Job loss threatens our Summer Hols to Du Letty

[BigTim]

We have booked Camping Du Letty in Benodet for 4 weeks from late July travelling via Plymouth/Roscoff.

Unfortunately my wife has just lost her job and as I have recently retired on a limited pension we are looking at how to best re-arrange our holiday. As we had to pay Du Letty a 30% non-refundable booking deposit we are hoping that we can still go there for at least some of the time we had booked. Looking at Du Letty's booking conditions it appears they do permit alterations to their bookings.

We had booked our ferry crossing through the Caravan Club. Does anyone know if it is possible to cancel our Brittany Ferries crossing and change to a crossing through the Caravan Club with DFDS? That would save us a lot of money, even taking account of the increased mileage to get there. I know that at the very least we would have to pay an amendment fee of £20 to the Caravan Club.

Unfortunately we had not got around to taking out any insurance as I was still weighing up whether we could find a cheaper alternative to Red Pennant.
We are really gutted by the whole situation as we had been really looking forward to our hols after a difficult and challenging year.

We spent a lot of time yesterday working together on how we can perhaps salvage at least some of the holiday - we could certainly do with it!!!

I'd be interested to hear if anyone else has experience of amending booking with the Caravan Club so that I know where I stand and can approach from a more knowledgeable position. From their T&Cs it seems to say that it IS possible with an amendment fee but I'm not certain.

Any advice will be gratefully received.

Thanks

Tim

 

[otherclive]

You have a contract with the Caravan Club and their terms and conditions are defined within the booking paperwork. Rather than waste time soliciting replies on the forum which may or may not be relevant to your situation I think you should telephone the CC Travel service and explain your situation and what your aims are in amending the booking. Believe me you won't be the first to have had problems and I have always found their staff very helpful. It's a pity that you did not have insurance, but that's history. If you do manage to salvage your holidays either CC or C&CC overseas vehicle and medical insurance are excellent if the worst should happen. They are geared up to sorting out the problems that beset caravan/motorhome touring. We will be going to Poland later this summer (no van) andalthough the car has its own manufacturers assistance policy with it, I will still take out Red Pennant too.

Good luck, hope the hols go ahead.

 

[BigTim]

Thanks for your comments Clive. Although I was already perfectly aware of my contractural relationship with the Caravan Club I do feel that getting some insights from other folk WOULD be useful. The CC's terms and conditions don't actually detail the different cancellation policies for Brittany ferries and the other ferry companies. In fact comments on other caravan websites have given me a number of helpful ideas.
Looking again at Red Pennant Insurance booklet, unless I am mistaken, it seems that it would not have helped me in the situation of cancelling because of unemployment I have taken out RP insurance every summer for many years but I'm afraid that other concerns meant that I had not got around to checking out the insurance possibilities for this year.
I had actually phoned CC before I read your posting and I am pleased to say that as we are more than 30 days prior to our departure we would only loose £20 cancellation/amendment fee if we took either action. We are now weighing up the pros and cons of our various options and are hopeful of being able to salvage at least some of our hols.
Thanks again for your comments.
Tim

 

[ValA.]

Tim, as I said elsewhere, I'm really sorry to hear your predicament, but it's perfectly possible to have a great holiday 'on the cheap'. We've been on a seriously reduced income this year and last with only one pension between two of us (OH doesn't qualify for anything as my pension is deemed enough for two - and believe me it isn't a 'index linked' job either, just the State Pension plus a modest amount from 17 years of contributions) and we've still managed to have a great holiday.
To be honest half the fun for us is to see how cheaply we can do it. If you've paid a deposit at Du Letty then stay there until you've 'used up' the deposit in pitch fees, and then move on somewhere cheaper. The smaller campsites can be idyllic places to stay, and you can shop at Lidl - poulet Jaunes (corn fed chickens) were 3.29€ last week, and delicious too and one chicken can make several meals - cooked with veg, cold with salad, bits in a risotto, and then a chicken noodle soup. Their Entrecote steaks were 2.89€ -and equally good, either with frites or a single one made into a Stroganoff with a few mushrooms. We never barbecue, considering it tooo expensive, but always make 'something' with meat, fish or chicken. We could buy baguettes at the 'concession' in the mall of the HyperU at 49 cents, or 2.00 euros for five - and at Lidl (with the bread 'ovens') croissants were just 29 cents - and just as buttery and delicious as the 1€ ones elsewhere! Look for the 'end of day bargains' - we got some duck breasts very reasonably, and we were finding Crevettes as just 5.50€ a kilo (no we didn't buy a kilo!!) Salads were cheap from the local market garden or even at the supermarket (though oddly more expensive at Lidl) tomatoes were 1€ a kilo and three melons were 1€!
It's bound to be a worrying time - but you can salvage something from the mess - and you might even enjoy it.