Caravan site Summer storage - Being forced to pay (No contract signed)

bmaster666

Hello all, i am after some advice regarding summer storage and a response to and email i received from the caravan park we have had a seasonal pitch for over 10 years.

OK so.. we cancelled our seasonal pitch with the caravan park last year as we did not plan to return to seasonal, we paid for winter storage and planned to collect the caravan at the end of the storage term we agreed to. Due to COViD the park was closed and due to restrictions we were unable to collect the caravan, now the site is back open we contacted them to arrange collection (and assumed we would have to pay some summer storage). However they are charging us for the full summer storage allocation at £300,  (plus a late payment fee?). they stated they tried to contact us by letter but we did not receive this letter warning us of a late payment. 

Question: Can they charge me for storage i did not agree to, i never signed a contract for storage and if covid didn't happen we would have removed our caravan, what would be my legal stand point on this. looking for some advice as to how i can respond to this email demanding i pay the £300 (which i dont have due to ferlow 60%) 
thank you for your advice and input on this matter, this is the email i was planning on sending them (would like some input) 

========EMAIL TO COMPANY ======

Its nice to see you look after you long term seasonal pitch owners (Over 10 years)!

Please can you send me a full break down in costs in the form of an invoice, also can you please provide me with the following information

• Contract I signed for summer storage (this can not be assumed under law)
• Proof of postage of the letter (tracking number) you sent us regarding the “late payment” (again this can not be assumed under law)
• Terms and conditions defining “if due to pandemic” the park would be closed “I would still owe money” even if the site was unable to open

Many thanks I await communication regarding this

sheramber

 You don't ned to use a tracking service.  A certificate of posting ( free from the post office) is a presumption of delivery.  
https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1978/30/section/7
Have you checked your contract for the winter storage for a fixed term and  consequences if you do not collect your van at the end of the term.
Have you tried to  negotiate by offering to pay for the time the van was in storage.  You catch more  flies with honey than with vinegar.

eskbanker

bmaster666 said:

if covid didn't happen we would have removed our caravan

But it did and you didn't....

It doesn't seem particularly reasonable for them to seek a full summer fee if you're trying to retrieve it at the earliest opportunity halfway through the season, but I'm not convinced that it's viable to start from a position that you owe them nothing.  The tone of that draft email seems unlikely to lead to compromise, but if you reach stalemate are they physically able to prevent you from removing your caravan, i.e. how strong is your negotiating position?

bmaster666

eskbanker said:

bmaster666 said:

if covid didn't happen we would have removed our caravan

But it did and you didn't....

Agreed, however being forced to pay for the full storage term and not the "time used" i feel is very unfair its not like i am trying to avoid payment i expected to pay a fixed amount for the time stored that is not the issue in question. 

also thank you very much for your helpful replies, i am much less annoyed now since writing the draft email above