Receiving Parcels at Marinas

[charliepsycho]

I just had a Marina in the UK refuse to accept parcels for me. This struck me as odd, I had assumed it was part of the service (and it has never been a problem at past marinas!) There are quite a few liveaboards in this marina.

The complaint to me has been that I must not get large parcels or pallets delivered to the marina - I had 50m of mooring line delivered, which was apparently the last straw (it was the 3rd largish parcel in 2 years.) This strikes me as odd, given that they receive boats delivered by lorry!

What has your experience been with this kind of thing?

Many thanks...
...(c)

[psk125]

They don’t want to be responsible for your 50m of line that gets lost between when it gets dropped off and when you remember that it should have arrived about two weeks ago. They have enough to worry about with the stuff they’re taking delivery on themselves, (including full-sized boats) to say nothing of the thirty other people who also ordered 50m of line -- 2mm heavier stuff than you ordered - that you thought was yours. Oops. There were also those three special-order bolts from Pinnel & Bax that were around here somewhere...

They have other things to do than to serve as postmasters for clients or to play hide & seek with mail-ordered things that perhaps could have been purchased from them!

[charliepsycho]

Oh, I can see the point of view that it is a hassle... I learnt to hate customers as much as the next man when I ran a restaurant... But when you are paying (quite a lot) to stay at a place a year in advance, then isn't post kind of part of the deal? It's not like the stuff isn't labeled...

I did speak to the marketing team of the Marina chain, who (fairly obviously) said they were only too happy to accept parcels and indeed it was all part of the service...

But I am curious what other peoples experience has been.

[mikedefieslife]

Never had a problem. It’s part of what you are paying a marina for along with decent facilities. Especially if you are in a foreign country to that in which your boat is registered. Otherwise you might as well be at anchor or on a mooring.

[SaltyMetals]

Charlie, maybe you shld check the fine print of yr mooring contract or quote an email from their HQ saying that this is standard practice to receive items. I have done this in the UK, Spain, Italy & Croatia and each time the marina was happy to accept the item. Important that the item is marked with yr name and the name of yr boat. Otherwise it will get lost. In Croatia i also had it marked with the name of a charming lady in the reception with whom i had checked if it was ok (a new Raymarine plotter) .


You did not mention the name of the UK marina but if they refuse then i would say they have broken their contract and owe you a refund for unused months. Make their life hell, get a picture of yr boat into the local paper and block the exit with yr boat until they pay you back. That would concentrate the mind and show they should be following the protocol that every other marina follows.

Andrew

[letsgetsailing3]

Some do, some don't.

They certainly don't OWE it to you. Most will accept deliveries as long as you don't make it a hassle or overdo it. Ask first, particularly if you're getting something big or heavy delivered.

There are professional places that you can pay for this service, if your marina doesn't do it.

[letsgetsailing3]

Originally Posted by SaltyMetals

You did not mention the name of the UK marina but if they refuse then i would say they have broken their contract and owe you a refund for unused months. Make their life hell, get a picture of yr boat into the local paper and block the exit with yr boat until they pay you back. That would concentrate the mind and show they should be following the protocol that every other marina follows.

Andrew

Not a good idea to get into a dispute with your marina, and a REALLY bad idea to block any kind of entrance or exit.

Between you and your marina, one of you has something the other needs. Hint: it's not you.

[billknny]

Deliveries of "pallet" sized packages is a very different thing than boxes from the post. Hint: A pallet is not a "parcel."

"Pallets" can't just be stacked up in the corner of the office and wait for you to come get it, it needs to be offloaded from the truck with a forklift, put somewhere out of the weather, and clog up space that might be needed for other work.

All this takes time, and manpower, and I'll bet the OP doesn't schedule ahead with the marina who then get stuck having a truck arrive and they suddenly need to pull someone from another (paying!) job. to unload it.

I'll bet, if you plan ahead, tell them a truck is coming and pay the routine yard rates for truck unloading they will be happy to take your packages.

I expect a marina to handle post boxes without issue (assuming I don't have so many I clog the space they have for storage!) but a pallet load? That's way more than pushing it.

This is a classic case of taking a service offered as a no cost extra, abusing it, then being all pissy about being treated unfairly.

[Cpt Mark]

My marina in Portland Oregon, USA, will not accept deliveries for liveaboards or anyone for liability reasons. UPS and FedEx and Amazon will however deliver to my boat. Very large packages that come by LTL freight anyway I have held at their terminal facility and just go get. 1 of those in 3 years, no big deal.

[SaltyMetals]

I have had electronics, a radar unit, 20Kg anchor, and numerous other items delivered to the marina for them to hold until i arrive. No problems. I think Charlie shld insist on getting the balance of his un-used payment frm the marina, and publicise it in forums like this as well as others, then go to a different marina that gives the service all of us expect. playing softly with these guys is unlikely to win any battles. Got to play hard ball and publicise it.
We still do not know what marina it is since Charlie has not said.
Andrew

[charliepsycho]

The consensus seems to be: It Depends!

I do agree that getting large deliveries is something that you should warn the Marina about and should really be met (especially something like a pallet) but I don't see that getting say a gearbox delivered should be something to get upset about, its not going to happen regularly and is exactly a reason to be in the Marina in the first place...

Amusingly the only mention of post/mail in the Terms & Conditions is to prove if you are liveaboard (for which there is an extra charge)

I think I will push the head office to put out a statement clarifying the position in writing, when it is open to interpretation then it is open to abuse.

[SaltyMetals]

Charlie, When i receive an email pre-advice of a delivery with a tracking number i always advise the marina. No complaints. They are always happy to be kept up to date and my package, large or small, gets put on one side. Usually in the office if it has high value like my Raymarine plotter in Croatia and Raymarine radar in Italy. Always worked perfectly. I think you are being badly treated by some local guys in the marina who cannot be bothered to look after some of yr packages even though their HQ says it is part of the service.
So who is/was it? It is probably time you said who it was.

If a marina treated me like that i wld be apoplectic. It shld be part of the standard service.
Andrew

[waterman46]

If you are expecting a large and important shipment, it would be best to use a shipping service that can deliver to you at a specific time and day, and that you be present at the marina office to claim it when it is delivered.



We used MailboxesEtc. company to do just that. We were in Panama. Coray Ward of MBE took care of all items needed to import it through customs, he held it in the MBE office until we could make a specific appointment time and then he delivered it directly to the marina office where I met him. He had driven 90 minutes each way out from the city to bring it to us.



Not the cheapest option perhaps, but for important things (our new transmission) it was very well worth it.

[charliepsycho]

My current tack is to get a statement from the Marina head office, currently they are backing me and contradicting the Marina.

If the head office sorts it - Good news! I'll say the name of the Marina and praise the owners for sorting it out and being sensible (which to be fair, the head office so far are being sensible)

If head office don't reel in the Marina Manager, then Good News! I'll say the name of the Marina and we can all call them names

Overall I'm not taking it too seriously, consistent guidance from the Marina would be good, but in the UK you have to renew a year in advance in on April 1st, so I'm not owed anything and I can always move!

[meirriba]

For a marina to refuse holding stuff for you is rather unusual.
Sometimes, they may charge for the service (especially for large items that need storage space and if for extended period of time).