kenthecamper
Free Member
Hi,
I have recently sold my car and caravan and purchased a small motorhome which I was intending to take to Spain this winter on the Brittany Ferries route from Portsmouth to Santander as I have done in recent years with the car and caravan. I plan to sail around the 18th October 2011 and tow a small trailer. In previous years my car was up to 5 metres long and up to 1.83 metres high towing my caravan up to 7 metres long and 2.6 metres high, the price for this year with 2 passengers using an inside 2 berth cabin would be £389.00. My new motorhome is up to 6 metres long and 2.6 metres high towing a trailer up to 4 metres long and up to 1.83 metres high, the price for this comes out at £428.00 The overall length and volume is shorter and lower than the caravan and car yet I am expected to pay more for taking up less space on the ferry, how can this be fair.?
I contacted Brittany Ferries Customer Service regarding this and they replied and I quote "Our pricing is such to ensure that to be fair to all our customers, those travelling with longer or higher vehicles than the norm pay a supplement per crossing on the basis that their vehicle occupies a greater volume on board than do some other vehicles. Rather than charging for the overall length of a vehicle, we price each element separately, with each individual component falling into its own price category"
Bearing in mind the above, I started to look at various options with the car and caravan against the motorhome and which ever way you look at it the motorhomer always seems to come off financially worse than the caravanner. Now I cannot see how they can justify this as I am taking up less length/height and overall volume, I should be paying less not £39.00 more. According to their costings, the motorhome trailer at 4metres long and 1.83 metres high is being charged £117 the same price as a caravan 7 metres long and 2.6 metres high. I can except that I should have to pay more for my motorhome as it is 1 metre longer than the car and 2.6 metres high and therefore I am happy to pay a supplement which according to their figures works out at £39.00. What I cant understand is why my trailer at 4 metres long and up to 1.83 metres high is priced the same as my old caravan at £117.00? If I was to tow my old caravan of 7 metres long and 2.6 metres high with the motorhome, then the price goes up yet again from £117.00 to £146.00 for the caravan, how can this be fair when I have already paid a supplement for the motorhome?
There is something fundamentally wrong with their pricing that needs to be sorted out as they are penalising motorhome owners that are towing trailers. A car towing a 4 metre trailer would only be paying £88.00 for the trailer against £117.00 for the Motorhomer, who as I said has already paid a supplement. Check it out yourself and you will see that its not right.
Numerous emails to Brittany Ferries Customer Services have failed to make them see reason and they keep saying that this is their pricing structure. I suppose that with P&O not operating out of Portsmouth to Spain any more they have the monopoly and can do as they please. With this in mind I for one will not be using this service any more until they see that this is a completely unfair situation that is penalising the motorhomer and they rectify the situation.
I have recently sold my car and caravan and purchased a small motorhome which I was intending to take to Spain this winter on the Brittany Ferries route from Portsmouth to Santander as I have done in recent years with the car and caravan. I plan to sail around the 18th October 2011 and tow a small trailer. In previous years my car was up to 5 metres long and up to 1.83 metres high towing my caravan up to 7 metres long and 2.6 metres high, the price for this year with 2 passengers using an inside 2 berth cabin would be £389.00. My new motorhome is up to 6 metres long and 2.6 metres high towing a trailer up to 4 metres long and up to 1.83 metres high, the price for this comes out at £428.00 The overall length and volume is shorter and lower than the caravan and car yet I am expected to pay more for taking up less space on the ferry, how can this be fair.?
I contacted Brittany Ferries Customer Service regarding this and they replied and I quote "Our pricing is such to ensure that to be fair to all our customers, those travelling with longer or higher vehicles than the norm pay a supplement per crossing on the basis that their vehicle occupies a greater volume on board than do some other vehicles. Rather than charging for the overall length of a vehicle, we price each element separately, with each individual component falling into its own price category"
Bearing in mind the above, I started to look at various options with the car and caravan against the motorhome and which ever way you look at it the motorhomer always seems to come off financially worse than the caravanner. Now I cannot see how they can justify this as I am taking up less length/height and overall volume, I should be paying less not £39.00 more. According to their costings, the motorhome trailer at 4metres long and 1.83 metres high is being charged £117 the same price as a caravan 7 metres long and 2.6 metres high. I can except that I should have to pay more for my motorhome as it is 1 metre longer than the car and 2.6 metres high and therefore I am happy to pay a supplement which according to their figures works out at £39.00. What I cant understand is why my trailer at 4 metres long and up to 1.83 metres high is priced the same as my old caravan at £117.00? If I was to tow my old caravan of 7 metres long and 2.6 metres high with the motorhome, then the price goes up yet again from £117.00 to £146.00 for the caravan, how can this be fair when I have already paid a supplement for the motorhome?
There is something fundamentally wrong with their pricing that needs to be sorted out as they are penalising motorhome owners that are towing trailers. A car towing a 4 metre trailer would only be paying £88.00 for the trailer against £117.00 for the Motorhomer, who as I said has already paid a supplement. Check it out yourself and you will see that its not right.
Numerous emails to Brittany Ferries Customer Services have failed to make them see reason and they keep saying that this is their pricing structure. I suppose that with P&O not operating out of Portsmouth to Spain any more they have the monopoly and can do as they please. With this in mind I for one will not be using this service any more until they see that this is a completely unfair situation that is penalising the motorhomer and they rectify the situation.
