Boat Owners Associations.

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No I dont mean Princess. Fairline ect. I can find a British Waterways boat owners Association that seems to have a couple of teeth. But not one for all of us.

I'm talking about sharp practices by marinas and others. Like you owe them and within a week of service, you have to pay, else charges. But if they owe you, they dont have to pay till six months later and you get fined in the mean time for not paying them. Theres not much you can do about it because they hold the money.

Some folk will know, I moved to Glasson Dock, for health reasons. I did not believe I would come across restricive practices there. It's £1600 a year, yet they want about £3600 to sell my boat and I dont have any other options. Even though I doubt if anyone has ever heard of BW selling boats, let alone sea boats. I cant find them on google. It gets worse, I'm not allowed to use MY boat, whilst they are not selling it.

BW say 6% is industry standards.Though all I can find is 1% (dont know why).

Or nothing. Most marinas are not involved in selling boats and if they are , they have at least got a decent broker on there site.

Only BW wants 6% for not selling it. (How could they).

So net resullt is, she has to go about 130 miles back, to some place I can sell her with some sort of confidence.

The contracts only appeared a month after i got there. Offering to pay was manyana time.

We really need a voice here to sort the cr*p out, Not sure if MBY would be interested.

But as marinas are becoming more empty, the balls got to be in our court.
 
Welcome to the world of British waterways my friend! Firstly British waterways marinas limited is a separate entity to British waterways, well it is supposed to be, they hold a monopoly with their marinas and they pretty much please them selves what they do and what they charge, their attitude is if you don't like it, move on! You cant reason with them or make them see sense!

There is no such thing as an "industry standard" brokerage charge, 6% is usually the brokers starting point and most brokers will move on this figure, just as estate agents will move from their normal stated figure.

Having dealt with BWB for well over 20 years and also BWML since they started my advice would be move your boat to a professional brokering organisation and let them sell it, or sell it your self.

BW do have an ombudsman and I would think that this extends to cover BWML but I suspect that they would say that it is BWML's commercial policy's and that is that.

The sooner BWML go and let the marinas go back in to privately run organisations the better, Its only a matter of time just like the BWB pub partnership that failed and cost the country millions!
 
Haydn,

You have my sympathy. Our marina (Tewkesbury) has gone rapidly downhill since we were landed with a new Marina Manager. I think he learned about customer service in Guantanamo Bay! We need a "Users Group" at Tewkes now, or else move the boat. Unfortunately this is the best place geographically. All other marina staff are great, including the brokerage guy. At Tewkes there are no restricitions on selling. You can DIY, use Tewkes or another broker. They appear to de very well selling boats, but I have no direct experience myself.

Hope you get MF sorted, she must be feeling sorry for herself with lack of hours this year?
 
OAF said:
(snip)
The sooner BWML go and let the marinas go back in to privately run organisations the better, Its only a matter of time just like the BWB pub partnership that failed and cost the country millions!
Click to expand...

'morning OAF,

With the current Govt attitude to Quangos there may be an opportunity to start a campaign here. It's probably not that big in the scale of things, but a bandwagon is a bandwagon & lots of stuff can be hung on the back as it passes by.
 
Searush said:
'morning OAF,

With the current Govt attitude to Quangos there may be an opportunity to start a campaign here. It's probably not that big in the scale of things, but a bandwagon is a bandwagon & lots of stuff can be hung on the back as it passes by.
Click to expand...

G'day Searush

I agree with the governments attitude towards quangos and about "jumping on the bandwagon" I wish I had more time to jump on it my self, the fact of the matter, even when BWB do become a charity the new BWB charity will be separate to BWML but they will still have the same attitude to the old regime, what it needs is to have a totally new management structure before things will change, It needs to be run like a private business before it will start to be run better!!
 
I have been in marina's where they say that you have to pay 1% if you sell your boat but no-one did. Struck me as a completely unreasonable condition.

Someone I know is in an ABP marina with a Brokerage on site (not sure if the Brokerage is connected to ABP or not) and there is a condition that you have to sell using the brokerage - no choice apparently.

Personally I wouldn't moor in a marina that imposed such conditions (but see that you weren't aware of it when you moved there).
 
Haydn,

Have you actually dicussed the 6% with the Marina? Have you suggested that you give them a months exclusivity to sell the boat then if they've had no luck then you go to a joint agency with another broker (then if the other broker sells the boat you give BW 1%)?

Pete
 
Are these terms considered fair by the office of fair trading, if not I don't see how they could be enforced so long as you contest it before selling the boat. People can put whatever terms they like in contracts but they are more often than is readily accepted, unenforceable.
 
petem said:
Haydn,

Have you actually dicussed the 6% with the Marina? Have you suggested that you give them a months exclusivity to sell the boat then if they've had no luck then you go to a joint agency with another broker (then if the other broker sells the boat you give BW 1%)?

Pete
Click to expand...

The idiots at the marina swear that 6% is "industry norm".

BWML do not appear in 11 pages of google.


Forget the Boat owners association idea. I'm voting with my feet....Well propellors I suppose.:D
 
petem said:
So why not show them the T&C's for Premier and MDL and write to their MD?
Click to expand...

Because it's not my job to educate BW, and when I tried to do it, they would not listen.

If BWML eventually close down, so much the better, for all boat owners.

Even got a call from some Broker today, who would flog my boat for £1500 quid.

Last time we went to Glasson, We went four times to the office to pay them.

One time, with a lot of effort, I managed to pay for some diesel. Another time Deb's went and managed to pay for the mooring. (just before we left)

The lift out, power wash, anodes and stuff from the chandlers. We never managed to pay for, try as we would.

We could not educate them into accepting money for bills we owed.

How the hell are we going to convince them that there brokerage is cr*p.

Anyway I've sorted a driver out, to take MF to Pwthelli, where I have a choice of three brokerages and any others I want as well. The marina wants nothing.
AS I said before, Propellers are the best way of voting
 
Just as well BWS is seperate from down south!! We've got some renegades who have come up here from BWML places and are enjoying the hospitality of the Crinan Canal.

Good luck with the move and sale.
 
The Boating Association

Haydn,

The only association with links to (and influence at the highest levels of) BW is the TBA, The Boating Association. http://www.theboatingassociation.co.uk/

Formed primarily because of the reasons you state, i.e. that BW are mainly interested in canals when they think of inland waterways, the navigable river network that is also their responsibility and used by cruisers of all sizes would otherwise be ignored.

Until the formation of the TBA, there was no user group representing the interests of boaters on tidal / non tidal rivers and estuaries in the UK.

As BW are moving to charitable status, the TBA is trying to increase and broaden its membership to maintain its influence over BW, so this important group still has a strong voice. It currently represents the interests of around 18,000 boaters through direct membership and affiliated clubs.

Good luck with your sale of MF
 
Well it did originate in the Trent area but is expanding to have representation nationally. The only way of achieving this is to get more members so it can truly be "for boaters everywhere".

Are you volunteering to cover another region...?;)
 
Trundlebug said:
Well it did originate in the Trent area but is expanding to have representation nationally. The only way of achieving this is to get more members so it can truly be "for boaters everywhere".

Are you volunteering to cover another region...?;)
Click to expand...

I crawl up and down the Severn ditch, but I don't think have enough time to devote to this!
 
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