Charter deposit

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IanL

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As a club we chartered a boat from the Hamble with a £1500 deposit. This boat was moored alongside another boat as directed by the berthing master at a Cowes marina. It was a fairly rough night but the boats were well moored and fendered and all seemed well. On return to its base the owner of the other boat observed crazed gel coat and submitted a claim to our charter company. The deposit was not returned. There was no damage to the boat we chartered. After a period of several months of chasing we learn that our charterer company's insurer's have agreed to pay out on the claim and so the deposit is forfeited. We cannot get a copy of the surveyor's report as it is owned by the insurers. They will not release the estimates for the repair as the insurers have closed the file.

It is interesting that both boats were based at the same marina. No negligence has been identified and it is questionable whether the damage was actually caused by the boats being moored together.

Is this sort of arrangement between charter businesses and their insurers commonplace?
 
Give the charter company a deadline to provide full details, including a report on your boat, as you are preparing a claim through Small Claims.

They will either refund your full deposit before the deadline, or will do it after you have filed online.

It will not get to court. :)

Richard
 
Have I read this right ... the charter company have retained £1500 for a repair for which they did not pay a price which they will not give to mend damage which they will not explain? Who did you charter from, EasyCar?
 
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JumbleDuck said:
Have I read this right ... the charter company have retained £1500 for a repair for which they did not pay a price which they will not give to damage which they will not explain? Who did you charter from, EasyCar?
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Probably best if I do not name the company involved at this stage. Who knows, they might be along here soon with an explanation.
 
JumbleDuck said:
Have I read this right ... the charter company have retained £1500 for a repair for which they did not pay a price which they will not give to mend damage which they will not explain? Who did you charter from, EasyCar?
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The insurance company insuring the OP's charter company's boats will most probably require an excess, payable by the charter company before the insurance company pays out on any claim. Hence the need for a deposit from the OP.
On the face of it, no excuse for not providing the OP with full surveyor's reports , and other documentation.
 
It would seem to me insurers if they have paid out will have investigated but they have to have acted reasonably in accessing claim etc. While they are insuring the charter company the insurers might disclose the reports with consent of charter co. If you know the broker or insurer involved( you should have evidence of cover) so I assume you do , you might contact the insurers direct to ask for copy . I don't know the status of the chartering party in this scenario but you might have FOS rights - if insurers not co operative you might want to explore this angle . Additionally if the contract is in name of person for the club a data subject access request might be interesting as if the charter co fails to respond properly you might then complain to the ICO . I suspect in summary having investigated insurers have decided it's not economic to fight the claim of third party owner but would expect them to have estimates for repairs etc.
 
It is the insurance broker that we are in communication with but no information is forthcoming.
It just seems so easy to allege damage and submit an estimate for just over the deposit (excess) sum. The insurance company then accepts the claim as it costs them almost nothing.
 
To be fair to the broker they might not have the info you seek as they don't have a claims handling authority so contacting the insurer direct might be more fruitful. Apart from contacting RYA legal department with whom you can share more details you might try calling the financial ombudsman help line to explain your predicament and see what advice they provide.
 
For a start a boat submitting such a claim is, if the boats were fendered, trying it on. On the face of it this stinks, unless there are other circumstances you are not telling us about! I have never heard of such a thing before.
 
jimi said:
For a start a boat submitting such a claim is, if the boats were fendered, trying it on. On the face of it this stinks, unless there are other circumstances you are not telling us about! I have never heard of such a thing before.
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Indeed so. Both the fendered boat submitting the claim and now the charter company, are trying it on. Small claims will sort it out. :)

I have won claims + compo for far less obvious cases.

Richard
 
JBJag27 said:
On a related note, but late for the OP, is there a marine equivalent to car hire excess insurance?
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As I am chartering from a company on the Hamble next month this is something I would like as well. It looks like it is available, it seems the best Google search phrase is "yacht charter excess waiver insurance"
 
We suffered gel coat cracking from a raft up outside Victoria Marina St Peter Port in a gale.
We were inside about 7 other boats including a 40 something footer.

Didn't notice it straight away. Just one of those things. Was advised not worth attempting to repair as it could look worse than the damage.

Sounds like a try on to me.
 
JBJag27 said:
I didn't think small claims awarded compo?
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I've never heard of it either, particularly as it was a Section 75 claim against a credit card company. I asked for over £1000 compensation to which the credit card company replied that compensation is beyond the scope of both Section 75 and Small Claims ..... but just before the hearing they settled in full, including the compo. I didn't argue the point. :)

Richard
 
How was the deposit paid?

If through a credit card - claim it all back through your card provider.

I only charter where they accept credit card payments for the deposit.
 
As a charter co we also take a deposit - it’s taken (or part thereof) to cover the excess if client damages charter yacht or a 3rd party.
In last 4 or 5 years we have retained the whole amount once most cases damage is limited to a few hundred euros max and is plain to client - we get the odd cover up towel over station etc but usually most people are straight & if we are fair then clients cover the cost without quibble.
Any major incident usually involve another boat witnesses etc so again apparent.

So 1stly 1500 is a lot (crazy) of gel coat damage (guess may say charged for lift etc as well) if your deposit has been retained ask for supporting invoice/paperwork (if anyone trying it on at least you have started to accumulate some evidence that they may need to back up) from charter co initially.
Blame also needs to be established as best as you can do you agree it was your fault, other boat or a mix of both ?
If not then persue culpability it was not your boat that had damage when returned (in good condition?)

The time scale sounds odd generally you would only withhold or retain a security deposit after hand back if further investigation required (So something major and needing surveyor etc) Charter T& c s usually put a limit on this (10 days or so )did they just take the money after a period as had your details which would sound suspect or had Cowes contacted the charter co before your return and you were informed on handback (the point at which your charter ends) that there was an issue and possible retention
Already mentioned but if keen to keep pre legal you may find helpful
BMF part of the chain probably belongs
Rya
Credit card if used
After that Legal I guess
Good luck hope you get resolved in fair manner.
 
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