Narrowboat Hire Company

[canalb]

hello Canal world

I must say im very disgusted and disappointed with [a certain] boat company to start it off they give us less than 24 hours to tell us the boat we are booked on to is broken!

So another date is set! only when we phone them up saying we cant make it due to my mums friend being rushed into hospital (this friend and husbond kids etc was coming on the trip with us) they wouldn't change the date!! they where really rude on the phone, and even implied saying " well how do we know if we give you another date your family wont be rushed into hospital on that date" how dare they say that!! He then goes on to say something about the boat being sold at the end of the year and then he hangs up the phone. Very people friendly wouldn't you say!! We as a family do a canal trip ever summer for a day with friends its a lovely experience i will not be going there again and suggest going [elsewhere] hire.

 

but this is only on my experience i wouldn't like it to happen to anyone else so just be aware!! hey look the guy on the phone is really friendly... till he has your money!!!!!!!

 

many thanks for reading

Edited July 1, 2011 by DHutch
Company name removed.

[Guest wanted]

Sorry to hear that you have had a bad experiance and I hope your family member gets well soon, but may I suggest that if you intend to try and reclaim some money or rearrange a trip, posting on a forum that reaches wide into the community may not be the best way forwards?

[bottle]

Mmmmmm, ?????

[MoominPapa]

Er, Daniel, if you want to remove the company name, better do it from the topic title too.......

 

 

MP.

[DHutch]

Im very sorry to here your holiday plans have gone awye having been let down by a hire company. However as we do not know the details of the event from both sides or otherwise I don't feel it is overly fairly name and shame at this stage in a business that is so small and as such have removed the name of the company.

 

Hire boats frequently have very short turn around times and it may not have been possible to give any more notice than that that was given. Obviously doesn't excuse the comments you describe above, but again, without knowing the full story its hard to say.

 

Certainly I do not see any reason for you not to get a full refund for the holiday although it will depend in part on the contract you had with them for the lease period.

 

 

Daniel

[magpie patrick]

I hope Dave Mayall walks into this one, but I think, if they can't deliver the holiday boat and dates you asked for (even if it was an adjustment) they must refund. They can't just offer you an alternative and tell you to take it or leave it...

 

edited to add, I see they made the first change, you the second, I think, from what I know, that you are in a weak position, but it wouldn't harm to make a big issue of you accomodating them in the first place

Edited July 1, 2011 by magpie patrick

[David Mack]

Hire companies often don't know that a boat won't be available until the previosu week's hirers return it (or occasionally don't). Their first option is to substitute another boat from their fleet if one is available - although I did once meet a couple complaining that they'd been 'upgraded' to a bigger boat than they were comforatble steering. I've also known companies ring round other companies in the area to see if an alternative can be found. Whilst this may not be the ideal solution, most hire companies are keen not to let down a customer completely.

 

David

[RichardH]

I can see both sides of the coin.

 

If a boat is broken then we don't have spares so there are very rare (well never for us) occasions where a holiday has to be moved.

 

Given that they moved the guest then there has to be some fair play on the dates.

 

However, we have had a couple of experiences where guests have wanted to move their holiday at very short notice and wonder why we can't do it for free - the key issue is that the boat could then stand idle and another potential week which could be booked is taken by the swap.

[Minos]

Whatever goods or services you book, if they are not available on the contracted dates because the other party cannot deliver, then you are entitled to a full refund (unless you signed a contract waiving that right.) If you accept another date in lieu, then it is a renewal of the contract.

 

Similarly, if the contract you signed says that you will pay even if you don't use the service, then you have to pay. That's why you are advised to buy insurance for any holiday you book at a travel agent. It's also the reason why, two months after buying our own narrowboat, Circe and I are going ahead with a hired narrowboat holiday this summer - it sounds silly, paying to hire a narrowboat while leaving our own idle in a mooring, but when we booked the holiday we had no intention of buying our own boat this year.

 

If it's not covered in the small print or the terms and conditions of booking, then you may be able to claim that the contract is invalid. However, contract law is normally relatively straightforward: when you give your consent to the terms and conditions then you have to live with them.

[mayalld]

I hope Dave Mayall walks into this one, but I think, if they can't deliver the holiday boat and dates you asked for (even if it was an adjustment) they must refund. They can't just offer you an alternative and tell you to take it or leave it...

 

edited to add, I see they made the first change, you the second, I think, from what I know, that you are in a weak position, but it wouldn't harm to make a big issue of you accomodating them in the first place

 

Did somebody call?

 

I think that broadly speaking, people have the idea about the legal position fairly well sorted.

 

To expand on it a little;

 

In the first instance, the OP had a contract with the hire company to supply a boat for a given week. The contract doubtless contains clauses limiting their liability in the event that they cannot perform (although many such clauses are of dubious legality as unfair contract terms).

 

If they are unable to deliver, they are in breach, although if the circumstances are beyond their control, they might be able to claim that the contract was frustrated.

 

At the point where they failed to deliver, the original contract came to an implied end. The OP could have claimed a full refund, PLUS a sum of damages for "loss of bargain" to allow him to secure another boat for that week. He chose to accept the offer of a different week, although he was not obliged to do so. That started the contract again.

 

The OP clearly feels that *MORALLY* the hire company should have shown the same lattitude that he showed, and I would agree that from the account given a little more give and take might be appropriate but legally they are not obliged to do so.

[Spesh]

Minos has it more or less right on the legal side. You could have refused to accept the date change and had a refund, but once you accepted the new date then you've got a contract for that date just like you did for the original date. No holiday company with the slightest bit of sense is going to have contract terms which allow the customer to change the date at the drop of a hat. The same terms will apply to your revised booking as did the original. As a consumer dealing with a business it's not the case the contract is the be all and end all because there are various protections that will override unreasonable terms, but I can't see how any would apply in this case.

 

Obviously the legal position doesn't excuse bad customer service, and they should have done what they could to accomodate a date change in order to keep their customer happy. That said, I would have thought that last minute changes of date are extremely difficult to accomodate without the hire company losing all the revenue for the booking. I don't think I'd expect to be able to change the date in the way you wanted to without having to pay, but on the basis of what you say the way they went about turning you down left a lot to be desired.

[ditchcrawler]

Hire companies often don't know that a boat won't be available until the previosu week's hirers return it (or occasionally don't). Their first option is to substitute another boat from their fleet if one is available - although I did once meet a couple complaining that they'd been 'upgraded' to a bigger boat than they were comforatble steering. I've also known companies ring round other companies in the area to see if an alternative can be found. Whilst this may not be the ideal solution, most hire companies are keen not to let down a customer completely.

 

David

We booked our first narrowboat holiday on the W&B and it wasn't until we turned up we found the boat had not returned that morning as it was broken down, they fixed us up with another boat, but we had to drive all the way to Penkridge. Still had a great holiday and it rained every day except one.

 

 

Edit to add

 

I think this was a day boat hire by reading the OP again, not a weeks hire.

Edited July 1, 2011 by ditchcrawler

[cotswoldsman]

hello Canal world

I must say im very disgusted and disappointed with [a certain] boat company to start it off they give us less than 24 hours to tell us the boat we are booked on to is broken!

So another date is set! only when we phone them up saying we cant make it due to my mums friend being rushed into hospital (this friend and husbond kids etc was coming on the trip with us) they wouldn't change the date!! they where really rude on the phone, and even implied saying " well how do we know if we give you another date your family wont be rushed into hospital on that date" how dare they say that!! He then goes on to say something about the boat being sold at the end of the year and then he hangs up the phone. Very people friendly wouldn't you say!! We as a family do a canal trip ever summer for a day with friends its a lovely experience i will not be going there again and suggest going [elsewhere] hire.

 

but this is only on my experience i wouldn't like it to happen to anyone else so just be aware!! hey look the guy on the phone is really friendly... till he has your money!!!!!!!

 

many thanks for reading

 

Why is it that I read this to be a Day Boat Hire?

[bottle]

We booked our first narrowboat holiday on the W&B and it wasn't until we turned up we found the boat had not returned that morning as it was broken down, they fixed us up with another boat, but we had to drive all the way to Penkridge. Still had a great holiday and it rained every day except one.

 

 

Edit to add

 

I think this was a day boat hire by reading the OP again, not a weeks hire.

 

 

Why is it that I read this to be a Day Boat Hire?

 

Well spotted.

[Guest]

We once booked with Ashby boat Co. and the boat we had expected to get broke down the week before we were due to take it.

 

They were most apologetic and offered us a bigger nicer boat at no extra cost.

[Lewis 53]

We had a holiday booked with my mum and dad. Dad died of a heart attack about two months before we were due to go. Dad loved his canal holidays and as the day approached to depart we all decided we could not face going with out him. We called the company and explained our situation fully expecting to have to pay. No problem they said, let us know when you want to go and we will re-book you. And they were good to there word. So there are some good people out there....its just finding them, and guess what, we used them most years after that.

 

Lewis

[hvdb]

Our experience is that hire companies will do their best to keep the customer satisfied.

 

We had booked a boat with a company we had been to before, we like their boats and the routes, we knew that this boat was still being fitted when we booked. A few days before our holiday began, they emailed us to say that the boat would not be ready for us, but they offered another, bigger boat at no extra cost. When we arrived, that boat was not ready as well, they had decided to put in a new kitchen, but that took longer than planned. They offered us many apologies and made sure that the boat was ready early in the evening. As a gesture of goodwill the company paid for the groceries we had ordered through them and they even threw in a couple of bottles of wine. Early the next morning we set off. We returned to that company three or four times after this.

 

In the year of the floods (2007?) we booked a boat on the L&L. Before we came over (P&O Ferry to Hull, an expensive crossing), we kept in touch with the company, if there was no chance of moving a boat due to the floods, we were not going to come to the UK, but they said to come over and see how things were at that moment. The boat we had booked was stuck in Stanley Ferry, we were given two options: go to the boat and see what happens, but the chances were that we would not be able to move during the next two weeks, we said no to that. The other option was that they would take us in a mini-van to a place that was over an hour's drive away, where another boat of that company was available. We gladly accepted that offer and had a good (although wet) holiday.

 

Ok, sometimes you end up on another boat than the one you booked, but that is not the end of the world and in both cases we could see the reasons why it happened and the way the hire companies reacted was very pleasant and professional, both wanted us to have a good holiday and did everything they could to make that so.

[tillergirl]

Always had good experiences with hire companies. First holiday was on L&L in 2001 (foot and mouth) and we expected to be cancelled on. Nope! All good even took the dogs although they had to learn to disinfect their feet too! Had to call one guy out we've been with on two holidays because of breakdowns and no problems there either. Swapped boats because we preferred another one (same price).

 

If I have a complaint there just one company who had hidden notices in cupboards etc stating that if certain things were'nt done before leaving the boat a £50 surcharge would be levied. I ended up doing most of the work the cleaners would have done at handover - stripping the beds and folding all laundry items. They were'nt even happy with the rubbish bag being left on the foredeck we had to take it to the dustbins or else - yes - a £50 surcharge would be levied. Never been with them again.

 

Think if it had been me I would have asked for a refund............

[PeterScott]

... So another date is set! only when we phone them up saying we cant make it due to ...

Interesting discussion. The boat breakdown is 'one of those things' and boatyard liability for compensation (or using another yard instead) is probably excluded by their hire conditions. The rub is the 'so another date is set'. If the boatyard phones and says "It'll have to be next week then" and the hirer mumbles that they will consult the rest of the crew, then the phoning to say "someone can't make it after all" is just part of the negotiations:and if a mutually convenient date fails to emerge, then the money just has to be returned.

 

Otoh if they have been through all this already, agreed a new date, preferably written it down on a revised (electronic?) piece of paper, and then the hirer phones to give backword, then (as mentioned above) the position is just the same as if this had been backword on the original date: we would hope that the boatyard would be a bit more accommodating, given that they have caused a problem in the past.

 

We once had a "ring ring" "boatyard here, ... sorry to say the boat you booked for your week starting tomorrow has unfortunately been sunk this afternoon, ... we have checked all the other hireboats in the Scottish Lowlands and they are all booked out". We did find another week, but it was a disappointment, and it felt odd to be going back to work the following Monday when I'd arranged to be away. These things happen :-)