Actual price *substantially* different to advert
Cl site advertised (2021 price) at (from!) £13 per night, but actual price (1 Person, Nov, 5 nights) is £20 per night (53% increase!). (Breakwater holiday cottages and caravan park, near Louth)
When queried with the site, £13 is per night for 28 consecutive nights from Dec to march...
How is this price difference acceptable? Surely it beaches advertising rules on being misleading and inaccurate?
(I didn't think we were allowed under club rules to stay at a site for that length if time?)
Fiona
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I would doubt it breaches any advertising rules. Main CAMC sites are advertised in the same way. For instance Cirencester is shown as from £11.35 but goes right up to £22.40 at peak. Even more if was a service pitch. The other club uses a similar ploy. Particularly as a CL may offer with or without EHU and I believe some are increasing winter prices to cover increasing electric costs, I would expect a fair variation in from to maximum.
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Indeed Steve. I have, in the past, come across CL's own website showing significantly higher prices in Winter.
A CL can have a range of seasonal prices if the owners feel it suitable. The owner s not going to put its highest price in the 'price 'from guidance.
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As above, I doubt it actually breaches advertising rules; having had a look at the CL, that "from" price is actually from 01/01/2019. So not an up-to-date "from" price, which is something that should be updated to the current year IMHO. Also it says that "electricity is available"; that could mean at an extra cost, a bit vague IMHO.
I always check the price before placing a firm booking, and this shows the need to do so, if you don't want an unpleasant surprise on arrival. I must say that I've never come across such a difference in price on any CL or CS we've stayed on, but as I said, that price is from 2 years ago, and the electricity issue could be another factor.
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I think it is common knowledge that, especially since the introduction of the biannual site guide book, actual prices may not be as published. We always check the details when booking. I hate surprises!
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Perhaps the CAMC could set a good example by, at least show a "range" price 'From x to y' in the absence of any realistic pricing information in the handbook.
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So the moral is everyone check with the site owner as to what their prices are, and what is included - EHU for example. Then there are no surprises.
I can quite understand that a 'price from' in say June will go into the clubs listings and be published the following year however the site owner increases prices meanwhile.
It pays to check!
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I take the price quoted after the word "from" to be nothing more than very broadly indicative and only likely to apply in very particular circumstances.
Almost all advertisers use this technique where price is key. And the lowest price will always be relatively obscure - off season, or bulk purchase or some other special circumstances.
Isn't this just common knowledge or am I being unfair?
Of course, you could argue that it is not morally right and that some new rules or laws should be introduced to stop it. I suppose in very extreme cases one could make a complaint to the Advertising Standards Agency. But they are hardly likely to take it seriously in this case I think.
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No you're not and it is.
I leant very early (from when I started to pay for things) that I would never get the from price, and indeed never have!
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Isn’t it similar with advertised discounts? Up to 50% off can mean just 1% off, or less.
I never, ever take these things at face value but always consider the implications of the words.
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Caveat emptor-always & without exception. That way you never feel let down👍🏻
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Any good CL which charges £20 or under for 2 adults with electric hookup is a bargain in my mind.
We have a list of CL's we use regularly £15/£16 Mark.
Plus there are loads of independent sites out there with pitches with electric for under £20 H/S & Grass.
Gone for us are the days when we paid £30+ per night on a club site with basic standard awning pitch.
And how silly we were to pay well over £40+ per night for a service pitch at Chatsworth, we must have been absolutely bonkers.
We've found being members of the other club gives us a generous over 60's discount at certain times of the year, something this club would never do I feel. 🤔😮
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For the majority of CLs, in the first year of the publication of the S D at least, you are being unfair. We have been charged the published price on many of the sites that we have used this year.
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I still regard the CAMC "pricing" in the SD to be an exercise in obscurantism.
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That's what I found, as well as the fact that it states that "electricity is available", which could be interpreted as: available at an extra cost. Who knows, unless one asks the CL beforehand. I always check the cost before making a firm booking, but must admit that, like nellie upthread, we haven't actually been charged more than the price stated on this website on any CL this year or last.
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OH recently contacted a site we are interested in for next spring, the price given on this website is £12 ......for 2016.
Now, this is a place that also has cottages and camping pods to hire, so not a small enterprise. WHY do they not submit an update?
OH e mailed them and the current price is now £14, but will be going up, to an undisclosed amount next year.
The site also has its own website, but there are no prices for any of their accommodation given, which I find odd.
We may well use this site, depending on next year's price, but I find the lack of up front, clear pricing on their own website unsettling.
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I too find the absence of clear pricing on websites annoying. That is one of the primary bits of information required. Perhaps these places operate on the "Rolls Royce" principle. "If you have to ask the price, you can't afford it".
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In my view, if a site advertises one price then charges quite a lot more then it is NOT endearing themselves to any customers and is bad business practice! Similarly, if I am charged what I feel is far too much for a particular service, then I go elsewhere in future. They may have made a good profit on the one transaction, but they are not going to get many repeat customers and indeed, may receive negative reviews, which will put prospective customers off.
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Mmm, we generally do not even ask if a CL has a very out of date price, but we knew Nellie had stayed there, and he does not use expensive CLs!
We were pleasantly surprised that the price had only gone up by £2 in 5 years, though I suppose that is about a 17% increase. However, for the facilities provided .........HS, EHU, toilets and showers......it was still a very good deal.
We usually use the nearby CAMC site when the mid week discount is available, but that is pretty restrictive around Easter.
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I take that as a compliment, Kjell!
The most expensive one that we've stopped on this year is also the one that got one of the worst reviews I have ever posted, so high price doesn't ensure a decent site.
BTW which CL was it that you were referring to?
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Yes, Kjell, we have used it a couple of times, and would certainly use it again, if we could get a pitch.
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We didn't pay one when we were there last year, Kjell. Hope you get a pitch, as long as you save one for us should we want to go at the same time.
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Declared pricing of CLs is a bit of a mystery. We have the directory, and we have the Club web site. Sometimes the site has its own web site or face book page. Plenty of scope for different prices!
What can also happen is that the page for the site on the Club website can show two different prices. One price is in bold, near the top, but down near the bottom there is scope for a price to be added.
A site I viewed recently had a higher price in this bottom portion - so obviously they had informed the Club of a price rise - but it hadnt been corrected across the whole page! Not the owners fault?
I thought all CLs that have electricity have the phrase "Electricity available" on the thumbnail of the site (when you search by county) and in their full web entry.
I always check price before booking.
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