Bizzare site charges

[andy72]

As i say in many of my posts, im new to all this, just starting our 2nd year and busy looking for sites for the april mad season.
We are going to go after easter monday until the saturday.

Looking at the site charges in Northumberland, ive been staggered at the cost. Most are the naughty end of the twenties and some creeping into £30+.

The nearly all state 'price includes 1 unit, 1 car and 2 persons'..... then comes the list of extras....
Hook up - £2.50 - I can understand this, so no problems
Full awning - £2.50 - Why charge for an awning? youve paid for the pitch, are they going to sell the space used for an awning to another camper? does it require any special requirments from the site owner? why charge?
Porch awning - £2.00 - as above, why charge for awnings? and why is my porch awning cheaper per night than a full?
Children - 6-14 - £3.00 - I'd love to leave the kids at home but being a family holiday, they are an essential part unfortunatly. Is this extra charge to cover the use of facilities such as showers? is it t cover the cost of play equipment? if so, some sites with no play area still make the charge?

The list of extras goes on that looks like a bill when you come to service your car....ie you cant see the reason for the charge but you cant really get away without accepting it and agreeing to it. They charge for dogs, extra cars, pup tents, whether you were boxers or briefs (ok i lied about this one but you get my point)
Some charges i can understand as not everyone may want a hook up etc but others im puzzled by

 

[Damian]

This topic comes up year after year and it is always about charges for , in no particular order ,awnings, pup tents, children, dogs, hook up, standard pitch, super pitch etc etc.

The very simple answer is Because they can.
I suppose it could be argued that awnings damage the grass, as do pup tents.
Children use facilities
Dogs ,,,,well,,,,,mainly to deter dog owners it appears, or the extra job of emptying the dog bins(if they have them)

It is always a case of supply and demand, if you REALLY want to use a particular site, the chances are you will pay the required rates.

 

[SpudDog57]

We've decided that it's because you poms are a soft touch and done whinge enough.
We met up with rellies in France, paid for a large plot that cost the same as a medium plot. We had two cars caravan with awning and three tents and a gazebo for the same all in price.

 

[Lord Braykewynde]

We've decided that it's because you poms are a soft touch and done whinge enough.

I thought us Poms were noted for our whinging

At least that's what our colonial cousins claim down there in the Antipodes

 

[TheotherDave]

As said before, they do because they can. If enough wouldn’t pay these extras, i.e. only used sites without these extra charges, they couldn’t.
In the same vain, when I’m told that the price is for ‘1 unit, 1 car and 2 adults' I always ask what reduction I get for being on my own. Never been giving one, such a request is normally met with a blank look!

 

[Damian]

Quote "We met up with rellies in France, paid for a large plot that cost "

Last time I looked at the maps France was not in the UK.

The same kind of charging happens in Spain , additional charges for "extras" such as EHU, etc etc

 

[SpudDog57]

Last time I looked at the maps France was not in the UK.

Nice! Sarcasm! Thanks for the geography lesson.
As visiting caravanpeeps, we first found it confusing on UK sites. Some charge for this and that and some don't. We call awnings annexes, paid for a pitch and put the annexe (awning) up. Three days later confronted by management for not paying for it. Explained differences between UK and Oz terminology and then offered to leave the site if they wanted extra money for the annexe, smart guy decided he could wave the extra charge.
We venture out of the UK last year and found French pricing more consistent and generally better value.
Is Spain in the UK?

 

[carper2]

I am a tight git and won't use these sites, I amd going to a haven site on easter Monday for 4 nights and it is costing me a grand total of £48. That is for a Euro pitch which includes EHU, water, waste and awning, I also get entertainment passes thrown in.

Les

 

[Martin24]

Rare for me to pay more than £6 or £7 per night for the five of us often less so all depends on what sort of site you stay on and how you use your van.

 

[davidnewname]

This is a post I made in another forum and is relevant to this and a couple of other postings

Come with me, if you will, to a time long ago before extra charges..........

"My dearest, kindly accompany me into the withdrawing room, I would like to partake in intercourse with your good self"

"Of course, my beloved"

Whilst partaking of my cheese and port last evening, I was struck by a magnificient thought - we have lots of spare land now that the recession has caused a downturn in the amount of people requiring swan shooting - why don't I open a caravan site?

My darling, I am merely a woman, such thoughts of commerce hurts my brain.

Bear with me, light of my life, and I shall explain in a manner in which even a woman could understand.

First we shall have constructed ablutions and an alehouse and things to keep the traveling populace contented, then I will send out a servant to check how many groats our competition is asking per evening, we will ask the same and Whilhemena is your auntie. We measure up the fields according to the laws of this fine and noble land, so that the caravans are correctly spaced apart and mark each pitch with a Frenchmans head on a pole. Then we will know how much money will we get.

But dearest, what if we don't get enough money to make it all worthwhile - you know how quickly prices are rising,why, only last week at our ball we could only afford 27 courses. I'm afraid our peers may be laughing at us.

Gadzooks, what an eminantly sensible offering from one so pretty. However, I have a cunning plan!!!!!

Why not charge extra for anyone wishing to put up even a tiny awning, or wishing to travel with their hunting dog, or even have their serf visit to iron their newspapers.

But dearheart won't that put people off coming?

No, silly, because one day every site will be built this way.

Won't we lose out by having to make room for the awnings?

Of course not, because we have already decided the space betwixt pitches, its all laid down in the Kings H&S regs...it wont cost us a farthing.

What about the hunting dogs, how can we get away with charging for them, wont the people be sorely affronted?

We will tell them that the dogs have to pay for the privilege of walking on our land!

But, dear husband of mine, what about the people who desist from bringing awnings or pets...won't we be
losing out because they will be paying less?

Now you're being stupid - remember we have already worked out the price everyone should pay, these are extras!!!

Oh, I have to go and lie down now my darling, all this thinking about commerce and manly things is so tiring.

Before you go, dearest.

Yes?

Have the manservent makeready my charger, I feel so good now, I think an afternoon of serf piking is in order

Oh, you are sooooo wonderful

I cant wait until someone invents the jet aeroplane, think of how many extras we could charge for with that!

Steady old girl, one thing at a time.

 

[LMH]

SpudDog57
Are you over here on holiday or something? I just wondered as you joined on 12 March, or are you the resurrected forum member who departed?

 

[Lord Braykewynde]

It's Kanga wearing new clothes.

 

[Parksy]

SpudDog57
Are you over here on holiday or something? I just wondered as you joined on 12 March, or are you the resurrected forum member who departed?

We shall see Lisa

One or two of them come back quicker than any boomerang and they've got more identities than Rory Bremner, Jon Culshaw and Alistair McGowan put together

 

[LMH]

Thank you, thought it was just me.

And, for once and for all, I find myself agreeing with LB. This must be serious.

Lisa x

 

[LisaandSteve]

I am a tight git and won't use these sites, I amd going to a haven site on easter Monday for 4 nights and it is costing me a grand total of £48. That is for a Euro pitch which includes EHU, water, waste and awning, I also get entertainment passes thrown in.

We have booked haven for the whole of April for the bargain price of £200 for the month for the 7 of us + the dog, awning, ehu and the entertainment passes.