BSS test fee

[Momac]

I have heard the present fee  is going up on 1st April by 30%.

4 years ago I paid £120 and I believe the present fee is £160.

Presently awaiting examiner who is to do at least 3 boats in the marina next weekend.  Getting the test done seems hard work . 

 

 

 

 

[ditchcrawler]

9 minutes ago, MartynG said:

I have heard the present fee  is going up on 1st April by 30%.

4 years ago I paid £120 and I believe the present fee is £160.

Presently awaiting examiner who is to do at least 3 boats in the marina next weekend.  Getting the test done seems hard work . 

 

 

 

 

It is going up, but the only set rise will be the cost of the certificate, what the examiner charges for his bit is up to him.

[alan_fincher]

There is no fixed charge for the test - it is set by individual examiners.
 

This means they may, (or may not), discount for various things, like...

 

Bubble tester fitted so manometer test not required.

Or maybe no gas present at all.

Multiple boats being examined at the same time, reducing travel costs.

Etc.

Etc.

 

Some may offer a free re-test, others may charge for one.

That said they have to pay a fixed amount (not insubstantial, I think) to the BSS office for each test, so they are certainly not trousering anything like what you pay them.

£150-£160(ish) is probably a fair rate.

I'm not surprised they are sometimes hard to find - it's hardly the most remunerative business you can be in!

[Alan de Enfield]

21 minutes ago, alan_fincher said:

There is no fixed charge for the test - it is set by individual examiners.
 

This means they may, (or may not), discount for various things, like...

 

Bubble tester fitted so manometer test not required.

Or maybe no gas present at all.

Multiple boats being examined at the same time, reducing travel costs.

Etc.

Etc.

 

Some may offer a free re-test, others may charge for one.

That said they have to pay a fixed amount (not insubstantial, I think) to the BSS office for each test, so they are certainly not trousering anything like what you pay them.

£150-£160(ish) is probably a fair rate.

I'm not surprised they are sometimes hard to find - it's hardly the most remunerative business you can be in!

The BSS charge the surveyor £36.00 + VAT for the 'certificate'.

 

The surveyor can charge whatever he wants to cover his costs and make a profit.

[James Owen]

30 minutes ago, Alan de Enfield said:

The BSS charge the surveyor £36.00 + VAT for the 'certificate'.

 

The surveyor can charge whatever he wants to cover his costs and make a profit.

And as of 1st April the BSS charge will increase to £43 + VAT. 

[frygood]

i paid £160 on Monday.£40 per year is properly a drop in the ocean to what boating costs.Im not unhappy.

[Momac]

2 hours ago, James Owen said:

And as of 1st April the BSS charge will increase to £43 + VAT. 

 

2 hours ago, Alan de Enfield said:

The BSS charge the surveyor £36.00 + VAT for the 'certificate'.

 

Thanks - that's the info I had been fishing for. 

 

 

 

 

 

[Momac]

1 hour ago, frygood said:

i paid £160 on Monday.£40 per year is properly a drop in the ocean to what boating costs. Im not unhappy.

I think the BSS test is ridiculous and  a rip off at any price. Not the surveyors fault but the fault of the BSS.

[KenK]

If you think the BSS is ridiculous, try the survey for the Manchester Ship Canal. £70.00 for the surveyor to sit in the boat for twenty minutes whilst we had a nice chat and he drank a cup of coffee, ate a couple of biscuits, and then signed a bit of paper.

[Momac]

1 minute ago, KenK said:

If you think the BSS is ridiculous, try the survey for the Manchester Ship Canal. £70.00 for the surveyor to sit in the boat for twenty minutes whilst we had a nice chat and he drank a cup of coffee, ate a couple of biscuits, and then signed a bit of paper.

I think that fee is intended to deter leisure craft from using the Manchester Ship Canal.  

 

[dmr]

I think it is a chat but the idea might be to spot those who have never been on a river or even a wide canal before.

 

.............Dave

[MtB]

2 minutes ago, dmr said:

I think it is a chat but the idea might be to spot those who have never been on a river or even a wide canal before.

 

.............Dave

i wondered if this was the case. In reality they may not be surveying and assessing the boat so much as the boatER.

[dmr]

2 minutes ago, Mike the Boilerman said:

i wondered if this was the case. In reality they may not be surveying and assessing the boat so much as the boatER.

Thats how it felt to me, it was a chat but very much geared to how much boating we had done and what rivers we had done. I think he said he had met boaters who had never done anything except narrow canals and was not happy about that. The Nav light and rope length stuff was not important as we were not going to do any locks, but he still wanted top see a few spare ropes available on the boat. Due to time constraints we actually paid him more in Travel expenses that his fee.

BSS booked for this Wednesday.

 

£70-£100 per hour is just not that bad for a trained and equipped person, try seeing a solicitor.

 

.............Dave