mooring saga update

Well, I have discovered that British Waterways are not an organisation to be trusted!
After my last blog entry, they got back to me the same day to say that it was my mistake - the mooring I thought I had bid for wasn't actually in the location I thought it was! She told me where the mooring actually was and agreed to meet me there on the 8th (the day I officially start my mooring agreement) to show me.

I went there the day before for a look and wondered how on earth they thought they were going to get away with it. The mooring is totally different from the details given on the auction site. There are no mooring rings (only a rather dodgy looking chain) to tie to. There is no car access at all, let alone an access road and free car parking as advertised. Instead of being by grass at the top of a lock, it is on concrete at the bottom of another lock. The picture and map on the website don't even show this part of the site, let alone this specific mooring! I also noticed that the boat moored on the spot I did bid and pay for is showing a 3 year mooring permit that is due to expire this month!

So I met up with the mooring officer today. I let her show me the 'new' mooring and then I produced a print out of the details given in the auction, including the photo of the mooring and the map. I pointed out all the differences between the two moorings and the 'coincidence' that the permit on boat moored in the correct mooring was about to run out. I was quite proud of myself - I was calm, friendly, polite but firm - as opposed to spitting mad and emotional which I could easily have been! I suggested to her that they had advertised the mooring thinking the current boat was going to vacate and when it didn't, rather than informing me and not taking my money, they thought they would just stick me somewhere else! She wouldn't confirm this but just said that she was new to the post and that her predecessor told her that the details given were 'just a general guide' and that they were meant to refer to the second mooring. We then walked to that one and she couldn't conceal her shock at the differences. She even said that she was a boater and she wouldn't be at all happy to tie up at the chain. She conceded that this mooring was indeed very different in detail to the paperwork, as well as conceding that it was her name on the documents and not her predecessor's.

I then said that I was prepared to accept this mooring on a temporary basis on condition that she would provide in writing an acknowledgement that it was temporary and giving the approximate date that I would be able to move on to the mooring I paid for. In the meantime, since there was no parking at this mooring, I would expect a permit to park for free in the pay and display car park under their control. She said she thought that was reasonable but had to go back and talk to her manager. I said that, if this was not sorted out satisfactorily, I would have no choice but to go to Trading Standards and possibly a solicitor. I said that if BW had taken my money for something they knew wasn't available, it could constitute fraud and that the police might even be interested. I also said that I would write to the various waterway publications with the story, which wouldn't help BW's auctioning process. If people didn't trust that the mooring they were bidding for was the one they would end up with, they might well end up with a lot less customers!

I said all this with a pleasant smile on my face. I was quite pleased with myself because when in situations of potential conflict, I often get stressed and emotional and then I don't get my point across. But today I remained calm and assertive. The only mistake I made was not getting a date from her when I would hear from them. But I shall keep on top of it. I won't be moving the boat until after Christmas, so there is no pressure as yet. I also got her to agree that I could pick the spot I moored at the new site as I noticed that on one part of the chain, there were rings I think I could tie to.

The story continues...