10. Mr R and Mrs B are dissatisfied with the response they received from the EA following a request for a boat licence refund in 2021. They tell us they were unable to move their boat as normal due to the COVID-19 pandemic and so they believe they should receive a partial refund. They expressed their dissatisfaction in a phone call to the EA’s National Customer Contact Centre and received a response from the EA dated 2 August 2021.
11. This response explains, by law (the Environment Agency (Inland Waterways) Order 2010), all boats kept or used on waterways must be registered, whether or not they are in use. The EA goes on to say the registration charge is a fixed, annual charge that should be paid either in full or in instalments, and there is no pro-rata option as requested by Mr R and Mrs B.
12. The email goes on to explain the EA was looking at making changes to its boat registration system and is aware of the concerns of boaters like Mr R and Mrs B. A consultation was expected to take place in spring 2020, but it was delayed by a year due to the pandemic.
13. Mr R and Mrs B remain dissatisfied with the EA’s response and sent a response explaining this on 1 September 2021. After carrying out a further review of the complaint, the EA responded on 24 September 2021. The EA said it understands the impact the pandemic had on boaters and their ability to use their boats, particularly considering the Government’s measures.
14. The EA also repeats all boats on the waterways must be registered, the full registration charge is due, whether or not a boat is used, and the funds raised from the registration charge go towards the upkeep of the waterways. The EA says it believes its policy is straightforward and it must follow it to ‘treat all [its] customers in a consistent way’.
15. We have reviewed the legislation in question and looked at similar cases. We can see boat registration is a legal obligation for the owner of a boat on a waterway. Mr R and Mrs B want a refund, but there are specific criteria for this, which can be found in the guidance ‘Boat registration: arrangements for refunding your registration’.
16. Exemptions include:
• ‘permanent removal of a boat from the waterway • completion of the sale of a boat • moving a boat onto ‘trade exemption’ for sale or repair • a boat that is stolen or destroyed by fire • an upgrade of a registration to a Gold Licence - in most cases we can refund your waterway registration fee in full • administrative errors - we will offer a full refund as appropriate.’
17. None of these exemptions apply in Mr R and Mrs B’s case as their request for a refund was not based on any of these specific criteria. As such, the EA appears to have acted in line with its legal obligations in terms of the regulations above and its own policy.
18. We appreciate many members of the public felt inconvenienced and frustrated by the measures put in place to limit the spread of COVID-19. These were because of a specific national emergency and were a Government policy, which the EA does not have the authority to ignore or overturn. If Mr R and Mrs B want changes in the law to allow retrospective refunds for the time COVID-19 measures were in effect, they will need to ask an MP to raise this matter in Parliament. This is not something the EA has the power to do.
19. The EA’s responses to Mr R and Mrs B explain its position in a ‘clear and evidence based’ way as laid out in our principles. We can also see the EA explains the issue of boat registration is the subject of a public review, which we think demonstrates the EA’s desire to seek ‘continuous improvement’ and do what it can to improve the process of registration.
20. So, having reviewed this matter, we cannot see any signs of fault by the EA and we will take no further action.