. An example of an incident that will be deemed “frivolous” is when only one hand has been submitted and the highlighted action has a clear justification.

Step 3. Member notified report is logged but no immediate action

In the event that the Serious Ethics Consultant has concluded that the incident is frivolous, the incident will be closed and a reply sent to the submitting member explaining what has happened and the reasons why the incident did not proceed any further.

Step 4. Collate and analyse evidence

In this situation, the original incident that was categorised by the submitter as a "Serious Ethics" Incident, is now "flagged" and confirmed as SERIOUS following initial review. The Serious Ethics Consultant will now fully investigate the case, and may ascertain all or any of the following information to assist such investigation:

The detailed results of sessions that the defendant has played, session by session over the past few weeks or months (to include previous aliases)
The rating of the defendant
Records of hands played by defendant over the past few weeks or months
Anecdotal evidence of the player’s performance in face to face environments
Review of play and results when partnering different partners
Chat records
Technical details such as internet protocol addresses, logon times
Check for multiple registrations or previous records
Convention Card Requested

Obviously our Serious Ethics Consultant (S.E.C.) does not know the system and style of every pair in the club. To assist him you may be requested to complete and return a basic Convention Card. Please GO HERE AND SUBMIT your Convention Card if requested to do so. This will enable the S.E.C. to establish your general methods swiftly and accurately, and may well show that the reported actions indicate no cause for concern.

Failure to comply with this request within 7 days could however be seen as unreasonable and lead to your account being suspended until such time as the completed CC is forwarded.

The S.E.C. may take as long as necessary in reviewing the case, and has available as a resource the services of a consultancy panel, consisting of selected volunteer members with appropriate expertise. During this process, the status of the member under investigation may be changed to that of ‘guest’.

Step 5. No further action (submitting member informed

)If the S.E.C. has reviewed the evidence and decided that there is no need to proceed any further, a brief update will be attached to the file and the member who submitted the incident report will be duly informed by the Ethics system. That member should acknowledge that the matter is closed unless or until additional information is produced.

Step 6. Breach of Serious Ethics Rules

Bridge Club Live has a ‘zero tolerance’ policy towards the deliberate use of unauthorised information. On the advice of the Serious Ethics Consultant (who may call upon the consultancy panel), any member who is deemed to be in breach of the club rules concerning serious ethics will immediately have their membership terminated. The submitting member will also be informed accordingly, through the ethics database system.

Members who have been suspended under this procedure may, upon request, be able to rejoin BCL after the period of suspension which is normally 2 years as a minimum.

Refunds

Where a member is or has been involved in any ethics issue and elects to close their membership account, we do NOT refund membership fees.

Where a member has their membership terminated as a result of an ethics issue, we do NOT refund membership fees.

Any member under investigation is required by the rules of the club to treat the situation with absolute discretion. Any attempt by the member or a third party to publicise the case, or to hamper the investigation in any way, will not be tolerated, and will result in immediate termination of membership.