Caravan & Motorhome Club Website

I am glad to read this thread.  I have only used the new website once or twice recently and tend to be looking very last minute.  I also thought it a bit of a dogs dinner and that CAMC are really showing up as a for profit business with not much attention to member's needs.  For me, the 'deposit' for a one night stop at a club site almost equalled (by £1.50) the total cost.  So that didn't sit too well.  Then, as usual, I had to buy internet access onsite.  The website said 'from 8p a day' so my hopes were raised and when confronted with '£3.50' my hopes dashed again but I did buy it since I needed it that night.  Then as usual, it didn't work.  Despite me being parked 20m from the office block.  I am just using other sites more and more - and apart from their bathroom facilities (CAMC are good at those) I have a much nicer time with much nicer locations and usually, free wifi.  And then I don't mind so much if it doesn't work :)  I find sites by using [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] it has a very good search facility.

We don't use any of the facilities on CAMC sites with the exception of EHU and water tap/drain preferring our onboard facilities.  They makes the club sites prices now completely unattractive for us with the possible exception of the minimum facilities ones and even they are getting pretty overpriced.  CLs are now proving much more attractive but the club are obviously making it harder to book these.

Like Ruby all CLs (and C&CC CSs ) can be found on Ukcampsites and Search4sites.  You can't book them through the club anyway, so just use those websites and book direct.

Along with the comments already made, the biggest regression (in my opinion) is to the 'Late Availability Checker'. It was brilliant - you could select a number of regions and scan the availability in the club sites over several weeks going forward. Not now - it appears to be the same as the regular booking system.

For example, when I put in "Lake District" it gave me a region in Canada and Calcutta! As much a Is love both of these places, I don't recall a Club site being there!

To be fair - I posted this on the CAMC Chat Group and I've now just been and done the same search and it is better.

Moral irs - complain at every little thing and maybe - just maybe - some of them will be fixed 

By the way - I did ask a question at the AGM regarding BETA Testing of the new system. This is the response.......

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From the C&MC Twitter page- 

We are updating our webpages regularly with information regarding all the latest fixes and what is upcoming. We would like to invite you to fill out a feedback form which goes directly to our technical team, outlining any issues that you have faced:

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We have so far addressed the most common feedback provided by members and some of the fixes are now in place.

ScribesWtr wrote:We don't use any of the facilities on CAMC sites with the exception of EHU and water tap/drain preferring our onboard facilities.  They makes the club sites prices now completely unattractive for us with the possible exception of the minimum facilities ones and even they are getting pretty overpriced.  CLs are now proving much more attractive but the club are obviously making it harder to book these.

I can’t comment on all the issues as I haven’t come across them yet.

However, it’s not all bad. I wanted a CL this morning, it took me 30 seconds to find one using the app, 30 seconds to ring them, and then book the hard standing with EHU and facilities for £14 per night. 

So it’s not all bad all the time.

Here’s a link to December's survey if anyone wants to share their thoughts again.

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Reading all these complaints about the C&MC, makes me think I’ve just thrown money away by renewing my membership. Although we spend most of our touring abroad. 
Next year we are contemplating staying in the UK, maybe we should still consider spending our money abroad, rather than getting ripped off here.

Bad Penny wrote:Reading all these complaints about the C&MC, makes me think I’ve just thrown money away by renewing my membership. Although we spend most of our touring abroad. 
Next year we are contemplating staying in the UK, maybe we should still consider spending our money abroad, rather than getting ripped off here.

For me, I never feel ‘ripped off’ by either of the main clubs. I know what I’m getting and I’m happy with the prices. Some are embarrassingly cheap. 

I appreciate that the booking issues need resolving. They appear to be working on that.

Just catching up with this thread.
Having had a pig of a time booking a site I thought it was a one off. Though when I finally talked to someone on the phone there was a little suggestion that there were issues. In my case I couldn't get the calendar to come up for May, only March and April.

Newvo wrote:Just catching up with this thread.
Having had a pig of a time booking a site I thought it was a one off. Though when I finally talked to someone on the phone there was a little suggestion that there were issues. In my case I couldn't get the calendar to come up for May, only March and April.

Sounds like you may be using the old app which didn't go beyond May. I don't like the new app but it does work for me.

Paulmold wrote:
Sounds like you may be using the old app which didn't go beyond May. I don't like the new app but it does work for me.

You are giving them the benefit of the doubt!
It was using a tablet, and the first time I went on I got May up, then it wouldn't go past April.  A couple of days later I got May up and added another night on! so I think there was a fault.

When I booked Culloden for this weekend I opted for payment to be taken automatically night before arrival, when we arrived payment had not been taken so I had to go back to van to get my bank card, holding up a couple of vans behind us in queue. Folks in front of us were adamant they had opted to pay balance on arrival, but were told it had been taken overnight. Wardens admitted still major problems but say it is getting better. Site was only half full  ut when I booked app showed limited availability. Wardens said they felt costs were putting people off

Reports from other sites showing as full while people on thise sites posting saying lots if empty pitches. Possible lots of people may have had change of plans and lost deposits but reports seem too widespread for the odd cancellation

I had my first experience of using the new booking system for one of their sites. The booking form is a faff and unnecessarily overcomplicated IMHO.

Just tried to find out how to use the evoucher issued by CMC for WiFi given that booking system seems to ignore requests to pay on arrival, computer says no and doesn't know what a human is. So much for live chat

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Wondering when anyone was last able to use the website? I get a holding page with the message "essential maintenance" is being done. 
Usually websites are down for hours,  in this case is been over a week.

Noooo, it went off about 10 pm. It’s been working all day today and the major part of every day.

Club just announced deposits cut to 10% as long as you book by 30th September.  Cancellation policy remains the same so it just means you lose less if you cancel within 21 days of your arrival. Is that supposed to make you rush to book?

And…they are still subject to a minimum deposit of £20. Smoke and mirrors methinks.

I left the C&C club a couple of years ago and now question my ongoing membership of C&MC, which has only really been maintained until recently for the cheap caravan insurance (as was!). For the last year at least I have only used U.K. Campsite and the phone, and even on supposedly member only CL’s I have never been refused admittance. We only ever book anywhere at the last minute since our movements tend to be unpredictable and we never use full blown sites if we can avoid it.

The magazines are what I term “loo reading” matter.

The Bargee wrote:I left the C&C club a couple of years ago and now question my ongoing membership of C&MC, which has only really been maintained until recently for the cheap caravan insurance (as was!). For the last year at least I have only used U.K. Campsite and the phone, and even on supposedly member only CL’s I have never been refused admittance. We only ever book anywhere at the last minute since our movements tend to be unpredictable and we never use full blown sites if we can avoid it.

The magazines are what I term “loo reading” matter.

I do think the CL and CS sites should enforce the members only rule.

Why? 

CL’s and CS’s are surely privately owned businesses and the clubs market their “properties”, presumably in return for some form of commission or listing fee.

I have rented out our holiday “properties” (boats and cottages) through various booking agents for over 40 years but we never allowed any agents to claim exclusive rights to market these properties.

The Bargee wrote:Why? 

CL’s and CS’s are surely privately owned businesses and the clubs market their “properties”, presumably in return for some form of commission or listing fee.

I have rented out our holiday “properties” (boats and cottages) through various booking agents for over 40 years but we never allowed any agents to claim exclusive rights to market these properties.

Why? Because the sites operate under the exemption certification granted by whichever club/organisation. It is a legal method of avoiding the need for planning permission/licensing. It is also a matter of regulation that the exempting body (club) accepts responsibility for the conduct of those using the site which they achieve by stipulating members only. Any site which breaches that term puts their exemption certification at risk. Likewise, any site breaking the regs by having more than 5 units on site is putting the whole system in jeopardy and the exempting body could lose its right to issue exemption certificates. In short, a CAMC CL owner breaching the rules puts the whole CAMC CL system at risk.

With regard to CAMC making money from CLs, all they do is insist CL owners are members of CAMC. The club benefits by being able to add approx 2000 exempted sites to its portfolio.

You can read all the laws relating to exemption certificates on the Natural England website. It’s quite involved and very different from your own holiday letting experience.

Interesting, and thank you for the detailed explanation. Obviously I am aware of some of the planning laws etc. but not all the detail. There do seem to be grey areas on the question of the membership requirement but I guess ultimately it is up to the site operator, what exemption certificates or planning permissions he has, and how he wishes to interpret the rules where there are grey areas. It does seem to me that there are plenty of perfectly good sites which can and do accept touring units without demanding membership of either of the main “clubs”. As before I will continue to book over the phone and if my custom is declined then I will obviously respect that but it hasn’t happened yet on any CL/CS that does not specify “members only” in its U.K. Campsite listing. I guess there are other exempted organisations that can offer operators suitable certification, and at the end of the day I guess that if I really want to stop on a club site I could always rejoin (if I were to leave).