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Unjustifiable marina costs


firstboat

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Hello I am seeking advice in regards to some charges my marina has charged me

 

£100 bringing HGV on site to deliver boat - however HGV was not met by anyone other than myself.

 

£50 set up fee - nothing was set up when the HGV arrived and I was told to put in on the grass or find blocks of wood myself laying about the marina.

 

3 months rent - understandable

 

and now selling fee. If I sell the boat on the marina I have to pay £100 despite the marina having no involvement in the sale at all.

 

is this normal? Can I refuse to pay the marina any money after I make the sale?

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They seem justifiable to me. 

 

What agreement did you originally have with the marina when you advised them about the hgv and selling? 

 

Selling at the marina will likely add value more than it will cost. Otherwise sell it outside the marina. 

Edited by rusty69
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Some marinas do, some don't. 

I have to tailor my quotes depending on where the work will be done and add extra sometimes to cover the marina fees.

If you are selling your boat, move it onto the towpath a week before the sale and they can't touch you.:)

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1 hour ago, firstboat said:

Hello I am seeking advice in regards to some charges my marina has charged me

 

£100 bringing HGV on site to deliver boat - however HGV was not met by anyone other than myself.

 

£50 set up fee - nothing was set up when the HGV arrived and I was told to put in on the grass or find blocks of wood myself laying about the marina.

 

3 months rent - understandable

 

and now selling fee. If I sell the boat on the marina I have to pay £100 despite the marina having no involvement in the sale at all.

 

is this normal? Can I refuse to pay the marina any money after I make the sale?

 

Thus speaks a man who hasn't read his rental agreement....

 

It doesn't matter a jot if the charges are justifiable. If you agreed to them when signing up, you have to pay them. If not, then tell them to spin on it. 

No. Actually, don't. Just keep your head down and leave when your three months is up. Each time during your three months they ask you to stump up, tell them the cheque is in the post.  

Oh and read your rental agreement to check what notice you have to give.

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4 minutes ago, Mike the Boilerman said:

No. Actually, don't. Just keep your head down and leave when your three months is up. Each time during your three months they ask you to stump up, tell them the cheque is in the post.  

Do a runner without paying the agreed fees (if they were agreed)? 

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Refuse to accept, let alone pay for any those outrageous rip offs on the basis that none of them formed any part of the contract you agreed to.

Unless of course subsequent examination of your contract demonstrates otherwise, in which case, what's your problem?

Edited by zenataomm
I had to change gear
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12 minutes ago, rusty69 said:

Do a runner without paying the agreed fees (if they were agreed)? 

 

No, I meant do a runner if it turns out they weren't agreed. 

Given this is how they have started off, if these charges weren't agreed it is only likely to go downhill from here-on in. Leave.

If they are all detailed in the rental agreement but not pointed out, I feel it is still sharp practice but the OP is bang to rights and must pay them. But still leave as they are a bunch of grassholes. 

 

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But demanding businesses ''justify' their costs is a fool's errand. Businesses are allowed in law to charge anything they like (with a few notable exceptions, not including marinas).  If the OP doesn't like the charges, don't do business with them. I'll refrain from saying "simples".

Oh bugger.....

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I'm not sure if I have a contract, it just seems every time I walk through the door they ask me for £100, I want to sit down and discuss the services I have already paid for but not received and negotiate a refund or reduction in final costs. Really not sure how it is going to go. They have blocked my boat in now they know I am selling it.

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2 hours ago, firstboat said:

I'm not sure if I have a contract, it just seems every time I walk through the door they ask me for £100, I want to sit down and discuss the services I have already paid for but not received and negotiate a refund or reduction in final costs. Really not sure how it is going to go. They have blocked my boat in now they know I am selling it.

Did you sign anything when you first put your boat in this marina? You need to be absolutely sure of that first.

 

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17 hours ago, Naughty Cal said:

They sound like pretty standard clauses.

Our fee for selling is 1% which is a damn sight more than £100.

We also have to pay £50 per day per contractor if we have people other than marina staff working on the boat. 

The British Marine Federation template for boatyard/marina businesses always contained the proviso that use of external contractors to work on clients’ boats within their premises was subject to prior approval. It is reasonable for the yard to impose a charge for that approval, which otherwise effectively takes business away from them.

Our own [Brentford Marine Services Ltd] Terms of Business also, in common with all other such businesses I knew of, conditioned sale of a vessel on the premises to be subject to a percentage of the sale. The rationale is perfectly reasonable – if the boat is sold with the benefit of a mooring, that benefit is in the gift of the moorings provider, such that the increased value when selling on a mooring is properly due to the supplier. As others have said: nothing prevents anybody from removing the boat and selling elsewhere – it is unlikely to fetch the same premium however, so you need to do the maths to work out whether selling minus a mooring is worth it.

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2 hours ago, Paul C said:

Am I the only one who went through their mooring contract, spotted a few terms like this, had a chat with the marina manager then crossed them out and signed it?

Quite possibly though from what I have seen, you are somewhat meticulous. :)

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Been reading this thread.  I would have to accept that Marina's are expensive places, it's a leisure industry and also the size of the market,  eg. The motorcycle world is more expensive that the car world, the boat world is more expensive that the motorcycle world and so on.

 

However, I'd draw the line at having my boat blocked in, I'd see red and cut the ropes with the nearest knife and push their boat out of the way!

Sorry, not diplomatic is it :ninja:

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