Caravan Club making changes to site bookings and leavings

[trucker]

LB were off for new year again this year, getting 7 nights in. If we didnt have the mil at xmas we would have been away for the whole festive season.
Nice to see a van being used to a great extent, so many only get used very little, I take my hat off to you (well I would if I had one lol)

Kev

Still got two weeks at Christmas to go yet though.

 

[Barking]

The Caravan Club has always given a refund, on request, for any unused nights. The only difference now is that if you give less than 72hours notice of early departure you will forfeit the first nights refund.
I believe that if you are leaving early to go to another CC site that the warden can transfer this fee so that no loss is incurred.

Barking

 

[Lord Braykewynde]

The only difference now is that if you give less than 72hours notice of early departure you will forfeit the first nights refund. I believe that if you are leaving early to go to another CC site that the warden can transfer this fee so that no loss is incurred. Barking

That's clearer.

 

[Surfer]

If you were on a commercial caravan club and decided to leave early, do you think that you woudl get a refund even if you gave them a week's notice? Why should the CC be any different after all it is there to make money so that members can benefit from betetr facilities and new sites.
After reading all the argumenst for and against I am in agreemnt that thsi is oen of the club's better decision except that they shoudl not efundn you at all if you decide to leave early.
As for paying at the end of your stayIi guess this stopped as people took advantage of it and gapped without paying anyhting at all. We prfer to pay upfront so you kniow the money left is your spending money. We don't have the luxury of a vast bottomless bank account and have to watch the pennies!

 

[Lord Braykewynde]

We prfer to pay upfront so you kniow the money left is your spending money. We don't have the luxury of a vast bottomless bank account and have to watch the pennies!

We've always paid up front on arrival whether it be a club site or private. It's the first that I've heard of that there is/was an option to pay otherwise

 

[Barking]

If you were on a commercial caravan club and decided to leave early, do you think that you woudl get a refund even if you gave them a week's notice? Why should the CC be any different after all it is there to make money so that members can benefit from betetr facilities and new sites.
After reading all the argumenst for and against I am in agreemnt that thsi is oen of the club's better decision except that they shoudl not efundn you at all if you decide to leave early.
As for paying at the end of your stayIi guess this stopped as people took advantage of it and gapped without paying anyhting at all. We prfer to pay upfront so you kniow the money left is your spending money. We don't have the luxury of a vast bottomless bank account and have to watch the pennies!

Because Surfer, It's a club!

 

[RogerL]

Because It's a club!

The CC is primarily a commercial site operator and financial services provider - the fact that it charges an annual fee doesn't make it a club for members.

 

[Royston]

Gosh there are some miserable people answering thi s subject, Still cannot understand why they are so hostile with regards to people casting there objections to the latest fines should you wish to leave your pitch early.
All pitches are priced on a nightly stay, not per week , a lot of people only stay 2 nights should they be penalized for wishing to move on after 1 night , a lot of people move on due to the hostility of the site wardens.

 

[Surfer]

By the same token how would you like it if you were trying to get onto a CC site but it was booked full. You then had to book on a more expensive commercial site because you did not know that someone was going to change their mind and leave the CC site early. The CC lose and you also lose out. Basically you are depriving other members of their enjoyment. This were the C & CC scores as I doubt if they offer you a refund although they allow you to keep it for another holiday within that year.

 

[jaffasdad]

Royston: 'a lot of people move on due to the hostility of the site wardens'.
Can you supply evidence to support that statement?

 

[anotherDavid]

By the same token how would you like it if you were trying to get onto a CC site but it was booked full. You then had to book on a more expensive commercial site because you did not know that someone was going to change their mind and leave the CC site early. The CC lose and you also lose out. Basically you are depriving other members of their enjoyment. This were the C & CC scores as I doubt if they offer you a refund although they allow you to keep it for another holiday within that year.

There may be more expensive sites than the CC, however on our last trip to Europe the night we spent in April at a CC site en-route to Portsmouth cost over £6 more per night than any other place we stayed, we dont cut corners looking for the cheapest place to stay but there is something wrong when in a 12 week tour, a night on a basic site (that we pay a membership use) cost the most.
David

 

[jaffasdad]

Royston: 'a lot of people move on due to the hostility of the site wardens'.
Can you supply evidence to support that statement?

I'll take your lack of a response as a no.

 

[Royston]

Jaffas Dad,
Wow that short of calling me a liar , Pistols ar dawn!!!!!!!!!!
As you well know one cannot name sites , (Liable Laws)
Main cause for a lot of gruntled members on the site I use to use very frequently is that some days you can arrive on site before 12 oclock and get booked in, other days you will be turned away to try and find a layby to wait untill midday. I felt very sorry for a family that had travelled over 150 miles to arrive 10 mins early only to be turned away, yet the day before caravans were being allowed in at 11-30 am . They left the next day. Other problems that have caused grief ,you can park on a hardstanding pitch anywhere within the hardstanding, but if you are not 100% behind the peg on grass you are made to look a fool.
Wardens like this you can do without , to me caravanning should be one of total enjoyment, not harassment.

 

[RogerL]

Other problems that have caused grief ,you can park on a hardstanding pitch anywhere within the hardstanding, but if you are not 100% behind the peg on grass you are made to look a fool.

What's wrong with that? On grass the peg is meant to be moveable by the warden so that he/she can even out the wear/tear over the season - this means that you MUST pitch on the peg. Hardstandings don't suffer that sort of wear/tear so it's not an issue.
The CC makes clear in the Sites Directory which sites must not be arrived at before midday usually to prevent traffic congestion - regardless of their journey length members have only themselves to blame if they arrive early and get turned away HOWEVER this must be done even-handedly which it clearly wasn't.

 

[jaffasdad]

Royston I apologise if you think that I was calling you a liar but, as can be deduced from other posts of mine, I have a bit of an issue with what can seem to be unwarranted attacks on CC wardens. (I am not a warden, have no relationship with any wardens nor have any desire to be a warden.)
You made what I thought was a rather harsh statement; I asked you for evidence to support it and I still don't think you have provided any. One person choosing to leave is hardly conclusive.
I have just returned from a week away in N Yorkshire and Durham; at both sites the wardens were friendly, helpful and hard-working. On both sites rules were ignored by small number of CC members: driving far in excess of the site limit and early arrival being the most noticable, although there were others. When I see what they have to contend with day in and day out, it would not surprise me one little bit if they occasionally had a pop at someone.
I agree that inconsistent application of rules can cause annoyance but the things that you mentioned are fairly trivial. If someone turns up early they may be allowed on or they may be turned away. Honestly, it's not life-threatening. Don't sweat on the little things in life.

 

[ProfJohnL]

We all have good and bad days so cut these guys a little slack sometimes, just as you expect others to do for you.

As for apparently changing the early access arrangements, perhaps there were other reasons as to why the warden may have relaxed the rules on some days, but then may have found it necessary to be stricter on another.-- did you ask him/them?

I could ask why do you expect the rules to be bent for you? To be fair if you are a club member you should know the rules and be prepared to abide by them.

And the same applies to the charges tariff and leaving early penalties.

As to whether you are obliged to pay the penalties, if you leave by choice, then you are obliged to pay the sums in accordance with the contract you have with the site. But if you are forced to leave because the site does not conform to its advertisements then you may have a claim under false advertising or sale of goods acts.

 

[Surfer]

We all have good and bad days so cut these guys a little slack sometimes, just as you expect others to do for you.

As for apparently changing the early access arrangements, perhaps there were other reasons as to why the warden may have relaxed the rules on some days, but then may have found it necessary to be stricter on another.-- did you ask him/them?

I could ask why do you expect the rules to be bent for you? To be fair if you are a club member you should know the rules and be prepared to abide by them.

And the same applies to the charges tariff and leaving early penalties.

As to whether you are obliged to pay the penalties, if you leave by choice, then you are obliged to pay the sums in accordance with the contract you have with the site. But if you are forced to leave because the site does not conform to its advertisements then you may have a claim under false advertising or sale of goods acts.

There is no ways I will cut any warden any slack if they get over zealous, officious or speak down to me like I am something on the bottom of their shoe when we are not in the wrong at all. If they are wardens they should not be taking it out on Joe Public if they are having a bad day. If they cannot do this then they should give up being wardens.
The only time we have had issues with wardens having a bad day was on C & CC sites, one being Winchcombe and the other time at Chipping Norton. It was that bad that we gave up our membership and never used a C & CC site again until we rejoined recently. On the two C & CC we last visited in the past two months, we had no issues with wardens. We have never had any issues with CC wardens.

 

[Royston]

Not sure if we are on the same wavelenght Roger L, Grass pitches to which I referred to are the same dimensions as the hardstandings, so the peg cannot be moved Wardens own words, You must pitch with the peg central to the Caravan, not inches either side, my argument with him was why, you cannot see the peg when reversing, How come other CC sites the rule is to pitch to the rear offside of the peg which you can see in your mirror when reversing.
I tend now to use where possible the Affilated (AS) CC sites The wardens and the sites have a much more relaxed atmosphere.
If the CC is going to enforce rules make sure all the sites conform on a daily basis, and the Wardens loose their dictatorial attitude.

 

[Surfer]

With CC grass pitches I look for the peg and then aim my vehicle so it is directly in the middle. I get the wife to pull the peg and drive forward straight over where the peg was and then the wife inserts the peg again once I have past the hole. No reversing etc required and peg is spot on in the middle. We have done this with the wardens watching and they have never said a word to us. Called using your initiative! LOL!

 

[Martin24]

Post operative boredom must of set in as I've sat and read it all!! So glad we use CL's and CS's without facilities, rarely a problem with last minute bookings as so many people need an electric hook up, a toilet, and a shower. Give us a field, solar panel and mainly only the noise of our own children and dogs! Not only that but 10 days just outside Dartmouth at the begining of August booked in July only cost us £50!

 

[Parksy]

I'm sure that the Caravan Club is a very good organisation but whenever a forum debate crops up involving CC members the comedian Al Murray who plays the part of a stereotypical pub landlord comes to mind.
One of his catchphrases consists of him asking his audience- 'If there were no rules where would we be?' to which his audience shout in reply 'France!!!'
Murray then says - 'And if we had too many rules where would we be?' to which the audience shout 'Germany!!' in reply.
To look at some of the threads about the CC, Al Murray's audience could easily shout 'The Caravan Club' in reply to Murray's second question.
Rools is Rools innit?
I'm glad that I never joined

 

[Royston]

Yes another micky taker

Surfer with a fence 1 meter behind the peg and railway beyond that were would your wife stand???

 

[Tony_5041742]

Re CC wardens: Personally I wouldn't do their job for any money. However, as someone who's used CC sites for more years than I care to remember I think that in general they do a fine job. Yes I've come across the occasional over officious warden, but IMHO that's a very small majority.

Re the CC as a club or a financial services operator: Clearly it's both, but as a club it does have a different "feel" to a fully commercial operator. Some like this, others don't. In some ways I find the club a little "backward" in some areas, eg the club is arguably well behind the curve in the provision of enhanced site facilities (serviced pitches, leisure facilties etc) compared to the commercial sector. However, for me the upsides of the club still greatly outweigh the downsides.

 

[Surfer]

Yes another micky taker

Surfer with a fence 1 meter behind the peg and railway beyond that were would your wife stand???

Hopefully we would not be stupid enough to select a pitch next to a railway line or even a site close to anything that could be noisy during the night. LOL!

 

[Lord Braykewynde]

Regarding pitches and the position of the caravan I think that the C&CCs system is better where the caravan is pitched in the left corner allowing for the awning and then the towcar alongside that. It's a pain in the derriere parking the car on the opposite side to the entrance although to be fair the CC doesn't have a warden pedalling in front and then watching how you pitch. From memory this is the only thing I can think of that is better than the CC and that includes the state of their hardstandings, service points, shower blocks and roadways