Licensing system a complete mess

THE boat licensing system that is being used more widely by the Canal & River Trust 'Licensing Team' is not working, and is in a complete mess.

It is now, in what can only be a pathetic money saving scheme, emailing plain white licences for boaters to print themselves.

Fade very quickly

Notwithstanding that some black printer inks fade in sunlight very quickly under glass, so will be undistinguishable after a few months, many boaters do not have a printer, which seems to have been completely overlooked.

Yet another boater complains, Alan Thornton, telling us:

"I have just applied for my annual licence only to find that they will no longer be sending out the disc. On phoning customer service on 0303 040 4040 I was asked to print-off my own from their web site!

"Stop right there! I do not have a printer, and as pensioner I cannot afford one, if my disc is not displayed in the window were do I stand?"

Complete mess

Where indeed?  So in addition to boaters receiving only an 11 months licence though paying for 12, some are unable to print them themselves.

But there is worse!  Readers of Victor Swift will know that we were sent an 11 months licence instead of the 12 months we paid for, and two months later are still without the proper licence.

The 'Licensing Team' now tell us they cannot send a licence showing 12 months for us to print, as it wants further information, that frankly we do not understand, though it had already sent an 11 months one to print!

Not working

The new system simply is not working, and in addition is wide open to fraud as many people are quite capable of duplicating virtually anything and altering such as a date. And as many, particularly continuous cruisers, do not posses a printer or even a PC, they are unable to reproduce a licence.

The sooner the 'Licensing Team' revert to the old tried and tested method the better.