Deposits and Paying
I can understand CLs wanting to take a deposit but the last two I've spoken to wanted the full cost of the booking up front one, a month before. I'm not very happy about paying up front mainly due to the variability of CLs. On more than one occasion we've left after one night. This has been due to a variety of issues, including cleanliness, overcrowding, noise issues and the worst of all, a soggy pitch. We always ask about the state of the site regarding sinking in etc., and the owners have always said it's fine, yet...
So suffice to say I'm not keen on paying up front, what do others think?
Comments
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I would agree with harryb on this one and I whilst CL owners are entitled to request a deposit the full amount is a tad rich of course cancelling is sometimes unavoidable and should if at all possible give the owner as much notice as possible but it has
to be said have that some visitors just don't bother, perhaps this owner has been bitten more than once though0 -
A few years ago I paid a deposit of a couple of nights up front for a CL. Then due to unforeseen circumstances I'd to cancel months before hand. The CL owner said I'd get my deposit back if she could refil the booking. Of course I'd no way of knowing one
or the other whether she filled the booking or not, but I didn't get my deposit back. The lesson learned was that I now phone a few days before I want to arrive such that I'll arrive before a deposit would.0 -
This is a new one on me. I've been using cl's for nearly 30 years and have never had to pay up front. I've paid a deposit and balance on arrival but never in advance.
I would use a site which had that policy
Same with us. We would not use a site if they asked for the full amount, unless of course we were only staying 1 night. There is plenty of choise out there, as far as we are concerned.
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Only been asked to pay the full amount twice and surprisingly refused twice. However I don't mind paying a small deposit and did actually send the full amount once to an owner when we had to cancel at the last minute on a bank holiday weekend. Fair's fair.
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I am happy to pay a deposit, but not to pay infull in advance. Will admit though that have never been asked for more than a deposit. We are staying on two cls this holiday, neither askedfor a deposit, and i booked earlyin the year.
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The need to request a deposit might be reduced if CLs would ask for CC membership number and address etc. They could then notify the Club of 'No Shows' who could be warned as per the CC main site policy. I rarely get asked for details other than name by
CLs when booking which could encourage 'No Shows'0 -
The need to request a deposit might be reduced if CLs would ask for CC membership number and address etc. They could then notify the Club of 'No Shows' who could be warned as per the CC main site policy. I rarely get asked for details other than name by
CLs when booking which could encourage 'No Shows'Hi Tirril Just to say I and my husband have a CL we always ask for membership numbers unfortunately at present my understanding is that the club is not able to deal with no shows on CL's in the same way that they do on club sites.
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I've just booked a CL for one night and been asked to pay upfront. £13.50 for one night so I didn't mind paying that but would not have paid more..
The only question I was asked, apart from my credit card details, was my surname. Not even whether I was a member. Clearly this CL owner didnt care if I was or not.
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The need to request a deposit might be reduced if CLs would ask for CC membership number and address etc. They could then notify the Club of 'No Shows' who could be warned as per the CC main site policy. I rarely get asked for details other than name by
CLs when booking which could encourage 'No Shows'Hi Tirril Just to say I and my husband have a CL we always ask for membership numbers unfortunately at present my understanding is that the club is not able to deal with no shows on CL's in the same way that they do on club sites.
Write your comments here... Good to hear you ask for details Benji66. It is a pity the CC don't support you a little better. If they can notify No Shows on main sites it doesn't seem impossible to me to do so for the wider network. Perhaps it is the extra
work load they are reluctant to undertake.0 -
As a CL owner, and one that is in touch with 40+ other CL Owners, I can assure you that 'No Shows' is the biggest single issue for CL's. On the one hand it's a 20% (minimum) loss of income on a pitch and on the other hand if you have turned away another member because you are full it is denying someone the pitch they wanted.
For the past 5 years we have asked for a 50% deposit in advance, and most people seem more than happy with that. If it is a large amount and a the booking is far in advance, we sometimes are prepared to negotiate on 'staging' the deposit over a couple of months, but we do insist on it.
I can understand CL owners wanting an upfront payment. It's rare right now, but it's common-place with renting holiday cottages. To secure our booking for a cottage in Wales we have to pay the deposit 12 months in advance and the balance 6 months in advance. For popular holiday cottages this is pretty much the norm.
It's a pity that the Club HQ cannot currently accept information about 'No Shows' from CL owners and place them on a list (as they are with Club Sites) but I'm told this is an issue that the CL team hope to resolve in the coming year, as soon as the new website has been deployed.
I'm pleased to report that we rarely have 'no shows'. Consequently, we will return deposits (or move them to another date) if we get sufficient notice, and we will refund a deposit if we are able to re-sell the pitch, but it all takes a lot of effort.
I hope that those (selfish) members who book multiple CL's and only turn up to the one with the best weather forecast are starting to realise that CL Owners are aware of their tactics!
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I'm happy to pay a deposit for a CL, just i would be with any other campsite or holiday let. A commercial site I booked for spring bank wanted 25% deposit and the balance 6 weeks before, so booking quite late, I ended up paying in advance. CL's are a business
at the end of the day, not run as a favour and it's other members who miss out if the pitch they really wanted was booked up by someone who then doesn't take it. The post above suggests that problem is erradicated if people have to pay a deposit.The blacklisting of no shows works for Club sites, as all their bookings are done via computer. CL owners would need access to the blacklist and would then have to manually check every potential booking, which
I'm guessing would be somewhat tiresome, some CL's are, how can i put it, somewhat old fashoioned in their operation, so would probably not benefit from it. Disputes about proving that a member had made a booking with a CL could easily arise, so i think it's
a non-starter, but support it in principle.0 -
There was a site near peranporth in cornwall we used to go to pay a £10.00 deposit then pay the balance on arrival. We have used this site on numerous occasions but the last time we wanted to book this site they wanted a Deposit first then the balance 28
days in advance. On speaking on the phone they told me that this is the new procedure, they have 5 new static caravans there. It looks to me that they are only interested in the money from the statics and not at all interested in the old customers who have
put money in their pocket in the past. My comments are on UK Campsite.0 -
I can understand CLs wanting to take a deposit but the last two I've spoken to wanted the full cost of the booking up front one, a month before. I'm not very happy about paying up front mainly due to the variability of CLs. On more than one occasion we've
left after one night. This has been due to a variety of issues, including cleanliness, overcrowding, noise issues and the worst of all, a soggy pitch. We always ask about the state of the site regarding sinking in etc., and the owners have always said
it's fine, yet...So suffice to say I'm not keen on paying up front, what do others think?
Did you write a review on the sites so that others don't get caught? We mainly use CLs and haven't had any unpleasant surprises for years since the review system came in. We have only once been asked for payment in full up front and the site owner back down
to 50% as it was only a fortnight in advance but it turned out to be the best site we have ever stayed on.0 -
We booked a CL well in advance (over six months) we knew that the CL was part sloping, but on arrival our pitch was the only sloping one on the site, all the rest were reserved for his regulars. I found that I was unable to level for & aft as the slope was too exssesive & the caravan was grounding at the rear before level. If we tried to pitch across, the downhil wheel would have been over a foot in the air. I informed the owner, I left loosing my deposit but saved damage to our caravan and us as we would not have been able to get in the caravan due to the height of the door.
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As a CL owner, and one that is in touch with 40+ other CL Owners, I can assure you that 'No Shows' is the biggest single issue for CL's. On the one hand it's a 20% (minimum) loss of income on a pitch and on the other hand if you have turned away another member because you are full it is denying someone the pitch they wanted.
For the past 5 years we have asked for a 50% deposit in advance, and most people seem more than happy with that. If it is a large amount and a the booking is far in advance, we sometimes are prepared to negotiate on 'staging' the deposit over a couple of months, but we do insist on it.
I can understand CL owners wanting an upfront payment. It's rare right now, but it's common-place with renting holiday cottages. To secure our booking for a cottage in Wales we have to pay the deposit 12 months in advance and the balance 6 months in advance. For popular holiday cottages this is pretty much the norm.
It's a pity that the Club HQ cannot currently accept information about 'No Shows' from CL owners and place them on a list (as they are with Club Sites) but I'm told this is an issue that the CL team hope to resolve in the coming year, as soon as the new website has been deployed.
I'm pleased to report that we rarely have 'no shows'. Consequently, we will return deposits (or move them to another date) if we get sufficient notice, and we will refund a deposit if we are able to re-sell the pitch, but it all takes a lot of effort.
I hope that those (selfish) members who book multiple CL's and only turn up to the one with the best weather forecast are starting to realise that CL Owners are aware of their tactics!
..Before the online booking system and the facility to stop multiple club site bookings for the same dates,it was quite a problem for wardens even the £5 dep was not a deterent
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"It's a pity that the Club HQ cannot currently accept information about 'No Shows' from CL owners and place them on a list (as they are with Club Sites) but I'm told this is an issue that the CL team hope to resolve in the coming year, as soon as the new website has been deployed."
whenever there is a debate about deposits, it is this exact point which is trotted out in an attempt to convince that 'no shows' went down when the deposits system was removed.
work that one out
so, keep your hat on, this will never happen for CLs, theyve got much else to do in getting even their basic systems up to snuff.
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Vast majority of our stays are CL's, we always show and as yet never had the need to cancel, in fact we always phone a week beforehand to ensure we have not been forgotten/overbooked etc and to assure them we are arriving.
Some required a small deposit and most did not, any site owner requiring 50% or the full whack would not get my business.
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