CAMC storage facilities - no access

Lizi

Lizi

Joined
May 19, 2015
Posts
258
Likes collected
146
Location
Surrey
Funster No
36,453
MH
Burstner
Exp
6 years
I am so frustrated that we cannot gain access to our motor home. The site is closed, therefore the storage remains closed "on government advice". What sort of advice would say someone cannot get their van out to drive and get battery etc going now that we are allowed to drive? The CAMC say their storage facilities are part of their sites and so cannot open. The fact is they cannot make any money out of letting folks get their vehicles so they won't facilitate customers getting to their vans. I just want our van to be ready if and when we are every allowed to use it again.
Between this and not being allowed to park in fairly local parks like Richmond park, I am beginning to feel this whole situation is more about infringing liberty than anything else. Without access to large spaces, people are using very small parks and are far too near each other in busy urban and suburban areas. I fully get that we need to protect people, but what about either of these two situations protects anyone? The opposite really when it comes to the park. Grrrrr!
 
Thanks for that Bluesurf. I will contact them again. Are other non CMC storage open - does anyone know?
 
Suppose the main issue could be if the storage area is accessed through the main site there's probably not a warden on-site to unlock the gates.
We've got the reverse issue in that we can't get our motorhome back into storage but that's definitely better than not being able to get it out.
 
I’m no expert, but I’d be surprised if they could legally stop you from removing your own property, I had an unfortunate issue some time ago when an over zealous police officer removed an item of my property from my business (in short, I reported a member of staff for thieft and he made an unsupported claim that the item was his) the Police refused to return it even after I had proven my ownership.

I went to a solicitor and they made a demand that the item be returned as even if the Police felt they had reason to withhold it, it was mine and they had no legal reason to retain my property.

The item was released within hours.

Thier T’s & C’s https://www.caravanclub.co.uk/globa...age-pitches/CAMC-Storage-Facilities-terms.pdf DONT appear to allow any variations on access times and therefore unless government has instructed the closure of such sites which as Bluesurf says doesn’t appear to be the case they should not be restricting your access to your own property.

bluesurf989 said:
The C&MC are totally out of order. They should be allowing access to storage.

The government advice shows that storage areas are exempt from closure even if they are contained within a business which must be closed!!!!!
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I suspect CAMC are just being over zealous in a similar fashion, but be aware they will not be compelled to allow you to return the Motorhome to their property, so unless you want to appoint a solicitor and then have somewhere else to store it you may be better off leaving well alone.

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We have access to our storage site. Moved from C&MC storage a few years ago, to a storage yard nearer home.

We decided to take some of our daily exercise on Wednesday by doing circuits around our motorhome and were pleased to notice that everything was in order. This was achieved without any breaches of the social distancing or travel rules. This means I could partake in the Thursday evening clap with a clear conscience.
 
When government give guidance or make legislation it normally takes months. unfortunately because of the pace of the pandemic time is not in abundance. To include your predicament and many other situations is impossible. There are many people out there saying “why can’t I ........”.
Accept the situation for what it is.
 
Can access my storage 24/7. It's 45 minute walk away, so easy to get to. Two separate security gates are operated by authorised phones. Would hate not being able to access my MH whenever I wanted.

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Igor_Blimey said:
Can access my storage 24/7. It's 45 minute walk away, so easy to get to. Two separate security gates are operated by authorised phones. Would hate not being able to access my MH whenever I wanted.
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This sounds ideal and the way it should be..
 
I can access mine though its 18miles away, could be counted as an unnecessary journey but allowed if sorting the MH out can be classed as exercise, if not it's on the way to Ashdown forest so could go for a walk.

Obviously there is no contact with anyone, not even anyone within sight, so being alert.
 
I work with someone from near Birmingham who last year had a storage plot on a site in Painton that they then pay per night for the weekends used during the season on the basis that the storage fee offsets the towing fuel and time for the regular trips. The renewal was due last Saturday so he fetched it the week before as there is no point in having the storage if the site cannot give him an opening date.
Absolutely no issues getting it back except lots of looks trundling up the M5 from other motorists.
Yes possibly a contentious journey but essential (in his view and mine) as it was pay up or remove from the site.
 
We're lucky that our storage is a 5 minute drive from home and just behind Asda. It's a CASSOA Gold site and we have 24/7 access. We ring either the owner (office hours) or monitoring/security company. They know it's us from the phone number, but we give our name and password and the electronic gate opens. They can also see us on cctv and even talk to us over a sort of remote pa system if necessary. We've been a few times during lockdown to check things and two weeks ago I fitted a new solar controller so the starter battery will charge also. Considering there are over 150 vans and caravans stored, we very rarely see anyone else there normally, let alone just now. It's worth every penny and we realise how lucky we are to find storage so close to home.
 
We would need to be able to put the van back in after giving it a drive so we will just have to put up with it unless we find somewhere more local which would be good anyway.

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+1 here in Spain. I thought I'd be able to go up to it on Monday when our area got the OK to travel locally, but the site is closed to customers therefore so is the longterm storage section. Resigned to having to probably buy a new starter battery. Bah!
 
I have a lithium battery and an Efoy fuel cell that looks after it when the motorhome is in storage. I no longer have solar but it did two thirds of three fifths of s-d all in our shaded storage spot anyway. Earlier this year (pre lockdown) I decided I needed to do something to look after the engine battery and having a Sterling battery maintainer lurking in my garage from an earlier motorhome decided to use this. The problem was that being connected to a higher voltage lithium battery it would probably have stayed on permanently, which in turn would have used more Efoy fuel. I bought and wired in a £14 12v time clock. The time clock is set to power up the battery maintainer for 1 hour every day. This has kept the engine battery in the range of 12.3v to12.6v, which I am able to check from my Vodafone tracker.

I am really pleased that I set this up before the lockdown because I have been able to reassure myself that all is well and know that the tracker and alarm have what they need to stay operational. Without this I suspect that by now the engine battery and the security devices would have stopped working, which in turn has insurance implications. Since mid January I have used about £10 worth of Efoy fuel which is 55p per week and that seems a small price for peace of mind.
 
The reason is all the staff are Furloughed so legally they cannot work!! However no doubt in an emergency the C&MC could get someone to let you get your van out but not just for a ride around.

Ours is on a private storage yard and I have made arrangement for Saturday to go and inspect it, check tyre pressures etc. As it is a large yard I am going to have a couple or circuits just to loosen things up and pump the tyres up. As it is SORN I cannot take it out but I can remotely check battery levels via the Truma app and the tracker gives me an indication of the van battery.
 
Time to look at Alternatives?. In my case the last 3 Homes have been bought on the basis that the Motorhome is stored at home!. We rejected quite a few nice properties due to no Storage. And nearly rejected this one, until my Solicitor confirmed that the alleged "Parking Ban" was`nt worth the paper it`s printed on!.
 
Our van still locked away no access, it was made quite clear in the last correspondence they wont open until government say ok. What can you do its their property and whilst annoying I understand they want to stay safe.

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Simon Meadwell said:
Our van still locked away no access, it was made quite clear in the last correspondence they wont open until government say ok. What can you do its their property and whilst annoying I understand they want to stay safe.
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Or have no staff currently actively employed, as in the case of the CaMC.

Appreciate the fustration of the OP but it is similar to those who have their motorhomes trapped in dealers yard and have no access, some of whom have just paid the final balance and yet to pick up their new purchase.

These are unprecedented times and we all are having to make allowances.
This isn't a walk in the park for anyone, and to be blunt, some people will never walk in the park again, so a delay in accessing a motorhome may be an annoyance, but at least you are still alive to be annoyed....
 
They do have staff working. One staff member on furlough and one paid as normal - he is cutting grass etc and keeping site while furloughed wife is not working. I got a reply to a letter I sent last week. They say they are not allowed to open holiday sites. The fact that storage is not holiday site is beyond them. I think they are choosing to interpret the guidance in this way. There is no financial gain to club for opening storage so they won't open till sites open.
 
I totally agree Lizi, i think they are being bang out of order. Our motorhomes have cost us a lot of money and they need maintaining :mad:
 
Is there going to be a que for the storage when they say it is open and you can go there ?
 
Seems to smack of a beach of contract somewhere. There is no specific mention in the Government guideline re storage facilities other than the exceptions were retail is concerned that can remain open. Only a blanket cover for caravan and commercial sites to remain closed is mentioned. Think we all need a refund for the weeks we couldn’t access our vehicles.

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Believe me, if there was anywhere else we could store our motorhome, they wouldn't get a penny more from us.
 
Missed you're thread, but started another. But my main point is this:

Nick Lomas, the Caravan and Motorhome Club's director general, on the BBC news app, MH staying in Cornwall said you can only use a motorhome if it's your only vehicle. See picture. Can't find anything in the government guidance.
Has anyone else seen it anywhere anywhere in the government guidance saying can only use Van's if only vehicle please. Under the government guidance you not allowed to holiday parks, but does say storage facilities can be open. Yet Caravanand Motorhome storage remains under lockdown.

My understanding is you can MHs them same as cars, but not allowed to sleep in them unless on your driveway

I am beginning to wonder that just maybe, the clubs are embellishing the law to suit, keep the storage sites lockeddown to save money. Could be other independent storage sites possibly doing the same or following the guidelines from the big clubs.
 
My guess is they furloughed the staff and are now tying the storage re-opening with the sites. Naughty, unnecessary and unfair. Glad I moved to another facility when I did.
 
Lizi said:
Believe me, if there was anywhere else we could store our motorhome, they wouldn't get a penny more from us.
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I empathise with your frustration.

For clarity, are you saying you want to go and collect your motorhome and take it away and the CaMC has refused?

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