Mid August is usually a lull in the storm of CRT issues and one the whole much the same with me. If this year is true to form around about the beginning of September a load of things will kick off again.
Me; had a short dialogue with Richard Parry about the disappointing experience as a long term mooring customer. Ironically a few days after that conversation, CRT contractors turned up as planned to change our Service bollards over. A few hours in, one of my neighbours knocked on the boat to alert me to the fact that the new bollards did not have pairs of taps on them.
It seems CRT have unilaterally decided that having had a tap per berth for the last fifteen years or so we now have to go over to sharing. So much to being a valued customer!
Wednesday, 19 August 2015
Friday, 17 July 2015
Engineers Wharf conspiracy theory...
Maybe someone at CRT has taken my last post on this to heart? Vacancies at Engineers Wharf are advertised for auction today with a reserve down to £4704? Though not as low a £4324 reserve in 2012... Still taking the pixx in my view...
Sunday, 14 June 2015
Canal and River Trust's Double Edged Legal Sword
It is well known that going to Court can be a double edged sword. And it seems CRT is going to be put to the knife yet again?
We have recently seen an FoI request revealing how much CRT spent in three other prominent court cases. CRT subsequently say they are unable to provide their internal costs (staff time), so the figures are incomplete, but the cases concerned have on the partial figures cost in excess of £150 000. One case was successful from CRT's point of view (Mayers), but the other two (Wingfield and Dunkley) were settled without full trial.
Now two other boaters have made High Court applications about CRT's conduct. (Outlines of Leigh Ravenscroft's and Matthew Jones' claims can be viewed via these respective links.)
As ever some of the forum trolls have been having a go at the boaters concerned, about the money they are costing CRT, conveniently forgetting that these latest two actions are in response to CRT having previously initiated actions against the boaters. It should also be noted that the respective Courts due to hear both cases had to be satisfied there is some basic merit in the claims before these actions could go ahead.
As many have been asking over the last few weeks, are the levels of legal expenditure being incurred by CRT appropriate?
We have recently seen an FoI request revealing how much CRT spent in three other prominent court cases. CRT subsequently say they are unable to provide their internal costs (staff time), so the figures are incomplete, but the cases concerned have on the partial figures cost in excess of £150 000. One case was successful from CRT's point of view (Mayers), but the other two (Wingfield and Dunkley) were settled without full trial.
Now two other boaters have made High Court applications about CRT's conduct. (Outlines of Leigh Ravenscroft's and Matthew Jones' claims can be viewed via these respective links.)
As ever some of the forum trolls have been having a go at the boaters concerned, about the money they are costing CRT, conveniently forgetting that these latest two actions are in response to CRT having previously initiated actions against the boaters. It should also be noted that the respective Courts due to hear both cases had to be satisfied there is some basic merit in the claims before these actions could go ahead.
As many have been asking over the last few weeks, are the levels of legal expenditure being incurred by CRT appropriate?
Wednesday, 27 May 2015
Still fixing mooring prices?
I've highlighted for several years the moorings at Engineers Wharf in West London, and more importantly, given CRT's inability to keep the moorings fully let, the apparently inflated reserve prices that had been maintained, one suspects to help justify keeping prices up for other moorers locally.
It is more than three years since I first highlighted this, and for much longer than that, there have been persistent vacant berths (and lost income) at Engineers Wharf. (Link to 83 no. closed vacancies/adverts and prices at Engineers Wharf since 2010! )
Well as of today there are no less than seven berths advertised as Buy It Now vacancies and the price for a 70' berth has been set at £5880 (up from £5292 as the reserve this time last year.)
Curious too that in the interim similar berths were the offered only three months ago with a reserve of £4998? So if you want, you can buy it now for £900 more than the reserve price when it was last auctioned - Any takers?!
What the heck is going on here!?
It seems that despite the good intentions set out in the outcomes of the Moorings Sales Consultation, CRT are still in this case setting prices at pretty much at random. If anyone can make sense of these price variations, do let me know!
And of course it remains to be seen if the current vacancies will let.
It is more than three years since I first highlighted this, and for much longer than that, there have been persistent vacant berths (and lost income) at Engineers Wharf. (Link to 83 no. closed vacancies/adverts and prices at Engineers Wharf since 2010! )
Well as of today there are no less than seven berths advertised as Buy It Now vacancies and the price for a 70' berth has been set at £5880 (up from £5292 as the reserve this time last year.)
Curious too that in the interim similar berths were the offered only three months ago with a reserve of £4998? So if you want, you can buy it now for £900 more than the reserve price when it was last auctioned - Any takers?!
What the heck is going on here!?
It seems that despite the good intentions set out in the outcomes of the Moorings Sales Consultation, CRT are still in this case setting prices at pretty much at random. If anyone can make sense of these price variations, do let me know!
And of course it remains to be seen if the current vacancies will let.
Tuesday, 26 May 2015
Hi Brenda R
Hi Brenda. Just saw your comment on the last post. As this is about your personal circumstances I haven't published it, but if you want to get in touch please do so through the NABO website; NABO contact list
Saturday, 23 May 2015
The latest smoke-screen
The consensus seems to be that NABO's hard hitting stance against the CRT licence changes as set out in their open letter has had some effect. CRT have dropped some of the more extreme and ridiculous proposals. (My favourite silly idea was the draft clause which taken at face value would have meant you could only change home mooring on the day of your licence renewal.)
It also seems that someone has re-read the Data Protection Act and realised that handing out personal details of licence holders to anyone who asked was probably not such a bright idea after all!
Nonetheless some dubious terms and conditions remain. As ever we will see in due course which of these stand up in Court if they ever come to be tested in that way.
It also seems that someone has re-read the Data Protection Act and realised that handing out personal details of licence holders to anyone who asked was probably not such a bright idea after all!
Nonetheless some dubious terms and conditions remain. As ever we will see in due course which of these stand up in Court if they ever come to be tested in that way.
Monday, 18 May 2015
Problems ahead
A pretty short one today but just to highlight Mick FitzGibbons' article today on Narrowboatworld. Many of the themes Mick raises chime with my own thinking on this and much as per my previous post on trust between boaters and CRT (or the lack of).
It is interesting that the URL to Mick's piece includes the phrase 'problems ahead' - a sentiment I wholly agree with.
It is interesting that the URL to Mick's piece includes the phrase 'problems ahead' - a sentiment I wholly agree with.
Friday, 1 May 2015
Who are the Freeloaders?
The comment about continuous cruisers being 'Freeloaders' made by a representative at the Birmingham open meeting has poured petrol on the social media flames again. But of course this is an old claim that many have debunked in the past.
The Canal World Forum trolling society particularly rounded on one Meg who tried to offer an honest and open view of what happened. They also went off on a whole range of conspiracy theories about the National Bargee Travellers Association. Never let facts get in the way of a 'good' argument.
All this has highlighted how a small minority can spoil the vibe for all. If anyone is a freeloader, it's the people who pour out their bile and hate against people they don't know who simply offer a different view in good faith. Most of those doing so when pressed have admitted they were not even at the meeting! These boaters do more to divide and harm the boating community than the very few Continuous Cruisers who take the piss out on the cut.
However the most interesting thing to me is that CRT seemingly failed to challenge the 'Freeloader' assertion during the meeting.
If they had done so they would have cut the whole thing down to size in a few words. The fact that the meeting was heated thereafter therefore comes as no surprise and just adds fuel to the claims that CRT are anti all continuous cruisers.
A missed opportunity for CRT to make some peace with many boaters they have recently pissed off.
The Canal World Forum trolling society particularly rounded on one Meg who tried to offer an honest and open view of what happened. They also went off on a whole range of conspiracy theories about the National Bargee Travellers Association. Never let facts get in the way of a 'good' argument.
All this has highlighted how a small minority can spoil the vibe for all. If anyone is a freeloader, it's the people who pour out their bile and hate against people they don't know who simply offer a different view in good faith. Most of those doing so when pressed have admitted they were not even at the meeting! These boaters do more to divide and harm the boating community than the very few Continuous Cruisers who take the piss out on the cut.
However the most interesting thing to me is that CRT seemingly failed to challenge the 'Freeloader' assertion during the meeting.
If they had done so they would have cut the whole thing down to size in a few words. The fact that the meeting was heated thereafter therefore comes as no surprise and just adds fuel to the claims that CRT are anti all continuous cruisers.
A missed opportunity for CRT to make some peace with many boaters they have recently pissed off.
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