Caravan site fees

michellem77

What rights do I have as a consumer. I recently purchased a static caravan and have just paid the site fees for a 12 months period only 3 weeks ago. Payment was due by 7th March 2020. 
There has been an enforced closure of the site due to COVID-19 and so unable to use as with all parks. 

How do van owners go about claiming refunds for the time closed? 

Many thanks 

Aylesbury_Duck

Depends on what your contract says.  If you've paid for them to accommodate your caravan for 12 months, they're doing that and so you're not entitled to refunds for closure. If your contract guarantees a minimum number of days' access in a 12 month period and they are unable to offer that, you may have a case, but I suspect if they've been sensible with their contract, they will have force majeure clauses to cover extraordinary circumstances like a pandemic.

Undervalued

michellem77 said:

What rights do I have as a consumer. I recently purchased a static caravan and have just paid the site fees for a 12 months period only 3 weeks ago. Payment was due by 7th March 2020. 
There has been an enforced closure of the site due to COVID-19 and so unable to use as with all parks. 

How do van owners go about claiming refunds for the time closed? 

Many thanks 

I very much doubt you can except possibly in respect or electricity / gas / water / sewage if these are included unmetered as part of the fee you pay. Everything else they are still supplying (storage / rent / rates site maintenance etc) and it is not the site's fault that you cannot use it.

In many ways it is no different from if you were unwell and unable to use your static for several months.

davidmcn

Undervalued said:

michellem77 said:

What rights do I have as a consumer. I recently purchased a static caravan and have just paid the site fees for a 12 months period only 3 weeks ago. Payment was due by 7th March 2020. 
There has been an enforced closure of the site due to COVID-19 and so unable to use as with all parks. 

How do van owners go about claiming refunds for the time closed? 

Many thanks 

In many ways it is no different from if you were unwell and unable to use your static for several months.

Or all the people who own holiday homes which they can't currently visit, but still have to pay the bills for.

Undervalued

davidmcn said:

Undervalued said:

michellem77 said:

What rights do I have as a consumer. I recently purchased a static caravan and have just paid the site fees for a 12 months period only 3 weeks ago. Payment was due by 7th March 2020. 
There has been an enforced closure of the site due to COVID-19 and so unable to use as with all parks. 

How do van owners go about claiming refunds for the time closed? 

Many thanks 

In many ways it is no different from if you were unwell and unable to use your static for several months.

Or all the people who own holiday homes which they can't currently visit, but still have to pay the bills for.

Indeed!

The_Rainmaker

OP where are you going to put the caravan if as you suggest you should have a refund?  You are renting a space to park your caravan I assume it is still in situ.

So if you plan on going down this route you had better have the haulage company booked.

You will be taking this on the chin.

Undervalued

The_Rainmaker said:

OP where are you going to put the caravan if as you suggest you should have a refund?  You are renting a space to park your caravan I assume it is still in situ.

So if you plan on going down this route you had better have the haulage company booked.

You will be taking this on the chin.

Basically yes!

Some good friends of mine had a holiday static. Unless normal practice has changed it was all a bit odd. They owned the static so could in theory have it put on a low loader and taken somewhere else. In practice this was difficult and almost everybody found the only realistic thing was to sell it back to the site owner if they wanted out. Even if, in normal times, it would be easy for the OP to have it moved just at the moment that is probably impossible.

bashleyjan

My small business is the hiring of 4 caravans on a holiday park.  On 23 March under the Governments orders the Park closed its gates to all static caravan owners.  Hence in effect closing down my business.  I have no income and the park have offered no suspension of site rent for the period of closure.  Our site fees are some £5,500 per year a huge loss to my business with no income.  I have carefully scrutinised my site licences.  This provides that we have an entitlement to use/occupy the caravan for a set period between 7 Feb and 6 January in each year.  There are no force majeure provisions that I can see in the event of a pandemic etc.  In fact there is no mention of what happens should the park close.    What rights do I have to have to look to the Park owners for a credit or refund of the site rent.  Effectively I am paying for something which I am not receiving.  This is something which is worrying not only myself but other owners on the park who use their caravans for their own family use. 

davidmcn

bashleyjan said:

This provides that we have an entitlement to use/occupy the caravan for a set period between 7 Feb and 6 January in each year.  There are no force majeure provisions that I can see in the event of a pandemic etc.

In the absence of any relevant force majeure provisions in the contract, there's no general principle that rents are abated.

DoaM

This is a B2B situation, not Consumer Rights ... what does your legal representative advise?

born_again

bashleyjan said:

My small business is the hiring of 4 caravans on a holiday park.  On 23 March under the Governments orders the Park closed its gates to all static caravan owners.  Hence in effect closing down my business.  I have no income and the park have offered no suspension of site rent for the period of closure.  Our site fees are some £5,500 per year a huge loss to my business with no income.  I have carefully scrutinised my site licences.  This provides that we have an entitlement to use/occupy the caravan for a set period between 7 Feb and 6 January in each year.  There are no force majeure provisions that I can see in the event of a pandemic etc.  In fact there is no mention of what happens should the park close.    What rights do I have to have to look to the Park owners for a credit or refund of the site rent.  Effectively I am paying for something which I am not receiving.  This is something which is worrying not only myself but other owners on the park who use their caravans for their own family use. 

Have the government not offered help to small business owners? 
Do you not have insurance to cover the likes of this? Or how would you go on if the site flooded?
BIL lives on a site and has been kicked out due to them having to close. He is still having to pay site rent (site owner got that covered) and now having to rent a house... Best bit is they only just moved back in after the one month away from site to get round permanent living rules, as it's a holiday site.