Admin & Service Charges

Spyglass

We have bought a static holiday caravan and just received the electricity and drain down charge. Against the electricity charge, which has not been itemised with start & finish usage,is an admin charge unknown amount and service charge unknown amount .Is it legal to make these charges without having been told beforehand. All our agreement says is that electricity charges average £80 a season?

dogshome

I'm afraid that owners of static caravans on holiday parks, and even residential parks, are often swimming in shark infested waters so far as charges by the siteowners/managers are concerned.

It seems that your park is particularly bad in that each van doesn't have it's own elec. meter, but even if it did the site owners would still charge more than the power supplier, because they own all the wiring around the park and can legally charge for maintaining it.

Whilst the sales brochure may have said a seasons power would cost £80, look carefully at what the lease you signed says, and also what it says about Admin & Service charges

There is likely to be more bad news when your van's gas cylinders need changing, in that you must get full bottles from the site owners at their prices and you are positively barred from buying them elsewhere

footyguy

Spyglass wrote: »

We have bought a static holiday caravan and just received the electricity and drain down charge. Against the electricity charge, which has not been itemised with start & finish usage,is an admin charge unknown amount and service charge unknown amount .Is it legal to make these charges without having been told beforehand. All our agreement says is that electricity charges average £80 a season?

Wouldn't you ask for clarification on charges the site owner applies if you weren't clear?

"All our agreement says is that electricity charges average £80 a season?" does not mean you will be charged just £80 a year, and a meter for just your caravan should also indicate you will be charged for what you use.

footyguy

dogshome wrote: »

...
There is likely to be more bad news when your van's gas cylinders need changing, in that you must get full bottles from the site owners at their prices and you are positively barred from buying them elsewhere

That's definitely a sign of a dodgy site operator.

All respectable sites around here will allow owners/occupiers to source their (bottled) gas from whoever and wherever they want.

e.g.

5.4 Contracts for caravans and pitch licences give rise to a number of specialised issues. In general, we object to terms that give park owners any kind of monopoly over the supply of goods or services that caravan owners are required or have no choice but to buy. Any such monopoly is open to abuse, and is liable to be used as an additional means of raising revenue, and thus to have the effect of imposing an unfair financial burden on caravan owners.

and

5.10 Although on parks with underground piped LPG the caravan owner has no choice over this supply, we have received a number of complaints about park owners insisting that LPG cylinders are bought through them, often at an inflated price. While there are maximum resale prices for mains gas and electricity, there are none for LPG supplied in cylinders and bulk tanks. Contract terms controlling the supply of LPG to caravan owners will come under particular scrutiny, as they may impose an unfair financial burden. Park owners will be asked to justify such terms.

Source: Guidance on unfair terms in holiday caravan agreements

Spyglass

Thank you all for your replies they are very useful. I can see how it is so very easy to be trusting where I should be more inquiring.