# Pay for aire, (maybe), but use campsite facilities next door



## philbre (Nov 13, 2008)

I usually go to a campsite in Sth of fra every year to blokart & kitesurf
The campsite I use is on the beach & it averages out at €20 per night.
For this I get a pitch with electricity, showers, toilet , area to wash dishes, access to laundry room.

There is an aire adjoining the campsite. It costs €7 per night and offers a toilet for its patrons

The problem is this.............

Some of The occupants of the aire break the barrier to the aire so that they can come & go without paying the €7 daily

Practically all of the occupants of the aire walk onto the campsite to use the loo, to use the showers, to get rid of their rubbish in the bins

It happened quite often that there was a queue for the showers at 6pm & the water might be lukewarm at best

I'm guessing that if the 200 or so people who were coming in every day to use the showers that they are not paying for washed themselves in their own camper, there could be plenty of warm water for those who are paying €20 a day

I argued the toss with a welsh family. They stayed in the aire in their €50000 2yr old camper but they used the campsite as if they were paying for it. They had told another welsh family of 5people about this wonderful opportunity during the previous winter & they too used the campsite this summer with total abandon & without paying

The welsh people didn't give a toss @ my opinion, as far as they were concerned, I was the fool who was paying for it when I didn't need to.

Yes I informed the people at reception who were aware of the problem

I welcome balanced discussion

Phil


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## cabby (May 14, 2005)

I too would be very annoyed, but not at the non payers but at the site management for allowing it to happen. I would say that they are on the downhill slope and could put up the price next year or they may go bust. As their guests will not pay. 
, 
cabby


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## The-Cookies (Nov 28, 2010)

hands up ! have done this in France , forget the site but it had aire attached, watched the Belgians and dutch going round back of site with towels etc so followed them, and they were entering site through back gate and using showers and toilets. wrong I know but if everyone else is doing it , wasn't as extreme as op witnessed though. and it wasn't as if people on the campsite lost out as it was late at night.

if it was 200 or so yes then its wrong if people who pay for itare losing out.

john


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## philbre (Nov 13, 2008)

cabby said:


> I too would be very annoyed, but not at the non payers but at the site management for allowing it to happen. I would say that they are on the downhill slope and could put up the price next year or they may go bust. As their guests will not pay.
> ,
> cabby


Hi Cabby

Imagine if everyone who used the campsite had the welsh approach, yes it would go belly up overnight

Thankfully most people appreciate the value we get for €20 per night and are happy to pay.


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## HurricaneSmith (Jul 13, 2007)

I completely agree with cabby.

This campsite will fail unless they manage things better. Is it worth being more specific regarding which site, so that anyone who feels the same can ignore it too. :wink:


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## vicdicdoc (May 14, 2005)

Oy - not so much blaming the welsh ! . . . I'm quite sure other B### nationalities do the same! I can say quite honestly I've ALWAYS paid :x


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## teemyob (Nov 22, 2005)

vicdicdoc said:


> Oy - not so much blaming the welsh ! . . . I'm quite sure other B### nationalities do the same! I can say quite honestly I've ALWAYS paid :x


It was maybe just the folk of North Wales!


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## bigfrank3 (Mar 26, 2007)

This is like saying If I found a wallet with £5 in it would I keep it, and if I found a wallet with £1000 in it would I keep it. It boils down to the basic question, am I honest, and my reply would certainly be yes I am.

Only this year in France I picked up a wallet at a supermarket entrance and immediately went back to the checkout and explained where I had found it. As I was going back out a very upset lady was looking about and I directed her to the checkout girl.

If it happened to you would you want to loose your wallet or would you want it returned.

I try to treat everyone as I would like to be treated, mostly it works.

I have just reread this and I look a very awkward sort of person and I'm not I just want to treat every one like I want to be treated.

End of sermon.


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## vicdicdoc (May 14, 2005)

teemyob said:


> vicdicdoc said:
> 
> 
> > Oy - not so much blaming the welsh ! . . . I'm quite sure other B### nationalities do the same! I can say quite honestly I've ALWAYS paid :x
> ...


Grrr . . . . . nfire:


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## Kaytutt (Feb 5, 2013)

philbre said:


> cabby said:
> 
> 
> > I too would be very annoyed, but not at the non payers but at the site management for allowing it to happen. I would say that they are on the downhill slope and could put up the price next year or they may go bust. As their guests will not pay.
> ...


Take the ridiculous nationality dig out of your post and you might get some reasoned responses

I'm Welsh so you tar me with the same brush?

Pfft!


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## philbre (Nov 13, 2008)

Kaytutt said:


> philbre said:
> 
> 
> > cabby said:
> ...


Are you perhaps missing the point?

It doesn't matter what nationality these scroungers are

Substitute irish for welsh if That makes it less personal

The vast majority who use the aire are French

I knew the welsh because they were there to blokart

If it was irish scroungers I would have said it to them also

Pay for it if you want to use it

(E.g. TV licenses & car insurance would be considerably cheaper if all paid, whether welsh or irish)


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## daffodil (Aug 7, 2014)

This POST sums this forum up to me, there are great issues brought up,some great responses, then somebody puts a tongue in cheek comment in,, that is followed by indignation from somebody, followed by justifications and counter claims, ERGO the thread gets lost which to a newbie trying to glean information is very frustrating, and dont get me on to the Pedantics that quote statistics adhoc just to prove a point, OH OH i have just done the same thing I should have started a new thread :lol:


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## adonisito (Nov 6, 2009)

I'w Welsh, I'd never use campsite facilities like that. There's a shower and loo in the van, why bother ? In fact I prefer to use the van even though our bathroom is of the proverbial swing a cat type.


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## nidge1 (Jul 26, 2009)

Hi Phil,
I'm in the South of France at the moment, which campsite is it exactlly?

Nidge


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## Kaytutt (Feb 5, 2013)

Phil, I agree with the your viewpoint in relation to paying for what you use, I pay my way in life, if I use a campsites facilities then I've paid the pitch fees to do so. I most often use campsites even though I prefer to use my own onboard facilities most of the time and definately during busy season

What I cant agree with is the way you have generalised the problem you highlighted as being a Welsh nationality one, this may not have been intentional on your part but



> The welsh people didn't give a toss @ my opinion, as far as they were concerned, I was the fool who was paying for it when I didn't need to.


and



> Imagine if everyone who used the campsite had the welsh approach, yes it would go belly up overnight


is at best badly worded and if you had used "family" instead of "Welsh" your post would be less provocative?


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## philbre (Nov 13, 2008)

Kaytutt said:


> Phil, I agree with the your viewpoint in relation to paying for what you use, I pay my way in life, if I use a campsites facilities then I've paid the pitch fees to do so. I most often use campsites even though I prefer to use my own onboard facilities most of the time and definately during busy season
> 
> What I cant agree with is the way you have generalised the problem you highlighted as being a Welsh nationality one, this may not have been intentional on your part but
> 
> ...


Hi there

My post was not anti welsh & I'm sure the vast majority of people, welsh or otherwise, would not attempt to condone the behaviour of the families I observed

It is certainly anti those who flaunt how they defeat the system & give two fingers to those of us who subsidise them

& these people stayed on the aire for at least four weeks

I stayed on the campsite for 8 weeks & you can imagine my frustration being in a queue for the shower only to see them walk out of the shower.


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## zack (Jun 16, 2007)

This just backs up my freeloading topic. People buy motorhomes of various values, spend money on expensive accessories but are not willing to pay for the services they receive. This just shows how people want something for nothing and are not really worried about the consequences to the people offering the services as long as they are OK and saving money. If you don't want to pay for it don't use it.


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## pippin (Nov 15, 2007)

My real objection to the OP is that he/she did not afford us the courtesy of using an upper case "W".

I too would not take advantage of a sites facilities if I hadn't paid to use them.

Theft or fraud, pure and simple.


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## aldra (Jul 2, 2009)

I don't give a S*** about the nationalities 

If you pay for the aire you use the Aire facilities 

I you pay for the campsite you can choose to use theirs

Anything else is just doing someone out of business

If you feel it's too much money for what you are entitled too

You have wheels MOVE on

It's theft, full stop

Aldra


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## daffodil (Aug 7, 2014)

*average price £20,000 say and you begrudge the facility fees*

It must be more common a problem then I thought it could be, the Daffodil,me,wife,and jolie the dog pulled onto a site late at night no farmer around, so we hooked up to the electrics and spent a comfortable secure night ,then first thing in the morning 6 am had a shower and read the tariff chart which had a tele no,so we had breakfast and started to leave we got off the pitch and parked up, then phoned said farmer who came 15 mins later, we told him about the EHU and the dog etc, we then paid the 13 euros tariff but what surprised me was how GRATEFUL he was that we had rang and waited to Pay


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## aldra (Jul 2, 2009)

We had a similar experience on a CL campsite

We drove of in the morning and about 10 min down the road realised we had not paid

Retraced our steps back and the owner said, I saw you leave and had just written of the fee, I can't believe you came back to pay

If we hadn't it would have ruined my holiday

Aldra


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## alexblack13 (Feb 10, 2013)

Hi Guys.

We used an Aire/ stellplatze near Fussen that was attached to (and owned by) a super campsite and were astounded to be told (for E10 / night) that the site facilities were available to us. Amazed! Even the WiFi.

The 'annex' even had water, waste and lecy on each pitch. !

Well worth the 10 Euro per night. Hope to return sometime.

Alex B ....


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## lgbzone (Oct 8, 2008)

personally i wouldn't use them if i wasn't entitled to, however i've only ever stayed at two aires where there was a campsite (absolutely crammed by the way) next door, similar to Alex; both times we were informed when we paid for the aire at reception, that we had full entitlement to the campsite facilities, including the private beach on the lake.

as the campsite was so crowded i wondered what the campers were getting, that we didn't, for their money, the aire was 8 euro and had more space.


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## icer (Dec 11, 2006)

Axle b

Used the same site at fussen v good

Stayed at a very small place called blueberry hill in Switzerland last year. We were the only ones there and you left yor money in a small tin on a post the electricity was a further small charge. Did we pay. Yes


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