BW/BWML

[NB.BELLE]

I have been pursuing a complaint with British Waterways and British Waterways Marinas Limited over the last few months regarding their moorings allocation policy. I have corresponded with them via Stage I and Stage II of their complaints procedure, but I have failed to secure a satisfactory outcome from my point of view.

 

I shall explain. British Waterways Marinas Limited is operating in such a way that they give moorings preference to customers purchasing boats from them. I am not sure if this moorings allocation policy is widely known; I have certainly not seen anything in the boating media about it. The legal title for most of the moorings managed on behalf of British Waterways by British Waterways Marinas Limited is held by British Waterways. So, they are still effectively a ‘national asset’ and as such they belong to you and me as British citizens and taxpayers. Therefore, I propose that these moorings should be allocated to boaters using a fairly and squarely managed time-honoured waiting list approach (just like they have been for years) and not traded as part of a boat sales package.

 

Am I one of a minority that holds this view - do you agree or disagree? I would be interested to learn one way or the other. The collective response will have a bearing on whether I pursue my complaint with the Waterways Ombudsman and maybe beyond, or just grin and bear it.

 

Cheers, Chris.

[tony collins]

Therefore, I propose that these moorings should be allocated to boaters using a fairly and squarely managed time-honoured waiting list approach (just like they have been for years) and not traded as part of a boat sales package.

 

 

 

Cheers, Chris.

 

 

This is a very good point, however, I do know that commercial operators have been doing this for years. I was granted a mooring under this sort of scheme in the 70's The ownership of the moorings is a moot point because they could argue that BWM Ltd is a commercial operation and can rent moorings as they wish from whom they wish, therefore as such are entitled to compete with their competitors. The question of whether BW should compete with their own customers has never been satisfactorily answered in my view. Despite their protestation the is a distinct whiff in the air.

 

Tony

[Ridgeways]

"they give moorings preference to customers purchasing boats from them."

 

Can you give more detail Chris? I was not aware that BW now broker boats. Do you refer to the practice of allowing boats sold on the mooring to remain as a customer? That has mostly been permitted even though there is no legal right to transfer of the mooring and in a marina situation would usually be covered by a % being paid to the marina on sale of the boat. That is standard.

 

I'd be most interested to learn more.

 

As for the topic of competition with customers, that is being dealt with fairly vigorously by the British Marine Federation, and I believe the issue is now being viewed by an arbitrator. 'Till now, BW have been somewhat coy as regards transparency.

[Richard Bustens]

That makes sense, i would do the same as well.

 

If someone bought some item from me they would get preferance to my services. over someone who bought elseware.

 

I get it every week, i have just bought this phone from Argos coz they were £2 cheeper than you but i can not get it to send pics, can you sort it?

 

Have you been back to Argos?

 

Yes they do not know anything about them, can you do it.

 

Yes.

 

well will you do it then.

 

No.....F off back to Argos.

[NB.BELLE]

Tony / Ridgeways / Richard – thanks for your comments.

 

British Waterways Marinas Limited (BWML) is a company wholly owned by British Waterways (BW). I can sympathise when others find it difficult to distinguish the two, because I am struggling to do so at times. Amongst other things, BWML is tasked with managing a number of marinas on behalf of BW. When I enquired using the FOIA in November 2005, there were 14 such marinas scattered around the UK and BW owned the legal title for 10 of them.

 

I learned about this policy of giving moorings preference to those that buy their boats from / through one or other of these BWML marina sales offices when I enquired about a mooring at Sawley Marina, situated on the Notts/Derby border, half expecting to have to wait my turn along with others. I was told that Sawley Marina (now being part of BWML) no longer operated a waiting list because they had introduced a policy whereby those buying boats from/via their boat sales office were given preference. As such, their list as it was then does not move, because they were selling boats with moorings at a rate consistent with moorings availability. So, I f***ed off, as one would in such circumstances.

 

However, after chewing on it for a bit, I thought, surely that marina still effectively belongs to BW? I was a bit like being told, so OK, this is a public car park, but we are still not going to let you park your car here, because we now have an arrangement with the car hire company around the corner and they are prepared to pay us a bit more and guarantee use of more of the spaces. They have filled it ever since, so f*** off.

 

No problem in my mind, IF the said resources were actually in private hands, but they are not. Accepting this sort of practice, possibly on the grounds that, having formed a limited company, you then argue that the management of this limited company is sufficiently distanced from the shareholders and that you have ‘transparency’ does not, in my view, work. I propose that, if there is not a sudden surge in moorings availability at a reasonable and affordable price, then there will also be some serious knock-on effects for BW/BWML’s ‘competitors’, particularly those boat builders not trading via BW/BWML.

 

I am aware that the new BW/BWML trading structure has, as a whole, received some attention and serious criticism from the BMF - and so it should. I am concerned about moorings management at the moment, but there must be many other aspects to this and implications for the whole industry as well as waterways users in general.

 

Cheers, Chris.