Camping Cheques
This may be of some help to some members
With camping cheques it’s a matter of choice with the likely hood of some discount on cost.
Choice is the camp sites, we have found that three of our favourite are happy to except these out of high season and two offer 11 camping cheques for 14 nights.
Discount on ferry with camping cheques is always welcome.
This year Poole Cherbourg crossing we have made a discount over £200 by booking with the caravan club with camping cheques + additional £74.75 with the pay 6 get one free offer with camping cheques.
My chosen camp site admittedly 35 night stay does not offer the 11 for 14 nights but the discount on the normal tariff camp site amounts to £280.45 however I have an extra to pay £129.63 to have comfort grand
pitch (water, drainage, eclectic ) so reduce camp fee discount to around £50
But I have reduced our holiday cost by around the £200 simple by booking with the caravan club with camping cheques. With the port within 25 mile of home makes sense to us
Without the caravan club and camping cheques the cost
Ferry & camp fee around £1309
The package with caravan club and camping amounts to £848.90
That’s a saving of around £460, but like I said I always book ferry with the caravan club so the true saving to us is around the £200 mark for us this year. I aware that other crossing can be cheaper, but
Dover 200 miles away that 400 miles and your still not in France. Do the maths and pick whets best for you.
Hope this helps with members who yet to give Camping Cheques ago
Bob Reynolds
Comments
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Thanks Bob, although not my sort of holiday. Cheers.
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I have been using camping cheques for a number of years and they are a great idea BUT since the Caravan Club took over Alan Rogers, the U.K. agent, the price has increase. European buyers get 1 cheque for €16 but Camping Club charge £14.95 (~€19). Rip of
Britian strikes again.0 -
we are also handy for the Poole crossing....have used it before...but the Clubs crossing/cheques deal doesnt apply to poor old MHers....
With you being so handy for the BF french ports have you thought of joining the voyager club? we hadn't before but it was mentioned on another thread so I looked into it and for a M/H using the ferries twice a year you certainly seem to make more of a saving
than through the club.0 -
I have been using camping cheques for a number of years and they are a great idea BUT since the Caravan Club took over Alan Rogers, the U.K. agent, the price has increase. European buyers get 1 cheque for €16 but Camping Club charge £14.95 (~€19). Rip of
Britian strikes again.The point you have raised about the difference in cost depending on what side of the channel you are on has been raised several times before. I think it is about time someone from HQ (also asked before) comes in on this diffference . We know that heads of
departments at EG read these posts so please let the members have an explanation once and for all.0 -
At the moment the pound/euro exchange rate is volatile, and we may find that it's not long before prices are the same again. In the past the opposite applied - we got a better price buying them in pounds then the euro equivalent. Just be careful you're
not pushing for something that works against us.I maintain that the rate should always say 16 euros and give the exchange rate being applied, so we know exactly how the price is calculated.
Alan Rogers/Camping Cheques are also offering the Portsmouth/Cherbourg crossing at a reduced rate of £276 including 7 for 6 Camping Cheques. I've started a separate thread for this.
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On the surface it seems to make sense to price Camping Cheques in euros, even in the UK. One thing I am uncertain about however is whether it is actually legal for a UK agent to sell them only in euros? Does anyone know the answer?
David
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David
Is it legal for a UK agent to charge more than our European counterparts. Does it not break the rules of the Single European Market. Is it price discrimination. I don't know the answers either but it would be nice to find out.
Back to you HQ.
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Harry, I understand the point you are making, but honestly there are hundreds of things where the UK price is different from the price in mainland Europe.
Just look at tubs of rillettes in Auchan and those in Waitrose, various sorts of French cheese sold in France and sold in UK, Lavazza coffee too, ladies clothes in Zara in Spain and the same store in UK - those and dozens of others are all dearer in UK. But
equally there are dozens of things which are cheaper in the UK than in Europe. Do you want a list?So of course there is no European law governing selling prices. This Club can sell Camping Cheques at any price they choose, and you can buy them - and all the other things - wherever you wish.
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Harry, there is no such law.
Tesco sells jars of jam at prices which are different from Asda - and that's just here in the UK. Jars of jam in Europe are priced differently again. The European Commission does not dictate selling prices.
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On the surface it seems to make sense to price Camping Cheques in euros, even in the UK. One thing I am uncertain about however is whether it is actually legal for a UK agent to sell them only in euros? Does anyone know the answer?
DK, It can be done. I know of a dealer in Scotland who imports new caravans from the manufacturers in Germany, pays for them in euros, and puts them in his showroom and advertises them with prices still in euros. The customer pays in sterling at whatever is the current rate of exchange on the day. Pick a good day!
So it can be done. It's just that this Club chooses not to, and the English might be more quickly antagonistic if they saw prices in euros than the Scots are. There's a different attitude to Europe up there.
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ET, my own serches online have certainly not come up with anything to suggest it is illegal. Perhaps its more a case on convention. I perfectly take your second point and you can just see some complaining that things are priced in euros even if it was to their advantage!!!
David
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So if I stay at an Acsi site in the UK which is advertised as being 15€ can I pay for it in euros on my Caxton euro card?
Unlikely - unless they have a bank account in euros to receive your payment! They generally 'convert' the prices at whatever rate they decide, sometimes the current rate, and sometimes a spurious conversion.
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So if I stay at an Acsi site in the UK which is advertised as being 15€ can I pay for it in euros on my Caxton euro card?
When I have done that they convert the euro rate to sterling at the current rate and charge that, still usually a bargain.
David
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So if I stay at an Acsi site in the UK which is advertised as being 15€ can I pay for it in euros on my Caxton euro card?
I stayed at a UK ACSI site in October. They ACSI price was €14. When I booked I asked how they charged in £'s. It was just a straight forward conversion on the day I paid.
For interest, they charged me £10.50 per night, an absolute bargain
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Morning all
You are right, there is a price difference due to the exchange rate. The reason for this is we use a rate taken on a specific date the year before which then determines the sterling price for the year. Once the price is decided, we are committed to it. It
is a risk we have to take each year, sometimes it works out and others it doesn't and, unfortunately, it is not possible for us to adapt to daily fluctuations in the exchange rate.We have tried to offset the difference in price by offering 7 cheques for the price of 6, so if you buy 7 cheques, the price per check is lowered to £12.81.
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I am not one of those who frequently criticise the Club and its staff. I have just booked a crossing for later this year and this was dealt with very competently and pleasantly.
However, Hazel's justification for the rip-off prices of Camping Cheques (above) does not stand up. The exchange rate has been £1.00 = Euro 1.35 or much better for more than 12 months now. At this rate we should be paying no more than £11.85, however many
cheques we buy. To justify a charge of £12.95, you must assume that the rate is £1.00 = euro 1.07 - and it hasn't been this low for a considerable time.0 -
Have you looked at the direction the exchange rate has been going for the past couple of days?
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This topic has been a thorn in my side for some years, hence my earlier posts on here about having an equal chance to buy as that of our European neighbours. Some years ago, when I first started using camping cheques, I bought them from Alan Rogers. The
difference between the prices in the UK to that of Europe was the same as it is now, about £3I asked the question as to why and was given the same answer then as that of what Hazel has given now. The month they used for working out the price for the following year was September. Given that is the same now, then rates for Sept. 15 were around €1.35
and less in 2014 at €1.27 remembering the cheques were €15 in that year then what VolvoV70 says about the “Straight” exchange price works out about the same for both years around the £11.80 mark. So the profit made by Alan Rogers, then, and the club now is
the same. Now the club have come up with a “carrot” 7 for 6 offer to try and level out the difference. Something may have come to light here as things in previous years have not brought about the same offer even though the clubs "guessed" rate was on the high
side..So going on to the 7 for 6 offer. Where is this advertised? I have just checked the price online and it is still £14.95 and have ordered 7 cheques but there is no adjustment shown anywhere,
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Is this the offer you are looking for?
http://www.caravanclub.co.uk/overseas-holidays/camping-cheque/camping-cheque-offer
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Yes it is Tracy but I can only get to http://www.caravanclub.co.uk/overseas-holidays/camping-cheque. I cant seem to find the link to the last page (the offer)
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I found it by clicking on Overseas Holidays, Camping Cheques and then on the left hand side of the page click on Camping Cheque Offer.
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