Starting a Caravan Owners' Group

In an edition of The Holiday Caravanner, we outlined ways in which you can approach your park operator to seek fairer terms in accordance with OFT 734:

 

·         How to spot unreasonable fee increases

·         How to challenge insurance administration fees

·         The advantages of forming a residents’ association

·         Double recovery of capital expenditure via pitch fees

·         Use of Trading Standards enforcement powers instead of court action or arbitration.

 

In another we featured Swanage Bay View Holiday Park where the caravan owners had managed to secure significant benefits for themselves by forming a Caravan Owners’ Association. These included:

 

·         a refund of fees from 2008/09 due to “double recovery”

·         a reduction in fees for 2009/10 and

·         an agreed mechanism for setting fees in the future in compliance with amendments to their licence, OFT 734 and other relevant legislation.

 

This was achieved with the intervention and help of Dorset Trading Standards.

 

In this article we will describe how a caravan owners’ association may be formed, which will help you in discussions with your park owner particularly if you represent more than 51% of the caravan owners on site. 

 

Caravan owners usually comment individually to their park owner about issues which need attention. In doing this, park owners are able to marginalise complaints as long as one caravan owner does not know if another has the same complaint.   This means that complaints may not be resolved satisfactorily from the caravan owner’s point of view. We understand that this is a fairly common experience amongst caravan owners.

 

You should remember that OFT 734, para 4.75, (see the spring edition of the Holiday Caravanner) considers it fair that the caravan owners, as a group, should be involved in discussing fees. Such a group would be an Association.    Licences also refer to fees under review as “proposed fees”. We are aware that many park owners attempt to set fees unilaterally, which is not fair, but do remember that your local Trading Standards Department is empowered to act on unfair terms and practices.   You can always ask them to intervene for you to discuss any fee review with your park owner. Don’t forget that the NACO Advice Team is always on hand for help and guidance.

 

In our view, an Association of caravan owners is helpful to both you and the park owner as common issues can be discussed and resolved quickly and easily by this means.

 

 

It is helpful to have an initial meeting of a small group of caravan owners who are prepared to organise an Association. Once sufficient interest is shown, you should approach your park owner to see if he is prepared to circulate a Membership Invitation letter to all caravan owners at their home address, with an application form.   This is a good co-operative way of working between you and the park owner.   You need to nominate one person who will be the focal point for the return of the application forms.

 

 

On the application form you should include the aims of the Association. Typically these could be:

 

Examples of the invitation letter and application form are available on the NACO website.     The letter should also advertise an Inaugural Meeting with venue, date and time.

 

Obviously, it is very useful if your park owner is prepared to help, encourage and recognise your fledgling Association. In this respect, it may be prudent to remind them of the Adjournment Debate in Parliament on 2 March 2009. This was primarily focused on the regulation of residential parks, but helps to put forward a good case. In this debate, the Government expressed its determination for caravan owners’ associations to be formed and that park owners be encouraged to recognise them. You can see the debate on the Hansard website – search for Hansard online.

 

 

While the application forms are being returned, you will need a small group of caravan owners who will plan an Inaugural Meeting at which a Constitution will be approved and a working committee will be elected from those present. The meeting will then elect the main officers of the Association: Chairman, Vice-Chairman, Secretary, Treasurer, and Membership Secretary, along with any other posts you create.

 

You may wish to follow the elections with a general discussion of issues on the site which would be brought to the attention of the park owner in a structured way by the Committee, and a stated in the aims of the Association   - “To represent the shared views etc ….”.  

 

The Constitution is also available below, with the means of working, which includes:

 

 

 

You may find it helpful to have a committee meeting before everyone goes home, and discuss the best way of communicating with the members of the Association.   This is clearly by email. You should agree that the returned forms would be recorded, and then sent to the Membership Secretary. An email address and website for the Association needs to be established.   The postal service will have to be used for caravan owners without internet access.

 

And so the Association will develop. It is hard work and requires a lot of commitment and dedication. Everyone is a volunteer, but each will have the relevant skills to organise and run meetings, draft Newsletters, record and audit the finances, deal with correspondence, listen to members’ concerns and meet the site management/site owner and so on.   Obviously, all this is only an example as every Association will have is own agenda and means of operation, but these guidelines may be helpful to you.

 

 

As the membership details (eg names, addresses) are confidential to the individual and the Association, you will need some means of confirming to your park owner that the Association does indeed represent over 51% of the caravan owners.    This can be achieved by means of an Affidavit from a Notary Public – usually attached to a firm of solicitors.

 

You should find a Notary Public who will certify annually by Affidavit that he has inspected the books of the Association, confirms membership numbers and details that the Association represents the caravan owners.

  

 

As the work of the Association develops, you may find you need more volunteers to be recruited to other tasks. In other words, the Association changes to match the circumstances on the park.

 

It is useful to have a monthly Newsletter emailed to members, with a remaining few having to be posted.   This will prove an invaluable source of information to members, covering park issues and also developments in the industry which need to be brought to people’s attention. It also enables rapid communication to members in the event of unexpected and/or unilateral actions by a park owner.

 

Forming an Association means you’ve got People Power! However, it also brings many other benefits, for example: meeting and making new friends, helpful advice, and an opportunity - if people wish it - to arrange social functions.   It’s up to you to decide.

 

 

You may be aware that a meeting of a large number of caravan owners was held in the (state venue and date). At this, it was agreed that we should set up a Caravan Owners’ Association to represent our interests.   A small (and ever growing) number of owners have done the groundwork to get this started.   We are delighted that (name of park owner) has endorsed our proposals and has agreed to forward this letter to you.

 

This is an invitation to you to join the (Name) Caravan Owners’ Association.   The aims of the Association are:

 

 

Our modus operandi will initially be:

 

A committee elected from the caravan owners at an inaugural meeting should work to meet the aims of the Association within the rules by whatever means they consider to be most effective, but these should include:

 

 

Our Inaugural Meeting will be held on Saturday, (date and venue).   All registered members are invited to attend to agree our constitution, rules etc and elect a committee.   You are invited to register by completing the application form and returning to the temporary Membership Secretary (address overleaf) as soon as possible.   Membership fees will initially be set a £10 per caravan to cover our, mainly communication, expenses.   This will be collected in due course, and probably at the first meeting or by post once we have a bank account up and running.

 

Please note that when you complete the application form you will be giving your permission to record your details on our database.

 

Please also consider whether you have the skills and time to help the Association by volunteering to be considered for committee membership or advice on any of these roles:

 

 

Remember, the Association will not be able to continue to function without volunteers to do the work.   We must have representatives in every corner of the Park so please do volunteer!   Ideally, it would help if volunteers were regular and frequent visitors to the park, to enable them to undertake these roles.

 

Caravan Owners’ Group

Email: 

Website:

 

I/we wish to become members of the above Association.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

If you wish to use technology pay your subscription, our account is at (Bank: …….. ., Code: ….., Account Name and No ……………: ) and remember to quote your Caravan Number as the reference.

 

I agree that my/our details may be held on the Association’s Database which is used to facilitate communications.

 

 

Note. This information will not be used for any purpose other than direct communication by the Association.

 

Membership Secretary,

Address

Mobile

Home

Email address

 

Records updated by…………………….. on………………..