CL pricing
On a recent break in the northern England and Southern Scotland we used only CLs. Of the 5 we visited only one charged the price per night as shown in the latest sites directory all the others had increased their price by up to £3 per night extra. To me there can be no excuse for not charging the listed price particularly for the first year that the directory is issued. In this day of modern and rapid communication there can be no reasonable reason why the sites directory cannot show the nightly price and the CL owners be required to stick to it. It makes the FROM price shown virtually meaningless and it is high time that these last minute price rises were outlawed particularly in these times of low inflation. The practice could be likened to getting to the checkout in Tesco only to be told 'sorry we have just increased you bill by £10 ' highly undesirable.
We as members should put pressure on the club administration to ensure that the prices published are the prices that are actually charged and this sooner rather than later.
Stephen Parsons
Comments
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Agree with your comments. It would be good for CL owners to come on hear and explain why they are charging more than that shown in the current site directory during it's first year.
When booking a CL we do always inquire what price that's being charged, and if we think that the increase, if any, is excessive we won't book a pitch.
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As a CL owner I agree with you. I consider my charges for the CL and holiday cottages at Hard Farm more than a year in advance and publish them on my website. I personally stick to that price for 2 years on the CL but can understand some CL owners increasing their rates in the 2nd year of the Sites Directory if costs such as electricity increase dramatically but a £3 hike seems excessive, unless the entry in the Sites Directory was incorrect. In defence of CL owners, who do communicate with each other widely, this year seems to gave been exceptional for cancellations, early departures for which Members do not expect to pay, and 'no shows', all of which cut our income considerably and prevent other Members from enjoying the lovely sites most of us take great pride in.
We must all work together to make the system work for everyone.
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Don't believe the club will do anything to rectify, they will just say its the private owners responsibility blah, blah. You could always mention the actual price in your review. Ask at the time of booking if its more than publish price and you not happy just vote with your feet and tell the owner why.
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I can assure you that the club will have no interest in this issue whatsoever. We wrote to them to complain after we booked during the week and confirmed the price on the phone. We stayed at the weekend and the lady charged us two pound a night more (she stated we had spoken to her husband and he got it wrong but still insisted we paid and she made no apology). I would have refused but my partner dislikes confrontation so we paid and it totally ruined our stay. Neither price was unreasonable it is just the fact that they are not treating you right that annoyed me.
My local non EHU site has increased from £5 to £7.50 in a year. He told someone that the caravan club people had come out and told him to put his prices up. Whilst I have no evidence this is true, a significant amount of similar CLs seem to have made this type of price hike. Luckly there are still some basic CLs in our area that keep it down to £5 per night to enable us to go away most weekends
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At the end of the day, the directory tells you that the prices quoted are the MINIMUM you can expect to pay and to confirm the actual price with the owner at the time of booking.
At times of heavier demand surely it is not unreasonable for the CL owners to increase their prices slightly? After all, their income isn't massive from the CL.
The club varies their prices on sites throughout the year, as do most businesses connected with the tourism leisure industry, surely the CL owners should be able to do this too?
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I guess one of the advantages of emailing sites is that you can confirm in writing what the price is going to be. I take the "from" price with a pinch of salt but always confirm what the nightly rate will be. Incidentally, doesn't the detail for CAMC main site pricing also say "from"?
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We have now gone well over 12 months without ever staying at a club site. There was once a time when we only used club sites , but for us the £20 per night invisible barrier came down. We changed to CL's and providing they had EHU we were very happy.
There are some real Jewels in the CC's, CL network . This year in June we stayed at a lovely CL Nr Okehampton which had outstanding views and EHU, and still only charged £10 per night. Then later in the month in Pembrokeshire - Kilgetty. A nice CL again with EHU, but in this case just as we were setting up, out came the owner with a lovely tray of Tea, Coffee and biscuits. "Because she thought we would be tired after our journey"
There will be others but CL's are the star's in the CC's Crown.
( I have now come to the conclusion that the best way for me to manage the CC's change of name is to not use it. For me and I suspect many others it will remain the Caravan Club )
TF
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Also frustrated by different prices. Even web sites quote different. As a peripatetic vaner we turn up on spec. If price not as stated will complain and if we stay give a poor review. Cls not helping themselves and we now use commercials much more often than in the past.
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I agree with the OP in that there is no excuse in the first year of the book to be any different. It is annoying when you arrive on site to find that there is more to pay than you thought! Or where the use of an awning isn't mentioned in the book and you are asked at the end of your holiday for another £30 as they are £2 a night!!! (St Davids!) Nice area but a lost customer! I always check the price now when I book the site so there is no unpleasant surprises along the way. My favourite CL put their prices up by £1 this year with endless apologies to the customers. £3 does seem excessive. I am an exclusive user of CLs and wouldn't ever consider a club site. Not because I can't afford it but because I find I can have just as good a holiday on a non EHU CL at a fifth of the price and why would I want to pay the amazing prices the club charges? I'm sure I'll get many a reply to that! CLs are amazing and much appreciated by their users. Thank you to all you CLs who contribute to our network and make our caravanning experience just fabulous. As already said, they are the jewel in the crown!
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I suppose one way to overcome this problem would be for the Club to insist that CL's use a range of say four prices rather like ACSI sites in Europe and maintain those prices for the duration of the Handbook. Whether CL owners would like this method I don't know and I imagine that it could lead to a general upping of prices. Perhaps better to put it down to experience?
David
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One of the reasons why we always phone to book is so that we can drill down what the costs of our stay is going to be. The handbook and website gives a minimum cost, but experience has taught us that there may be a difference between Summer and Winter price, given the higher use of electricity, and there may just be some add on or other missed from the reference material! We have a limit on what we will pay dependent upon what the site is offering, and if it doesn't meet our expectation, we will say thank you, but no and politely move on. Rarely happens though. If I was promised one price, and then asked to pay another on arrival, then we would walk away.
Little note for solo travellers, take a look at some small private sites. Over last couple of years, I have had to leave my OH alone to come home for a few days. Some sites have charged us less for one person staying. Admittedly, our MH is only small, and we never use much electricity, but always worth asking.
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Agree with TDA and others. If the owner had the cheek to ask for two pounds extra after confirming the price on the 'phone, then I would give them the ultimatum of the original price confirmed, or nothing.
Can easily find another CL, I've never let a CL down by none attendance or early departure and expect the trust to be reciprocated, I'm not averse to paying a deposit, this would also confirm the price...
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Would the anonymous Moderator who removed my last post content, at least have the courtesy and good manners to introduce themselves and give a reason why the content was removed.
Thank you
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I don't believe the moderators engage in discussion in the open forum on matters relating to moderation decisions, its stated in the community guidelines, as is what to do if you are unhappy with moderation decisions.
I think this is a pretty common approach across forums of all types as I see it quite often in forum rules and guidelines.
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BrianT Mine has been removed as well, and there was certainly nothing rude or controversial in it!
I now wish to make a formal complaint re what appears to be blatant censorship on this forum
The message of which I have a copy in "my profile' was timed at 09.23.
TF
Moderator Comment - Is this the one you are looking for
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Correct, there appears to be two threads running started by the same original poster.
So although TF understandably thinks his post has been removed it actually hasn't.
There was a comment from someone, not TF, about someones post being "stupid" which has been removed however.
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That comment was from me.....
To clarify, I didn't call a post "stupid", I, in fact said, that it was a "stupid suggestion, in my humble opinion".
Are we not allowed opinions on this forum anymore?
More to the point, why the anonymity? This, in my opinion is bordering on the ignorant.......
Moderator Comment - It is unacceptable to refer to a post or its contents as stupid and as it was just a throw away line it was Deleted User. By all means debate the subject but your comment added nothing to that debate. Can I also remind you that it is against the rules of this forum to question moderator decisions. However you do have the option of taken the matter up with the Community Manager
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Moderator, how about sorting out the problem of duplicate posts where for the some reason trying to go back on one take me to the other one which I've already read!!
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Thank you for the explanation, who ever you are.
As I said before, I did not say that the post was stupid , only one part of it that I highlighted.
Other posts on other threads use the "stupid" word, but they are untouched........ Strange that...... Guess it's because they were not replying to a post that was posted by a moderator......
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Just a reminder to all to please keep the conversation friendly and constructive. It is easy to misunderstand the intention of a post when you can't see expression or hear tone of voice. Many thanks.
Thank you Stevesl for your feedback and this has been sent to the CL team to review. The handbook is printed once every 2 years so the prices shown are always the minimum. We would recommend checking with the owner to confirm the price before you stay and also looking at the website where the prices are more up to date. Thanks everyone for your feedback and comments.
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We had an instance of this different price for CL, and we took the information from the CC website, not a paper book that has to be printed, a website can be updated as required especially a price.
We stayed at a CL that was listed online as £10 per night, but when we arrived nothing was said until the following day when they came to collect the fees, it was then they said the price was wrong, it is not £10 that was last year’s price, it is now £12 per night plus an extra 1 per night for the awning. Well nothing in the book or website that says extra for an awning!
The other stays we have booked caused me to call them all back and specifically ask what the fees were and again out of three one quoted £14 per night but when asked turns out it is £14 per night but an extra £5 per person so a cheap £14 per night goes up to £24 per night!
Would have been really easy to list this, there is a space for "Extras" on the site
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This sort of behaviour will kill the Cl system as more and more of us will cease using them. There is no reason for the prices on web sites to be up to date and for extras to be charged that are not mentioned. Perhaps you would like to name those sites so that we can make sure we are not caught out.
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Lesson learnt, then. Always ask the price when booking be it on the phone or on-line, then you will be aware what you are going to be charges and can either choose to go or not if the price is too great for the services advertised.
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Sorry but I don't really buy that, if I go into a shop and see something I want and there is a price on it, I don't then go to the checkout and ask them to confirm the price.
If I buy something on-line, I see what price is advertised and then decide to buy it, I don't then expect to be told thanks for your order that is X pounds more than we quoted.
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If you go to book a holiday,cottage, etc and the advert say that the price is "from £xx" do you expect to pay the "£xx" price or do you enquire what the price will be when you visit? 'Tis the same with the CC's site Directory & web site, CL sites are listed with a "from" price. As I said you should always ask, and then you'll know what to expect when you come to pay.
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(from above quote) ... looking at the website where the prices are more up to date ...
Unfortunately the website is nearly as bad as the handbook. I have contacted about 15 sites today to get somewhere for this week and next and only 2 were displaying the asked for pitch fee per night.
I can't see any reason why CL owners shouldn't be told that members will only have to pay the price currently quoted on the website. That will ensure that they keep the website up to date!
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