New Forest 20% Discount removed for Disabled

[Anthony_374303973]

Hi all. For those of you who are Disabled I wrote to complain in regards to the removal of the 20% discount for those who are Disabled which helped me along with others disabled persons like myself afford at least a break from time to time throughout the summer as being on a low income it's very expensive to stay at most other sites. Heres my reply from The new forest..........Dear Mr and Mrs Lovell

Thank you for your email of 6th May 2007 which has been passed onto me at Forest Holidays LLP. We operate 10 caravan and camping sites within the New Forest, all our sites are on Forestry Commission land and were at one point ran by the Forestry Commission. I write with regard to your email questioning the removal of the 20% discount for our disabled customers.

We have taken some advice from our consultants regarding what actions we should be taking to be compliant with the Disability Discrimination Act of 2005. They have informed us that we should as a business be striving to provide the same level of service and access for our disabled customers as our able bodied customers rather than putting a discount in place. We are committed to upgrading our facilities to improve their accessibility for our disabled customers and this is one of the areas we are planning to invest further in.

There are currently no plans to reintroduce the 20% discount for our disabled customers.

However we are happy to give you a free Forest Experience card which will give you a £3 per night saving when staying at our sites. The Forest Experience card scheme is also being expanded by our site teams to give holders of the card discounts at tourist attractions local to our sites.

I hope that this goes some way to explaining why the discount has been removed and that you are able to continue caravanning in the future.

Yours sincerely

Lizzie Leatherbarrow

On Behalf of Forest Holidays

My Answer to this was.............Thanks for getting back. We have a Frest Experience card which never existed before but does not compensate at all as my wife & I feel it's a case of give in one hand & take from the other and does not seem fair as the elderly still get the 20% discount, so what it the excuse for this? I see what your saying in relation to further planning to help disabled people but surely this would have been fairer to keep the 20% disabled discount untill such time all such services & access for the disabled was finished first? as a result & being on such a low income through no fault of mine. This will probably be the last of our caravanning days. I'm going to be letting our views known also to the Caravan Publishers of Practical Caravan & Caravan Magazines. This is not about improving access e.g this is about whether disabled persons like my wife and I who live on such a low income can afford to go caravanning anymore. As it is we cannot afford to go abroad & we could only afford a cheap second hand tiny caravan that took us years to save up for. I'm only to sorry to say that as a result of changes not only are we forced to give up next year but many others who I've spoken to at various sites in the same situation feel the same. Id like to point out also that had it also not been for my wife anyway who is my full time carer who only gets paid an insulting £46 a week does not even get much of a break herself as she still has to help me wash dress and cook for me as I'm unable to. Who helps her when she needs a break? I doubt your planning and investment includes that?.

Mr A & Mrs B Lovell

What do others think?

 

[Mark_374234073]

I was also about to pen to paper, we are hopping mad. Last year we went to Setthorns for the May bank holiday 3 nights standard pitch cost

 

[MikeAce]

I dont want to sound harsh but i disagree.

In my line of work, i work with the elderly and disabled i treat everyone regardless of colour, age, sex, mobility etc with the same level of respect and equality as everyone else.

I find that the majority of my disabled clients do not want discounts or hand outs, they simply want to be treated the same as able bodied people and shown the same amount of respect. (which you all deserve)

The site should be striving to provide level access thresholds, ramps etc so that wheel chair users can gain access to all areas of the site which will keep their independence in tact, not giving you an inconvenience handout for making do with the facilities to hand.

Sorry to disagree with you but these are just my experiences.

 

[MikeAce]

In addition, a discount for the disabled and elderly should be treated as a gesture of goodwill on the companies part, not a given right. The camp site is not a charitable organisation.

please dont all take offence to this, none is intended.

 

[Nautilus_374303586]

I read this post several times before deciding to answer it publicly. I too am now disabled and as a result on a dratsically reduced income.

However, I must agree with MikeAce. I don't ask for or want special treatment or prices.I expect to be treated in the same way as any other person. Luckily my disability is not as severe or apparent as some, but at times does prevent me from enjoying activities I previously enjoyed.

I don't want sympathy, hand-outs or any other preferential treatment. Within reason (and I appreciate it is not always practical or economically possible especially for samll businesses) just give me equal respect and an equal level of service.

 

[Lord Braykewynde]

In fairness to Anthony not all disabled people have the same level of income. Some are extremely well off but if someone hasn't been on a high wage throughout their life or don't have a comfortable pension they shouldn't be penalised for wanting to carry on caravanning with an old caravan, which is all that they can afford. Over a season

 

[Nautilus_374303586]

I'm afraid I disagree Lord Braykewynde. While I appreciate your attentions are good most of us (and I can assure you that I am not an a high pension and don't have huge savings to draw on) want merely to be treated in the same way as fully able bodied people and not receive any additional sympathy or help. I am me and not one of 'these people'. To give disabled people additional financial help in this way can engender prejudices in the same way that some are against the illegal immigrants you mention and I do agree they should not be receiving handouts . Two wrongs don't make a right but that's another discussion.

 

[Alan Partridge]

I don't begrudge reductions for 'the disabled', but perhaps the answer is to make sure those unable to work through chronic illness or disability have a decent income?

 

[Nautilus_374303586]

I don't begrudge reductions for 'the disabled', but perhaps the answer is to make sure those unable to work through chronic illness or disability have a decent income?

Good point. I should have thought of that myself

 

[coljac]

It may have escaped your notice but forest holidays are now run by the camping and caravan club .A few million changed hands at the time of the deal. Someones got to pay .

You can also look forward to a

 

[Val & Frank]

Thin end of the wedge this one, next it will be pensioners discounts being taken away. I am not taking sides just pointing out what I see happening.

I do think the "Clubs" could do a little more to help the disabled, afterall they are not in it for profit, but to serve the members.

Val & Frank

 

[coljac]

Thin end of the wedge this one, next it will be pensioners discounts being taken away. I am not taking sides just pointing out what I see happening.

I do think the "Clubs" could do a little more to help the disabled, afterall they are not in it for profit, but to serve the members.

Val & Frank

Frank ,the two clubs do not give dicounts to any group .

Only comercial sites give dicounts to pensioners during the out of season periods.

As far as the clubs belonging to the members they do not.

Dont get me wrong ,im in the CC and i think they are value for money, the sites are well run and clean

 

[MikeAce]

Sorry to disagree again but the clubs are in it for profit, not for their members, like i stated above, they are not charities, they are businesses.

People in general have grown used to discounts for kids, elderly, disabled, pets etc, what everyone seems to have forgotten is that these discounts are set up by the businesses as good will gestures, i understand that they pull in more business too but in no way are they obliged to give discounts.

Giving people money for disabilities is certainly the appropriate way, however, giving people money to go on holiday is not really appropriate, like the single parents of the country, they are given money to survive not to live life to the max, its a cold harsh reality.

Like i stated, the majority of my clients, and some are very poor, would not ask for a discount, they would prefer to access all areas of the site like the rest of us, lets not forget that this company are making the effort to meet the discrimination act of 2005, many companies simply cannot be bothered.

 

[trucker]

There are alot of camp sites which are cheap in comparison to the ones mentioned above. A good cl is alot cheaper and some offers a good level of comfort. im sorry but I shouldnt as an able bodied lowish income family man have to subsidise anyones holiday. A bit of work hunting around on line or the phone can save a fortune on a holiday.

Kevin H

 

[Hamer_5041128]

Cojac,

Sorry to say you are wrong. The Camping and Caravan Club give an age discount to the over 55's outside high season, and even on some sites in high season. The discount is quite a saving.

Hamer