Marina annual early termination

[Legasea]

I would read that as there being a standard monthly tariff and stays beyond that are charged pro-rata to that monthly tariff.

It is worth asking them for details as to how they have calculated it and then arguing the point (politely) if you disagree - it is possible it is a genuine mistake on their part.

Note that paying monthly does not necessarily mean you are on a monthly tariff - I pay my annual berthing charges monthly but that is considerably less than I would pay for 1 months berthing on its own.

You could also read as their annual tariff.

Yes it’s calculated on 5 full months @ the visitor monthly rate.

In my case I was invoiced and paid monthly for both boatyard and marina separately not annual with a monthly payment plan.
I’m now having serious regrets on my decision and probably to the tune of £2000

 

[ylop]

No I haven’t got it in writing….when you are asking for advice it is rarely in writing. IMO in writing normally happens when a relationship has broken down. Yes I regret it.

It’s easy to confirm your understanding of a call back to them with an email. “Thanks for the chat earlier, I can confirm I am happy to switch to a pay annual contract, with the understanding that if I leave part way through the year I will be refunded on a pro-rata basis for the unused months”. Having read your post again you switched to annual over two years ago. If I was about to write a £4K cheque at the start of this “year” fully in the knowledge that I planned to leave I’d have been asking at that point! It’s never going to be easier to negotiate with someone who has your money in their account.

Short term berthing
“Payable in advance, extended periods over I month charged at pro-rata rate”

That’s in the Tariff list and confirmed the advice

I don’t think that means what you think it does. My interpretation of that is that if it’s £400/month then if you want to stay for 1.5 months it is £600. It doesn’t suggest to me >1mnth = prorata on the annual rate.

 

[Legasea]

It’s easy to confirm your understanding of a call back to them with an email. “Thanks for the chat earlier, I can confirm I am happy to switch to a pay annual contract, with the understanding that if I leave part way through the year I will be refunded on a pro-rata basis for the unused months”. Having read your post again you switched to annual over two years ago. If I was about to write a £4K cheque at the start of this “year” fully in the knowledge that I planned to leave I’d have been asking at that point! It’s never going to be easier to negotiate with someone who has your money in their account.

I don’t think that means what you think it does. My interpretation of that is that if it’s £400/month then if you want to stay for 1.5 months it is £600. It doesn’t suggest to me >1mnth = prorata on the annual rate.

You make a lot of very valid points. Hindsight is a wonderful thing. Yes my conversation was two years old and the chap has left along with the previous management.
Yes you could read the tariff that way but you must admit it is far from clear and unambiguous.
I’ll confess that the only perk that made financial sense on my annual deal was access to Trans Europe marinas at half price but was extremely doubtful it would work after my contract termination.
You’re right though an email at renewal would have been wise but I am where I am….

 

[ylop]

Yes you could read the tariff that way but you must admit it is far from clear and unambiguous.

well we can see about 1/3rd of the tariff and don’t have the T&Cs to refer to but, having read a lot of marina/boatyard pricing (probably everywhere in Scotland) I don’t recall seeing any structured like you think and my interpretation is the norm (if they don’t have prices for 2,3 etc months). Many of them wouldn’t give you any refund for the unused months. I can see how you’ve misunderstood the terms, that’s not quite the same thing as saying the terms were ambiguous.

 

[dunedin]

I made a decision on the advice given and the advertised Tariff list.
I don’t have a problem with a recalculation based upon monthly numbers I’ve been invoiced and paid previously.
There’s no significant upside for me if you look at the numbers. Still no good deed shall go unpunished

If that had been me, i would have subsequently emailed the marina back to confirm the advice given and therefore your understanding of the ability to terminate, and then added that I was taking the annual contract "on the basis of this understanding", perhaps even adding ths understanding is material to the contract.
If you had done that you would be in a much stronger position.

 

[Tranona]

I made a decision on the advice given and the advertised Tariff list.
I don’t have a problem with a recalculation based upon monthly numbers I’ve been invoiced and paid previously.
There’s no significant upside for me if you look at the numbers. Still no good deed shall go unpunished

Exactly the opposite. Your contract is governed solely by the terms and conditions you agreed to by paying. The "tariff" is what is termed and invitation to treat - just an offer and is superseded by the contract that you agreed to. OK you may have been misled by some unknown person in the past, but you would need to have hard evidence that he told you something that is different from the written contract. It is highly unlikely that an employee would have the authority to vary the standard contract in any material way.

The fact remains that you agreed to take the berth for a year because you judged that it was better for you. You have now changed your mind so you can't go back and undo what you have already agreed to.

One thing that seems confusing is that here you say "there is no significant upside for me" yet in post#21 you say you are going to lose £2000.

I suggest you read the T&Cs carefully in respect of early termination of annual berhing contracts and ensure they calculate your refund correctly. All the stuff about what rates and conditions apply to other contracts such as monthly and on the hard are totally irrelevant.

BTW a contract does not have to be written. As you know the vast majority of everyday business is carried out without specific reference a written contract. However when there is a dispute as in this case the written contract comes into play or as suggested in post#25 can be overridden by a well evidenced verbal agreement that different T&Cs were agreed. You do not seem to have this.

Most if not all marinas and boatyards have well honed contracts precisely to avoid these sorts of situations

 

[Legasea]

Exactly the opposite. Your contract is governed solely by the terms and conditions you agreed to by paying. The "tariff" is what is termed and invitation to treat - just an offer and is superseded by the contract that you agreed to. OK you may have been misled by some unknown person in the past, but you would need to have hard evidence that he told you something that is different from the written contract. It is highly unlikely that an employee would have the authority to vary the standard contract in any material way.

The fact remains that you agreed to take the berth for a year because you judged that it was better for you. You have now changed your mind so you can't go back and undo what you have already agreed to.

One thing that seems confusing is that here you say "there is no significant upside for me" yet in post#21 you say you are going to lose £2000.

I suggest you read the T&Cs carefully in respect of early termination of annual berhing contracts and ensure they calculate your refund correctly. All the stuff about what rates and conditions apply to other contracts such as monthly and on the hard are totally irrelevant.

BTW a contract does not have to be written. As you know the vast majority of everyday business is carried out without specific reference a written contract. However when there is a dispute as in this case the written contract comes into play or as suggested in post#25 can be overridden by a well evidenced verbal agreement that different T&Cs were agreed. You do not seem to have this.

Most if not all marinas and boatyards have well honed contracts precisely to avoid these sorts of situations

I very much like the invitation to treat line because that is exactly at the corner store.
I was happily paying a pay as you go monthly rate for being in the boatyard or in a berth before moving onto the annual contract. The terms of the annual contract are that if I break the contract it will be calculated as if the annual contract never existed….fair enough.
Why am I being charged almost double my PAYG rate with no allowance for the reduced fees in the boatyard.?
I’ll attach the relevant paragraph from the t&cs
Thanks

 

[Legasea]

I very much like the invitation to treat line because that is exactly at the corner store.
I was happily paying a pay as you go monthly rate for being in the boatyard or in a berth before moving onto the annual contract. The terms of the annual contract are that if I break the contract it will be calculated as if the annual contract never existed….fair enough.
Why am I being charged almost double my PAYG rate with no allowance for the reduced fees in the boatyard.?
I’ll attach the relevant paragraph from the t&cs
Thanks

Apologies for the quality of the image it was just the high standards I am having to deal with

 

[Concerto]

Recently I had to move marina outside of the annual contract period. Not being able to give a firm date, I had to go on to monthly terms despite being there for over a decade. The monthly rate was 50% higher than the monthly rate for an annual berth. Later this switched to weekly, which was even more expensive. To make matters even worse I had to start my contract at the new marina 6 weeks before I arrived. Now I have a broken bracket and out of the water and being charged for being in the yard and cradle hire. My advice is grin and bear it.

 

[Legasea]

Recently I had to move marina outside of the annual contract period. Not being able to give a firm date, I had to go on to monthly terms despite being there for over a decade. The monthly rate was 50% higher than the monthly rate for an annual berth. Later this switched to weekly, which was even more expensive. To make matters even worse I had to start my contract at the new marina 6 weeks before I arrived. Now I have a broken bracket and out of the water and being charged for being in the yard and cradle hire. My advice is grin and bear it.

Ouch I originally came in on a 6 month rate that they just rolled over on a monthly basis after that….don’t remember any contact…did 18mth in the boatyard then back on PAYG monthly when back in the marina.
I would be interested to know without going off topic how many pay the advertised monthly rate for more than a couple of months

 

[bedouin]

I very much like the invitation to treat line because that is exactly at the corner store.
I was happily paying a pay as you go monthly rate for being in the boatyard or in a berth before moving onto the annual contract. The terms of the annual contract are that if I break the contract it will be calculated as if the annual contract never existed….fair enough.
Why am I being charged almost double my PAYG rate with no allowance for the reduced fees in the boatyard.?
I’ll attach the relevant paragraph from the t&cs
Thanks

I think that when you were paying monthly you were still on an annual contract with the same T&Cs

The terms you post seem quite clear and reasonable - except that 16 weeks notice is far too much probably should be no more than 4 weeks especially as you are charged the higher rate anyway

 

[Legasea]

I think that when you were paying monthly you were still on an annual contract with the same T&Cs

The terms you post seem quite clear and reasonable - except that 16 weeks notice is far too much probably should be no more than 4 weeks especially as you are charged the higher rate anyway

The term that I was on before were definitely invoiced and paid monthly. I did something like 9 months in the marina followed by 18 months in the boatyard followed by 6 months back in the marina.
You can’t get any annual terms to cover that. It always amuses me that the annual contract includes 6 weeks “free” in the boatyard when it’s charged at a lower rate.
You’re on the money when you say 16 weeks is ridiculous to the point of making virtually impossible to cancel…..