Caravan Club "Forbidding Supermarket Deliveries"

Aug 17, 2005
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In the latest edition of The Caravan Club Magazine there is a short statement saying that The Caravan Club for Health and Safety reasons have decided to stop these internet supermarket shopping deliveries. They go on to give a few reasons why this should be.
We have shopped like this for many years and for the last 5 years have arranged these deliveries to where we are staying in our caravan.
We always let the Warden/Site owner know in advance that we are expecting a delivery, from which supermarket and at approximately what time. The driver always calls us from outside the barrier and my husband then walks down to reception, checks it is ok to accompany the vehicle onto site, brings it to our pitch and, after unloading, accompanies the driver until off the site. Drivers have always been happy with this process.
As I am a wheelchair user we find shopping in supermarkets quite difficult and always shop this way at home, it is a logical progression to take advantage of this on holiday. It makes sense also not to load the caravan up with foodstuffs, bottles and cans before a long journey.
For The Caravan Club to "stop" these deliveries seems unfair to members, they state that the delivery vehicles are lorries, infact they are small vans, no larger thatn a small camper van.
Does anyone else have a view on this?
Jane
 
Mar 14, 2005
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Hello Jane,

Its important to understand that all caravan sites are private property, and as such the site owner or operator has the right to refuse entry to anyone, except where the refusal is on grounds of racial prejudiced or other outlawed actions.

Consequently when you are on site you are a 'guest' of the owner and thus are obliged to follow the rules of the site. Each site can set their own rules for admission Where a site is affiliated to a club then they may adopt the clubs rules.

The site operator is responsible for the safety of all persons on the site, and they are obliged to take action to manage risks to prevent anyone's health or safety from being endangered. Perhaps there have been incidents with deliveries of this nature, and the club has decided to preempt repetitions.

I do think it is shame, because as you rightly point out it reduces payload in your caravan. In some peoples cases such as yours there may be practical reasons for using local deliveries, and last of all, for the drivers of these vans driving is their likelihood, and they would be daft if they deliberately flouted good driving habits on sites, as it might jeopardise their job.

There could be another reason for the clubs action. many caravan sites have a shop on site, or an arrangement with a local shop, and the use of these supermarket deliveries might be seen as damaging the local businesses.
 
Aug 9, 2010
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It strikes me that the Caravan Club is getting a little too big for its boots! How many more petty rules can it think up to stop members enjoying their sites? We've not yet tried having deliveries to a CC site, mainly because we don't use them much, as we find them a tad expensive for us, but we never had a problem on independent sites. Tbh, we're only CC members to gain access to CLs, where there aren't too many "rules", but on the very few occasions we've used sites we've had "high-handed rules" problems twice.
Beware Caravan Club, you're not the only one out there!
 
Jun 20, 2005
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Hi Jane
At a recent 3 week stay at a CC site the information desk invited us to order our Chinese and Indians from the local restaurants. We were told they would be delivered to the reception area outside of the security secure site itself. This presented no problems at all, did not inconvenience the Wardens or others on site. All we had to do was ensure the delivery people rang us with an eta. Not rocket science.
So if your hubby tells the superboys to ring him with an eta he can meet them public side of the barriers eg visitor car park or late arrival area and all's well. Deliveries direct to the caravan will cause problems , particularly for the Wardens so as far as I am concerned a little flexibility and undderstanding should keep everyone happy.
 
Aug 4, 2005
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Jane said:
For The Caravan Club to "stop" these deliveries seems unfair to members, they state that the delivery vehicles are lorries, infact they are small vans, no larger thatn a small camper van.

I don't have any strong views on this and can see (I think) the points from both sides.
I have never used the delivery service by any of the supermarkets although one of my neighbours does on a regular basis and it is certainly a large van, bigger than "a small camper van" that delivers to them.
The Caravan Club gives an example in the magazine of a delivery arriving before the person who ordered it had arrived, they also make mention of deliveries arriving when the reception is closed for lunch break.
One delivery van on site occasionally might not be a big hazard or inconvenience but if more people start using the service then it might not be so handy.
I believe there has also been two fatalities involving children and vehicles on Caravan Club sites in recent years, this might also have had a bearing on their decision.
Some people might be happy enough to go to the entrance and collect their groceries but not all sites have a lot of access at their gates for delivery vans stopping and waiting.

Points on both sides I think.
 
May 12, 2011
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Whenever ridiculous rules are put in place someone tries to use Health and Safety to justify it. Were the two chiIdren killed by on-site deliveries? I didn't think so. The real reason is losing sales in the on-site shop. The vans used are quite small in my experience, luton bodied Transits and Mecerdes Sprinters from memory, not 7.5 tonners.
This year we have had a visit from a friend in his Waitrose delivery van to a Camping and Caravan Club, and he was welcomed by the wardens so I presume there is no problem with the C&CC at the moment.
 
Aug 4, 2005
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John Griffiths said:
Whenever ridiculous rules are put in place someone tries to use Health and Safety to justify it. Were the two chiIdren killed by on-site deliveries? I didn't think so. The real reason is losing sales in the on-site shop. The vans used are quite small in my experience, luton bodied Transits and Mecerdes Sprinters from memory, not 7.5 tonners.
This year we have had a visit from a friend in his Waitrose delivery van to a Camping and Caravan Club, and he was welcomed by the wardens so I presume there is no problem with the C&CC at the moment.

If your post was directed at my comments, and I can only assume it was then please note I stated that the fatal accidents might have had a bearing on their decision and not that it was a definite reason.I was in no way trying to justify their decision. As for losing sales in their shops, how many shops offer anything like a selection available in a supermarket. There might be many reasons for stopping supermarket deliveries but loss of income in C.C. site shops will be pretty far down the list.Still stick by my observation that delivery van in my local area is bigger than small camper van.
 
Aug 17, 2005
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Caravan Club sites do not operate shops at all, in fact some of them do not even offer the option of a morning newspaper. They do sell milk and bread and the odd item but nothing that resembles a shop.
I totally agree about going down to the site entrance in future to collect our supermarket delivery, however this could cause more congestion.
My husband has always accompanied the driver to our pitch in the past.
If people are so disorganised that their delivery arrives before them then the delivering supermarket just has to go away, that is no different to the situation at home, the club warden does not need to get involved at all.
I think the Caravan Club sometimes forgets that the club exists for its members.
Jane
 
Aug 6, 2010
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I'm always amazed that in many organisation's rules are made with absolutely no foundation and these people seem to be a legend in their own mind and some sort of power mind set.
To hide behind elf & safety is the oldest lie in the book. Show me all the risk assessments that prove it is dangerous to allow a van to come on site driving at no more than 5mph.
Caravan Club, you are too expensive and don't forget without members there will be no club, of course if you lose members you can always put up the membership price.
 
Jun 20, 2005
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Hi Jane
The CC has become a very large Club with 1000s of members. I suspect the Clubs Committee have received complaints from Wardens about being disturbed by the delivery vehicles outside of office hours, hence the new rule.
Realistically and in practice as your husband already meets them at the reception area ,why not in future just take the car down with him and do the transfer there?
smiley-undecided.gif

This reminds of the dogs debate. You only need a few people to upset the apple cart and the majority, as in your case , get hurt.
May I suggest you write to the CC setting out this debate and hopefully, you never know, yours may be a future Star Letter of the Month.
Also isn't it a Club rule that all visitors have to be signed in by the member already on site? If that is so then you and or your hubby woyld still have to go the reception anyway??? I'll stand corrected here if I am wrong.
 
Jan 19, 2008
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Dustydog said:
Also isn't it a Club rule that all visitors have to be signed in by the member already on site? If that is so then you and or your hubby woyld still have to go the reception anyway??? I'll stand corrected here if I am wrong.

I'm not 100% certain DD but no, they don't have to be signed in but they do have to report to reception. I've never signed any of our visitors in yet but then again perhaps I'm breaking a rule
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The government did say they were going to bring out legislation to stop thE stupid H&S but if we have to wait as long as we are for a referendum or the scrapping of the ECHU don't hold your breath.
 
Jun 20, 2005
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Lord Braykewynde said:
Dustydog said:
Also isn't it a Club rule that all visitors have to be signed in by the member already on site? If that is so then you and or your hubby woyld still have to go the reception anyway??? I'll stand corrected here if I am wrong.

I'm not 100% certain DD but no, they don't have to be signed in but they do have to report to reception. I've never signed any of our visitors in yet but then again perhaps I'm breaking a rule
smiley-laughing.gif

The government did say they were going to bring out legislation to stop thE stupid H&S but if we have to wait as long as we are for a referendum or the scrapping of the ECHU don't hold your breath.
LB
I've checked. See Rule 2f
f) Any visitors to site, for whatever reason, should report their arrival to the Duty Warden. At the Warden's discretion, visitor's cars will be permitted to park on the pitch they are visiting. An additional charge for this extra vehicle will apply. The visitor's car must must park only within the boundaries of the pitch. If there is insufficient room on the pitch, then the visitor's car park must be used, or parking facilities outside of the site.

As for the referendum I give up!
 
Aug 17, 2005
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Thank you all for your valid contributions to this debate.
If it is The Caravan Club's aim to cut down the number of vehicle movements on site then my husband driving down to reception does not achieve that, also entrances to Club sites are often congested.
Surely The Caravan Club could issue some guidelines about deliveries only being between certain hours.
We have written to The Club and await their response!
Jane
 
Aug 4, 2004
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Firstly your security is compromised allowing the store's van onto the site. If you are next to a caravna that is taking a delivery and something goes missing or is damaged who can you blame?
What about people who order stuff and then go out leaving the warden to cope with the delivery. On hand over from the warden to the person who ordered something is missing, who are they going to blame.
It seems that the system was abused which is why it was stopped so I agree with the stance that the CC' has taken. Hopefully the C & CC will follow and so will commercial clubs. It improves security on site and stops a driver who may be a toe rag informing his buddies of what is on site for them to nick.
 
Mar 14, 2005
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Hi Surfer what Jane omitted in her first statment was that deliverys were turning up without the wardens knowledge, and the people who ordered the food were not on site.
Wasting the valuble wardens time.
 
Aug 17, 2005
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The above comment is very true.
I don't think there is even the slightest chance of anything going missing from an adjacent caravan because the delivery man is escorted by the caravanner at all times.
Also If we order a delivery from home and we are not at home to receive it the delivery man goes away. There should never be any reason to involve the warden other than to obtain his permission to escort the vehicle on site. The delivery itself takes less than five minutes.
Jane
 
Apr 30, 2008
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Surfer said:
Firstly your security is compromised allowing the store's van onto the site. If you are next to a caravna that is taking a delivery and something goes missing or is damaged who can you blame?
What about people who order stuff and then go out leaving the warden to cope with the delivery. On hand over from the warden to the person who ordered something is missing, who are they going to blame.
It seems that the system was abused which is why it was stopped so I agree with the stance that the CC' has taken. Hopefully the C & CC will follow and so will commercial clubs. It improves security on site and stops a driver who may be a toe rag informing his buddies of what is on site for them to nick.
Wow. You could say the same thing about any outside contractor brought in to do repairs or indeed any of the members who are camping. The fact that they are a delivery driver doesn't make them any less honest than anyone else on site.
 
Aug 9, 2010
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Rob T, unless your local supermarket has its own vans, then John Griffiths is quite correct; the vans are standard Transit or Merc 35cwt box vans, and are a lot smaller than some of the motorhomes which are beginning to appear on sites nowadays.Some of these Behemoths are as big as a bus.
I stick by my previous statement, that the CC is becoming to big for its own boots.
 
Jun 20, 2005
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Royston said:
Hi Surfer what Jane omitted in her first statment was that deliverys were turning up without the wardens knowledge, and the people who ordered the food were not on site.
Wasting the valuble wardens time.
Exactly
 
Mar 14, 2005
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What I would say to Jane is, have you e-mailed the Club on this decision and what was their reply? There could be lots of valid reasons for making this decision some of which could be based on H&S considerations. An example would be arriving on a site with difficult access as members are leaving. OK this does not apply to every site but I doubt the Club would say certain site only. There is also the possibility that damage could be caused by someone unfamiliar with Club sites.
David
 
Mar 14, 2005
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All the comments relating to the possibility that either security may be breached, or that the vehicle movements represents a danger to other site users applies equally to any other site user, so at least for me that argument does not hold water.

The most likely reason is that deliveries may take up the time of the warden.

Now Roysten,
"valuble wardens time."
Do you mean the wardens are valuable? or the wardens time is valuable - ps I don't really expect an answer
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It does place an extra new burden on wardens, so perhaps rather than banning the deliveries, lets have some practical guidelines on how they can be managed, such as prefered time slots, deliveriy drivers contacting customers rather than wardens, campers having rendesvous with the driver off site or on the sites carpark. Deliveries not accepted if the customer is not present etc.
 

Mel

Mar 17, 2007
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Can I add to this debate a bit of perspective about how often this is happening. I have stayed on a number of CC sites and have yet to see the Tesco/asda/aldi(if only) van arrive. It is hardly the case that fleets of these are arriving daily. If the person who ordered the shopping is not on hand to see the van in, then by all means turn them away, otherwise it is not much of the wardens time. I was under the impression that CC sites were there to serve members. I have no wish to waste the valuable time of the wardens but I would have thought that the not inconsiderable fees that the main sites charged did rather put us in the role of valued customer, not someone for whom they were doing a favour.
mel
 
Aug 17, 2005
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Mel,
this is absolutley right, we too have never seen queues of these vans, in fact over the last few years we have only ever seen deliveries to ourselves, and that is generally only once at the start of the holiday.
Jane
 
Jan 19, 2008
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I've yet to see a delivery on site but as most sites have a visitors parking area surely the delivery chap could park there and then phone the recipient that they've arrived. Then there would be no need for the warden to get involved.
Once I see the reason given as H&S as an excuse to ban any non descript action I want to puke
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Parksy

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Nov 12, 2009
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Lord Braykewynde said:
Once I see the reason given as H&S as an excuse to ban any non descript action I want to puke
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Please ensure that you puke in the designated area please.
Puking on the caravans, awnings or pitches of fellow club members is strictly prohibited
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