Pitch Rent
Comments
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It must be a SY thing paul56, I still chunter about our one and only bad experience with a Jobsworth at Cirencester, must be at least 15 years ago now. But I bet he still remembers me as well! He got his comeuppance in front of a reception full of visitors, polite, measured but very to the point! His wife was still giving him grief as we left!
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Please let me try to clarify a few points - yes the caravan overhung by about 2', yes the steadies were on the grass with 6"x8" pads underneath and yes there was room to move the caravan forward - but, i had to reverse onto the pitch at a 45deg angle to avoid the grass fingers and unhitch at that angle. It was subsequently impossible to hook up the caravan in a straight line to move the outfit forward without making a mess of the very wet grass areas.
i was told by the warden to use the mover - "what mover". Next I was shown some alternative pitches - "all difficult access". Then the warden questioned my reversing!! After that my wife and myself decided we would stay where we were, cancel our booking and leave in the morning. Our tow vehicle is 22' long, I'm pretty good at reversing and I've held a UK driving licence for 61 years.
John
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If it had been me, I would have given you a round of applause for actually getting your outfit onto the pitch! Your caravan and tow vehicle, and the fact you don't have a mover, make you a very unusual member, and the Club doesn't always cater too well for the less than average member. Nor do many of the pitches/sites make things easy. I hope you get an apology from HQ.
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You have a nice unit, could be a bit of somebody being envious and applying the rules for their own gratification, best thing you did was to leave and enjoy your selves elsewhere👍🍷🍷
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On many Caravan Club pitches I have used in the past the caravan has hung over grass at the back - and at the front, and even had the wheels (all four) on the grass. I guess the warder in question had never served at a site with anything but full hard standings.
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You’ll be happy for this warden to continue being rude to members will you, WK57?
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They have
But as with a lot of "older"sites without a complete redesign and rebuild, roads and pitches were not when the sites opened,expected to cater for the length of today's outfits,when a big c/van normally had an internal length of 16ft, and a big tow car was the length and as wide as a modern small family car
Still no excuse for the reported attitude of the site staff
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I’m glad you said "absolutely not", WK57.
Most surveys go to outside companies with only the bare bones of the results being forwarded to the commissioning company. For that reason I urge you to also contact the Sites Department and make them aware of events as you have here. In fact, I will report your opening post in the hope it receives attention from those who can investigate the issue.
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You would think (well I would think) that when a Club member nearly 80 years old arrives with such a big caravan as the one shown in the photo, that the warden would stir himself or herself to come out from behind the office desk, walk outside with the old gentleman, and ask whether he would like any help finding a suitable pitch and installing the thing. I had a restaurant waiter last weekend take my coat, show me to a table, and pull a chair out. Customer service, isn't it ?
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TW
I am not so sure where the information is collated is important but what would be true, and maybe what you are alluding to, is that one very poor survey result on a popular site with lots of survey submissions is unlikely to skew the results enough for the Club to take notice unless of course what happened is a regular occurrence? One of the reason I suggested the OP write a review is because there is a greater chance of it being seen or take up your suggestion of writing direct to the Club.By writing direct to the Club the OP could also mention if he was out of pocket by moving sites. It would also be interesting to know how the wardens reacted when he changed sites as I imagine he would have had to had a pretty big refund after only staying one night.
David
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David - we couldn't book another club site until we had first cancelled the Wharfedale booking - so to be certain we got somewhere to stay, we booked a pitch with the Camping and Caravanning Club at Windermere. We then cancelled our stay at Wharfedale and got a full refund.
John
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Ordinarily I wouldn't bother commenting on a thread like this, however having arrived at Wharfedale the same day as the OP and still being here, I have the following to say.
All we have is the OP's version of events and the kangaroo court has found the warden guilty. In our interactions with all wardens on site we have found them polite, courteous & friendly. There is also a very large motor home opposite us that overhangs the grass, to which the wardens seem to have no issue with.
We also had the misfortune to be one of 2 solo cars that followed the OP off site yesterday. I say misfortune as anyone who knows the Dales will be aware of the tight twisty lanes, and an outfit of the OP's size is obviously going to cause inconvenience to other road users, however Wharfedale benefits from having half a mile of wide tarmac site roads, where pulling over to allow solo vehicles to pass before getting to the Dales roads would not cause any problems. Something I have done many times if followed off site by a solo vehicle. The OP for whatever reason chose not to do this, an action which said as much to my wife and myself as to the OP's "attitude" as others have said of the wardens.
Although I have no reason to disbelieve the OP's version of what went on, there are 2 sides to every story, and the public trial of this warden is both unfair and unhelpful to the club, especially as I assume the warden will be prohibited from putting his side of the story on a public forum.
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Wharfedale benefits from having half a mile of wide tarmac site roads, where pulling over to allow solo vehicles to pass before getting to the Dales roads would not cause any problems. Something I have done many times if followed off site by a solo vehicle. The OP for whatever reason chose not to do this,
Perhaps he did not realise you impatience?
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Where did I state I was impatient or in a hurry? Common courtesy and being aware of other road users I would have hoped was something all club members strove to uphold, especially considering the bad press caravanners get.
As said I wouldn't normally comment on a thread like this, and your reply has made me realise why I don't.
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It may be that some are completely oblivious of others when we were leaving Ferry Meadows earlier this year another member drove out of his "rented hard stand"in front of us and commenced to reverse on to his c/van and commence his hookup procedure, completely it seemed, unaware we were trying leave although he must have seen us approaching when he first drove off his "rented hardstand"
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I am afraid trial by media seems to be the accepted way to do things these days. Personally I don't think a forum, on which the accused has no right of reply, the correct place to deal with this sort of complaint. I am by no means saying do not complain. However, make it formally in writing and send it signed for. Most large companies have a complaints procedure, with time limits on responses, and it is likely to have far more impact carried out in this manner than on CT. Plus a response is more or less guaranteed.
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On the face of it, it appears that the site staff have not communicated between them and suported each others actions, in order to solve the problem. However, I agree with SteveL. This needs to be investigated by the powers that be at East Grinstead, so I would suggest that WK57ABF takes it up with the appropriate team at Head Office so that they can investigate. We can do no more than speculate, but hopefully a direct response will help sort out the problem, if only to insure that the problem does not occur again.
David
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I have reported the OP, David, and asked that it be investigated by the appropriate department. It really needs looking at by EG rather than being discussed here or reported in a survey. Whatever transpired, it's not left a happy member or a happy warden.
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Hi everyone,
I have also suggested that we have an official response to this thread. I suspect we will only go round in circles second guessing what has happened, so I will close the thread until we get an official response. I have emailed Rowena and I'm sure she will open the thread with a response or for further discussion if she feels it is worthwhile.
Looking forward to getting an official response to this one.
Thanks for your thoughts so far.
David
Comment from the Community Manager
Hi everyone,
Just to clarify, outfits are permitted to overhang the rear of the pitch as long as they are not causing an obstruction, impinging upon the required fire break or too close to any site equipment/infrastructure. The site staff can provide guidance to members on such occasions.
This discussion has been sent to the Regional Manager of the area for his reference. Any complaints can be sent to the Club UKSitesBookingService@camc.com. many thanks.
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