Last night Simon Calder appeared on television and was asked if the owner of a static caravan paying site fees of £300 per month on a site that was closed, should continue to pay.

The answer given was that according to the CMA (Competition & Markets Authority) there is no need to and that in an arrangement with a caravan site where money is being paid for a site that cannot be accessed, a proportionate refund is due for the proportionate time lost. He added that “A good way to give yourself a refund is not to pay the monthly bill” and “The site owner is allowed to make a reasonably small charge for the maintenance of the place but nothing more than that”.

NH&HPA believes the right to travel to the Park is been removed but the right to station the static caravan has not and it is the view of the NH&HPA that customers site fees remain payable. 

Each individual caravan owner has a contractual agreement with their caravan park (whether oral, written or implied), usually in the form of a licence agreement. 

This licence agreement dictates the relationship between the caravan owner and the caravan park, and defines what will be provided to the caravan owner in return for site fees.

The industry standard is that the caravan owner pays their site fees to the caravan park in order to keep their caravan on their agreed pitch. 

Customers caravans remain situated on their agreed plot on the site despite the crisis. 

Customers have not been denied or cancelled goods or services, meaning in effect, the site fees remain payable.

If the caravan owner decides they do not wish to continue their agreement, then they would usually be responsible for paying for disconnection and would not be able to continue to keep their caravan on-site.

The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has established a COVID-19 Taskforce, which monitors market developments and identifies the problems facing consumers relating to cancellations and refunds for Holiday Accommodation.

The CMA has issued a statement on its views on consumer protection law in relation to cancellations and refunds during the current crisis.

The CMA would expect a full refund to be offered if:

1. a business has cancelled a contract without providing any of the promised goods or services 

NH&HPA believes that Parks are unlikely to have cancelled contracts relating to the stationing of Static Caravans and an agreement to station a static caravan on a Park is not a good or service and this aspect should not apply. Moreover, the refusal to pay the Park in line with the terms of the Park agreement may place the consumer in breach of contact.

2. no service is provided by a business, because this is prevented by restrictions that apply during the current Government public health lockdown 

NH&HPA believes that an agreement to station a static caravan on a Park is not a service and this aspect should not apply. Moreover, restrictions applied due to for example flooding would result in the continuation of the contract with recourse by the consumer through insurance provisions.

3. a consumer cancels, or is prevented from receiving any services, because of the restrictions that apply during the current lockdown

NH&HPA believes that an agreement to station a static caravan on a Park is not a service and this aspect should not apply. 

April 2020

Limited exceptions to full refunds

Where a consumer received something of value, consumers should generally be expected to pay for it and they will not usually be entitled to get all their money back. 

NH&HPA believes that the consumer is receiving the entitlement to station their caravan on a pitch on the caravan park in line with the terms of the agreement.

In some cases, where Government public health measures prevent a business from providing a service or the consumer from receiving it, the business may be able to deduct a contribution to the costs it has already incurred in relation to the specific contract in question (where it cannot recover them elsewhere). In the CMA’s view, these cases are likely to be relatively rare, however, and the costs that may be deducted from refunds will usually be limited.

NH&HPA believes that an agreement to station a static caravan on a park is not a service and this aspect should not apply

Future Contracts

Some contracts may require consumers to pay now for services they will receive in the future, after the current disruption has lifted. A business should not seek payments for a service it knows it will be unable to provide. Where the business reasonably expects to provide the service as agreed, the CMA’s view is that, in general, the business can require consumers to carry on making these payments for the time being. That could be the case, for example, for some services due to be provided later in the year. Consumers’ rights to refunds will depend on whether the services can be provided when the time comes.

NH&HPA believes that an agreement to station a static caravan on a park is not a service.

Cancellation by consumers for other reasons

If a consumer cancels a contract because they no longer want the service, even though the service can still be provided as agreed, the consumer will be entitled to a refund in line with the applicable terms and conditions (on the assumption those terms are fair). 

NH&HPA believes that an agreement to station a static caravan on a park is not a service and this aspect should not apply

The above sets out the CMA’s views on the law and NH&HPA’s responses and we would hope that fairness and reasonableness could be applied when Park Owners deal with their customers to reflect the integrity of our industry. 

Kindest regards to you.

David Prince FCCA

Director