BW to Auction Moorings

[carlt]

The "trial" certainly isn't going to promote a community atmosphere. Then again they're very keen on the line "blah blah we aren't a housing authority" or some bollocks.

They're not a housing authority. But as long as they allow liveaboards, they have a duty to be a responsible landlord.

[fuzzyduck]

This is disgusting!! How dare they!! It's pure discrimination. I have written them an e-mail expressing my disgust, and I urge others who feel the same to write a similar e-mail.

 

I'm not sure it's discrimination, however I will be sending an email containing a few choice words to the monkey concerned too.

 

The towpath just outside sounds just the place to hold the first annual wooden, glassfibre and concrete boat rally.

 

Sounds like a great idea to me.

 

Shame they're not a PLC, I love shareholder activism.

Edited June 14, 2007 by fuzzyduck

[Moondaisy]

I would have thought this thread would have received more interest than it has so far

why are the regular posters not adding their thoughts on the subject?

So if EVERYONE was united on this and placed bids ranging from £00.1 to £1.00 what would happen then?

Then again if you have more money than sense, your money might keep my license fees down or is that just wishful thinking!

Can someone pay me loads of dosh to come up with stupid ideas

[sueb]

After reading all twelve pages I notice that several have suggested continuous cruising as a solution. May I suggest that those that can do this already are. Those that aren't moving far beware. BW are refusing a licence to some boats that, in bw's eyes are not continuous cruising. They then become unlicenced boats and are section 8.

A boater on the Gloucs & Sharpness was taken to court and showed a naive belief in our justice system.

He was willing to pay for a license, he wanted a mooring but all to no avail.

This is as I understand it after a short talk with the boater concerned.

Sue

[GRPCruiserman]

There are still private marinas here and there that require no licence to be held. If you hunt enough you'll find one. This way you could moor there for the winter without a licence, declare it as your mooring to obtain your years' licence, then move off and move each 14 days to a new location.

 

Not that I'd promote unscrupulous activities, but if officialdom become unscrupulous, then so must everyone else.

 

Vote with your wallett and your feet (or at least your chines!!)

[Moondaisy]

If the reserve price is not met at auction - e.g. everyone bids £1, BW will withdraw the mooring, thereby reducing the number available and forcing up the price of the remainder.

How dumb is that ? If they want more revenue, stabilise prices and provide more moorings.

[GRPCruiserman]

If the reserve price is not met at auction - e.g. everyone bids £1, BW will withdraw the mooring, thereby reducing the number available and forcing up the price of the remainder.

How dumb is that ? If they want more revenue, stabilise prices and provide more moorings.

 

Heads I win, tails you loose, you pay what we want or more. That is a VERY unscrupulous attitude.

 

It is now one year since I left the 'clutches' of the BW monopolistic dictatorship, and nothing I have heard or read has encouraged me to return. The water is cleaner in the Lake District as well!! I never thought I'd see the day when Windermere becomes cheaper than the canal.

[moggyjo]

A year will be all that they need to whack the prices way up to way beyond what anyone I know can afford

 

A friend of ours has been on the waiting list for over 4 years to get a mooring on our site, he is (or should I say was) 1st on the list, untill this tendering came in, he may as well be the last and to top it all there will be a mooring coming up here soon. hay ho

[magnetman]

I heard today that the 'moorings auction trial' has been put on hold and may not go ahead as planned. (please don't take this as fact its just something someone told me) have i missed something (apart from the 'sanity implant' usually fitted at birth)?

[GRPCruiserman]

I heard today that the 'moorings auction trial' has been put on hold and may not go ahead as planned. (please don't take this as fact its just something someone told me) have i missed something (apart from the 'sanity implant' usually fitted at birth)?

 

I thought they were already auctioning them? I hope you are right, this news will make a lot of people much happier.

[jeb]

I thought they were already auctioning them? I hope you are right, this news will make a lot of people much happier.

 

Just had this e.mail from BW

 

 

British Waterways' mooring tenders online system is now in the final stages of testing.

 

Customer Services and local moorings staff have all been trained. We are putting the finishing touches to descriptions of more than 40 mooring vacancies which will be the first to be advertised for tender.

 

Almost 3,000 people have registered their interest in the mooring tenders trial. BW has sent out postal tender packs to just under 100 people who have registered for the postal option (for which there is a £10 fee).

 

As soon as the mooring tender system goes live (which we anticipate will be during the week of 22 October), we will email and direct you to the mooring tenders pages on waterscape.com.

 

 

 

3000 interested parties for just 40 moorings. Light blue touch paper and retire.

[curzons246]

Just had this e.mail from BW

British Waterways' mooring tenders online system is now in the final stages of testing.

 

I to had a copy of the above email - in late spring,knowing that we would be cc'ing until Nov enquired about winter moorings on the visitor moorings at Trent Lock. The initial reply was no problem speak to you in September however I was then told the waiting lists were scrapped and i would have to tender - do you think my winter mooring will be one of the 40?

I'm trying to play by the rules but feel i'm being forced swerve them

Cheers Bill and Denise

[Pie Eater]

The 40 moorings will probably go to lottery winners.

 

Steve

[Eugene Baston]

Just had this e.mail from BW

British Waterways' mooring tenders online system is now in the final stages of testing.

 

I to had a copy of the above email - in late spring,knowing that we would be cc'ing until Nov enquired about winter moorings on the visitor moorings at Trent Lock. The initial reply was no problem speak to you in September however I was then told the waiting lists were scrapped and i would have to tender - do you think my winter mooring will be one of the 40?

I'm trying to play by the rules but feel i'm being forced swerve them

Cheers Bill and Denise

 

Winter moorings were never intended to be a part of the trial, simply because they are, by their nature, a temporary mooring for the winter. The trial is concerned with BW's 12-month towpath moorings. It would be a very long winter if the temporary moorings were included, since each contract awarded to the winning bidder is for a three year period.

 

You should check (firmly) that this is the case. That's my advice.

 

HTH, Eugene

[ChrisG]

Taken from the BW FAQs about mooring tenders:

 

what are the implications for existing bw mooring customers?

 

Boaters already on a BW mooring will not have to tender for their existing berth when they renew their contract. The number and size of tenders received for vacancies will help to inform the annual price review process. If a large increase is needed, this will be phased for existing customers over a number of years.

 

How do you read this, from the existing moorer's viewpoint?

[Eugene Baston]

Taken from the BW FAQs about mooring tenders:

 

what are the implications for existing bw mooring customers?

 

Boaters already on a BW mooring will not have to tender for their existing berth when they renew their contract. The number and size of tenders received for vacancies will help to inform the annual price review process. If a large increase is needed, this will be phased for existing customers over a number of years.

 

How do you read this, from the existing moorer's viewpoint?

 

From an existing moorer's point of view:

 

Annual increases are implemented from April each year, and are usually arrived at through BW's assessment of local market conditions,i.e. what others are charging for online moorings, plus an adjustment for the site's waiting list popularity. With adjacent mooring fees being established through the tendering trial for the next 12 months, data from those adjacent moorings that are tendered will be used to inform BW's future price setting of those moorings that have not been subjected to the tender process.

 

I haven't seen anything that suggests where the threshold will be set whereby, on the results of the tendering process, adjacent mooring fees are set to rise above a certain percentage. Perhaps phazed increases over more than one year will kick in if price reises for adjacent moorings are above 15%. perhaps the threshold will be more.

 

BW has said that it will publish all data received as a part of a tender for one mooring, giving adjacnet moorers at least access to information upon which future prices will be set.

 

HTH, Eugene

[StoneHenge]

I got an e-mail from BW this morning to say trial is in it's final testing. They anticipate a start trial date of 22nd October with nearly 40 moorings free for tender.

 

Joy!

[magnetman]

If a BW auctioned mooring doesn't receive bids of a sensible level then that is a great excuse to close it (no demand) and make it a visitor mooring as is the general policy. Win win situation, if people want to pay more good if not close the mooring, also good.

[Lesd]

so if everyone bids the current rate then we maintin the status quo.... ?

[magnetman]

In theory yes but then someone digs a marina. If the auctions result in a high market rate then thats also a good reason to dig a marina as there is clearly demand for one then when its open you can close the online moorings. (going to get my prozac now).

[jeb]

Just had e.mail from BW .Go to the following site and you can now see the moorings available and of course start bidding for them.Good luckhttps://mooringtenders.waterscape.com

Just had e.mail from BW .Go to the following site and you can now see the moorings available and of course start bidding for them.Good luckhttps://mooringtenders.waterscape.com

Sorry , a bit hasty with that one not all moorings are featured

[Lesd]

only 10 listed country wide at present !

[fuzzyduck]

don't bother asking a question on the feedback slot, question marks are not acceptable characters. (even rhetorical ones)

 

it bothers me that moorings are for a "slot", so owners of sub 15 meter boats could end up being forced to tender for slots that will hold 2 or 3 of their boats. mind you, it's all balls

Edited October 26, 2007 by fuzzyduck

[GUMPY]

only 10 listed country wide at present !

And lots of them are maximum boat width 1.8metres.

A very narrow narrow boat

 

Julian

[Callunna]

Yeah - the one near us (Greenberfield) is for a 23ft x 5ft 9in boat. Fan-bloody-tastic