Tristan is considering buying shares in a company. Tristan asks you to explain to him what is meant by the terms 'member' and 'shareholder', and the different ways in which a person may become a member. He also asks you to explain who may be eligible to become a member, and how many members a company is permitted to have. Finally, Tristan asks: how does a person cease to be a member of a company?

After purchasing his shares, Tristan asks you to explain to him what the register of members is, what information is in that register, and whether all companies must keep one. Tristan is quite fascinated by the existence of a register and asks you whether he can inspect the one his details are recorded on and, if so, where can he find it. Tristan confides in you that if he can get access to the personal details of all his company's members, he could then sell that information to commercial call centres and socio-economic survey research companies. Also, Tristan cannot understand why the court has sole power to correct any errors made on entries into the members register. Advise Tristan.