Caravan site seasonal pitch

chris_t_fer

Last year in France we visited various caravan sites and found one we liked to leave our tourer on for the season, we talked with the owner's and discussed about taking the van over in 2016 although no specific month they agreed they would let the pitch out till we arrived , we did not sign anything or were even showed any terms or conditions we were simply to let them know when we would be arriving this year things changed and we can no longer take the van to France, basically my car is goosed we got in touch with the site before we were due to go to let them know, but now we have been hit with a letter demanding payment for the 12 monthly pitch, where do we stand it was only a chat we had and no deposit was mentioned not witnessed by anyone else no money changed hands and nothing was signed should i be worried or just ignore it ?

powerful_Rogue

chris_t_fer wrote: »

Last year in France we visited various caravan sites and found one we liked to leave our tourer on for the season, we talked with the owner and said we would be over in may june of this year to leave the van for the year, we verbally agreed a pitch but did not sign or leave a deposit,this year things changed and we can no longer take the van to France we got in touch with the site before we were due to go to let them know, but now we have been hit with a solicitors letter demanding payment for the 12 monthly pitch where do we stand it was only a verbal agreement not witnessed by anyone else no money changed hands and nothing was signed should i be worried or just ignore it ?

Ask them to prove it with documentation?

All depends on what the French law says.

bris

Verbal agreements are legally binding in France, proving it is another matter.


Unless you get court papers I would ignore it, even then would they win, well that's the 50/50 gamble you would have to take.

chris_t_fer

ill take my chances in the courts as there is no documentation to back up the claims, circumstances change and that is that end of as far as i'm concerned, he hasn't actually lost business as the site is open all year and we were told the pitch would be leased until we arrived we loosely arranged may/june and he was made aware of the fact we couldn't get over so unless the site has no passing trade i fail to see how the pitch cannot be used over the summer. i was making every effort to still get there but after receiving this letter i will not be giving him didaly squat

daytona0

chris_t_fer wrote: »

ill take my chances in the courts as there is no documentation to back up the claims, circumstances change and that is that.

In your first post you admitted that a verbal agreement exists... that could count as documentation if it can be linked to you in real life.

And I think you are easily traceable*, right down to the name of the campsite, your name and your location! If I can find that on very limited information then maybe don't underestimate the caravan owner(s) or their solicitors!

*(90% confident that it is you)

So in a nutshell, you had a verbal agreement and now you are trying to worm your way out of it! I feel a bit sorry for the campsite, who will no doubt have lost business (through you not paying + them being unable to offer it to other people) through no fault of their own!

Gotta be careful with what you post online matey... Everything is fair game, and dodgy ones like this all have a backstory.

knightstyle

I think you can safely ignore it. It is illegal to keep a touring caravan in France unless it is registered in France. So the site owner was trying to get you to do something illegal!
As you do not live in France you will not have an address to register it to!
Look on ex-pat sites for more information.

knightstyle

More:
Once the vehicle has arrived in France, you must register it and obtain a carte grise (certificat d’immatriculation). You are allowed one month in which to obtain the carte grise, four months if your vehicle requires a single vehicle approval inspection. In the case of a trailer/caravan, if its gross weight is under 500kg then it does not need to be registered and it only needs to display the number plate of the towing vehicle.

You apply for the carte grise through your pr!fecture (or in some local cases, at the sous-pr!fecture) by completing a Demande de certificat d’immatriculation and producing the documents listed below:

* Passport

* Proof of address, eg utility bill.

* Vehicle registration document (or export certificate if the registration document has been retained by the original issuing authority).

* Import tax certificate – If your vehicle is currently registered in another EU member state, then you will need a ‘quittus fiscal’ which you can obtain from your local tax office on production of the vehicle registration document and proof of address. If the vehicle is being imported from outside the EU, then instead, you will need the 846A certificate which you will already have obtained from French Customs. Not required for trailers.
NOTE: New vehicles.
VAT rules require that a new vehicle is taxed in the country in which it is to be registered. Thus if you import a new car (less than 6 months/6000km old), then VAT is due in France. It should therefore be bought VAT free in the country of purchase to avoid paying VAT twice and having to try and reclaim it from the country of origin.

* Contrôle Technique certificate – required for motor vehicles over four years old. Not required for motorcycles or trailers.
Note: Although not universally enforced, it is a requirement to produce a Certificate of Conformity to obtain a CT, unless there is sufficient information on the existing registration certificate to suffice.
Note: It is now possible to import a vehicle over 4 years of age without the need for a Controle Technique if the current vehicle roadworthiness certificate (M.O.T.) is less than six months old at the time of registration.
In this case, just as in the case of a newer vehicle not yet requiring a CT, the owner must ensure that the vehicle complies with all French traffic legislation (headlights, etc, etc.).

* Proof of ownership – if the vehicle registration document is in your name, then no further proof is required. If you have bought the vehicle from someone else to import here, then you will need to produce an invoice/receipt issued by the person named on the registration document. For a trailer, an invoice/receipt is required.

* Certificate of conformity – see below for availability options

Once you have presented the above documents and paid the pr!fecture registration fee, you will be issued with a provisional registration certificate which you must produce to get your new number plates made up. Your carte grise will arrive in the post within a few days. Full details of the registration process and associated fees can be found on the ‘Vos D!marches’ section of your own pr!fecture website.

Finally, if the vehicle was registered in the UK, you must notify the DVLA that the vehicle has been permanently exported by sending them the tear-off export slip from the V5C registration document.

bris

One thing to note however from your OP is that you got a letter from them, how did they get your address? With this in mind they obviously have something on you they can use. Maybe your chances aren't so good after all.

paddyrg

I don't think anyone is doubting your circumstances have changed meaning you no longer want the pitch, nor that a verbal contact exists committing you to it. This puts you in a tough spot, as nobody here can reasonably guess what a French court will say, and French (Napoleonic?) law is not the same as ours.

Best case, they give up on the debt and think British people are dishonourable, worst case they get a legal judgement against you (if undefended the court may be more sympathetic to them) and try to pursue it, along with charges.

Hopefully, maybe by taking to them, you can work out something in between to cover their losses if they can prove any? That would prevent the threat of getting tired up in French courts hanging over you.

daytona0

chris_t_fer wrote:

Last year in France we visited various caravan sites and found one we liked to leave our tourer on for the season, we talked with the owner and said we would be over in may june of this year to leave the van for the year, we verbally agreed a pitch but did not sign or leave a deposit,this year things changed and we can no longer take the van to France we got in touch with the site before we were due to go to let them know, but now we have been hit with a solicitors letter demanding payment for the 12 monthly pitch where do we stand it was only a verbal agreement not witnessed by anyone else no money changed hands and nothing was signed should i be worried or just ignore it ?

Original post, for a bit of integrity on the forum.

ThumbRemote

daytona0 wrote: »

I feel a bit sorry for the campsite, who will no doubt have lost business (through you not paying + them being unable to offer it to other people) through no fault of their own!

Where do you get this from? Post #4 would suggest the campsite had agreed to let out the pitch until it was occupied.