The Caravan and Motorhome Club: comments and questions

[Ivory55]

I agree, but unless someone puts in some effort, produces a viable business model for UK-aires, then we’ll all be seen as a load of freeloaders, and any tourism benefits etc will be unrealised.
Mind you, there are other issues that are likely to set us back on that front.

I would think it’s an impossible sell in today’s climate. It would be political suicide for any local politician to push for free or cheap Aires at the moment. In times of plenty may be but local people would want stuff for them not others, a bird in the hand worth more than 2 in a bush etc.

 

[Rapidorob]

Mhers for 5 years and initially members of both clubs. We like sites that have good views, good quality clean facilities and EHU. In our experience the standard of both clubs sites vary from very good to poor. Sometimes the staff do too much site manicure and not enough caring for members. Motor mowers/strimmers/hedge cutters continuously can be tiresome. My main complaint, is that the wardens can be very rude directing forcefully our maneuvering and positioning.
Many non-CCC/C&MC sites are better and no more expensive. We also find pre-booking counter to the freedom provided by being a MHer.

 

[SteveJulesMontycame2]

I would think it’s an impossible sell in today’s climate. It would be political suicide for any local politician to push for free or cheap Aires at the moment. In times of plenty may be but local people would want stuff for them not others, a bird in the hand worth more than 2 in a bush etc.

Canterbury park and ride comes to mind. Popular, council run UK Stellplatz

 

[SteveJulesMontycame2]

No, it's definitely a Club - you may feel it is run like a business, but it is definitely owned and run by Members who appoint people to look after it for them.

Personally, I am glad they run it like a business - they tell us how much money they are investing in new sites and we know how much money they have in the bank and we trust them to be good stewards of all of that.

For the price of membership with access to all the CLs I can't see what the problem is - don't like it then cancel your membership.

I just wish they would have an option not to receive their pretty dumb magazine and get a reduction in subscription or at least send it digitally (as the C and CC do) to save the paper waste created every month.

Opt for no communication by post to opt out of receiving the magazine; you can read it electronically on the CAMC app if you really want to - I find it helps if I can’t get to sleep!

 

[emjaiuk]

How many of you who complain about aspects of the CC&C and CMC have attended AGMs?

Malcolm

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[PhilMary]

Hi everybody, CS & CL sites are limited to 5 vans/motor homes so that they remain within the exempted camping rules, above that they require local authority planning permission. It is not an exercise to rip anybody off, it is the rules the clubs must follow as they can grant an exemption to planning laws as long as certain rules are obeyed, one of them is a 5 unit limit.
The prices charged are also the business of the site owner, not laid down by the clubs and importantly, these small sites are not owned by the clubs, they simply operate under the clubs banners as long as they comply with certain conditions.
I am a site development/ assessment officer for the C&C Club. Hope this helps.

Can I ask Cridon directly, do the two Clubs dictate prices to the CL/CS?
Phil

 

[Beltie]

Phil,

No!

 

[Loveshack]

How many of you who complain about aspects of the CC&C and CMC have attended AGMs?

Malcolm

Hi Malcolm; I don’t think most of the “complainers” on here are actually members, heaven forbid!
Maybe your question was TIC?

 

[2657]

Had an email this very morning asking me to vote for members of the General Council of the C&C Club, get one from the CMC as well, never get them from the private companies like ADAC and ACSI, strange that?

 

[Caztur]

......................... Although the C&CC may be beginning to get it with their new short term use of facilities to allow waste emptying, showers and washing machines a step in the right direction

Hardly new Chas - they've been doing that for at least 15 years.

I am a member of both the clubs and agree with a lot of the sentiments expressed - however as a ‘singleton’ both clubs suit me re the pricing. The C&CC more so due to the ‘old farts’ discount. My major gripe is the need to book so far in advance for a lot of the sites, which doesn’t fit with my ethos of going away on a whim.

I agree - as a solo, the Club's own sites work out better value for me than a commercial site, plus I feel more secure on them - or maybe it's just the nice warm cosy Club word as the OP suggested! C&CC are cheaper than CaMC because of my old farts' discount but also they don't charge a pitch fee on top of the per person fee like CaMC do. My main gripe with CaMC is that there is no "no EHU" option - you pay for it regardless, whereas C&CC do have a grass pitch only option unless the weather dictates otherwise. Another reason why they are better value.
I have had words a few times with CaMC over this, their answer is that it wouldn't be possible to monitor non-use as all pitches have a bollard supplying EHU. They didn't like my suggestion that the wardens just walk around the site every so often and check I haven't plugged in. Strange really 'cos I have stayed on quite a few commercial sites where I have received a reduction in pitch fee for not using the EHU. If they can do it why can't CaMC?

Opt for no communication by post to opt out of receiving the magazine; you can read it electronically on the CAMC app if you really want to - I find it helps if I can’t get to sleep!

I did that. But why can't they charge me a reduced annual suns for doing so, like C&CC do? Another reason CaMC isn't such good value as C&CC.

Every year I think I won't renew CaMC - but the CL network is useful when touring around and I end up paying again, usually only end up using their sites for a few nights a year but it is handy to have.

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[peterc10]

Had an email this very morning asking me to vote for members of the General Council of the C&C Club, get one from the CMC as well, never get them from the private companies like ADAC and ACSI, strange that?

But I get asked that by private companies that own shares in ......................... and they are certainly not clubs either.

 

[2657]

But I get asked that by private companies that own shares in ......................... and they are certainly not clubs either.

I don't own shares in either club, I am a member of both, not a shareholder.

 

[tonyidle]

I don't own shares in either club, I am a member of both, not a shareholder.

I think you'll find you are both in effect.

 

[2657]

I think you'll find you are both in effect.

Don't think so, it's a while since I read the constitution and I can't be bothered again, there are only a few shareholders and as far as I remember they are officers of the club elected by the members.

 

[emjaiuk]

Hi Malcolm; I don’t think most of the “complainers” on here are actually members, heaven forbid!
Maybe your question was TIC?

I was trying to make the point that both organisations can be influenced by its members. In practice it's not easy, but it could be done. I'm afraid though that you'd probably find a majority that accept the status quo. Same sort of thing as will probably happen in the next general election when substantial numbers of people will vote either Labour even with the current leadership or for the shambles which is the current conservative party

Malcolm

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[Ivory55]

Canterbury park and ride comes to mind. Popular, council run UK Stellplatz

Well if you can sell it to our local council and electors go for it , but I reckon it’s a hard sell. Just because one person does something it doesn’t mean everyone else thinks it’s a good idea. Just being realistic.

 

[PeteH]

I wonder if it’s covered under the same legislation that deals with landlords charging tenants for electricity? Landlords can charge for power if it is written into the contract between themselves and the tenant.

Another downside would be that It would be costly to install metres at each pitch and would also require extra admin work to read the metres and bill each customer separately for power used at the end of the stay.

Not any more, it can be done remotely and charged directly. It`s the way your "Smart" meters at home operate. No little guy in a peaked cap with a little book looking in the meter cupboard these days. The capital costs are coming down rapidly. In fact you can get the devices off flea bay!.
I have a small device in the room I am using whilst typing this. And I can see that My current consumption is 0.46Kw. That information can be translated into Kw/hrs used, and imputed to a computer spreadsheet.

 

[PeteH]

UK aires - never going to happen, not sure why anyone would think it could or even should.

I beleive it should, and I believe that it would be a contribution to road Safety too (less tiredness). As for Could, I too doubt it, the will is not there amongst potential providers.

How many of you who complain about aspects of the CC&C and CMC have attended AGMs?

Malcolm

I have, several times, In fact I was one of those who Originally proposed that the club should start to sanction members who deliberately and blatantly book large numbers of sites on Jan First. Just in case they fancy a weekend away.

Can I ask Cridon directly, do the two Clubs dictate prices to the CL/CS?
Phil

My understanding is NOT. but if a site owner wants guidance they will suggest a price range of fees for similarly matched sites.

 

[kip]

We belong to both clubs and wouldn't change,we have just got back from a CL all 5 pitches had water & electric parked next to a river,Adults only so nice & peaceful there was a boating club house on the site selling on profit making food & drink.We loved every minute .

That sounds idyllic, where WAS that?

 

[TinaLes]

Last weeks CMC experience is for us "The Straw that Broke The Camels Back"
We saw a CMC site sign at Cheddar, as we were touring the area, pulled into new arrivals, guy came out and asked can I help?
I said yes please,just passing saw your sign, thought we would pop in and see if we can book in for one night? do you have any spare pitches available?
He then said "have you booked" we said no just thought we would try our luck and see if you have any spare places?, he then said NO, we are fully booked!
I replied thats fine we will move on, just thought I would ask as we were passing, he then had a change of heart and said "Hold on I will go in the office and ask my mrs, she will check the bookings on the PC.
He then came out and said "yes we do have a pitch, can I see your membership card?, I said here you go, and he took it into the office to give to his Mrs.
At that point we were happy as at least we could stay for the night and put our feet up, maybe even have walk to the Gorge the next morning, but it was too far for OH, never mind.

Well I haven't mentioned the crux of the story as yet....it was 12.15AM, having eventually confirmed we could stay for 1 night, he left us stuck in front of the barrier, and said "right I am going for my lunch, I will come out and let you in at 1 PM, not before!!!!"
When we got into the site, having been given instructions and diagram of "reverse your offside up to the peg)by Mrs CMC site rep, she the relieved us of £27.20 and said that if we wanted to stay a second night, we should tell her as we would have to move pitch as ours was a "Blue Badge pitch"....she never asked if we were Blue Badge holders, which we are, but never mind eh?

We have booked into Baltic Wharf Bristol for Xmas, CMC renewal is Feb 2020, then thats it! no more CMC for us.
We will now try the CCC to see if they are any better, less draconian maybe?and we like Camping in the Forest sites up and down the UK, very reasonable pitch up fees, over 60 discount and temp sites in summer near cities.
Wish us luck, but being FLT's at heart with a self sufficient van electrically, then wild spots and aires/sostas will always be first choice, with ADAC card as a fall back.

Les

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[Janine]

Last weeks CMC experience is for us "The Straw that Broke The Camels Back"
We saw a CMC site sign at Cheddar, as we were touring the area, pulled into new arrivals, guy came out and asked can I help?
I said yes please,just passing saw your sign, thought we would pop in and see if we can book in for one night? do you have any spare pitches available?
He then said "have you booked" we said no just thought we would try our luck and see if you have any spare places?, he then said NO, we are fully booked!
I replied thats fine we will move on, just thought I would ask as we were passing, he then had a change of heart and said "Hold on I will go in the office and ask my mrs, she will check the bookings on the PC.
He then came out and said "yes we do have a pitch, can I see your membership card?, I said here you go, and he took it into the office to give to his Mrs.
At that point we were happy as at least we could stay for the night and put our feet up, maybe even have walk to the Gorge the next morning, but it was too far for OH, never mind.

Well I haven't mentioned the crux of the story as yet....it was 12.15AM, having eventually confirmed we could stay for 1 night, he left us stuck in front of the barrier, and said "right I am going for my lunch, I will come out and let you in at 1 PM, not before!!!!"
When we got into the site, having been given instructions and diagram of "reverse your offside up to the peg)by Mrs CMC site rep, she the relieved us of £27.20 and said that if we wanted to stay a second night, we should tell her as we would have to move pitch as ours was a "Blue Badge pitch"....she never asked if we were Blue Badge holders, which we are, but never mind eh?

We have booked into Baltic Wharf Bristol for Xmas, CMC renewal is Feb 2020, then thats it! no more CMC for us.
We will now try the CCC to see if they are any better, less draconian maybe?and we like Camping in the Forest sites up and down the UK, very reasonable pitch up fees, over 60 discount and temp sites in summer near cities.
Wish us luck, but being FLT's at heart with a self sufficient van electrically, then wild spots and aires/sostas will always be first choice, with ADAC card as a fall back.

Les

According the the CMC website, no arrivals are allowed before 1pm so not quite as draconian as you first thought?

 

[TinaLes]

According the the CMC website, no arrivals are allowed before 1pm so not quite as draconian as you first thought?

I know rules are rules, but common sense should have been employed as the site rep saw us sat outside the barrier whilst he had his lunch in the office with his Mrs,and awaited the 1PM deadline. The result was that had to come out at 12.55AM and let us in anyway as there was now 3 van arrivals parked up behind us blocking the entrance.
If they had empty pitches which they did as many previous occupiers had already left, why is there a need to make everyone cue up at the barrier for the sake of it?
New arrivals would then be asked to choose their pitch from those available, then go back and inform the office reception of their pitch number and be given an electronic pass to operate the exit/entry barriers.
You would not see many indie sites operating like that, so bye bye CMC, that arrival rule makes sense in some hard to reach narrow road sites, but counting the minutes down to 1PM is stupid, and we had arrived already with the other vans just before the witching hour anyway.
Some people just cannot think things through, so need to stick to a strict rule policy regardless of any inconvenience to parties on both sides of the equation.

Les

 

[Potty]

According the the CMC website, no arrivals are allowed before 1pm so not quite as draconian as you first thought?

When did the arrivals time change from midday, ie 12 o’clock? CCC changed its time to 1pm a couple of years ago but didn’t know CMHC had followed suit. Certainly wasn’t a couple of weeks ago, the last time used one of their sites.

If you are thinking of joining theCCC, they do not allow single night bookings at weekends.

Unfortunately, just turning up at sites seems to be a thing of the past.

 

[Janine]

When did the arrivals time change from midday, ie 12 o’clock? CCC changed its time to 1pm a couple of years ago but didn’t know CMHC had followed suit. Certainly wasn’t a couple of weeks ago, the last time used one of their sites.

If you are thinking of joining theCCC, they do not allow single night bookings at weekends.

Unfortunately, just turning up at sites seems to be a thing of the past.

I think it may be peculiar to that site. I haven't come across it before. I use the C&CC site in Cheddar but it is a long way from anywhere.

 

[Potty]

I think it may be peculiar to that site. I haven't come across it before. I use the C&CC site in Cheddar but it is a long way from anywhere.

Just checked the site rules and arrival time is either 12 or 1. Cheddar is one of the latter.

One site we use regularly, vans are usually queuing up well before 12, blocking a car park, when the wardens are all cleaning the toilet blocks

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[TinaLes]

I suppose another reason for not being future members of the CMC is that we are usualy touring with no particular plan regime to follow, therefore up to now, if we see a sign for a CMC site that suits our plans, then I would have just rocked up and enquired if they have any space.

If I was turned away because there wasn't any spaces then thats fine, as we wouldn't have pre booked, but to be told yes we can fit you in, making us feel how lucky we are, then to be barred entry until the second hand on the watch hits the relevant entry time i.e 12 or 1 PM is beyond me, as you have already arrived, taken your life in your own hands in navigating the narrow entry road and with luck not meeting any tuggers on the way in.

Now we realise rules being as they are, that we would have to sit outside, look up the site in the hand book, call the wardens, hope they answer the phone and are not cleaning shower blocks or having their lunch, before entry to see if they have a spare pitch.
Woe be tied you have booked and you get stuck in traffic, have a puncture, and you dont call the site before 6.30PM as the wardens would feel so inconvenienced in having to allocate you a late arrivals spot, which of course you will be charged full rate for.
How the hell did we survive before mobile phones or internet whilst touring?In those days it would have been Push Button A, or heres another idea....just call in and ask them!.

I think in future I will simply carry on and find a suitable wilding spot, or find an indie campsite on pitchup.com with a more convivial attitude.

Les

 

[Mikey RV]

The arrival time is there for a reason. If everyone decided to turn up when they wanted can you imagine the chaos in the narrow entry road with the other members trying to leave. Also where do you draw the line on arrival time, you let peaple in early word gets out, everyone starts to arrive early, then it’s busy so they start to arrive even earlier.

 

[TheTwoOfUs]

We had just the opposite experience at Castleton this week. We turned up unaware that the arrival time had been put back to 1.00pm from 12.00. The female warden opened up the office and let us in despite the fact that we were an hour early. As regards the OP are you saying that the wardens aren't allowed to have a lunch break like the rest of us. They are busy cleaning the toilets up to about mid-day and if they then went on to gate duty they wouldn't get to eat their dinner.

 

[cornish boy]

In summary,

You rocked up out of the blue to see if they had a spot.
They did, you stayed.

They have an arrival policy
They applied it, you seem to think that was wrong

Membership up for renewal next year.
They will send you a notice, you get to decide yes or no.

All seems straight forward to me.

 

[robnchris]

You sound a little bitter there Jon.
I've been a member of CAMC for over a year and have been to mostly CAMC club sites.
Most have been around the £90 mark for a long weekend. All my fellow campers were in MH's rather than caravans, in fact the ONLY place I've seen caravans by their bucket load, has been a non CAMC site called East fleet (was reported to be "brilliant" and one of the largest in the country) and I think I have to say the facilites were way under par compared to 90% of the CAMC sites I've been to. (I go away once a month on average) I didn't rate it at all. Too many dogs, too much dog shit, errant kids all over the place with no apparent guardians on top of the dressed up advertising used to get us there, It was a big let down..... anyway.... (It wasn't meant to be a moan about east fleet lol)
On the flip side my favourite camp site so far has also been a non CAMC site (Pentewan sands).
That being said I fully realise ALL these sites are there to make profitable business. No one is in this game for the goodness of their heart now are they. While they might be polite, friendly, approachable, helpful and you may feel "part of the family" at some of them. At the end of the day they are in the business of being IN business and for it to be sustainable, you need to make a profit. Plain and simple.

Nice site Pentewan in a nice area, their one big no no for us is they don't accept dogs, so it's a thumbs down from us.

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