Deposits and Paying

We recently booked 3 nights on a CL and paid up front in full.  As it happened we needed to be in the area the week before so we made an additional booking.  As the site was badly signposted and post code plus con-ordinates were not right, we missed the entrance which is no fun when towing a twin axle caravan.  We had to carry on until we found a pub with a large enough car park to turn around.

Again we missed the site entrance but luckily this time we were able to turn down a small road which was not suitable for a twin axle caravan.  However we managed to over come.

OH then walked around until she found the site.  Luckily no cars otherwsie we would have blocked their way.  On finding the site entrance I had to go to the far right of the 2 lane road in order to get through the entrance.  I would like to add that this was on a bend on the road and anything apprioaching woudl not have seen us.

Anyway we got onto the dirt track which was a a bit bendy and due to it being narrow had to take bends a bit wide which nearly resulted in us going into a stream or ditch which coudl not be seen.  Luckily the wife was walking in front of the car to guide me.

Once we got onto the CL it was really nice, however as we were collecting a new caravan a few days later there was no way I was bringing it down that track so we had to contact the owner to cancel.  We explained why and they were okay with it.

However it goes to show that you may arrive at a CL and find the unexpected which may cause difficulties.  You have then lost you payment.

Have you done a review of that CL and the problems you encountered as described above?  It's the sort of thing which would be helpful to others, although of course someone with a smaller caravan would probably not have the same problems.  But it's all useful info IMHO.

Regarding 'Reviews' QFour & others.  I am pleased that you have noted that the 'code of conduct' for leaving a Review about a CL is that you have actually stayed on the CL in question.  If you have not stayed, and you are simply commenting about the way that the CL chooses to conduct it's business, then you should not be leaving a review, and the CL owner can legitimately ask for such false reviews to be Deleted User.  

On the topic of this thread I (as a CL Owner) am now out-of-pocket by around £150 having had 2 cancellations at the last minute for the coming weekend/week.  This is especially galling as I have turned away at least 3 members on the phone who wanted to book this weekend and I don't know how many who may have seen from our on-line booking system that we were (at the time) full.   To re-fill the lost pitches I now have to: Post on facebook, post on CT, contact my local CC site, contact my friendly local independent site and see if I can back-fill these nights and try to recover my lost nights.  Thankfully we take a deposit, otherwise I'd be down over £300.  Anyone want to come to the Chilterns this weekend??  We have a lovely site with amazing views and walking..  see our (legitimate) reviews :)

At the price some CL owners charge for a CL, I think a club site would be better value unless the pitches are all fully serviced with water and drainage. We generally like to pay about £12 unless the pitch is fully serviced.

What is so important about a view as surely people do not sit in their caravan all day long admiring the view?  Granted it is a nice bonus but to us not that important.

Regarding 'Reviews' QFour & others.  I am pleased that you have noted that the 'code of conduct' for leaving a Review about a CL is that you have actually stayed on the CL in question.  If you have not stayed, and you are simply commenting about the way that the CL chooses to conduct it's business, then you should not be leaving a review, and the CL owner can legitimately ask for such false reviews to be Deleted User.  

On the topic of this thread I (as a CL Owner) am now out-of-pocket by around £150 having had 2 cancellations at the last minute for the coming weekend/week.  This is especially galling as I have turned away at least 3 members on the phone who wanted to book this weekend and I don't know how many who may have seen from our on-line booking system that we were (at the time) full.   To re-fill the lost pitches I now have to: Post on facebook, post on CT, contact my local CC site, contact my friendly local independent site and see if I can back-fill these nights and try to recover my lost nights.  Thankfully we take a deposit, otherwise I'd be down over £300.  Anyone want to come to the Chilterns this weekend??  We have a lovely site with amazing views and walking..  see our (legitimate) reviews :)

I fully understand the points you've made.  Sadly not all CL sites are to an acceptable standard like yours clearly is.  A problem arises if you've paid up front and the CL isn't to an acceptable standard. 

Hello Qfour.  All CL's are inspected once a year by a Club appointed volunteer inspector.  Our inspection was yesterday.  Unfortunately I didn't get a chance to meet the inspector as I was out at work in London.  

If you have an opinion on the minimum standards you'd expect of a CL, please email me at tedhj@btinternet.com As I am a 'Nominated Member' of the Club Council and responsible (in part) for keeping the Council informed on CL matters I'd appreciate your feedback.  I can then pass this onto the appropriate team.  However, I don't think this forum is thecorrect venue for a conversation!  Hence, feel free to email me with your thoughts.

This is a new one on me. I've been using cl's for nearly 30 years and have never had to pay up front. I've paid a deposit and balance on arrival but never in advance.

I would never use a site which had that policy

This was my reply to the OP

There's a first time for everything and I've just found a cl in Dorset who want all my money up front. 14 x £15 that's £210. Whilst I can understand a cl talking about loss of revenue for a non arrival that works both ways I can't afford to loose that amount of money for something happenning that stops me from attending. Like I said in my first post, I would never stop on a site like that. So you could say the site has lost out again

The acceptability of such a policy might depend on how far in advance the payment was required. Deposit on booking and balance a month before couyld possibly be reasonable. Risk of funds could, of course, be covered by a travel insurance policy.

In my experience, CLs wanting money up front have had something to hide, or not been as the site description has led me to believe. ie like the other 10 caravans on the site. I lost faith in the CL system. On the bit about lost revenue, its a business risk, a fact of life. A good CL wont have any problem in this regard.

There is a cl near where we are that we used to use every year. A small deposit and pay the balance on arrival a couple of years ago there decided that they wanted full payment 28 days before arrival. We told them no and have not been there since. There have 5 statics there so obviously not concerned about their old customers.