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Quote: Originally posted by roamingsue on 03/1/2009

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Ratty I am sorry but you cannot join the caravan club if all you own is a tent, it is in their conditions of membership!  Some sites do admit tents but they cannot be members of the caravan club.  It is an organisation essentially for caravans, with motorhomes and trailer tents. 

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Quote: Originally posted by Fat Bum on 02/1/2009

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We have been members of the C&CC for 8 years now and have never experienced any of the problems that Janus mentioned.We have had to cancel sites or change our booking and the money has been held on account until the next time we used it with no problems whatsoever.


FB

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FB

What I would like to know is what happens to those held over deposits, are they held over until you need it or do they disappear off the system at some stage? Also could someone clarify if you have to leave a campsite early, for say a family crisis, having paid for your full stay can the money be refunded or is it lost. My question obviously only aplies to Club owned sites as I realise that affiliated sites, as with the CC, will apply different rules.

David

I am not anti the caravan club Una, honest, Yes the name says it all Una you are right that the C&CC is an organisation that is about all types of campers and the Caravan club is there for a specific group.  I am a member of both clubs.  I was responding to the 'totally untrue comment' which I was quite surpised by and justifying my comment.  I am actually trying not to be controversal as both  clubs have positives and negatives... I suspect people feel strongly about their particular clubs.  However it seems to be there is this fundamental difference in otherwise very similar groups and that is their membership make up!

As to belonging to the club of course they are not going to call round to your house to check Una youbut as a tent owner you are not entitled to member benefits so presumably if you booked in for a tent pitch you would not be getting the same rate! (I can quote from their website I have just checked).

Thanks to you all for the replies that we've had.Well we have decided to join both,and we shall see what we get out of them in 12mths time.They both seem to have a lot to offer,lovely sites,superb locations and attractive prices.The C&CC though,i'm led to believe,need a deposit to confirm a booking,where as,the CC don't,but would this cause all the weekends and attractive dates,on the popular sites to become  booked up quickly.Would like views on this,if this is the case,and thanks again for taking time to answer my questions.

                                 12tintrev

Can see your point about choosing the pitch Una thought I suspect it is because of the variety of units that they have that they have to allocate.

Actually what is possibly more irritating about the C&CC is the having to book 2 nights rule at times... if you are overnighting on route to somewhere this is a problem.  Perhaps it is good to have a bit of difference between the clubs helps to create a bit of lively debate!!

For a bit of fun perhaps we should meet on the jointly owned site (CC and C&CC) and have a water pistol or water bomb fight between the two sites and make peace over a barbecue at the end......  Only kidding........

Quote: Originally posted by 12tintrev on 04/1/2009

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 The C&CC though,i'm led to believe,need a deposit to confirm a booking,where as,the CC don't,but would this cause all the weekends and attractive dates,on the popular sites to become  booked up quickly.

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Some people would say it does, and a lot of the most popular CC sites do become full at weekends, but to me the key word their is popular. The club has somewhere between 50k and 60k pitches available at any one time and 375k members so in some areas and especially at the very busiest times their sites become full. Making payment of a deposit might make the sites seem easier to book but only at the expense of the less well off members who might be put off booking by the cost. So IMO the system as it is is the best compromise.

Quote: Originally posted by janus on 30/12/2008

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CCC has a network of just over 100 of it's own sites where only a small percentage of the pitches on many of the sites have EHU,  and about 1000 CS's ( like CL's ). When you arrive at a CCC site the HolidaySite Manager will take you fees and will then escort you to the pitch he will choose for you and he will ensure that your caravan is pitched correctly to the nearest inch. If you need to book a pitch you will be charged a deposit of up to £25 which is non refundable and should you wish to leave early any fees you have paid will be forfeit ( unless you have a kindly doctor ). The club provides a full range of other services for it's members.

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In my experience of c&cc I have never paid a deposit, never been told where to pitch, there has always been plenty of EHU's  and the last place I stayed I had to chase the lady to pay.

I have only stayed on certified sites though?

We joined c&cc as that is the club that was operating at the place we wanted to stay.

Unless you want to take advantage of extra services I wouldn't join any 'till I was ready to go so I don't waste any membership time (but then I am a bit tightfisted!!!)

Julie, Janus was talking about the Club sites, not Certificated Sites which are run by the owners.

Personally I don't have a problem with the HSMs choosing which pitch would be best for my unit - they know what size/shape the pitches are, what other units they are expecting, and where my unit will fit in best. They have always been very accomodating about selecting adjoining pitches when friends and I have met up (even up to 7 units one weekend at Kingsbury!).

I have never known them to "ensure that your caravan is pitched correctly to the nearest inch" - maybe that's because Janus has a long/wide caravan? - but I am always appreciative of their help in directing me on to the pitch as my reversing skills leave a lot to be desired.

As I said in my post above I have had an overpayment credited back to my account to set against future fees, and I am also aware of a number of occasons when friends have changed plans at short notice and had deposits transferred to other sites or credited for future use.

Quote: Originally posted by bordercaz on 05/1/2009

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I have never known them to "ensure that your caravan is pitched correctly to the nearest inch" - maybe that's because Janus has a long/wide caravan? - but I am always appreciative of their help in directing me on to the pitch as my reversing skills leave a lot to be desired.

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I have always been directed to a pitch and the HSM has watched while I site the van and provided that it is reasonable that is it. But I was most put out on the very first CCC site that I visited ( Moffat ) I arrived with my 3 months old pride and joy Hymer Nova 470 ( standard design ordinary length 2 berth end bathroom ) which has it's door on the continental side, I knew I was not going to be happy when the two blokes on bikes stood there and looked at the door and muttered between themselves " what are we going to do with that "  they then took me to where they seemed to be putting everyone else at the time and because it was bucketing down and had been all day they took me on a big circle round on the gras so that when I stopped my front wheels were just on the roadway ( very sensible ), so I unhooked and moved the car forward the HSM looked at it and pushed the hitch about 6 inches to the right and said that will do and left me. When I walked around the van the vans door stepped out straight into a 2" deep puddle, so the van got moved again this time without supervision.

This has happened only the once, and I have been back to Moffat, I presume they were having a bad day as it was very very wet. But there was me with my virtually new van feeling very insulted that they didn't appreciate it as much as I did.  Mind you it did colour my impressions of the CCC first impressions count.

Quote: Originally posted by bordercaz on 05/1/2009

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Julie, Janus was talking about the Club sites, not Certificated Sites which are run by the owners.

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Oh!... Sorry...

Thought it was a bit strange.  they don't usually even take an address from me