PLEASE NOTE – THE OLD IPHAS WEBSITE AND MEMBERS PORTAL WERE DISCONTINUED IN DECEMBER 2021, ANY CONTENT IS NO LONGER VALID OR UPDATED.
IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT CORRESPONDING WITH IPHAS
NB: THE ONLY VALID ADDRESS FOR CORRESPONDENCE WITH IPHAS, INCLUDING SENDING A PAYMENT IS:
19 College Close, Probus, Truro, Cornwall TR2 4LW
IPHAS is a voluntary organisation offering advice and information to anyone contemplating Mobile/Park Home Living or is already living on a residential mobile home park in England, Wales, and Scotland.
2021 | CPI | RPI |
JANUARY | 0.7 | 1.4 |
FEBRUARY | 0.4 | 1.4 |
MARCH | 0.7 | 1.5 |
APRIL | 1.5 | 2.9 |
MAY | 2.1 | 3.3 |
JUNE | 2.5 | 3.9 |
JULY | 2.0 | 3.8 |
AUGUST | 3.2 | 4.8 |
SEPTEMBER | 3.1 | 4.9 |
OCTOBER | 4.2 | 6.0 |
NOVEMBER | 5.1 | 7.1 |
DECEMBER | 5.4 | 7.5 |
2022 | ||
JANUARY | 5.5 | 7.8 |
FEBRUARY | 6.2 | 8.2 |
MARCH | 7.0 | 9.0 |
APRIL | 9.0 | 11.1 |
MAY | 9.1 | 11.7 |
JUNE | 9.4 | 11.8 |
JULY | 10.1 | 12.3 |
AUGUST | 9.9 | 12.3 |
Our team members are residents who have studied the legislation relating to mobile homes, and work with Government to promote and review changes in that legislation. Our team members have many years’ experiences advising residents of their rights when dealing with their park owners.
Membership of IPHAS is open to all occupiers of a Mobile/Park Home on a protected Residential site in England, Wales or, Scotland. We also welcome applications from other parties interested in the park home lifestyle, and those who support IPHAS aims and objectives.
The ANNUAL MEMBERSHIP fee is £6.00 PER HOME.
However, some parks with a minimum of five households with IPHAS membership, have a BLOCK MEMBERSHIP SCHEME managed by an onsite DISTRIBUTOR. This individual is a volunteer, willing to act as a point of contact between IPHAS and other members onsite.
The ANNUAL FEE for those members forming a BLOCK REGISTRATION is only £5 PER HOME
Become A MemberSEVERE STORM POWER OUTAGES
COMPENSATION FOR PARK HOMEOWNERS
This report by the Independent Park Homes Advisory Service (2021) Ltd (IPHAS), is a small sample, drawn from many complaints made by IPHAS members, concerning the lack of access to compensation for power outages in different areas of the country. These outages were suffered at varying times during the winter of 2021/22. We have also received many telephone enquiries with the same complaints, as many park home residents are elderly and vulnerable, and do not have access to computer or possess computer skills. This is an issue even for those who have a direct contract with an energy supplier, as claims for compensation are usually required to be completed on-line. Some cases are from individuals, some on behalf of Residents Associations.
LOSS OF ELECTRICITY SUPPLY
Mr and Mrs H.
We were advised as the electricity supply is provided by the owner of the park, then distributed to the individual homes. We could not claim compensation as the park owner is the account holder. We were also advised we could not go on the emergency priority list, even though the Park has nearly 400 homes with a high % of elderly and some vulnerable residents. This in my opinion is not acceptable, but the Park is registered as a commercial customer and not household.
POWER OUTAGE
MRS E.W.
I live at Greenhollows Country Park Cumbria we had a dreadful time trying to get compensation for the 4 days we were without electricity. In the end we each received £48 for 4 days were freezing the one part of our site is for older people I am 76 and I have us down as priority, but we could not even get through to them. We thought some of us would go out in body bags. I believe other people hot about £500 we all have meters which are read every 3 months we pay the bill the money then goes to the supplier. It’s a national disgrace.
LACK OF COMPENSATION FOR RECENT POWER OUTAGES.
From the Chairperson on behalf of a resident’s association.
Please can you advise me as to the situation with our network electricity provider SSEN regarding compensation following the recent severe storm. We live on a park home site and were without electricity for four and a half days due to storm Eunice. We are a retirement park with a minimum age of 55, but with some residents in their 90s. SSEN considered that we were only one home and placed us on a lower priority than necessary until we informed them of our existence. We are supplied with electrical power by SSEN via two meters which then feed a private network owned by the site owner. This feeds 36 park homes on the site, each with an individual meter. I contacted SSEN to ask about compensation and they say that they will only pay one lot of compensation to our park owner as we are not SSEN’s responsibility. I pointed out that our 36 homes pay their network charges, and it is their failure that caused us a serious problem and we should therefore be compensated. They were adamant that we would only be offered one lot of compensation via our park owner. Our park owner has been supportive and tried to convince them otherwise.
Can you advise me as to the legal position regarding this scenario?’
LOSS OF ELECTRICITY SUPPLY
Mr R.Y.A.
My mum (who is 95), had a long power outage. A generator was eventually brought on site but many felt this was not a reliable solution. Mum went Into respite care for a while. She has had a £125 refund, but that barely covers the respite costs
Mum buys her energy through her Park owner and she was really good with communicating etc about the outage and even contacted SSE regarding the compensation for residents. The Park’s own Residents Association were also involved but SSE contacted all members individually with Goodwill letters and cheques. The issue was that SSE did not have the site registered as a Retirement Park as the account was in the Park Owners name alone and had no plans for emergency cover. As a result, Mum spent the first few days, wrapped up in bed and wouldn’t get up. A generator was provided (a little late in the day) by which time many had made alternative arrangements. Mum, like many, lost food, heating and lighting, the comfort of her own home and for health reasons we moved her to respite care. The cost of the outage to her, has never been fully recovered but the £150 payment from SSE, was a kind gesture.
LOSS OF POWER
Mr P.
I am the secretary of a residents association on Bowland fell park in Yorkshire. During Storm Arwen, my neighbours and I went 5 days without power. In addition, as our water is supplied from boreholes using an electric pump, we were also without water.
We live on a park home site and as is the case with the majority of park homes, we and our neighbour’s electricity comes to us through sub meters via our site’s supply.
Northern Powergrid told me when I asked that where a property has an electrical connection, they will only supply compensation to customers who have a Meter Point Administration Number (MPAN). And as we are supplied our electricity directly from the park owner, who in turn is connected to the ENWL distribution network, we were ineligible for compensation. I have just received this response from ENW
Dear Mr P.
Thank you for your email.
I am not aware of any changes in regulations for customers like yourself – I have had a look on OFGEMS website and can find no update?
My understanding of the regulations we are driven by are:- that to be eligible for a regulated payment for being without power, the resident needs to have an MPAN number along with a supplier to whom they pay their bills directly to (our customer) for eligibility purposes. In your example I believe that the site owner would be our customer and you in turn are there’s.
I would suggest you speak to the site owner.
To be on our extra case list for support during a power cut, you do not have to be directly our customer as we will always look to provide support to anyone we can help.
I hope this provides some background for you.
If I can be of any further assistance, please don’t hesitate to get in touch.
POWER CUTS
Mrs T.
We had a four-day power cut due to storms on 18th February 2022. We live in a park home in brome Suffolk. Our park has one supply in and we have our own meters which the park owner reads every three months (approx.), and presents us with a bill because the account is in her name we were told we couldn’t claim. As we had no cooking facilities it was a very difficult four days as my husband is 81 years old and it was hard to keep warm.
I now have concerns how we will be paid the £400 from the government, if we do not have electric or gas supply’s as we have bottled gas for heating and cooking.
I contacted the energy supply company. I filled the online forms in as requested and were told it was being dealt with. Some neighbours were told to book a hotel and claim the money back. The information we were given was incorrect and when I hadn’t heard anything, I contacted them again to be told we could not claim as we were not the account holder. The park owner claimed instead and gave us £25.
STORM EUNICE COMENSATION DENIED
Mr P.B.
On February 18th 2022, the park home site on which I live, was without power for 97 hours and residents received no compensation whatsoever. The park has many pensionable age residents and the prolonged power outage at that time of the year caused a great deal of hardship leaving most people without heating, lighting, and cooking facilities which put some lives at risk.
STORM FINANCIAL COMPENSATION
Mr P.M.
I live on Burwash Park, near Etchingham in East Sussex. The park comprises 20 homes. The entire park lost electrical power at about 11-30am on Friday, 18 February 2022, and was not reconnected until 10-15am on 22 February 2022. A total, continuous outage of 96 hours-a scandalous 4 days! As a Qualifying Residents Association we enquired about financial compensation but because the park owner pays the entire quarterly park electricity bill, and we pay him individually for what we have used by reading our own meters, we were told that we must contact the owner about compensation. (As an aside, the electricity board (UK Power Networks) said we were registered with them as a ‘caravan park’ and hence not eligible in any case for compensation). Bottom line: it was considered pointless contacting the park owner and we have never received any form of compensation.
ELECTRIC DISRUPTION DURING STORMS
Mr D.E.
At the beginning of the year during the storm, residents of Oakleigh Park, Clacton had no power from Friday lunch time to Monday night. As the park bills us, we were told we would not be eligible for the compensation. All we got back was one night hotel accommodation and one meal.
Ian R Pye, Chairman
The Independent Park Homes Advisory Service (2021) Ltd.
ENERGY SUPPLIES TO THE PARK HOME INDUSTRY
From a report commissioned by HM Gov. and carried out by Liverpool University published 2022, this research identified 1,832 separate park home sites and 100,406 park home residential addresses (proxy for pitches) across England. The research also estimated that there were 159,000 park home residents in owner occupation in 2021.
The park home sector appears to have been invisible to the Regulator, Ofgem. There are no directives to govern the resale of energy to residents. The Park Owner (PO) is untrained, and unregistered.
In theory, the occupier has freedom of choice in contracting for their energy services. In practice, the park owner tells the new occupier that he supplies the energy needs for the site and speaks of this as a benefit to the newcomer, who is then invited to enter a contract for these services, without being told that the tariffs they will be charged are not subject to price capping.
On behalf of members, I have challenged this with two energy retailers. Firstly, the retailer who sold to the park owner. They were very firm in telling me that they had a contract with the PO for supplying the site and were legally bound to honour that contract. I approached a different retailer who began the process of setting up a personal account with me until the point they became aware of the existing provision. They then cited the same contractual argument as the other provider.
Energy retailers prefer to have a business contract with a PO, where the tariffs are not subject to domestic price capping, it being easier to administer one account, than up to a couple of hundred.
On behalf of members’, I have questioned Ofgem about various problems relating to energy supplies to park homes, only to be told, ‘Ofgem don’t deal with park homes, I must speak with Citizen’s Advice.’ My understanding that the Regulator is there to protect ‘consumer choice’, must be incorrect.
The advice given to the park home consumer in the Ofgem leaflet ‘The Resale of Gas and Electricity, guidance for resellers’, does not offer any route to recourse where there are issues with power outages, the delivery infrastructure, or on matters of Safety, Pricing, and Billing.
The PO is not required to keep or provide details of their domestic consumers on the park, although he should have accounting records for those he supplies energy to.
The Local Authority (LA) are both the planning and licencing authority that permits a PO to operate his business as a residential park home community. The ‘Site Licence’ sets out the requirements and standards to be maintained by the PO, and the LA has powers of enforcement if they find these standards are not being met. In practice, enforcement is as rare as ‘hen’s teeth’. Under new legislation, the PO must now submit himself to a ‘Fit and Proper Person Test’, by the LA. This is very much a ‘rubber stamping’ exercise, and although LA’s conduct occasional site inspections, the reality is that once a licence has been granted, it is open ended.
On behalf of members, I have dealt with some LA enforcement officers about the lack of regular Electrical Inspections and Certification, where there have been major failures of infrastructure, culminating in groups of residents being without power for up to eight weeks. Despite continued pressure on the Enforcement Team, a successful resolution has been very slow in being delivered.
Some park home communities report they continually experience regular short term power outages, the causes of which are not known. However, it is known that such outages can be the consequence of additional homes being sited on the park as it is being developed, leading to overloading at certain peak times of demand.
Ofgem must take responsibility for regulating all residential park home sites, including the following:
The PO must keep and maintain a register of ALL his properties and provide the same to the Regulator. This would allow for the allocation of a Meter Point Administration Number (MPAN), for the homes. At a stoke, this would provide the consumer with direct access to the Government Compensation Scheme following outages, and the industry would not be racking its collective brains about how to deliver the £400 EBSS grant to park home consumers.
Ian R Pye, Chairman 22nd September 2022
The Independent Park Home Advisory Service (2021) Ltd.
IPHAS REPORT ON POWER OUTAGE COMPENSATION ISSUES
FOR PARK HOME CONSUMERS
From November 2021 to February 2022, a series of severe weather events resulted in serious power outages being experienced in several parts of the UK. Residential Park Home Communities suffered serious outages, with some occupants being without power for more than four days.
The supply of energy to Park Home occupants is not straightforward. There are three distinct groupings of energy customer in the park home industry:
Business contracts for energy are not subject to domestic price capping of energy tariffs under the government scheme.
These communities fall under the radar of energy retailers, who have no idea of the number of consumers they are supplying through the PO.
In the event of severe power outages, these consumers find they are not eligible for compensation, as that is only available to customers who have a Meter Point Administration Number (MPAN). That customer is the PO, who is the only person with a contract with the retailer.
What is clear from the diverse energy supply arrangements outlined above, there is unlikely to be one single solution to ensure that every park home consumer with a legitimate claim, can make application for compensation.
All those identified in option 1, plus those in option 2 with a direct contract with an energy retailer, will have an MPAN from their supplier, which will enable them to make a claim directly. Those remaining consumers identified in option 2, plus all those in option 3, are the problem.
The consultation group remit is restricted to identifying a secure route to enable access to the government compensation scheme, for those park home residents who have suffered severe power outages. This requires the gathering and collation of essential information about the consumer. It has also been muted that these payments will be affected by monthly credits to a consumers energy account or something similar.
The key to identifying a clear pathway for all park home consumers to access the compensation system made available by application to the energy supply retailers, is obtaining the essential information about those consumers. The following information must be gathered and made available to the energy industry, whatever method the consultation group recommends to Ofgem for processing compensation claims and affecting compensation payments:
Alternative delivery arrangements for consideration are:
All park home residents are registered with their local authority for council tax purposes. I understand that there are provisions in the regulations governing authorities, that allow for extraordinary credits or payments to be made to account holders, through their council tax accounts. That would be the simplest, quickest way to affect any occasional or regulatory transaction.
This option is highly risky and would not be welcomed by residents. Unfortunately, there is still a small number of ‘rogue’ PO’s that pay scant regard to the legislation and fail to honour their legal agreements with residents. The risk of fraudulent activity would also be high. Some PO’s own groups of parks and their representation on individual parks is inconsistent and usually infrequent. Where representation exists, it is usually unaccepting of any responsibility for administrative matters, all of which must be channelled to ‘Head Office’. This ‘remote’ style of administration is largely unresponsive, and the history of such relations would indicate that PO will demand an administration fee for each transaction, should they even agree to engaging in any such activity, for there is no upside to the PO in processing compensation payments.
Whilst these matters are not part of the current remit, they are in fact incredibly important to the general park home populace and Ofgem must engage with park home consumer representatives to debate introduction of the following measures:
IAN R PYE, CHAIRMAN 23rd September 2022
The Independent Park Home Advisory Service (2021) ltd.
