The Environment Agency Fees ?

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STILL AFLOAT

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Hi All.

I am new to this river stuff, but I have bought a little run around boat, for nice days.
Having got the berth, and the boat, I then find out, that I have to pay a " River Licence " but even though we are now in May, I am expected to pay the whole year ??

" All 'full rate' registrations expire on 31 December regardless of when they start (except for visitors); there is no other ‘pro-rata’ rate for part of the registration year. "

How can they charge me for a full year, when I have just bought the boat ?

Where is the legal background for this ? Is the RYA doing anything about it ?

Any info will be greatly appreciated. Thanks in Advance.
 
STILL AFLOAT said:
Hi All.

I am new to this river stuff, but I have bought a little run around boat, for nice days.
Having got the berth, and the boat, I then find out, that I have to pay a " River Licence " but even though we are now in May, I am expected to pay the whole year ??

" All 'full rate' registrations expire on 31 December regardless of when they start (except for visitors); there is no other ‘pro-rata’ rate for part of the registration year. "

How can they charge me for a full year, when I have just bought the boat ?

Where is the legal background for this ? Is the RYA doing anything about it ?

Any info will be greatly appreciated. Thanks in Advance.
Click to expand...

The powers to charge derive from the Thames Conservancy Act and Environment Act and more information is here:

https://assets.publishing.service.g...ads/attachment_data/file/658807/LIT_10728.pdf

The RYA are not involved directly with lobbying on this matter but other representative river user groups are. A rolling year registration has been proposed but the EA hasn't had the hunger to change it yet.
 
You're lucky, STILL AFLOAT. I bought my first boat during a wet September and the river was on red boards for weeks. It was October when I paid for a licence and moved her off the sales pontoon at Penton Hook. And then coughed up for another full year 3 months later. Your new boat should have been licenced in January(unless it was out of the water until you bought it). Get as much use out of it as you can and enjoy!
 
Actionmat said:
You're lucky, STILL AFLOAT. I bought my first boat during a wet September and the river was on red boards for weeks. It was October when I paid for a licence and moved her off the sales pontoon at Penton Hook. And then coughed up for another full year 3 months later. Your new boat should have been licenced in January(unless it was out of the water until you bought it). Get as much use out of it as you can and enjoy!
Click to expand...

I got the boat, through a broker as an ex demo boat, so it was sold on trade plates ?
So it has to go as a new registration, but I cannot see how, the EA can legally force people to pay, for months that they did not own a boat ?

Where are the groups that are challenging this ? I would like to see what they are doing ?

Thanks for the responses.
 
STILL AFLOAT said:
I got the boat, through a broker as an ex demo boat, so it was sold on trade plates ?
So it has to go as a new registration, but I cannot see how, the EA can legally force people to pay, for months that they did not own a boat ?
Click to expand...
They are not charging you for the months prior to registering. It is not an "annual" fee but a full rate fee which is payable for any craft registered before 1st September. Craft registered after 1st September pay a "late registration" which is half the full fee. All registrations expire on 31 December.

This has been the established charging regime for many years and, to the best of my knowledge there are no organisations challenging it, however iniquitous it may seem. The outdated legal framework applying to the Thames and other EA managed waterways makes it extremely difficult to make changes to the current charging regime. However, a consultation on future charging plans is due to take place later this year.

Enjoy your boat. On 1st January you will be able to register for 2019 and get a full years use for your money !

There is also a policy for refunds or transferring registration if you remove the boat from the waterway or sell it:
https://assets.publishing.service.g...oads/attachment_data/file/376510/LIT_9908.pdf
 
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This has been the established charging regime for many years and, to the best of my knowledge there are no organisations challenging it, however iniquitous it may seem. The outdated legal framework applying to the Thames and other EA managed waterways makes it extremely difficult to make changes to the current charging regime. However, a consultation on future charging plans is due to take place later this year.
Read more at http://www.ybw.com/forums/showthread.php?500978-The-Environment-Agency-Fees#PHg1V24pedqlX9oE.99

Bit like The House of Lords? Needs dragging into the 21st century!:rolleyes:
 
Thanks for the responses, but why are you all agreeing with them ?
They are charging me, for the months where I did not own the boat !
I have to pay a full year, from January, but didn´t buy the boat, until a few weeks ago !
If the RYA are not doing some sort of complaint, then they ought to be.
If nobody complains, then they will just carry on, like the outdated house of Lords.
We are still in the EU, for now, and that has to be against every ruling they ever made.
I will be looking in to this, and will keep you updated.
 
If you wish to keep a boat on the Thames then you have to accept the registration rules. I bought my annual licence in January and was unable to use my boat due to high flows until a few weeks ago. That's how it is here. Note that the charging regime pre-dates the UK membership of the EU so is irrelevant to your complaint. As rotrax says, if it doesn't suit you there are other waterways to boat on.
 
If you don't want to pay for an annual licence, find a mooring on the other side of Teddington Lock. Then you'll only need to pay for a daily, weekly ticket etc. when you enter the non tidal Thames.
 
There comes a break point in the year where it is more viable to buy visitor licences. There used to be a limit on the number/duration that you could buy but this has been removed in recent years. Instead they rely on the fact that visitor licences are more expensive than a full licence. However as the full licence is fixed for the year (until September when you only pay half for the remaining year) there comes a financial point at which visitor licences become more cost effective, particularly if like most Thames boats you lift out in October.
 
Well yes. Anyone down this end of the river could be forgiven for thinking that the EA follows Trotmans rules and not the other way round.
 
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