New Booking System
Comments
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I have yet to make a booking using the new system. I have started the process several times and given up. I am computer literate, having spent a long career in the IT industry and I am the "go to" person among among my friends and contemporary relatives for "technical advice". I have access to several devices - Windows 10 PC, Chromebook, Android tablet & Android phone. I don't do Apple.
My latest attempt was to try and find late availability for a multi-site trip around the north of England later this month. Before the introduction of the new system - and thanks to the introduction not so long ago of a new "late availability" facility - this was a doddle. Choose an area or two and a start date (for the search not necessarily the trip) and hey presto there was a list of sites and the availability for each day.
The new system is such a step backwards it beggars belief that that anyone could consider it fit for purpose. The old system had its issues in terms of performance and capacity, occasionally involving quite slow response times, but it was clearly designed by people who understood how caravanners and motorhomers tick. Why didn't the "club" just add a deposit system and stick the whole thing on a beefier platform?
I'm off to plan the trip using searchforsites and Park4Night now and it won't involve any CAMC sites (unless they're CLs). Using these is not as easy as using the old system but it's a lot less stressful than using the new one.
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You may find that what you get in the drop down list depends on what you have input above, i.e. Car, MH, etc.
Looks like that’s the case DD. If I select our MH from the list, all I get is caravan, trailer tent or car. No trailer.
The only way to get a trailer in the towing box is to select it before vehicle type, as I did when I took the screen shot. What I hadn’t realised is that as soon as you select a MH as your main vehicle it disappears. Clearly work needed if they want that information, although like DD I can’t see why it is necessary.
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When you pay before arrival don't they email a confirmation that they have done that like the C&CC does? I wouldn't expect one from the site but I would expect an email.
David
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Again as I posted it wouldn't bother me as if I'm shifting or adding anything it's because that's what I want to do for my holiday to suit me, not bothered if will either cost more or less it's what I want to do.
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My latest attempt was to try and find late availability for a multi-site trip around the north of England later this month
HowieT, I would be interested to know what was your problem? As a trial.I have just put three sites into my basket for a weeks November tour of northern England. I could have added more. It didn't take me long.
peedee
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Had a brief look today for next years holidays, seemed quite hard compared to the last system, we only book CL’s which seem more and more pushed out in favour of the club sites and seems hard to find/filter one now. The old search system worked and was nice to find a site, read the owners description, see pics etc. The quick look today didn’t seem like it had that? As others have said, like a lot of things these days… if it ain’t broke… don’t fix it. 👍
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Ref a pre booked one night stay this will still involve a deposit and could involve a small amount left over above the basic £25. The deposit gets taken off in advance so the remainder will be a small amount of cash or card debit, you can opt for paying the remainder on the day or pay the full amount in advance. Depends how quickly you want to process your arrival.
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I have just tried to book a week next July. I logged on. I then entered where I wanted to go and when, the cogs whirred for a while and then I was invited to enter exactly the same information on another page. They also wanted my outfit details (already held by the Club) my personal details (already held by the Club) and my wife's details (why?). How is this streamlined? For goodness sake put the IT guys back in their box, and go back to the old system PLEASE!
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I booked 2 sites in Scotland for last week on the phone. Paid the deposit and told them I would pay the rest on arrival. When I got to each site I was told that the money had been taken out of my account. At the end of the day the 2 payments were unauthorised. Could this be classed as theft.
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I for one would not count having to forgo 20%+ of the cost as a relatively small amount, perhaps to somebody like yourself if might be peanuts but I suspect not so for the major of members.
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It's not a question of it being peanuts or any other sort of nuts. It is clear under the new system you enter an agreement under the T&C's. But when you drill down into it the most you will lose is 20% of the cost of one day. Assuming there is a good reason for a member changing the booking losing around £8 is a whole lot better that losing £40? So if you have a pressing medical appointment which was unknown at the time of booking the Club have deemed that under the new T&C's that you will lose a proportion of the deposit. I am not saying its fair but that is the situation we now have. I read somewhere that a pint of beer is likely to go up to about £7 a pint just to put things into a little bit of perspective.
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But what if one doesn't drink beer in inner city pubs?🤔 I can get a pint for around £1:00 to drink in van, but so what, that's my choice. But I am against the "club" being in a position to extract 20% of one's fees just like that when one has a legitimate reason for not being able up take up part of one's booking. I certainly won't be booking any club site in the foreseeable future.
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So far we have not got a lot of history to go on, re how the club will treat ‘good reasons’ just the stark reality of the T&C’s. They may well be equally understanding, only time will tell. However, I assume you will have to use the phone route, rather than online. I suspect that will always rigidly apply the T&C’s.
If the reason for the deposits is really to stop speculative booking, rather than a money making exercise, perhaps the time of year, site and days booked might be taken into account. After all a mid week booking, low season at a not popular site, is unlikely to have deprived someone else of booking. Where as a weekend at a honeypot in high season, almost certainly would.
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Content edited by poster who had second thoughts about his logic! Sorry!
But has anyone definitively checked that this it is right that you lose some deposit in those circumstances? Orignally posted by SteveL on page 183 at 11:58.
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Which they will pay with members' money.
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I was just going on how I read the terms and conditions and the information detailed below which was included on my confirmation of booking. It seems fairly clear cut unless they exercise discretion.
Amending or cancelling
Remember to Book Smart! We know plans sometimes have to change and that's ok. Just let us know as early as possible if you can't take up your pitch so it can be made available to fellow members. Unless otherwise advised, your deposit is fully refundable if you amend your booking or cancel your booking more than 21 days before your booked arrival date.
You will lose the deposit paid for amendments and all cancellations made within 21 days of your booked arrival date (for example if you cancel a night or multiple nights of your stay, or if you reduce the number of guests on the booking within 21 days of your booked arrival date you will lose a part or all of the deposit paid).
You can view your booking, and easily amend or cancel online if necessary at camc.com/my-bookings We hope you enjoy your holiday with us and we look forward to seeing you.1 -
JVB
My argument is that if you have no choice but to lose money it is better to lose £8 rather than a much higher figure?
However I do tend to agree with you that it is a rule which seems difficult to justify because if you actually maintain the number of days but just on different dates the Club has not lost out but the member has and we should probably hold the Club to account on this, although that seems very difficult to do! I don't know if there is any room for appeal if someone finds themselves in the position of needing to change because a medical appointment has come up which was unknown at the time of booking. There is the risk that if the Club removed that loss for changing dates they could introduce an amendment charge as they do for ferry crossings which might be more that the deposit element. It does seem to becoming clear that the Club is no longer, if it ever was, accountable to its members.
David
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I find this really concerning. There have been other reports of members’ payment wishes being ignored. There can be many reasons why someone might want to pay on arrival. They may wish to pay in cash, as clearly some do. They may wish to use a different account to the one they paid the deposit from. I believe if you have site vouchers you wish to use you need to pay on arrival. But whatever, the choice is there, the member exercises it and it should happen.
I do hope that those members for whom this has happened will report it formally to the club, perhaps through the feedback form within the My Booking Experience section of the site.
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One assumes charges for changes are levid to discourage the practice and the possibility that at short notice the vacated pitch as a result of the change might not be re-let. If there were no charges it is conceivable that the process could be used to make speculative bookings. which the Club is trying to discourage.
peedee
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Whilst not agreeing with, I can see the logic in loosing some deposit for reducing the length of a stay. However, I don’t see why reducing the number of guests should result in a similar loss. The same pitch is in use, said guests will not be using the facilities. It really is penny pinching in the extreme.
It is also going to have the affect of folk only booking the lead member if they are not sure and that is bound to result in delays checking in, while things are sorted out and the correct payment calculated.
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The amendment charge that is applied to Ferry bookings will be out of the control of the"club" I would think , hence another downside of trying and still failing to justify the introduction of a continental booking system by" bolting it" to a fully controllable UK system as was
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