Camping and Caravan club or Caravan and Motorhome club? (1 Viewer)

[Haitchjay]

We are finally getting around to joining one or the other (or both?) and would be interested in people's views.
Since the change of name for the old caravan club, I'm hearing lots of negatives about how this has upset many caravaners.
What we want is an informative, friendly club that will give us all the usual benefits.
What we don't want is to join a club where there's ' unofficial' snobbery and judging.
Views and experiences from all points of view much appreciated.

 

[suavecarve]

2 hours ish from Calais, which is similar I think to your journey, we cancelled all our home memberships and joined the FFAC.
You get free water in some free electricity in others, most of the spots are free but have to pay as much 10 euros at the really top ones.
FFAC is the Free French Aires Club and it is free to join.
Very few English kids for you as well !

 

[Geoff and Fiona]

Well we joined the camping and caravan club, and wished we had not.

We were due to stay at Moffat on Thursday, but the van clutch broke this morning.
I left them a message explaining the breakdown, hoping to speak to someone with regard to using the booking later after the repair.
Got a message back saying "thank you we have cancelled your booking"

But to add insult to the injury of a clutch failure they will not refund or allow me to use the booking for another time.

You can cancel within 30 days of your stay, but you wont get your money back or a credit towards another stay.

Am I being unreasonable I think no refund within 30 days is not fair?

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[Geoff and Fiona]

So I have just managed to talk to someone at the Moffat site.
The camping and caravan club is owned by it members, and they tell me it is the members decision that payments made to the club are non refundable and non transferable less than 30 days from the date of the reservation.

Many forum members are camping and caravan club members, are you aware of this condition of booking? and how do you feel about it? this member a very grumpy about it.

Have just spoken to the Caravan and motor-home club. They do not have this condition of booking a site

 

[Jasz]

I didn't know that until reading the above posts. I don't think that I will be booking until we are close to going.
I suppose it does stop people making lots of bookings well ahead and then cancelling the ones they don't want!

 

[Geoff and Fiona]

taking a deposit would stop people making lots of speculative bookings, but not returning a deposit just makes it more likely people will not want to book in advance in case
they have to cancel.

We only lost about £20 but what if we had booked 10 days on camping and caravan club sites. needless to say staying at a camping and caravan club site will be a last resort for us.
Our membership will not be renewed.

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[denisejoe]

I didn't know about that either but won't really affect us as we don't actually use the Club sites on CSs; rallying with DAs and on THS. Still worth joining just for being able to get away for a cheap weekend or for a few weeks (with THS).

Denise

 

[WillH]

We are in both clubs and the disparity of the different rules always makes me think they do it just to be different. The booking rules in the C&CC are a bit odd though especially concerning booking for only one night on many sites.

 

[Spriddler]

The CAMC don't require deposits when making a booking and I've read frequent grumbles on their Forum about folk who book lots of sites on speculation (especially Fri and Sat nights) for much or even the whole of the season then cancel too near the time, preventing other decisive folk planning a trip and booking a week or two ahead when there would've been space.

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[Shoeless]

If you are wishing to use CLs then join both as it's hard to tell when one is on a CL which mob are in charge. I tend to dislike the Caravan Club main site rules as I feel that we have to have our shorts starched, ironed and blanco'd before attending flagbreak at both dawn and dusk.

The Camping Club tend to be more relaxed on their main sites but if it's CLs you're after then go for both.

- Malc

 

[Speve]

Although you get discounts you need to check around as others have found and quoted on this forum C&MC are not quite the discounts you expect they found for example tunnel and ferry prices cheaper elsewhere.
We have just stopped our membership as didn't use their sites or CLs as we tend to travel in Europe

 

[Spriddler]

Although you get discounts you need to check around as others have found and quoted on this forum C&MC are not quite the discounts you expect they found for example tunnel and ferry prices cheaper elsewhere.

Very true. I travel Newhaven to Dieppe a lot and if the 'lead' person on the ticket is over 60 you all get a 20% discount off the website tariffs regardless of the age(s) of the passenger(s). Only available on phoned bookings though and not via CAMC.

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[Jillytots]

Once had a problem with my ferry and needed to change tha date urgently, but couldn't as the c&mc don't open their phone lines on a Sunday. Will only book direct now

 

[Chrysalis]

Both. We use the M6 toll and the discount from that pays for the Caravan and Motorhome subscription

 

[wizzer59]

If you can afford it, try em both for a year or two to see how you get on

I'm been a member of the new C & M C for a few years now but only use the sites very occasionally, but had no real problems of note, just nice clean sites

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[Jasz]

Have just been to the C&MC site at Sandringham, just what you would expect - clean and tidy.
We had a look at the C&Cc next door - a lot more space ( out of peak season) and more random. It depends on what you want, I would be tempted to try that one if we go back, but not if it was busy.

 

[Khizzie]

I didn't know that until reading the above posts. I don't think that I will be booking until we are close to going.
I suppose it does stop people making lots of bookings well ahead and then cancelling the ones they don't want!

Which is the main reason for Camping and Caravan club rules. The rules are there for all to read when joining or making a booking .So I dont see the problem .

 

[sdc77]

We have been in both for ages but we've just realised that we haven't used the camc for over 18 months (except for the m6 toll reduction) so we've cancelled.
We always preferred the c&cc in any case.

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[wasp]

The thing that irks me about both clubs is they charge you for everything, per person, per pitch, extra for awnig you end up forking up to £30 a night when you could do a bit of homework and find cheaper, or if you savvy ,free. Just my opinion

 

[Spanda]

The thing that irks me about both clubs is they charge you for everything, per person, per pitch, extra for awnig you end up forking up to £30 a night when you could do a bit of homework and find cheaper, or if you savvy ,free. Just my opinion

That is pretty much the view we have come to about our membership of C&MHC. You end up paying a lot more than you do on private sites, and the silly practice of letting people book pitches without paying a deposit means that the best sites get booked up in December for the following year. Unless you can go at short notice, it means that you miss out when some of these bookings are inevitably cancelled late on. We have cancelled our direct debit for C&MHC and won't be bothering next year.

 

[Kingham]

I've been a member of both main clubs for many years and apart from my favourite site, Derwentwater in Keswick, I can't remember the last time I used a C&CC site.
I remain a member of the C&CC because a lot of my family and friends use Derwentwater and it's nice to be able to spend a bit of time with them, as well as it being the perfect retreat for winter in the Lakes.

Apart from my visit to Vanbitz' Cornish Farm, I have only stayed on C&MC (4) sites since getting the van mid April and I really should ween myself from the 'club culture' , which is probably a hangover from catering for the kids.

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[sdc77]

The thing that irks me about both clubs is they charge you for everything, per person, per pitch, extra for awnig you end up forking up to £30 a night when you could do a bit of homework and find cheaper, or if you savvy ,free. Just my opinion

Well... thats only true of club sites really .. cls and cs's are much more reasonable.
So that's the homework side sorted..
Furthermore our disabled daughter goes free with the c&cc.
Except in some sort of emergency... we have no intention of wild camping ..
Obviously that's just our opinion too .. but it works for us. Even in France we stick to aires and sites and never wild camp.
We also rarely pay anywhere near £30 a night. .. in fact last time we paid that was in France somewhere.

 

[sedge]

Went to CC Longleat last November - about 23 Mohos and 3 caravans, one of which was our daughter on the pitch next door to us! Been yonks since we went on any UK site though, normally we look for either a CL or CS (cos we're in both, too) wherever we fancy going as we don't use the facilities except the EHU in winter - and CLs and CSs both have fresh water and loo dump facilities anyway - which we do use wherever we are.

'Flag' is always being misrepresented by folk on here - the only camping I have ever done where there was such a 'Flag' was with my friend's Cub pack in the 1970s/80s and the pack Flag would indeed be raised and lowered and a prayer said.

CC rallies have a version of 'Flag' - the first is at the start to give out notices and info like where the tap and loo dump are, or what's planned for the next few days for the ralliers etc and is more likely to take the form of a coffee morning or something like that these days - then another get together at the end of the rally to round it all up and where the ralliers usually show their appreciation to the rally officers - perhaps with a cuppa the last afternoon or preferably a bring your own poison gathering in the evening.

These get togethers simply do not happen either on sites or CLs/CSs in the normal course of events!

 

[Khizzie]

I have never paid anymore than £15 per night on any club site. CCC being the cheapest at £12 and with the exception of CAMC site at steamer quay totnes where I only paid £10 recently they usual cost for me is £14.50 ..ok I am a solo motorhome and over 60 yrs old .the club sites suit my needs and at those costs are ideal..I know that this sort of camping is not everyone's ideal but each go their own .Roy

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[Ebby]

We've been members of C & MC for nine years now,we love their sites,but why do they have money out of everything.They charge for Wi-Fi when on most private sites it's free.l was recently on Moreton in Marsh site I needed to exchange a Calor Lite bottle for which they charge £27-00,I'm glad they had none in stock because I got one from Go Outdoors for£21-00.

 

[Khizzie]

We've been members of C & MC for nine years now,we love their sites,but why do they have money out of everything.They charge for Wi-Fi when on most private sites it's free.l was recently on Moreton in Marsh site I needed to exchange a Calor Lite bottle for which they charge £27-00,I'm glad they had none in stock because I got one from Go Outdoors for£21-00.

And they usally will only take cash for calor. Think it's because they use an outside agency to supply the gas as the price can vary club to club and site to site..as for WiFi the CCC now offer a yearly fee which is very competitive ,just with the two clubs would get together on WiFi...

 

[StitchesnFluff]

Which is the main reason for Camping and Caravan club rules. The rules are there for all to read when joining or making a booking .So I dont see the problem .

When my Dad was taken seriously I'll they allowed me to have refund at a C&CC site two days before stay was due, it was only for one night though

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[Melvin]

We are in Ccc only because my youngest son and daughter in law have a tent and occasionally we meet up on a site . Personally I prefer the CS / Cl type of site because we live on bungalow estate and dont want to holiday on a bland campsite with all the pitches in lines and little attention paid to aesthetics.

 

[Dazcaz]

We were in both a long time ago but dropped the CCC as we found most of their sites seems to be sloping. Not so bad in a caravan, but not great in an MH. We stayed with what was the CC mainly because we used the Chapel Lane site near Brum on a very regular basis. These days we rarely use club sites, but we do use the CL network a lot.