canaltime narrowboats

[Fred 2]

I think, but I am not sure, that an assignment of a contract is capable of transferring only benefits and rights under that contract, but not the obligations, to the transferee, in this case Cruising Time Management llp. I am therefore not convinced that you are in the same position that you were before.

I suggest that anyone with concerns should seek legal advice on that point.

It is worth noting that while a Limited Company must be run in accordance with its published Memorandum and Articles a llp has no such restrictions and may be run in accordance with the partners' wishes. Not the same thing at all.

[Debbsy]

Hi,
My mum bought a canaltime membership at Alvecote about 10 years ago[the yearly fee was £99]. She was told she could bank it with RCI[for another fee of £99], and take a holiday anywhere, even at short notice. What a load of complete & utter rubbish. For 5 years she banked, & all we go was a week in Tenerife.....yippee.
For the past 4 years, I've been paying for & using the boat. I have to admit, we really enjoy it. But each year the fees go up, when added to the utility fee, which last year was £150, so in total we paid almost £550, taking into account what she origonally paid, were not getting such a good deal, especially when you can hire these boats directly for not much more.
Last year our boat broke down twice & we coudn't get the heating to work properly. We were 2 hours late getting back to Alvecote, & they tried to charge us another £100, we refused, loaded up the car & drove off.
Another issue that concerns me, not just all the issues raised, is that "the only above inflation increase is in the utility fee". Just how much are they planning to extract from us next year for diesel & cleaning?
I will contact Hutchinsons & Abacus tomorrow. As far as I'm concernced this timeshare is worthless.
This company is extracting money from members by threatening them with legal action.

However,if these agreements are covered by the consumer credit act, then the only way they can enforce these yearly charges in court is by producing a true signed copy of the origonal agreement. As the origonal agreement was with a company that has ceased trading.Does the "debt" become unenfoceable in court?
I believe these charges cannot be enforced in a court.Abacus must know this.
Debs

[whirlwind]

Hi Everyone
Just an update really, I haven't heard a word from Abacus abd I worte and emailed almost 3 weeks ago and Hutchinsons also forwarded my letter to them. I tried to speak to someone on the phone but can never get past the lady who answers the phone! This lady can never answer my questions but won't let me speak to anyone else. She just says my letters have been received and are being dealt with. I have not paid my maintenance fees and do not intend to and as they are not contacting me I shall assume that is the end of it. If I have anymore contact I will update you all. I would also like to hear how everyone else is getting on. If they threaten legal action I will still not pay as I am informed although they threaten they have never carried the threat out. If they did take me to court I will list for the judge all the things mentioned on here previously and the initial lies that were told to us. I hope that it doesn't come to that but I am not going to be bullied into paying anymore money.
I look forward to hearing what is happening with everyone else.

[plym61]

Hi. Just an update as to how i am getting on. I am in much the same position as whirlwind.

When i speak to Hutchinsons they keep referring me back to Abacus. They only tell me that they are aware of the changes and it will not affect my ownership in any way. They also tell me that if i want to hand back my ownership then i can send them the membership certificates with a covering letter and that will be it but they will only accept this so long as no annual maintainence fees are outstanding.

When i speak to Abacus you cannot get past the woman who answers the phone and all she says is put your concerns in writing and send to them and they will then pass it on to the relevant person.She also tells me that if i want to hand back my ownership i just have to send in the membership certificates and that will be it but it must be done by the end of August and any outstanding fees must be paid in full. If the following years fees have been invoiced they have to be paid.

So at the moment i am still waiting for replies the same as whirlwind but i am not holding my breath.

With regard to the question from whirlwind about not paying as far as i can recall from last year when i was late paying you wont get a letter from them right away but you will hear from them telling how you are late paying and adding on late payment fees and interest. I refused to pay these extras last year and they didnt come after me.

Having seen the response earlier in the thread quoting letter from Abacus(Rosemary Ashford) the name of the firm of solicitors used last year was called Ashfords and they are in Exeter i think.

In response to Debs the fees have gone up quite a bit in the last few years and dont forget the extra one off we had to pay about 2 years ago.I am with rci points and have never had any trouble with them. My ownership is worth 51,000 points and if i take a canaltime ootside the main summer months i can get a week for 27,000 points and have some left to use elsewhere. I do agree though that the cost is getting out of control and with fewer marinas giving less choice it is cheaper to book a 2 week all inclusive at the travel agents.

[stranger1]

does anyone know anything about canaltime. i have a timeshare with them on canal narrowboatsbut they are very difficult toget in touch withand any queries have to be directed to the member reservations company who will then pass on any queries people have. it is also difficult to find out anything about the company and fouund out today thatmy ownership has been moved to a different marinaand will be managed by a different company as well. also half of the original canaltime marinas are no longer being usedand boats have been moved to other places. i would not be too bothered but no one is communicating these changes or anything else to members so if anyone can help many thanks

Hi
I have had a timeshare on Canaltime for about 10 yrs now.
Originally based at Alvecote, we have just received similar information about changes and will now be based at Alvechurch,
We have just booked next years holiday with no problems and have never had any real problems with this company apart from 1 year when they asked for a one off payment for maintenance when they changed over to a different management company or something similar.
As far as I can see I will benefit from the change as I will not have to pay a fee for changing where I want to cruise from.
Hope this puts your mind at ease.
I must add that I have no interest in the company other than as a timeshare owner and that I found this site as a result of being scammed by another company recently.

[whirlwind]

Hi Everybody
Another update. I have had the standard first thratening letter from Abacus about not paying my fees. Not even signed just a letter from Credit Control. I blew my top at Abacus as they have not had the decency to reply to any of my communications over the last 2 months but can still issue threatening letters. I have had an email reply saying that they had sent a letter. The only letter I had was from a Tania Watson at Canaltime when I pointed this out Abacus came back with 'she works for both Ian Greenfield(Abacus Operations Manager) and Canaltime. This just confirms my thoughts that Abacus and Canaltime are one and the same. I also pointed out that no one had answered any of the points raised in my letters. I have been assured that I will have a reply to my letters by the end of this week. Even if it happens that is over 2 months from my first letter. I might add that I have no intention of paying the fees. I will keep you updated. How are you all getting on?

[john1503]

I've just come into this after googling Canaltime. I have a week at Alvecote and in the same situation as most of you and, having been pestered by Spanish based companies (who told them I was wanting to sell?) contacted the police and trading standards who would do nothing to prevent a potential crime (ie. me paying into a security bond) because of data protection. However Timeshare Consumers Association is helpful both on identifying scamming companies and with advice on how to break free. My original Rules of Occupation Scheme Documentation, issued by Canaltime and prepared by Hutchinsons, state that if you are in breach of the agreement (not paying the management fee) your Exclusive Rights of Occupation will be suspended and if not paid within 60 days of that, the ERO will be cancelled within a further 60 days. At that point the ERO will be sold (hah ha), what's owing and the management company/trustees' expenses deducted and the balance paid to me. I'm not expecting to receive a penny but am inclined to write to ABC Boat Management/Abacus and Hutchinsons, telling them to pass my letetr to Canaltime (by whatever name they are now trading) telling them to sell it. Do you knowing ones out there think this is a solution, or have I missed something?

[whirlwind]

I am told that we will be pursued through the courts for the fees if we do not pay. I am however going to have words with 'Companies House' tomorrow as Canaltime Development Ltd striking itself off the register sounds very dodgy to me. The company wanting our fees is Canaltime Management but as quoted by Fred earlier in this forum as we were not notified of any change I am not sure this is legal. A company can not strike itself off with out notifying all interested parties and can not have any contracts outstanding, (is a holiday certificate a contract?) I will let you know what I find out tomorrow.

[john1503]

Hi Whirlwind, any news?

[whirlwind]

I do have news! After taking legal advice and a bit of research at Companies House I was able to 'persuade' Canaltime to accept my timeshare back without any further payment. So my message to you all is DO NOT GIVE UP!