Sir; I write as a disappointed Nisa-Today's member and shareholder who feels that his democratic right to vote on the future of the company has been completely denied him. Forget the £50,000 cash payment members were going to receive in the event of a merger succeeding; it's the principle and the means by which a few denied the many at least the chance to vote.

It seems the final straw came when the Nisa Members Association, set up to stop the merger, reported Nisa-Today's and Costcutter to the OFT for alleged cartel arrangements preventing members moving from Costcutter to Nisa-Today's. Nisa-Today's has since instructed an independent panel of member directors to investigate this complaint.

The problem is that if the organisation is subsequently found guilty, all Nisa-Today's shareholders could well end up paying part of the fine. This is ultimately what derailed the merger, with the banks wishing to provide for such an event, forcing Nisa-Today's executive directors to abandon the proposals.

I am as mad as hell we have been denied democracy and I think many questions need to be answered by the Nisa Members Association, especially how they ever intended to get us out of this mess.

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