Caravan Club Insurance Discounts & Storage Issues
Judging by the listed comments it seems that storage is a major concern to club members.
My current experience is relevant to this discussion. We have been CC members since 1986 and have stored at My Caravan Space for about 3 years when they took over the storage from the original owner. During 2021 a new "security" system was introduced which entailed entering a secure code each time the site was entered This is a CaSSOA site and I have taken advantage of the Club Insurance Offer of discount on my caravan insurance which saves me £40.48. The new security system failed and I was not allowed access. I was told I had caused the problem, but I had not accessed the system so could not have made any changes. If this sounds like the recent issues with The Post Office computer system, then it is. Having had this issue, we were resolved to move the van at the end of the year and on January 11th arrived on site to remove the van, knowing there would be a daily rate storage to pay. We worked this out to be £580/365 giving a daily rate of £1.58 x 11 with an amount to pay of £ 17.38 . The security gate personal advised me the van was not on the system. We were allowed to go to the van and found the brake off and it seemed that someone had attempted to move it. The brakes were hard on, so they could not and it took some time to release. I then contacted the storage head office and spoke to the owner who wanted £20 per day daily storage costs (£110) to release the van. This equates to £7,300 per year. This is an approved site which is recommended by our club. The £40.48 saving was wiped out completely several times. I spoke to CaSSOA who have a head office in Nottingham. "They are not concerned with the credibility of registered companies" , they only deal in their site security and offered this statement. "They said the last date they checked the security" was 01.01.2021, on this date the site was closed for holidays, they would not have been allowed in. Is my club aware of this exploitation? By offering a discount to members to use company with a flawed security system that really and does not bother who they work with. Knowing how important security is to club members it seems that our club, have taken the eye off the ball and the recommendation to members should be withheld immediately and members who thought they were paying the maximum for storing their van were not getting anywhere near that security level or the customer service they were expecting when it comes with the endorsement of The Caravan Club. In an age when we are able to change supplier of utilities it should be mandatory for our club to only recommend storage sites who have no Daily Rate extraction
Comments
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Quite a lot in your post there vanners.
I'm not sure that storage is a major concern to club members? I've not picked this up and perhaps cost is but not the actual security itself? I'm not concerned about my storage, it is a CaSSOA gold site, I get a discount from my insurance/cover, I'm happy with the security and that's the end of it.
Is your site actually recommended by the club? Is that written down? I've looked at two documents produced by the club and can't see any such recommendation (apart from their own sites of course) and I've also looked at the CaSSoA website and there is nothing there? Could you name the site?
Are you perhaps confusing giving a discount for being recommended? Most insurance companies give discount for various things like CaSSoA sites and tracking devices, I don't think that means they recommend them?
https://www.caravanclub.co.uk/media/22438/storing%20your%20caravan%20or%20motorhome.pdf
https://www.cassoa.co.uk/site-surveys-accreditation/
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The OP has also posted this in the the storage fees thread where replies have been along the same lines as yours, Corners.
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Thank you for your comments. I believe the action of offering a discount on insurance, which includes a mandatory requirement to use an approved storage site, amounts to an incentive and as such the Caravan Club should be aware of what it is they are recommending to club members.
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I suggest you contact the club, Vanners.
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Again where does approved come from?
mandatory requirement to use an approved storage site You can use whatever storage site you like you just won't get the discount.
In fact why not use another site not having 'approved or recommended' status, or even refuse the discount offered?
In essence the club says use a CoSSoa site and you'll get a discount. It does not approve or recommend such sites at all. It's probably to do with the fact that such sites overall are more secure.
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Many thanks for taking toe time to contribute. I may not have made the issue very clear.
The CaSSOA is based in an office in Market Square House in Nottingham. They have staff who travel the country checking the suitability and sustainability of security for caravan storage.
They visit each site with their check list about every 5 years.
One site was included which they stated had been checked on 1.01.2021 this was when the site was closed for holidays and no one was admitted.
A Caravan Club Member, who had until 31st January 2022 to renew the annual storage, arrived on 11. January 2022 to find the van had been removed from the sites computer system and the van showed signs of having had an attempt made to move it.
It followed that during a telephone call to the site's head office an amount of £110 was demanded to reinstate the van on the system so that it could be removed from the storage site. A daily storage rate of £7300 per year was activated.
In offering a discount for the use of a CaSSOA storage site The Caravan Club is endorsing the action of the site owner. I do not think this is something our club should be endorsing.
Approved Storage sites should be assessed for security, but also that storage site staff and systems should be assessed so that they do not fall below the Caravan Club's standards. If the club does endorses a penalty which affects the insurance discount then it should be in the insurance terms.
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In offering a discount for the use of a CaSSOA storage site The Caravan Club is endorsing the action of the site owner. I do not think this is something our club should be endorsing
First it was recommending, then approving and now endorsing.
Well your view but I don't agree, just because the club offers a discount the club cannot be held responsible for the actions of a site owner.
I got a discount on buying my car by using my membership, if the garage hadn't prepared the car for me properly is the club endorsing that?
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I can’t see that the club are endorsing anything. They are just giving a discount based on the security rating of the site. Just as if you were keeping your van at home the premium would be weighted on where you live and the perceived risk of theft.
As I put on the other thread, the daily payment will all depend on what T &C’s you signed up for. You now say you had until the 31/1 to renew your annual storage, yet expected to pay for eleven days. I assume therefore your existing contract ran out at the end of the 2021 and were given a months grace to make a decision. As I also put on the other thread our storage charges a minimum of 3 months, so in a similar situation to yourself, we would have paid that amount for eleven days. It may very well be that a short term storage contract, which your 11 days would have been considered, is at a higher rate than the yearly figure / 365.0 -
Similarly, the club gives a discount for using certain security devices but if a thief is able to remove such a device, does that put the club at fault?
I think, VRU, you are assuming something the club sees as a means of reducing its covered liability and the premium you pay will automatically be a good all round product/service in every respect and it is not so.
Speak to the club and hear what they have to say but your issue, in my view, is with the storage site operator.
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That didn't go so well !. Thanks for all your comments, kind regards
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That did not go so well !. Thanks for all your comments, kind regards
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