What is our membership fee for?

Red Pennent is often said to be expensive but I wonder if people are comparing like with like. I have just paid £235 for 66 days European Personal and Breakdown cover. What are my alternatives? Very few that I have found. Margaret has a Flex account with Nationwide which includes supposedly free health cover so we thought we would use that to cover a cruise we are going on later in the year. When I phoned them to check about medical conditions I was told that it would cost me £250 extra. If I had been paying the £10 a month that would have increased the price to £370. That would have covered me for multi trips up to 31 days for the year so goodness knows how much that would have cost extra for the additional month? Fortunately Age Concern offer a good value policy for a 9 day cruise for just under. £80. Without the Club and Red Pennant it is unlikely that we could go abroad with our motorhome so to me that is worth the membership fee. I also like Club campsites as compared to a variety of commercial sites I have stayed on they are far superior and often cheaper. 

David

David we excluded our current medical issues as we have the EHIC card anyway and there was no additional cost.  However if we did include them there was an additional cost of about £240 for the year and the same applied to Red Pennant except with RP you pay a premium so Nationwide wins hands down.  

Red Pennent is often said to be expensive but .....

It is when you're working and don't have the luxury or option to take 66 days holiday

It may be a minor point  but the club (and the other one) does speak out for caravaners and MHers on national level, there's the approved service workshops for one, and they did bring to our attention, and helped opposed and changed (IMHO) the planned introduction of caravan MOT by the EU (no political statement implied). Without the two major clubs who would speak out of our behalf?

There is also the help and technical section.

It may be a minor point  but the club (and the other one) does speak out for caravaners and MHers on national level, there's the approved service workshops for one, and they did bring to our attention, and helped opposed and changed (IMHO) the planned introduction of caravan MOT by the EU (no political statement implied). Without the two major clubs who would speak out of our behalf?

There is also the help and technical section.

Can you please give any examples of the club speaking out for its members as it seems shoddy caravans are still being produced.  BTW the CC cannot take credit for the MOT for caravans not being introduced as that was a governmental decision and done before the club got involved.  Also I am sure that the club never introduced AWS workshops?

It may be a minor point  but the club (and the other one) does speak out for caravaners and MHers on national level, there's the approved service workshops for one, and they did bring to our attention, and helped opposed and changed (IMHO) the planned introduction of caravan MOT by the EU (no political statement implied). Without the two major clubs who would speak out of our behalf?

There is also the help and technical section.

Can you please give any examples of the club speaking out for its members as it seems shoddy caravans are still being produced.  BTW the CC cannot take credit for the MOT for caravans not being introduced as that was a governmental decision and done before the club got involved.  Also I am sure that the club never introduced AWS workshops?

...Both clubs lobbyed the govenment against c/van mots as they did to introduce a workshop scheme

It may be a minor point  but the club (and the other one) does speak out for caravaners and MHers on national level, there's the approved service workshops for one, and they did bring to our attention, and helped opposed and changed (IMHO) the planned introduction of caravan MOT by the EU (no political statement implied). Without the two major clubs who would speak out of our behalf?

There is also the help and technical section.

Can you please give any examples of the club speaking out for its members as it seems shoddy caravans are still being produced.  BTW the CC cannot take credit for the MOT for caravans not being introduced as that was a governmental decision and done before the club got involved.  Also I am sure that the club never introduced AWS workshops?

So are shoddy cars, houses, computers.... How could any club or  organisation fight 'poor' products with the any goverment or producer? It does not own the companies that make these things?

The goverment (and all our political parties) opposed the scheme and it was being voted for all EU members at the EU parliament not at national goverment level. I certainly remember the club asking its members to write to their MEP and it lobbied for the scrapping of the proposed plans for a caravan MOT, which has not happened.

Following meetings with EU officials The Caravan Club is pleased to see that yesterday's vote at the European Parliament in Strasbourg has confirmed previous indications that caravans (and other light trailers) will not be subject to MOT-type testing. 

After a series of meetings of EU officials in Brussels, during November and December, it was clear that Club lobbying efforts had been effective and that it was highly likely that caravans and other light trailers would be removed from the scope of proposed testing. The European Parliament Transport Committee voted on 21 January 2014 to accept this, as did the full Parliament on 11 March 2014.

The Approved Workshop Scheme was formed by the Caravan Club, National Caravan Council and Camping and Caravanning Club in 1998.

BTW any one can open a CL, they do not have to belong to a club like the CC or C & CC!

When was the planning condition removed that related to the persons using the CL being members of a recognised camping organisation?

For me, CC is a horses for courses organisation. 

I've moved my Insurance (or will do) from them and saved hundreds of pounds. Similar tale with Red Pennant.

However, we use them for ferries, the odd decent site in the UK where they provide, normally, a high level of accommodation. We mainly use them for the CL network

On saying all of the above I would say that the current Amateur (in every sense of the word) level of H.O management is the worst I've encountered in the last 25+ years of being a member. 

I fully agree with Kennine's comment about bringing professionals in and I totally endorse IanH questioning of what the fee brings you. IMO this club is being badly managed and badly led.

but wouldn't you want professionals with some carvaning experience, or does that not matter?