So you all pay that £1 or £2 per night extra on some sights to put an awning up. So, do you pay how many nights you are actually there, I think most places I've been to and observed others the awning usually comes down the day before whilst its dry.
Am I the only one who hasn't got the nerve to stay for 5 nights or whatever and say the awning will be up for 4 to save a quid or two?
We arrived at site it was raining so put the awning up the next day.I suppose if we choose not to put it up then it is not their fault.But i do think you should not have to charge for extra's.
If you are given a larger pitch in order to accommodate an awning then you should pay even if you take the awning down early .
But with CS's and similar sites that charge for the awning but the pitch is no different that if you didn't have an awning then only pay for the nights you use it .Just recently I pointed out to a site owner that he had charged me a pound too much as our awning didn't go up till the second night ,I have no shame in that whatsoever !
I agree with you Skittlez, we use CL's 95% of the time so the pitch size is the same whether you erect an awning or not. Only ever pay for the nights it's up, never had any problems.
We only have a porch awning (albeit a fairly large one) and some CL's don't charge us at all for it.
I also find if off-putting to find a site I like, only to find that the original price per night has nearly doubled by the time I've added the EHU, the £1 or 2 for the dog, another few pounds for the awning.... and so on.
Hoever it must be marvellous if you don't have an awning, a dog or need EHU (or anything else they can charge for, like showers etc...)!
I agree you should not have to pay extra for awnings, they are on the same patch of grass you've already paid for (unless huge).
That's why I like the C&CC sites, they don't charge for awnings and I need mine for more than a few days as I only have a tiny caravan. Even with the awning it still doesn't take up the space of a big caravan put together!
But with CS's and similar sites that charge for the awning but the pitch is no different
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we use CL's 95% of the time
HI Folks newbie here give us a clue with these cs's and cl's. Only used my van once last weekend and was charged £2 a night for the awning.
Hi and welcome! (waving to you!)
Cs = certificated site - belongs to the C&CC club
Cl = certified location - belong to the caravan club
both are just affiliated to the above clubs, and have certificates to prove it. They are often smaller, some accepting just 5-10 units. Quite often I find that some of these have their own rules about what to charge for, not the same rates necessarily as the two clubs charge on their club sites.
Quote: Originally posted by Tunstallwood on 02/8/2011
Never stayed anywhere that charges us extra for an awning, or extra for dogs or the other extras some like to add on!
Andi
Im with you total p... take next there be charging if you towing your caravan with a 4x4 When /if this country picks up and people start being able to afford to go abroad again i hope that these sort of sites struggle . All this quick doller will come back and bite them. Has it always been the case these charges.
Cl's & Cs's that us their respective clubs exemption certificates should only accept 5 caravans or motor homes unless they have their own planning permission. Cs's can have any number of tents as well (I understand)
As most of the sites we use are rallies or C&CC sites we've never been charged extra for awnings. EHU yes but would expect this.
If I am on a site where I will have to pay extra for an awning I just don't put the awning up, or find another site.
If I ever find a site that wants to charge extra for a 4x4 I will simply talk with my feet... or my 4x4 anyway. Actually, a 4x4 is less likely to lose traction and damage the grass, so it's mor likely you will have to pay more for NOT having a 4x4.
Nor will I pay for the use of a shower when I have one in the caravan that is free, and I will very rarely pay extra for EHU. I have a solar panel and can hapilly manage a week or more on my battery.
Most of the extra fees can be avoided by either shopping around or using your own facilities.
Difficult to assess fairness, because it is a 'swings and roundabout' situation. Low pitch fee + awning charge can equal higher pitch fee with no awning charge. I suppose, on grass, there can be extra pitch wear due to an awning being erected.
In the case of hardstandings, I wonder if an additional charge for an awning is reasonable. I can't come to a definitive opinion, because I don't know how much wear and subsequent repair is caused by pegs being driven into the substrate of the hardstanding.
We don't use the on-site amenities; preferring to use our own washroom, etc. But that's our choice, and we would never think of challenging it (wouldn't win, anyhow!) I think you just look at what you are getting overall, and decide if it is worth it, or not. An excellent site with extra awning charge can still be better value than a mediocre site that works out cheaper.
As far as avoiding sites that charge, thats fine as long as the site is in the location you want but I find usually sites that are sort after i.e near town/beach/pub/club etc very often charge extra.......because they can!
It really erks! me you start off with a £20.00 site fee and then added awning,dog etc it's up to £25/£28, we use a lot of c.l.'s, we don't need the facilities.
The caravan club is expensive now too, our daughter stayed for a few days at Easter and it went up to over £30 a night (could have got away with it if I were disshonest, I wonder how many do) and on top of that wanted to charge for her car parked in the car park, I did draw the line on that.
don't mind paying for the dogs (if only a £1 or so) if a site has extra facilities for them, e.g. a dog field and poo bins but many sites don't have this, or have a walk that is not enclosed and not made to be a dog area, it just happens to be there! What are we paying for then exactly!
Same with awnings as many sites give you the same pitch regardless of awning or not and I don't think the bit about wear and tear is that justified when you compare to tents on grass.
On principle I won't stay anywhere that piles on additional charges. Whatever next, measuring the breath you take, or vending machines for loo paper by the sheet?
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Topic: Paying for awning use
When /if this country picks up and people start being able to afford to go abroad again i hope that these sort of sites struggle . All this quick doller will come back and bite them. Has it always been the case these charges.
