Claiming back a deposit

[Surfer01]

About three weeks ago we visited a caravan site to look for a seasonal pitch. The caravan site was immaculate with all the facilities or so we thought. The site is situated behind a country pub. We have used this site previously when it belonged to the pub, but now the land behind the pub has either been bought or is leased to an individual.

Anyway we like the site and gave the LL a deposit of £100 to book the pitch that we liked. No contracts were exchanged and everything at that point was a verbal agreement. Last week we received a copy of the terms and conditions and one of the conditions has given us a great deal of concern.

It appears that you need to remove all your rubbish and dog faeces from the site was there is no collection for the caravan site although there is collection for pub in front. Previously when we used the site, all rubbish was collected. If you stay for several days, this is quite a lot of waste, dog faeces and items for recycling. Carrying this back in your vehicle for an hour may create a health hazard. The nearest dump is a 23 mile round trip so not really a practical solution.

The other issue of course is where to store the waste etc while you are using the site as the smell will probably attract foxes, rats and other vermin. Obviously we cannot store it in the caravan as the smell will be unbearable especially in warmer weather. Can't store it in the awning as wild animals and vermin can access it.

We have our suspicions that the reason why there is no collection is that there is a possibility that he has not informed the council of continued usage of land and that the site may not be registered with the council as a caravan site. i.e. no planning permission.

If we decided to cancel, would we be entitled to our deposit back as the season only starts at the end of March so plenty of time to find other clients.

[steampowered]

This will affect everyone at the site, so if it is a really big issue the site will soon find itself out of business. I would imagine that the same collection arrangements are still followed, it is worth speaking to the owner to check. My guess would be that the T&Cs are standard form taken from a website and are not followed in practice.

 

Personally, I would say there was a verbal contract for use of the pitch as soon as you handed over the deposit, in which case you wouldn't be entitled to the deposit back even if he found another client but wouldn't be bound by the T&Cs either.

[Surfer01]

No collection spells heath and safety issue as where do you store the rubbish while on site? It was never mentioned at the time of visiting the site or on second occasion when paying the deposit a few days later. I think the best course of action is to contact the council to find out why no collections and whether the site has a camping site licence. I can't see planning permission being granted if no waste collection.

[steampowered]

If you contact the owner of the site there may well be arrangements in place for dealing with rubbish. The T&Cs were probably just downloaded and written without any care, it is difficult to read into it too much without talking to the owner. It will be much quicker and easier to resolve this by talking to the owner than going to the council.

[Surfer01]

Thanks. I have emailed the owner earlier today and waiting for a response. I will also be contacting the district council to ensure that he has a site licence as the last thing we would want is to be chucked off half way through the year with nowhere to store the caravan.

[dodger247]

About three weeks ago we visited a caravan site to look for a seasonal pitch. The caravan site was immaculate with all the facilities or so we thought. The site is situated behind a country pub. We have used this site previously when it belonged to the pub, but now the land behind the pub has either been bought or is leased to an individual.

 

 

Daft question, but is the caravan site in Wrexham at all?

[Surfer01]

Update. We got a full refund. The site is nowhere near Wrexham.