Terms and Conditions
BOOKING CONDITIONS – Long Term Narrow Boat Hire
Please read these Booking Conditions carefully. The ‘Company’, ‘we’ or ‘us’ referred to henceforth is Long Term Narrow Boat Hire Limited (LTNBH) whose registered office is Canal Cottage, Burbage Wharf, Burbage, Wiltshire SN8 3BJ. Bookings may only be made directly with the Company. References to “you” or “your” are references to the person making the booking and all members of the holiday party respectively. So that you understand the basis of the contract between you and the Company when you book your accommodation we have laid out, as clearly as possible, the conditions on which your booking is made. Nothing in these conditions affects your normal statutory rights as a consumer.
1. Your booking
You and at least one other person, who shall be with the boat when underway at all times, must be 18 years or over when you book your accommodation. Your booking is made exclusively as a consumer and you acknowledge that no liability can be accepted for any business or consequential losses howsoever suffered or incurred by you (see also Clause3). Your booking will only be accepted on the basis of an outline statement from you to The Company as to the intended use and cruising area of the boat (see also Clause 8). On making your booking you enter into an exclusive contract with the Company which is subject to these booking conditions. An acknowledgement of your booking shall be emailed to you directly BUT your booking is not confirmed until an emailed booking confirmation is issued to you (usually within 2 working days of your placing your booking). We have the right to refuse any booking prior to the issue of our written confirmation – especially in the event of a substantial pricing error – and if we do this, we will tell you in writing and promptly refund any money you have paid us. When your confirmation is received the details must be checked carefully. If anything is not correct you should tell us immediately.
2. Disabilities and medical problems
A minimum of two members of your party must be physically fit and be sufficiently able to operate both the boat and locks/bridges. If you or any member of your party has any medical problem or disability that may affect your hire you must inform us before we confirm your booking and give us full details in writing at the time of booking. If we feel unable to properly accommodate the particular needs of the person concerned we must reserve the right to decline/cancel the reservation. We are specifically not prepared to accept any responsibility for the health and welfare of any member of your party where dependence on an overnight supply of 12V or 240v electricity is required for medically critical applications e.g. oxygen supply/ breathing machines and will require you to complete and sign a waiver to this effect upon your arrival to the boat. Should you fail to notify us of any person due onto the boat with a medical problem or disability at the time of booking, your holiday will be treated as a cancellation by you should any such persons arrive for boarding. We are not able to accept wheelchair bound persons onto the boat for safety reasons. Should you, whilst cruising, be unable to continue with your hire any further due to an accident or medical condition you should contact us immediately to arrange for early termination of your hire. This is to ensure that we can meet you, inspect the boat, and arrange for its safe/timely return to base. Any resulting costs in providing crew to return the boat will be charged on the basis of £200 per day as well as a £100 admin/transport charge.
3. Use of the Boat for Business or Employment Purposes
The boat/hire provided is on the basis of genuine bona fide cruising on a leisure basis. The Company accepts that you may wish to use the boat as part of a ‘working from home’ employment regime whilst cruising, but only on the basis that The Company shall not be held liable on any account whatsoever should such use be restricted by geographical location, phone/wifi reception, nor mechanical failure of the boat. Use of the boat as an advertised business base in its own right, or dependancy on the boat in order to operate a business or to live aboard in order to commute to work within a specific area e.g. London, Oxford etc is prohibited. Any such hire will be declined and, in the case where a hire has already commenced, will be terminated and treated as immediate cancellation by you with no refund of any type made by The Company.
4. Booking and paying for your holiday
When you book your accommodation, you should pay the advertised deposit due by BACS transfer or International Bankers Draft only. Payments by cheque or card are not accepted. The holiday balance due must be received by the Company no later than 2 calendar months before your arrival date, unless previously agreed with us in writing. If you book less than 2 months before the arrival date, payment of the total cost including the deposit is due straight away. VAT is included in all advertised prices, except the Security Deposit, which is VAT-exempt. Should the VAT rates or ratings increase, or any government bodies introduce additional taxes or levies which affect the price of your holiday, we reserve the right to pass on any increases. If your payment is returned to us as unpaid by your bank, we reserve the right to make an administration charge of £50.
5. Cancellations or changes to your reservation by us
5.1 We would not expect to have to make any changes to your reservation, but sometimes problems occur and we do have to make alterations. If this does happen, we will contact you as soon as reasonably practical, explain what has happened and inform you of the cancellation or the change. In the event of cancellation, we shall offer a full and prompt refund of all monies paid but no further refunds or consequential compensation will be due. The Company shall not be liable for changes or cancellations affecting your holiday that are due to any event(s) beyond our control e.g. navigational restriction or closure, Government Order.
5.2 Covid or other pandemics: if we are unable to hire the boat to you as a result of the waterways as a whole being closed on the date of your hire commencing, specifically as a result of Govenrment restriction due to a pandemic, we will offer you the choice of moving your hire dates up to a year later than the existing booking OR we shall make a full refund if this is not acceptable to you. No further compensation shall be due. If, whilst you are hiring the boat, restrictions are applied curtailing your cruising no refund shall be provided because the boat has been hired on a long term/ liveaboard basis and you will in all cases be allowed to remain on the boat whether or not cruising is allowed to take place.
6. Cancellations or changes to your reservation by you
6.1 Changes
If you want us to change your reservation once we have issued your confirmation an administration fee of £25 for each change will be payable to us together with any costs incurred by ourselves or any other supplier once any change has been made. If you advise us that you do not wish to continue with your original booking arrangements or fail to contact us within the 48 hours we shall treat your original booking as being cancelled by you.
6.2 Cancellations and curtailment
Should you have to cancel your chosen holiday you must telephone the Company on the number shown on your booking confirmation as soon as the reason for cancellation occurs and confirm this in writing or receipted email to us at the address shown on the booking confirmation. Your notice of cancellation will be effective when we receive your written notification of cancellation. As we incur costs from the time we confirm your booking the following cancellation charges will be payable unless the reason for cancellation is that of the death, illness, or serious injury, of the person booking the boat(s) or a close relative (mother, father, brother, sister, daughter, son). Friends or distant relatives are not included as a reason for cancellation.
The cancellation charge is a percentage of the total cost payable excluding any cancellation administration fees.
The following charges will apply, subject to a cancellation fee of £50, based on the lead time before arrival date that written notification of cancellation is received:-
More than 6 months 50% of deposit
3-6 months Full deposit
Less than 2 months Full deposit and holiday hire payment.
If any payment due in relation to the reservation is not paid by the appropriate date, we can treat your reservation as cancelled by you and charge you cancellation charges as set out above which can be as high as the total cost of the reservation. We email you a Final Reminder before we cancel your reservation although we may charge you £10 for each reminder sent.
6.3 Covid 19: If you are resident in an area that becomes subject to a full lockdown preventing outbound travel on the day you are due to join the boat you may cancel that month’s hire and a refund of that month’s hire shall be immediately provided. Should such restrictions continue this procedure shall be repeated on a monthly basis until the 1st day of the last month of hire at which point the deposit shall also be refunded. See also 4.2 above.
7. Accommodation Details and Descriptions
The Company aims to ensure that the information provided is accurately conveyed on the website, or as otherwise advertised by us. There may be small differences between the actual accommodation and its description, as we are always seeking to improve services and facilities. Occasionally, problems mean that some facilities or services become unavailable, and if this is the case, we will tell you as soon as reasonably practical after we have been made aware of the situation. The Company cannot accept any liability for any errors or omissions in publicity materials, including our website, if they are not notified to us before or at the time of booking. Your holiday booking is accepted, exclusively, subject to the Booking Conditions prevailing on the date of making your booking as advertised on our website.
8. Arrival to and Return of Boat
Unless otherwise stated the time for boarding your boat is between 09:00 and 12:00 on the arrival date.
Unless previously agreed in writing, arrivals after these times will be surcharged at £50 per hour’s delay or part thereof. ‘Arrival’ is taken to mean the entire party due to join the boat that day.
(a) In the event of mechanical failure, the right is reserved to delay departure until a repair is effected.
(b) In the event of navigational problems (see also Clauses 5 & 17) we reserve the right to delay your departure, although where possible we will use all reasonable endeavours to allow you to board your boat.
(c) On arrival you must report to the boatyard reception. We will escort you to your boat to allow you to load your belongings. When you have indicated your readiness, we will give you a demonstration and explain the controls of the boat and its equipment, complying fully with the requirements of the Hireboat Handover Code. You must notify us of any faults or Inventroy shortages identified before setting off, so that they can be rectified: should you fail to do so we cannot be responsible for (the cost of) supply of replacement items or any ongoing inconvenience.
(d) If your arrival at the boatyard will be delayed beyond the standard times of boarding above, you must contact the Company as soon as reasonably practicable so that alternative arrangements can be made. If you fail to do so you may not be able to gain access to the accommodation.
(e) Unless otherwise stated you must return the boat (with all gear and equipment) to the boatyard where it was hired in a clean and tidy condition by 10:00 and vacate by 11:00 on the final day of hire. A hoover will be made available to finally clean the boat on your return and all surfaces, floors should be fully cleaned and mopped/ disinfected. All rubbish and unwanted food/ possessions should be disposed of in the bins in the boatyard. A charge will be made if the boat is returned late or is not clean and tidy as shown in your Hirers Manual. You are responsible to us for the actual costs of any breakages or losses to the boat’s accommodation or its inventory - along with any additional costs that may result – which are caused by you or your party. We may require payment from you to cover any such costs and shall deduct these from your Security Deposit before the balance is refunded to you.
(f) You cannot allow more people than your Booking Confirmation states to stay in the accommodation, nor more than 4 persons at any time, nor can you significantly change the makeup of the party during your stay in the accommodation, nor can you take your pet into the accommodation, unless any of these have been arranged in advance via email. If you do so, we can refuse to hand over the accommodation to you, or can repossess it. Any of these circumstances will be treated by us as a cancellation by you and Clause 6.2 will apply.
9. Right to decline handover
The Company may cancel your booking and refuse to handover the boat to you, if in the reasonable opinion of the Company, You are unsuitable to be in charge of the boat for any reason affecting the safety of any person or property including in particular if you or any of your party is or appears to the under the influence of alcohol or drugs or if you are not behaving responsibly or if there has been a material breach of the terms of this agreement. The Company may also decline to handover the boat to you if, after your booking is confirmed, you give any reason for The Company to believe that you have materially changed your cruising plans or indicated lifestyle aboard the boat in such a way that it would be disadvantageous to the Company to continue with the Hire. This includes, for example, using the boat as a static liveaboard in any one general area for more than one week, intention to spend a significant period of the hire inside of the M25 area of London (other than on transit as part of the Thames Ring)
10. Right to repossess
The Company may repossess the boat at any time after commencement of the hire period if in the reasonable opinion of the Company, You are unsuitable to be in charge of the boat for any reason affecting the safety of any person or property including in particular if you or any of your party is or appears to be under the influence of alcohol or drugs or if you are not behaving responsibly or if there has been a material breach of the terms of this agreement.
11. Accidents & Collisions
You are responsible for the boat’s safe navigation and must take all reasonable care. No person under 18 may control the boat without the direct supervision of an adult (over 18). In the event of collision or damage to the boat, caused by you and/or a third party, no responsibility can be accepted by us for loss of time or cost of alternative accommodation or any other damages or expenses. In the case of any collision or damage to the boat or any other craft or to waterway property you must for insurance reasons:
(a) record the name and licence number of any other boat involved with names, addresses and phone numbers of its Owner/ Boat Operator and hirer (where applicable);
(b) immediately phone us and report the incident and these facts to the Company together with your assessment of the extent of the damage;
(c) within 24 hours of the incident provide us with a written/emailed report and any relevant witness statements, photographs, contact details of all those involved.
No repairs may be put in hand without the Company’s consent. On returning the boat at the end of your holiday you must inform the Company of any damage or of items broken, lost or stolen.
12. Insurance – Scope of Cover
All of the Company’s boats are comprehensively insured. You have a duty of care to use all reasonable endeavours to avoid or minimise damage to the boat and its equipment, or to that belonging to any third-party; and to return the boat to us in the condition in which it was hired out to you, including a complete inventory. Losses of navigational equipment or to the internal inventory, damage to topsides paintwork, broken windows, broken fenders or ropes are not covered by insurance and are chargeable. Specifically repairs resulting from “cilling” of the boat and/or damage to the stern gear and driveline, especially if caused by a rope becoming entangled around the propeller, are chargeable to you.
13. Damage & Losses
You are responsible for the replacement costs of broken or lost lock keys, mooring stakes, ropes, fenders and internal inventory. Should you lose any item of inventroy only a diorect, exactly matching replacement shall be accepted in its place. We shall inspect each boat on its return and will expect any of the above damage/losses to be settled by you before your departure from the boatyard. Where a boat is returned at a time other than the standard return time in (7) above on your last day of hire we reserve the right to inspect the boat on the official return date and, if necessary raise charges for such losses, in which instance our decision shall be final.
14. Fuel, Gas & Elsan Disposal
Your boat will be fully fuelled for your arrival with all toilet cassettes empty. Fuel is not included in the hire fee. The boat should be returned either with a full fuel tank or in the expectation that we shall refill the tank and charge you accoridngly. Gas cylinders are checked during handover and also upon return: any difference/ gas used is charged at prevailing Calor Gas RRP. Toilet cassettes should be emptied/cleaned by you, refilled with toilet chemical at your cost, and left in empty/clean condition on your return. If they are returned full/dirty a charge of £25 per cassette shall be chargeable, payable before your departure from the boatyard.
You are responsible for costs of refuelling the boat, topping up oil/coolant/ stern grease, and any other consumables such as toilet chemical/ stove fuel.
15. Delays
If a breakdown of any kind should occur, you must report it to us immediately so that repairs can be made to enable you to resume your cruise. Provided that we are informed, we will take steps to repair the boat and or its equipment as speedily as practicable in the circumstances. Apart from these obligations we shall not be liable in any respect for any loss or damage, whether financial or otherwise, suffered as a result of the breakdown. We cannot be responsible for the consequences of delays or restrictions on cruising arising from obstruction, repairs or damage to waterways, flooding, shortage of water, industrial action or other circumstances beyond our control. The right is reserved to restrict cruising if unusual or hazardous conditions prevail.
16. Loss of water/ Damage to Waterway Property
You are responsible for charges made by waterway authorities for the loss of water or damage to waterway property caused by you whilst in charge of a boat. You consent by making your Booking with us for the Company to pass your details to the relevant navigation authority in such circumstances.
17. Navigation restrictions and bye-laws
On no account may you:-
(a) tow or be towed by other boats unless with professional assistance and then only with our prior permission.
(b) cruise after dark (your boat is not insured for night navigation).
(c) permit your boat to be taken out to sea or onto any tidal river or estuary without a person authorised as a suitable pilot previously approved in writing by the Company. This includes (but is not limited to) the tidal Rivers Thames, Severn, Bristol Avon, Ribble, Trent, Ouse, Nene.
(d) use the boat on a static/liveaboard basis for more than 48hrs within the geographical area of the M25. You may cruise the boat into/ through London on a bona fide basis e.g. sightseeing, part of the Thames Ring or passage to/from the Lee & Stort Navigations but you may not stay in any one place for more than 48hrs within this area.
(e) Not to allow your boat to enter onto, nor remain on, any river that is in flood nor is likely to go into flood. For clarification this means any yellow/amber or red warnings in, or likely to come into force. The boat is not to be left unattended on any river for more than 8 hours at any one time and due diligence must be taken as regards mooring lines/ river levels.
(f) permit your boat to take part in any race.
(g) navigate the boat, nor allow any other person to navigate the boat, whilst under the influence of alcohol or drugs. For clarity the legal limits as pertain to driving a motorised vehicle on the public highway also apply to the navigation of the boat.
You must navigate in accordance with Navigation Authority bye-laws. Navigational limits are as advertised on our website, and in the Hirers Manual provided with your booking confirmation.
18. Hirers equipment
You may not take on board without our prior written permission portable heaters, lighting equipment, petrol, candles, barbecues, gas cylinders, bicycles, canoes or anything that may cause danger to the boat, its equipment or occupants. Damage so caused by any of these items is chargeable to you.
19. Hirer’s property
The company will return property which it finds that has been accidentally left on the boat provided that it is claimed within one week from the end of hire, and that you either arrange to collect in person or agree to prepay any postage and packaging. Property not claimed within one week of your departure from the boat may be disposed of by the company.
20. Death, personal injury or loss of property
We shall have no liability to you for the death or personal injury to you or any member of your party, unless this results from the act or omission of the Company. You must take all necessary steps to safeguard your personal property. No liability to you is accepted in respect of damage to or loss of such property except where the damage or loss is caused by our negligence.
21. Pets
Pets will only be allowed onto the boat if previously agreed in writing with the Company. The Company reserves the right to refuse any booking involving a pet. If you take a pet with you, this does not diminish your responsibility to return the boat in the same condition that it was hired to you. If, in Our exclusive opinion, the boat is not returned in the above condition, a cleaning charge of £100 will be made against the refund of your security deposit to cover for deep cleaning of soft furnishings, such that subsequent hirers with allergies are protected from any risk of fleas/hair etc. Pets are not allowed on beds, chairs or sofas. Pets should not be left unattended in the accommodation, and dogs should be exercised on a lead on the towpath. Soiled or fur-covered carpets or soft furnishings or any other damage (e.g. scratches to the leatherette armchairs) reasonably likely to be caused by the pet will become chargeable at replacement value over and above the cleaning charge, either on your return or once the boat has been inspected not more than 24 hours after return. The Company’s decision shall be final in such circumstances.
22. Car Parking
a) The Company cannot be held liable for any vehicles, nor any contents of any vehicle, whilst parked.
b) The Company provides a facility to park your vehicle(s) as a courtesy. These facilities may be withdrawn at any time and you shall have no right of hire cancellation in such circumstances.
c) Parking areas remain open to other customers of the boatyard by day and are secured each evening by means of a padlocked gate. There is no intention or warrant implied that such car parking is fully and permanently secured.
d) Your use of this facility is conditional upon your supplying a set of keys for each vehicle so parked such that the Company has access to that vehicle should an alarm need to be reset, or in the event of fire or any other circumstance requiring emergency moving of the vehicle within the car park.
e) The Company warrants that all keys supplied in (d) above shall be held by the Company in a secure cabinet within locked and alarmed premises, and that the keys shall not be surrendered to any other person other than the person who handed the keys in at the beginning of the parking term.
23. Complaints
Every effort has been made to ensure that you have an enjoyable and memorable holiday. If, however, you have any cause for complaint we are anxious that remedial action is taken as soon as possible. It is essential, therefore, that you contact us immediately if any problem arises so that it can be speedily resolved. It is often extremely difficult (and sometimes impossible) to resolve difficulties properly unless we are promptly notified. Discussion of any criticisms with us whilst you are aboard will usually enable shortcomings to be rectified straightaway. Complaints of a transient nature (for example, regarding preparation or heating of the accommodation) cannot possibly be investigated unless notified whilst you are on holiday. Our call out telephone is available throughout your period of hire. If after this you feel that the problem has not been resolved to your satisfaction you must raise the issue(s) with us before you leave the accommodation on your return. If the problem is still not resolved to your satisfaction you should then, within seven days of returning from your holiday, put your complaint in writing to us via receipted email or by recorded delivery. This procedure is designed to ensure the speediest possible investigation and rectification of complaints. Please help us help you by following this procedure as otherwise we cannot subsequently consider any complaints nor enter into any correspondence about them.
24. Law
The contract between you and us is subject to English law and is formed in Burbage, Wiltshire, England.
Updated 1/12/22