• We’re currently investigating an issue related to the forum theme and styling that is impacting page layout and visual formatting. The problem has been identified, and we are actively working on a resolution. There is no impact to user data or functionality, this is strictly a front-end display issue. We’ll post an update once the fix has been deployed. Thanks for your patience while we get this sorted.

Electrical charges

C

colin(bridgend)

I have recently received a flier for a well known site in Dorset. Whilst calculating the cost for my wife and self to visit this site and to include electric hook up I was amazed to read that the electric is free but we were expected to pay £2-50 per night for the higher of the electrical socket. I have never come across this before in over 30 years of caravaning, is this a new twist to try and justify site charges? Your observations on this would be very much appreciated.
 
its against the law now to charge for electric seperately, what they do is consolidate it in with the pitch fees. as far as charging for the hook up, seems to me like another way of getting extra money from us,you should ask them if electric is in with the price of the pitch fee,the answer has to be yes make no mistake about that,then ask why are they charging for hire of the hook up.

so now we mugs look loke paying for electric and the hire of the hook up,what next ground rent for the cable to lie on,a connection and disconnection fee,greddy ba------------ds
 
Colin, do not blame the site owners it is the fault of the power regulation authorities. They brought out a regulation to prevent surcharging of electrical supply by landlords of domestic rental properties and site owners were caught up in it. They would have had to provide a meter for each pitch and then charge for the amount used. I am unsure at what rate they could then charge over and above the rate charged by the supplier.

The owners have obviously thought of the charge of installing a meter for each pitch and the admin of reading them prior to each departure to add it to the bill and have decided to give the electricity away for free. As most people pay at the beginning of their stay getting the cost from them prior to leaving could be difficult. Thesite owners obviously have to recoup the cost of installation, maintainance and periodic mandatory inspections and have chosen to do that by charging a rate for the 'hire' of the supply system. The cost of maintaining a safe reliable system is expensive.

This all sounds preety fair to me and I cannot see any difference in doing it the old way or the new way as far as the customer paying for it. They are in business after all and there is a growing demand for electric hookups with relatively high amperage and ever increasing regulations to comply with. I think
 
its against the law now to charge for electric seperately, what they do is consolidate it in with the pitch fees. as far as charging for the hook up, seems to me like another way of getting extra money from us,you should ask them if electric is in with the price of the pitch fee,the answer has to be yes make no mistake about that,then ask why are they charging for hire of the hook up.

so now we mugs look loke paying for electric and the hire of the hook up,what next ground rent for the cable to lie on,a connection and disconnection fee,greddy ba------------ds
Click to expand...
Klarky, are you sure that the cost of the electric has to be in the pitch fee?. I am certain that the Caravan club would not do anything illegal. Sites are quite within their rights to have non electric pitches for the use of those who do not want to pay the 'rental' and turn you away if they have non left. They are also within their rights not to hav enon electric pitches and charge for the rental whether any electric is being consumed or not.
 
Klarky, are you sure that the cost of the electric has to be in the pitch fee?. I am certain that the Caravan club would not do anything illegal. Sites are quite within their rights to have non electric pitches for the use of those who do not want to pay the 'rental' and turn you away if they have non left. They are also within their rights not to hav enon electric pitches and charge for the rental whether any electric is being consumed or not.
Click to expand...
yes you are right in what you say,obviously the non electric pitches are a different tariff,the electric pitches are dearer than the non electric pitches(which do not include a price for electric)
 
Colin, do not blame the site owners it is the fault of the power regulation authorities. They brought out a regulation to prevent surcharging of electrical supply by landlords of domestic rental properties and site owners were caught up in it. They would have had to provide a meter for each pitch and then charge for the amount used. I am unsure at what rate they could then charge over and above the rate charged by the supplier.

The owners have obviously thought of the charge of installing a meter for each pitch and the admin of reading them prior to each departure to add it to the bill and have decided to give the electricity away for free. As most people pay at the beginning of their stay getting the cost from them prior to leaving could be difficult. Thesite owners obviously have to recoup the cost of installation, maintainance and periodic mandatory inspections and have chosen to do that by charging a rate for the 'hire' of the supply system. The cost of maintaining a safe reliable system is expensive.

This all sounds preety fair to me and I cannot see any difference in doing it the old way or the new way as far as the customer paying for it. They are in business after all and there is a growing demand for electric hookups with relatively high amperage and ever increasing regulations to comply with. I think
Click to expand...
 
Hello Colin----I have alway thought that summer charges for electricity are a bit if a rip off-----winter fair enough, but I pay
 
and colin just for the record, I think that paying for your awning on a pitch is a total rip off, it's a "stealth" charge which more and more sites are now imposing---anything to get more money from you. I think this is a sore point with many caravaners----I always avoid sites that want to charge me for an awning, ---on a pitch I have already paid for!!-----it wouldn't surprise me if they don't start charging for bedroom extensions or pup tents!!
Click to expand...
they do on some sites
 
the thing is here though that when the electric companies sought to implement this ruling where the third party could not sell the elctric,they then increased pitch fees to incorporate what would have been the cost of electic ie
Click to expand...
 
Every one is forgetting about the cost of installing the cabling and the metering. This is not cheap and can range from a few hundred pounds to a thousand pounds or more. Every installation has to be checked for safety. I think it is reasonably priced at about
 
I think Caravan club is proof of the pudding, 16amp electric (mainly) free awnings and pup tents and kids under 5 !! And still excellent value, All the others are just trying it on !! The only time I agree with charging moreis when the site has extra facilities i.e swimming pools etc etc.........
 
Every one is forgetting about the cost of installing the cabling and the metering. This is not cheap and can range from a few hundred pounds to a thousand pounds or more. Every installation has to be checked for safety. I think it is reasonably priced at about
Click to expand...
 
What is a little bit confusing is

does the pitch fee include for the electricity used for if it does then the site owner is in esscence double charging by charging
 
The opportunities for site owners are boundless.

Assuming water is included in the pitch fee, how about a water tap charge? Also, they could charge extra for emptying waste tanks. Ridiculous? By no means. I've heard of both on the grounds that not everyone has an Aquaroll (or similar) to fill and not everyone needs to dispose of waste water so why should people that don't need these facilities have to pay? Next thing they'll think of is to put padlocks on dustbins and charge extra to open them up.
 
sites now cannot charge seperately for electric,it has to be included in the price.you will now have what they call an all inclusive fee,which incorporates the charge for electric.

you will pay a different tarrif if you do not want an electric h/u.

the only way they can charge seperately for your electric now is if they install a meter at every hook up point,and meter the electricity and charge you for what you have used.this would obviously be far to expensive for most sites to do,also train of thought would be that they would not make as much money out of the electricity charge as they would without the meter????
 
sites now cannot charge seperately for electric,it has to be included in the price.you will now have what they call an all inclusive fee,which incorporates the charge for electric.

you will pay a different tarrif if you do not want an electric h/u.

the only way they can charge seperately for your electric now is if they install a meter at every hook up point,and meter the electricity and charge you for what you have used.this would obviously be far to expensive for most sites to do,also train of thought would be that they would not make as much money out of the electricity charge as they would without the meter????
Click to expand...
They're not charging for electricity, though. They're charging for the use of the socket. That way, they're getting round the law and they don't have to install a meter but can still charge extra.
 
sites now cannot charge seperately for electric,it has to be included in the price.you will now have what they call an all inclusive fee,which incorporates the charge for electric.

you will pay a different tarrif if you do not want an electric h/u.

the only way they can charge seperately for your electric now is if they install a meter at every hook up point,and meter the electricity and charge you for what you have used.this would obviously be far to expensive for most sites to do,also train of thought would be that they would not make as much money out of the electricity charge as they would without the meter????
Click to expand...
yeah i see what you are saying,but unscrupulous sites have already incorporated the electricity in with the price as per the law and are now charging for the hire of the hook up as well,this is just not on.
 
Am I missing the point here - I would always expect to pay more for a pitch with a hook-up than a pitch without - and don't most sites charge in this way? In France the hook-up charge is nearly always quoted separately - there is no actual charge for the electricity, but merely the facility to use it. We've just booked two pitches on a site in Robin Hood's Bay - we're paying
 
Am I missing the point here - I would always expect to pay more for a pitch with a hook-up than a pitch without - and don't most sites charge in this way? In France the hook-up charge is nearly always quoted separately - there is no actual charge for the electricity, but merely the facility to use it. We've just booked two pitches on a site in Robin Hood's Bay - we're paying
Click to expand...
 
The question surely is 'am I getting value for money for the complete package'? Sites charge for their services in different ways, some include kids, some give a night fee for 2 adults, with kids extra. There may be extras for dogs,awnings, pup tents etc. If the all in fee per night is
 
May I as a humble site owner please try and explain the facts over electric hook up charges. My wife and I run a small caravan and camping park in East Anglia. We have less than 60 pitches, no club, no disco, no bar, just us two trying to run a business. OFGEM (the Office for Gas and Electricity whatever) decided some years ago to stop unscrupulous housing landlords from profiteering on electricity by charging their tenants more than they were actually paying for electricity. They also decided that the new regulations should also apply to caravan parks. This meant that caravan parks had two choices, either install meters on every pitch (expensive), and read them every time someone left a pitch, work out the bill, and collect payment. (Can you imagine the queues on a large park on a Saturday morning in August) The second choice was to integrate the electric charge into the site fee, which most parks have done. BUT... VAT.... Electricity is rated for 5% VAT but pitch fees carry 17.5% VAT. We used to charge
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

TRENDING THREADS

Latest posts

Back
Top