(Stealth) Mooring Fee Increase

Those of you with a long memory will know that in September I posted to let you know that I wrote to Canal and River Trust about this issue.

Today I got a reply.

The reply was written yesterday, 59 working days after the date of my letter.

Apart from confirming the facts the reply did not address my concerns at all.

I have asked, for the second time, for the complaint to be elevated to "the second level".

How do you think I will get on?

Mooring stealth fee increases

We have a new moorer on our site. Temporarily their brand new craft is moored on a short term one month permit while they take part in the latest mooring berth auction. CaRT know that they need a local mooring and have all their details.

The latest Vacancy issued, Vacancy 4229, is as large as they come on the South Oxford and has a Reserve to match of £1607. This works out at £73.05 per metre. The level of this surprised me so I have done a little research.

When I bid for my mooring in August 2010 the Reserve was £59.61 per metre. Hence there has been an increase in what the site says "The Reserve Price reflects British Waterways' cost of providing the vacancy. It is the price below which it would not be economic for us to let the vacancy" of 22.5%. Inflation over the same period was 5.2% per year according to the Bank of England so the reserve has increased by double the rate of inflation.

I have written to CaRT to ask them to examine the basis of the Reserve. I think it is to maximise revenue as they know that there is a demand for the mooring at this time. Historically there hasn't been. A third of the Vacancies auctioned on this site since Jan 2010 have resulted in no-one bidding for them.

We will see how we get on.

Quick off the Mark

This is the first boat that I have noticed with the new Canal and River Trust logo painted onto the boat. Looks very smart. Interestingly it also sports a CaRT logo on its license which runs to 10/12 . Assuming the license was for the conventional year would this mean that the logo was being used prior to vesting?
POST POST NOTE: The boat is less than two weeks old, registered for BW waters and has been issued with a one month license. It will be based on the River Thames (EA controlled waters)
Opposite is a brand new boat that has no number or license, although the owner has applied for one. It is held in abeyance until a home mooring is found. (I did not think that a home mooring was a requirement for a boat registration.)

In the CaRT

So that is what all the signs and paperwork will look like from next April.

Not a bad effort for a logo. Will the acronym be CaRT, CART, or C&RT?