Who pays, locked in berth ?

J

JVL

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Briefly ,wintered in the Caley canal fully intending to leave at the end of the month for my summer mooring. Scottish canals have locked down the canals so that no one can proceed to sea at the end of their winter mooring contract. Email arrives this morning saying i will be charged on monthly basis for the mooring . Any legal eagles or others who have been in such a situation can advise please.

John
 
Before calling on legal eagles, your first move should be to write to the organisaton concerned explaining the circumstances you are in and asking it to waive the charge.
 
Just take care what and how you write , remember their have a right to charge you , your using a berth , maybe ask nicely if they could give you some kind of discount ,
Us cruisers around the Med seen to be getting info from marina . Our have just said they will keep the rate at winter rates,plus 30% discount , other are charging normal rates .
Good luck
 
JVL said:
Briefly ,wintered in the Caley canal fully intending to leave at the end of the month for my summer mooring. Scottish canals have locked down the canals so that no one can proceed to sea at the end of their winter mooring contract. Email arrives this morning saying i will be charged on monthly basis for the mooring . Any legal eagles or others who have been in such a situation can advise please.

John
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What do the mean my monthly? Sounds like they mean if you use it in April/May/June/July you will only be charged for the months you do use? If so it sounds like they are being fair. Perhaps an email/telephone call to the writer would clarify what they mean rather than posting on a forum for a zillion different interpretations.

Are you expecting free storage?
 
Sandy said:
What do the mean my monthly? Sounds like they mean if you use it in April/May/June/July you will only be charged for the months you do use? If so it sounds like they are being fair. Perhaps an email/telephone call to the writer would clarify what they mean rather than posting on a forum for a zillion different interpretations.

Are you expecting free storage?
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No I'm not expecting free storage ! i do not want nor need the storage ! i was asking the forums advice on the legalities of being" forced"into a contract!

John
 
JVL said:
No I'm not expecting free storage ! i do not want nor need the storage ! i was asking the forums advice on the legalities of being" forced"into a contract!
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So no different to the rest of us, not being able to sail and need somewhere to park/store the boat.
 
Not sure if the same but I seem to remember reading that in England they have stopped the limit of 14 days in one place so you can stay moored at the canal side and do not need to be in a paid berth. Is that the same situation in the Scottish canals or is it all paid moorings?
 
Sandy said:
So no different to the rest of us, not being able to sail and need somewhere to park/store the boat.
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I have somewhere to park my boat, my own mooring outwith the canal ! My contract with scottish canals ends on the 31st of March they are refusing (for whatever reason ) to allow me to proceed to sea and demanding that i pay for my detention ! That cannot be construed as a contract being freely entered into on my part therefore how can they demand that i pay !

John
 
To clarify slightly. The Scottish equivalent of CaRT charge you for being on the canal. There may then be additional charge for occupying a berth in a marina or alongside the canal bank.
The OP has been told that because the canal is shut and the sea locks not operating he is stuck in the canal until further notice. The canal authority has said they’re going to charge him for the privilege of staying in their canal despite the fact that he’d quite like to leave.
Its been years since I ventured onto the Caledonian and I can’t remember the wording of the contract I signed for a temporary licence. However, I’m prepared to bet that buried somewhere in it was a little clause saying something to the effect that if you couldn’t leave the canal for any reason whatsoever, you would be charged an additional fee until you could leave. And that would include the canal being shut because of external forces beyond the canal’s control.
I think what you need to do in the first instance is to try and talk to a senior hood in the canal management. Calmly explain the situation and see if you can’t come to some middle ground. If you can’t then I’d be prepared to escalate things to your MSP and ask for help sorting things out.
Don't antagonise the canal authority or point blank refuse to pay, as there’s a real chance that they could arrest your boat until their charge have been paid. Better to pay under protest and try to reclaim money than have your boat detained until it’s resolved (and be charged for keeping the boat on the canal for all that time).
 
I am pretty sure that they cannot arrest your boat without a court order. They can get one for debt but the debt is in dispute so I think you would get your day in court before your boat would be detained.
 
JVL said:
I have somewhere to park my boat, my own mooring outwith the canal ! My contract with scottish canals ends on the 31st of March they are refusing (for whatever reason ) to allow me to proceed to sea and demanding that i pay for my detention ! That cannot be construed as a contract being freely entered into on my part therefore how can they demand that i pay !

John
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Just in case you haven't noticed, theres a bit of a worldwide kerfuffle right now, with millions of people losing jobs businesses, homes, and thousands dying.

And your worried about some mooring fees.

Me me me. Can I suggest you have a nap and try getting out the other side of the bed.

Lawyers... FFS.
 
So - same question , different situation.

I’m in a marina coming to the end of a 12 month berthing contract. Boat was due to be lifted 2nd April for 2 weeks but that has been cancelled as the Yard and Marina closed to all normal business and now has a skeleton staff checking boats and answering the phone.

I advised them in January that I now have been allocated a river mooring ( all paid for in January ) and so would be moving the boat from the Marina after she is launched. The Marina Berth is paid up to end of April

Assuming that this crisis extends beyond the end of April, then can they charge me for a berth beyond April ? - in effect there will not be a contract in place as the existing one will have expired and I am being prevented from moving the boat due to the Corona virus and Government instructions.
 
JVL said:
I have somewhere to park my boat, my own mooring outwith the canal ! My contract with scottish canals ends on the 31st of March they are refusing (for whatever reason ) to allow me to proceed to sea and demanding that i pay for my detention ! That cannot be construed as a contract being freely entered into on my part therefore how can they demand that i pay !

John
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If you have open access to your own cost-free mooring, current travel bans notwithstanding, you should explain that to the canal people and try and agree a reasonable rate for keeping your boat where it is in the circumstances. You should bear in mind that if you are too heavy-handed the canal people might not agree to your returning next winter. :confused:

Richard
 
KevinT1 said:
So - same question , different situation.

I’m in a marina coming to the end of a 12 month berthing contract. Boat was due to be lifted 2nd April for 2 weeks but that has been cancelled as the Yard and Marina closed to all normal business and now has a skeleton staff checking boats and answering the phone.

I advised them in January that I now have been allocated a river mooring ( all paid for in January ) and so would be moving the boat from the Marina after she is launched. The Marina Berth is paid up to end of April

Assuming that this crisis extends beyond the end of April, then can they charge me for a berth beyond April ? - in effect there will not be a contract in place as the existing one will have expired and I am being prevented from moving the boat due to the Corona virus and Government instructions.
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Could you get someone from the local marine trade to move it out the mooring for you?
 
We're in a similar position. Have our own, free, mooring near the house waiting for the boat. She's on a pontoon on another island, and our berthing contract runs till the end of April. I have zero confidence that we will be allowed to get on a ferry to go and get her- or even that if we could get to the marina, we would be allowed to actually make the passage.

We had no intention of extending the berth contract, and do not wish to have to stay there... so I hope that the marina will show some understanding and offer at least a discounted rate.
 
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