Gold licence should be refundable
He was sleeping in the bedroom, but both knew he was dying and did not have long. They had retired early in their fifties and had travelled the length and breadth of the waterways using a gold licence to see many far flung places for many years and had truly lived the dream.
Her husband called out and she went to his side. He seemed to have authority in his voice and he told her:
"When I die, you must immediately get a new licence as the rule 7.12 of the terms and conditions say that you cannot inherit the boat licence and it will be unlicenced."
She replied: "But, you have only just re-licenced it." He tells her: "I know, but you will be thrown out of the marina and the boat will stolen from you under Section 8 if you do not."
"We do not have a spare thousand pounds for a new licence," protests the wife.
He replies: "Then you must go to to the council and get an urgent need loan, after all it will prevent you being homeless. CaRT's terms and conditions state quite clearly that the licence is personal to you. You cannot transfer the licence to any person in any circumstances. Accordingly the licence cannot be sold, given to anyone or be inherited by anyone." And with that the old boater closed his eyes for the last time.
The wife gets her loan, and immediately applies to a new licence. She is aware that the licence is as non-refundable as the last one but she has no choice as the boat is currently on Environment Agency waters.
As the new licence is entered into the computer system a loud 'Keerrrching' noise is heard throughout the CaRT building as a mischievous programmer had inserted a bit of malicious code that made that noise whenever a boat licence was paid twice.
Around three months later the wife is much more sprightly and lighter on her feet, not because the memory is fading but because she has not been eating much in order to repay the loan from the council. She has also decided to sell the boat as it is too big and harbours too many memories.
A younger couple (in their sixties) in the marina who have a smaller boat agree to swap boats. They also have a gold licence, as do most of the boats in the marina as it is on EA waters, but less than a mile from CaRT's bit of the waterways. Naturally they sort out the licensing caused by the swap, and the CaRT computer goes 'Keerrrching Keerrrching Keerrrching'.
Later that year the wife is asked by her son to come and live with him, so she sells the boat to a young couple who want to go to the vibrant boating life that is London. The deal is done, and once again the CaRT computer goes Keerrrching.
Non-refundable
The story above is fiction but shows the ineptitude of the person who signed off the new terms and conditions that we, as boaters, are faced with. If the gold licence can be an exception in being non-refundable, then it's holders can, at the very least, expect to be exempted from licensing term and condition 7.12. To do anything else is morally repugnant.
I contacted CaRT on this matter and received answers that said they would view the original situation sketched, a licence holder dying, with sympathy and would usually allow the surviving spouse to continue to use the licence. I presume that usually means not always, and a partner rather than a spouse was not mentioned at all by them.
Naturally the later transactions sketched are just as morally reprehensible. It would seem CaRT, by invalidating licences of boats on EA waters may well also be overstepping their legal boundaries.
And even if they are not they are still the terms and conditions that CaRT expects all gold licence holders to agree to.
As of the 31st of December I will be changing the ownership of the boat and the names on the licence to joint names: doing it a day before could result in a loud Keerrrching noise in my ears!
Mr Parry, I know that CaRT people have told me that 7.12 was not designed to catch gold licence holders but other 'miscreants, but it does, and it's your watch. It will take you less time to fix it than to read this article