Email regarding price increases
Comments
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Thanks for the clarifications AD & ED. If payment for pitch, electricity is in retrospect I get it but allowing free use overnight for one night of your stay defeats the object completely. How about this, how about a one charge fits all regardless of how much you draw!
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It depends what system is employed. I take your point about site staff needing to be involved as often receptions are closed as most of us leave in the morning!
There are probably four methods that could be employed:-
1) A manual reading when you arrive and another when you leave. Very labour intensive and can cause delays in leaving whilst you wait for a member of staff to be available.
2) Electronic monitoring from reception. They make a note of which pitch you are on the day you arrive. On morning of departure you make your way to reception, they tell you how much you have used and you pay. Still requires reception staff to be available, probably all morning.
3) Coin operated electric connections. You plug your lead in and hope the person before has left you some credit but otherwise you top up with coins. Perhaps a possibility that you could select an amount of Kw's and pay by card. Coins could be inconvenient to both members and staff.
4) A system where you buy preloaded cards in different denominations which you slot into the bollard and remove at the end of your stay with use deducted from the card memory. There would be a need for availability of such cards onsite, perhaps a vending machine?
5) A more advance system could be that when you plug into the bollard it is locked in place, to be released by payment either by smart phone or credit card.
Any other ideas?
David
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Thanks DK, a couple of possibilities there, 4&5 being the most sensible in my view but the more techy the more costly I reckon. Not an absolute no but not an immediate answer across the network to the problems we face this ‘minute’. As with most issues the more we discuss, the better our understanding of the associated challenges which of course modifies our perceptions, well, for some of us!
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Rufs said….
ok i will admit they are probably in the minority, but this post is all about increased site fees to cover the additional costs of electricity, but correct me if I am wrong, but there is at least one Motorhome owner on this post who it would appear is not willing to give up having his central heating on overnight, even when we lived and caravaned in Scotland we have never had the heating on overnight, and for the record we dont watch tv or have dvds in the van, and we could surely manage on a 10amp or maybe less supply which we should perhaps all be considering, if we are to reduce pitch fees.
What you choose to do re overnight heating is your affair. However, I make no apology for using a service for which I am paying, as I do at home. We also manage on 10 amps or less, where this is all that’s available. As we use gas for cooking and don’t have any electric appliances such as a kettle, toaster etc, even if we put everything on full, our load would only total 10 amps. Last year we did about 90 nights on CAMC sites and accept the pricing. Although given the change in T&C’s, the C&CC is likely to get more of our business in future.
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Rubbish, it will heat the water up within 30 mins from not having the heating on after going to bed.
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Any other ideas?
David
Why not a smart metre system, linked to an App and account. On arrival at the pitch you would scan a QR code on the meter, which would turn it on and start charging to your account. On leaving you would delete it. Payment of account by DD on a monthly basis. For the decreasing minority without smart phones, there could be provision to arrange meter switch on / payment at reception. Although this of corse would take longer.
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Agreed. Ive just left a site in Spain that monitors and manages customers' electric usage from the office.
recently, I've added more solar to my van and for six weeks, despite having the mains plugged in, have not needed the battery charger turned on, relying solely on solar for water pump, electrical device charging, tv and even recharging our bike batteries.
My investment was primarily to allow us to make use of THS sites, where there is no EHU, and still manage to charge the bikes....re sunshine, this winter break in Spain has been a good test of what we will be doing in the uk in summer with its longer hours of sunshine.
now, should I make use of this system and reduce my usage on a CC site?
no problem if my cost are lowered, but why should i if the club are actually going to charge me even more?
as many have mentioned, the club needs to invest to keep costs down. Not only offering non-EHU options but using solar to reduce office and facilities costs.
with sites like Hillhead at around £52 a night for a serviced pitch, another £2.50 a night seems to be taking the proverbial.
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Welcome to the charming world of ‘hairshirt camping’, remember-if you ain’t shivering you ain’t enjoying👍🏻👏🏻
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"As I pay the asking price"....
nere in a nutshell is the situation we have on CC sites....I've paid for it therefore I'll use it....usage goes up, costs rise, prices to match...
and here we are, with prices soaring....
what do we get....I've paid (more) for it so I'll use (more of) it...😉
that should sort it.
but any suggestion of getting control of this spiral is Pooh poohed by 'unrecoverable costs', even though total usage would fall dramatically, either by folk being reined in by metering or opting out of usage completely...
Rome is certainly burning, with André Reiu at the helm😉
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Hi David, Your photo made me smile as it reminded me of my first trip abroad with a caravan.
As i was setting up a guy on the next pitch approached and asked me if I would like a 'larger' fuse. The site limited supply, as you say, by way of the fuse supplied and, he had a supply of higher capacity fuses-he was an electrician-and I think it may even be in a cupboard somewhere still.
I thanked him but did not use it, or need to. We have also managed on sites with 6 amp, Bella Italia being one, and after the nuisance of having to get to the bollard you soon remember to control, you usage.
We have stayed on a site in Devon where;
"Electric hook-up is paid for via a pre-paid card system at certain times of the year. These will be available in 10, 50 and 100-kilowatt increments. There will be no refunds for part-credit on these cards."
We paid for the lowest priced one but found one already in the meter which lasted all of our stay.
Oh, and on the heating overnight my van and home have the incredible ability to vary when the heating comes on and how high it is, we just use that and it never occurred that wasn't what others do.
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WTG, a simple way of managing this would be to connect to EHU but to turn the van's battery charger off.
you now have the situation where the 12v system is supported by solar only and can be used for water pump, heating fan (if reqd), charging iPads, phones etc, running tv etc...no mains involved at all. We even charge our Ebike batteries from 12v via an inverter.
however, with the mains plugged in, if desired you could (say) boil a kettle, run a hairdryer, both short term usage items.
at least like this, all the 12v usage would be coming from sunshine and not from the bollard.
if that bollard were metered, you'd see a significant reduction in usage.
If one has even a simple solar system, there really no need to (say) plug an iPad charger into the mains...when it can be done for free from a solar powered 12v socket.
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You quote of my statement was rather selective BB. It was in full….
“As I pay the asking price I’m fairly sure I am paying for my electricity usage not you SB.”
Nothing there about I have paid for it so I’ll use it to the max and get all 16 amps 24/7.😉
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but you are also taking things a little out of context .... when Bill says that he's paying for your electric, he wasn't being literal, it was obvious that he meant that we all pay more if you use more. Not picking you out specifically, but there will always be those that will want to use ALL of their share (plus a little bit extra) .... just like if there's a 'free bar' at a party/wedding/etc, there will always be someone that makes sure they get their fair share (plus a bit extra)
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easy to be flippant TW. My post was a bit tongue in cheek, but having said that, I am sure there will be members out there who regularly spend 100 nights away per year, who are now counting the pennies and wondering if they can afford the extra £200, not saying that you wanting to be cosy is the only cause of this increase, or that you not wanting to give up wanting to be cosy is going to have any significant bearing in the short term.
My dogs love there digestive biscuit with tea in bed in the morning
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It could depend on the configuration of your vans electrics. I don't think the switch on my battery charger is accessible. Doing so would also not effect the fridge, you would have to ensure this was manually set to run off gas. In short I think you would have to understand the distribution of the 230v system in order to decide what is best for you. The Club does not have any metered EHU points so it is lirrelevent. until they do but thanks for the response.
peedee
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David, apart from number 5, i have been on sites where these methods have been deployed, however , they were all commercial sites where, as i remember, reception was manned e.g. 0800 - 2000 hrs by reception staff, not wardens who are expected to be jack of all trades, not advocating the club now employ permanent reception staff as this would probably mean another increase in site fees. dont recall ever having a problem with 1 thru 4.
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Until the Club introduces meters for electric the prices will just continue to go up. Not all but there are many of those who will now think, we’ll Im paying a higher price for my pitch now so I will get my monies worth and use as much electric as I want. It will just be a vicious circle of more electric used and higher prices until meters just have to be introduced.
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David, real world example. We left our Spanish winter site on Saturday lunchtime having only decided to leave that morning.
I Strolled to the office, said we were leaving...30 seconds later I had paid the separate leccy bill (tiny) and within a minute had paid the outstanding camping bill. Thanks, have a nice journey.
it really is that simple.
the club could still have us customers pay in advance for pitches but in arrears for leccy...with a decent system it really is a simple as I described.
the actual bollard has a mirror meter unit display so the customer can evaluate their bill prior to paying.
AD is correct in that, while some folk won't be 'comfortable', it does focus the mind, despite what some well heeled members might say.
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Rufs
I suppose we shouldn't get too carried away in presupposing the Club would be willing to change its site operating methods? If they decided to go down the route of charging for electricity as a separate entity I imagine the would choose the system that impacted on staffing the least which might mean it might not be the best system? The ideal time to introduce individual charging would be when they refurbish a site because more than certainly the electric system would also be upgraded at the same time. So an ideal opportunity to test some form of metering? They might worry, of course, that members might be reluctant to use a site with that method of charging having spent a fortune upgrading the site, whereas if it was nationwide there would be no choice?
David
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The Sargent units used by many UK brands have a charger button on the PSU.
The CBE electrics used on our van and many Continental brand use a charger with an OFF button.
I agree with the fridge comment, I had switched mine to cheaper (than electric) Spanish gas.
I also agree it's a moot point, the club 'way' is just to put up prices...
however, if it's a simple operation to turn it off, then plugging small phones, laptops, tablets and TV into 12v rather than mains will save 'the club' a fair bit across a full site, and a customer that amount if they are on a metered site as we were.
im now in France where the site (ACSI) has inclusive leccy....so I don't use 'my' gas...
it's all about flexibility, I just with CC could allow some of its geared up customers the opportunity to be a bit more flexible and deliver a win-win.
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BB
You paint a very easy picture of what it could be like. However its not the full picture especially if you tour in the likes of Germany where metering is quite common and not only in the winter months. On quite a few occasions our departure has been delayed because of waiting for site staff having to release us from the electric point, locked cupboard. I would agree that paying on arrival for you pitch doubles up on the amount of work but I can't see the Club changing that as in the UK it is almost universal that you either pay on arrival or in advance of arrival.
David
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Pooh poohed...
BB while you may not agree with other's view is there any reason to label them as such? But of course you labeling it as such does not make not it in any way true? Or are your views the only true version which must be accepted by all?
See what I did there I poo-poohed the poo-poo
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Absolutely, the Club needs to call ‘time please’ at the bar and stop topping up some of the guests glasses!
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David I don't think you read/understood my post fully....
I said 'with a decent system'....not one as you've experienced but one as I have where it takes an instant to print and pay for a bill. No unlocking from a bollard, just do it yourself as now, only difference is that a meter ticks away as the juice is used.
paying for the pitch on arrival won't change, and for folk using no electric there won't be a need to pay on departure.
for those using electric, a quick call into the office and settle up, job done.
the main issue is that most commercial or continental sites have someone who is customer facing for the complete opening hours...certainly not true with current club processes.
ah well, let's just all pay the continued increases and have done with helpful suggestions😉
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