Charges for electricity while clipping- AIBU?

[fathorselover]

Ok so i am prepared to be shot down here, but at my yard a notice has gone up today that if you want to clip your horse (i.e plug in your own clippers and use the yard's electricity) then there will be a charge of £5 for the privilege. We pay a fairly decent amount for DIY livery and i can't help thinking this is way over the odds for an hour or two of power. Thoughts?

 

[Paint Me Proud]

same charge applies at our yard too.

 

[eggs]

Hmm, not much notice given so I can understand your annoyance. However I can understand it from the YO's point too if a load of people are clipping, often using lights to do so too.

I have my horses at home and know how much it costs just to run the yard, pay utilities and do maintenance.

 

[fathorselover]

I understand that it costs, but never a fiver! I can run my whole house for 3 days on a fiver- i wouldn't mind say £2.50 as that would be fair, but £5 seems a bit steep. I just dont like feeling ripped off, like i said the livery itself is on the expensive side of competitive.

Am trying not to feel miserly- its not the cost but the principle as i feel we pay enough anyway!

 

[Ladyinred]

I can't help feeling that your next post will be asking if paying for water is fair! Its a shame there are a few YOs who try to milk every last bit of profit when most places accept that electricity is included in the livery bill. Last place I was at would fine you if the school lights were forgotten and left switched on, but, in my book that's fair. Where we are now there is no extra charge for electricity and I think appreciation of that fact together with the fact we pay very little (£15 per week DIY) makes us very respectful of what power we use; rarely are all the barn lights switched on, only those we really need.

 

[Tiddlypom]

Rough doodlings. I have a heavy duty set of Heiniger Delta 3 clippers, which are rated at 180 watts.

180 watt clippers, 1.5 hrs use, =270 Watt hrs, @12p per kW hr= less than 4p cost of electricity.

 

[Micropony]

Our yard charges about that for electricity for clipping, although it might include use of the solarium lights, not sure. Charge applies to DIYs and those of us on a livery package. Seems fair enough to me, but then it's clear from the outset in the livery contract. Can understand why you might be irritated when rules are changed with very short notice though.

 

[Paint Me Proud]

I might add though that most people on my yard now have cordles clippers so very few liveries actually use the yard electricity to clip anymore.

 

[9tails]

I think a charge for clipping is rather miserly of the YO, it's not as if people are clipping their horse daily. Once a month at most during winter.

 

[Apercrumbie]

£5 is completely extortionate. I doubt the electricity would cost more than 20 pence. £1/£2/£2.50 would be far fairer.

 

[fathorselover]

I feel a bit vindicated from the replies- as some of you have pointed out i doubt it costs much more than 20p! I wouldn't be surprised if they wanted to charge for water.. someone accidentally left the lights on in the stables the other day (a rare occurence) - cue YO stomping round threatening to put the livery up by £5 a week to cover it. If they do, I'm gone!!

 

[Mongoose11]

Personally, I think that is outrageous. £5? Jeepers! £1 fair dos but not £5!

 

[MotherOfChickens]

lights can be expensive to run, I know mine on my own yard are. Get 20 DIY owners leaving them on and yes it would mount up.

 

[Greylegs]

Rough doodlings. I have a heavy duty set of Heiniger Delta 3 clippers, which are rated at 180 watts.

180 watt clippers, 1.5 hrs use, =270 Watt hrs, @12p per kW hr= less than 4p cost of electricity.

Interesting calculation. Thanks for doing the maths. I too use the Heiniger Delta 3 clippers to get through my highland's yeti like pelt at this time of year, and clip twice or three times in a winter season. If my YO demanded a fiver for that i know where my Delta 3s would be and it wouldn't be running smoothly through the highlands hair!!!! Blimmin' cheek. OP, show your YO this calc and see what they say, and bear in mind the Heinigers are one of the most powerful clippers on the market. Less powerful types would use less power .....!!!

 

[fathorselover]

Mine are defo less powerful... i dont want to fall out with yo but get fed up with constant threats of putting prices up etc, as it does feel like the liveries get hit hard in this respect and we do pay a decent amount, and get treated like naughty children if a light gets left on by mistake etc. It is turning into a punitive system where everybody scuttles round with their heads down for fear of setting him off- not the way it's meant to be!

 

[daydreamer]

Sounds a bit steep to me and like not a great set up. I handed in my notice at my current yard today, 5 min later I get a text saying they forgot to tell me it is £1 to use the school lights at night! Lights have been in a few months and I have been using them for the past few weeks with no comment, I always turn them off as soon as I leave the school and we pay a decent amount for 5 day full livery. Spoke to another livery tonight, she hadn't recieved the text!!

 

[keri66]

Daydreamer I can't stand it when livery yards are so petty when you hand in notice.
For heavens sake it's business.
If anyone hands me their notice I accept it and wish them well.
I do ask if I can know why but if they don't want to say it's fine.

 

[ester]

Rough doodlings. I have a heavy duty set of Heiniger Delta 3 clippers, which are rated at 180 watts.

180 watt clippers, 1.5 hrs use, =270 Watt hrs, @12p per kW hr= less than 4p cost of electricity.

I'd attach this calculation with the 4 pence I'd leave them...

 

[Notimetoride]

So just out of interest, does said yard owner reduce the livery charge in summer as less elec is used ?? I suspect not. Surely its give and take. You might be down one month (profit) but surely you would make it up in the summer months ?

 

[Notimetoride]

I'd attach this calculation with the 4 pence I'd leave them...

Ha ha I would be leaving 4 nice new shiny 1p pieces too

 

[fathorselover]

So just out of interest, does said yard owner reduce the livery charge in summer as less elec is used ?? I suspect not. Surely its give and take. You might be down one month (profit) but surely you would make it up in the summer months ?

NO!! our livery includes haylage (winter only really because 99%of horses live out in a large herd, so token amount in a haynet over summer just when they come in- they have only this past week started putting it out) but the price is not reduced over the summer

 

[YorksG]

I think people forget what they agree to pay for when they first go to a DIY yard, a stable and grazing is usually the deal. I remember being very pleasently surprised when one YO told us not to worry about field water, he would fill the tanks with the tractor and bowser. There were lights there, but hadn't been at the first place we ever kept a horse. With the expectation that other services and utilities will be made available, must come a massive increase in costs, which surely need to be passed on to the customer. We hear plenty about how YO's don't keep their part of the bargain, but it appears to me that there are plenty of customers out there who expect the YO to part fund their hobby. (I think this applies to vets, farriers and feed mechants too, from bits and pieces I hear).

 

[Cinnamontoast]

Shh, you'll give people ideas! I think that's pretty shocking, actually. Given the light in my section wasn't working all week and I've been chopping carrots in the dark, I'd be ruddy cross if I were charged for clipping.

As a YO is running a business, they should take into account utility bills when pricing livery. As far as I'm concerned, stable, grazing and using the electric are included. I might clip once a year and put on the light in my storage area so I can see to make feeds etc. I might bath once a year, didn't this year.

A water meter would be sensible, I think and charging for school lights is common, but for clipping just seems grasping, IMO.

 

[fathorselover]

Shh, you'll give people ideas! I think that's pretty shocking, actually. Given the light in my section wasn't working all week and I've been chopping carrots in the dark, I'd be ruddy cross if I were charged for clipping.

As a YO is running a business, they should take into account utility bills when pricing livery. As far as I'm concerned, stable, grazing and using the electric are included. I might clip once a year and put on the light in my storage area so I can see to make feeds etc. i might bath once a year, didn't this year.

A water meter would be sensible, I think and charging for school lights is common, but for clipping just seems grasping, IMO.

Come to think of it, there has been no electricity in our tack room for WEEKS so we haven't been able to boil the kettle for tea.....

 

[ester]

I think people forget what they agree to pay for when they first go to a DIY yard, a stable and grazing is usually the deal. I remember being very pleasently surprised when one YO told us not to worry about field water, he would fill the tanks with the tractor and bowser. There were lights there, but hadn't been at the first place we ever kept a horse. With the expectation that other services and utilities will be made available, must come a massive increase in costs, which surely need to be passed on to the customer. We hear plenty about how YO's don't keep their part of the bargain, but it appears to me that there are plenty of customers out there who expect the YO to part fund their hobby. (I think this applies to vets, farriers and feed mechants too, from bits and pieces I hear).

It depends on the fee though and what is included in your agreement.
Mine includes electric- including use of school lights, water, a bath to soak hay in.

The OP's yard owner should not be selling electricity on at a huge profit!

 

[Mike007]

Not entirely sure that it is legal to resell electricity with such a markup . I am sure there is a regulation covering this

 

[conniegirl]

It's her yard she can charge what she likes and if that includes a charge for clipping then you either pay or get battery clippers.
Tbh when you take into account all the rest that the yard owner is probably undercharging for, the wear and tear and damage to power points that happen at liveries, electrician cost for when somebody inevitably pulls the socket off the wall, the hassle etc, £5 a time to clip your horse isn't bad.
The yard owner does not have to fund your hobby

 

[popsdosh]

There is!!! it was brought in to protect housing tenants from unscrupulous landlords.
Electric for clipping is taking the mickey . However arena floodlights are a different matter as some of them eat a lot more juice.
If a yard full of liveries are really concerned about this charge they all need to get together and point out the real cost!! as individuals on their own will have no effect. Maybe suggest if it really is such a problem to the YO they put in a coin op meter on a dedicated socket ,they are not expensive and indeed I know arenas that have them for lights.

I am afraid though the real issue is yards trying to keep down there headline rates to compete and then trying to make up the difference on add ons

Yes just checked the regulations state that electric cannot be charged at a higher price than the seller is paying for it from their authorised utility supplier. However I am not sure that covers commercial use!

 

[conniegirl]

She could just ban any clippers with cables. Unless you all want to pay to get your clippers PAT tested each year?
Legally she doesn't have to allow the use of them at all since it is unlikely that her insurance will cover her if your clippers start a fire and are not PAT tested.

I believe the restriction on selling electricity only apply in domestic situations, otherwise caravan sites would be in deep crap as would all the show centres that charge for hookups.
but even if you could get her on that one she could come back and say it is for the use of the socket not the electricity itself.

 

[skint1]

I've never heard of charging for things like that, but I guess it could become common, I once again feel grateful for my YO!