Castleford storage site

[Parksy]

Hi guys, I am new to this site and thought all your members need to be aware of the problems at storage site in the Castleford area.
The site in qustion is supposed Gold standard CASSOA site- Have had my new Coachman caravan stored there for nearly 3 years. Last year the site had a number of caravans targeted including ours whilst in their care, we were quite lucky really, only superficial door damage and nothing stolen. However we actually found out about the problem when we went to storage site. They did not have the decency to even tell us! This site has been attacked once again ( Nov 2013) and a number of caravans broken into -same scenario not told a thing. Fortunately at the time of break in our caravan was at home. A word of caution DO NOT USE this Storage facility, you do so at your peril (you have been warned!) All they care about is taking your money, contacting the owners is impossible you get fobbed off. Obviously our caravan is no longer there, have moved to a site where they actually care about what they do! This site is a joke. Contacted CASSOA about this as well - as much use as a chocolate fireguard. Would be interested if anyone else has had similar problems.
Edited
Parksy
(moderator)

 

[colin-yorkshire1]

If it is any consolation I know the site, when we bought the van I looked there and thought errrm (no thanks) and left. because you see it,s not just the site persay but the area it is in, and is a well "it can be a dodgy place" and certainly not somewhere I would store a new van.but hey.
Featherstone is good I hear, and only 3miles away and so is Eggbrough 5 miles,

 

[ProfJohnL]

Hello Nortonke

Colin is correct, identifying the site you refer to is contrary to this forum's rules. However it does revisit an important issue that caravanners should consider carefully.

I will state now that I have not used a CaSSOA site nor am I in any dispute with any of them, or the CaSSOA organisation.

I should also add that not all sites operate in the same way as yours, so you shouldn't take your experience as necesarily being typical.

Unfortunately some have learnt the hard way that CaSSOA accreditation adds very little to the caravanning experience except cost.

CaSSOA (Caravan Storage Site Owners’ Association) is a trade organisation. It does very little for consumers, and it has no powers of enforcement in any dispute.

I suggest you read their web site on

http://www.cassoa.co.uk/im-a-caravan-owner/
See see how they play on the vulnerability of your property in storage and encourage you to believe that what they are offering is Security. That is key, because take that aspect of their offer away and the whole basis for opting for a CaSSOA site disappears.

Consequently Security is their claimed USP, yet when their keynote selling point is breached, what do they do?

It is a sad situation because some insurance companies offer inducements to policy holders to use CaSSOA sites, which reinforces the perception that such sites must offer security. Unfortunately in most cases even taking into account any reduction in insurance premiums, using a CaSSOA site costs the user more overall.

I maintain that:- as CaSSOA sites use their offer of security to attract customers, if they fail in that regard they should be made to shoulder the consequence (i.e. customers costs). This the commercial risk that any supplier normally has to take, yet as tradition has it, caravanners are expected to claim on their own insurance if the sites fails to supply what its selling i.e. security.

CaSSOA accreditation is a licence to charge caravanners more.

Draw your own conclusions.

 

[woodsieboy]

A few years ago we had our caravan broken into whilst in storage,and although we considered ourselves lucky as nothing was taken, and only the door had been forced, we decided to store our caravan at home from then on,even though it involved expense in relocating a 2 metre high brick wall, it has proved a good move. My main point is that our storage site owner contacted us the day after the break in and we were asked to check what had been taken or damage done. This was not a CASSOA site at the time and I know from other owners that they were contacted also. It seems to me that November/December are prime months for break ins as the thieves are aware that many vans will be laid up for the winter and less likely to be checked,and the darker evenings mean they are less likely to be seen. we have also had break ins at work in November,I suppose stolen goods can be easily sold on in the run up to Christmas.

 

[colin-yorkshire1]

hi all and Nortonke,
there you go told you so!!!
apologies for those who havent seen the original posts!!. as that first bit may not make sense now they have been correctly edited by Parksy, (nice job by the way

)
I must say here though that caravan storage and security can be a nightmare, in any event choose very carefully get recommendations from users if possible and check out the local area that it is in, just because the site is accredited does not mean it is safe. as the Prof as said.. insurance is a must and fit as many security devices as you can.no matter where the van is stored.

 

[Nortonke]

Hi Colin and all,
Shame it had to be edited but i think you all get the point.I also understand the reasons why. Was on form yesterday and had to get this off my chest. If only for the sake of other caravanners, who quite simply could fall into the trap of thinking all is fine when you have stored on a percieved high standard site.

 

[colin-yorkshire1]

hi Nortonke, it really had to be edited as the original post was against forum rules and etiquette, at least Parksy left the main jist of the warning intact it could have been deleted alltogether, i do understand your frustration though but to be honest being a synical old sod never take anything on face value,
it's a bit like buying off fleabay just because it appears to be the real deal it is not allways so, check the feedback positive and negative paying attention to the product line you wish to buy is it a regular line or a one off, ect ect.
it is the same with a storage site just because it is accredited by CASSOA does not mean all the sites are secure to the same level as the locations are different as is the managment stucture and manning of what is afterall an independant business. whats the point in having CCTV if no-one is watching to take instant action, also what is the point of a wire fence that backs onto a rough council estate or conversely one in the middle of Nowhere with nobody on site after 5pm.
all these things should be taken into consideration when choosing a storage place the best ones will have a very,very long waiting list and be locked up like Fort Knox if it is easy to collect and drop off your own van in storage it is easy for the Thief to do the same,
I used one for the motorhome when I first got it, while building a garage to put it in so I could rebuild it, and had to find storage as the "old dear" next door complained, the site I found was in private indoor compound 30 miles away, you had to ring 1hour before collecting/retuning the van so they could round up the 4 wolves that were running loose and announce your arrival at the gate via the intercom a member of staff escourted you to the alloted place and waited untill you left, the cost was £100 per month. a bit exorbitant for a tatty old van but hey it was safe,

now compere that level of security to a gold site like the one you spoke of and it is easy to see the difference and where the problems lay, location and the lack of interest in someone else's property is I'm afraid pandemic in some storage sites, "so yes beware"