# Camping and Caravanning Club ?75 booking fee



## quartet (Jul 9, 2006)

*Camping and Caravanning Club £75 booking fee*

I cannot believe that the CCC charge £75 to book one of their continental breaks!!!!!! How can they possibly justify that


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## quartet (Jul 9, 2006)

Do you think you can just turn up and not pay booking fee


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## Al42 (Aug 4, 2011)

I believe there is no booking charge if you also book the crossing with them, I wouldn't pay it, book the site direct or don't book at all, lot's don't.


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## quartet (Jul 9, 2006)

I have a free crossing with tesco vouchers


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## Mrplodd (Mar 4, 2008)

Why anyone would book a break with the CMC is beyond me, the prices they charge are ludicrous.

HOWEVER it's worth checking out the tours they offer and then booking direct with the various sites if you want to use their "recommendations" (or better still use ACSI) 

I think it's bloody scandalous that ANYONE charges a "booking fee" they are getting my custom so why should I have to pay for the privilege of giving them my hard earned?? A reasonable deposit I have no problem with, but a booking fee is extortion!!

Andy


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## jiwawa (Jun 22, 2007)

Is that on top of the fee for the site?!

I'm on a CnCC rally at the moment and when I phoned to book I had to pay an extra £20 - because I'd already booked my crossing myself.

I usually check the different options for crossing so assume the CnCC wasn't competitive - but she said, next time ring us because we can price match.

Good to know.


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## raynipper (Aug 4, 2008)

Customers have the power to 'walk'.

Ray.


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## wug (May 19, 2011)

Why do people feel the need to weigh in? If you don't like them that's fine, move on, you're not compelled to use them. I don't use them for foreign holidays but I'm a member of both Clubs and they are membership organisations, "owned" by the members and all profits go back into Club facilities. I've met people in Spain who do use them, go to their rallies and are delighted.


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## Al42 (Aug 4, 2011)

wug said:


> Why do people feel the need to weigh in? If you don't like them that's fine, move on, you're not compelled to use them. I don't use them for foreign holidays but I'm a member of both Clubs and they are membership organisations, "owned" by the members and all profits go back into Club facilities. I've met people in Spain who do use them, go to their rallies and are delighted.


I felt the need to 'weigh in' to point out that there are other possibilities, not to criticise the C&CC or the CMHC, both of which organisations I have been a member of for more than 20 years, despite rarely using their sites or certainly never having been on a rally.


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## H1-GBV (Feb 28, 2006)

Family members wanted to tour together in May this year, staying on the same sites etc. Neither club could make a joint booking: it was a case of book one MH (pay £75) then book other MH (pay £75) and hope that there actually was a space remaining for the second MH whilst doing the deal 5minutes later. :frown2:

It's not what I would have done! :wink2:

Gordon


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## aldra (Jul 2, 2009)

Is that £75 part of the total cost?

A deposit against the final bill for the continental break?

If not it would seem a bit steep, as a member I'd have thought booking should be part of the service I've payed a membership fee for

I've long thought that there should be a booking fee in Britain, a deposit payable at the time of booking 

Many seasonal bookings I'm sure are made and not taken up

Sandra


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## jiwawa (Jun 22, 2007)

aldra said:


> Is that £75 part of the total cost?
> 
> A deposit against the final bill for the continental break?
> 
> ...


I would agree Sandra, but the £20 I paid was on top of the cost of the rally.


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## aldra (Jul 2, 2009)

Well would not agree with that jean

As a member booking should be part of that membership

We remain members but why I'm not sure why, we never use the sites

I'd happily pay a booking fee deductible from the cost if I turn up

Lost if I don't

I see no reason why people book sites for free and then don't bother to turn up

Which means those who don't book can't get a place until those who've booked fail to bother to turn up

Rant over

Sandra


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## H1-GBV (Feb 28, 2006)

aldra said:


> Well would not agree with that jean
> 
> As a member booking should be part of that membership
> 
> ...


I agree with "charging" folk who don't turn up, thus depriving others of an opportunity to camp.

However, why should *I* (as a paid-up member) pay for the time and effort put in by staff to help *someone else* sort out their holiday? THAT is what this £75 covers! >

To my mind, £75 is expensive but I guess it has to cover the telephonist's time (including statutory rights, pensions etc), the infrastructure in terms of computers (including repairs, updates, etc), ancillary staff, building provision and maintenance, etc. I would not be keen to pay it but at least I know up-front that it is going to be required: if I go to a travel agency then I anticipate them adding something to the actual cost of the holiday 0 .

Gordon


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## FranknJan (Dec 18, 2007)

Hi.

There was a lot a talk about this on continental rallies a couple of years ago.

The £75 is a surcharge. Which the Camping and Caravan Club charge, if you book a continental rally with them but do not book a ferry. They offer 10% discount on P&O and Britany Ferries.
So if you want to use Tesco vouchers or Brittany club or make other ferry bookings and not use the clubs offer, they will charge £75 surcharge.
We've booked an outward bound crossing with CCC in the past, and as we didn't know when we would be returning, we couldn't book a return. So they charged us the £75 and refunded it, when we did book our return crossing through the club.

It's the CCC's way of getting you to use their ''deal'' as opposed to a better one.
The only way around is to actually live/have an address across the channel.

Hope this helps
Frank


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## Mrplodd (Mar 4, 2008)

And of course the C&MC also get commission of some sort from the ferry company whenever they "sell" a "discount" crossing to a member dont they?

I wonder if its £75??

Andy


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## ob1 (Sep 25, 2007)

quartet said:


> Do you think you can just turn up and not pay booking fee


I don't think so. Some years ago we decided to try a CCC Spanish winter rally but found the rally fully booked. We went anyway and tried to book when we got there as there were rally pitches vacant. We were told by the rally manager that only pre-booking was allowed. We ended up paying £10 per night more than the rally price via the site. Things might have changed of course but I somehow doubt it.

Ron


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## HermanHymer (Dec 5, 2008)

Every business - including a club - has to cover its costs and I don't believe that income from one source should be applied to another service. There won't be much change out of the Membership fee (of £40 odd) after paying the cost of producing the site books and the monthly mags. There's a lot more behind the scenes costs of running a rally I'm sure.


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## wug (May 19, 2011)

From C&CC About Us: "The Camping and Caravanning Club is a not-for-profit organisation, which means that every penny spent with us is invested back into improving facilities and services for our members."

Some may not like the way they charge, but you're not being ripped off by profit seekers. At least they're up front about it, unlike, say, Ryan Air which have all kinds of "optional extras" to bump up their profits. If you're a member and don't like it then complain to them.


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## Penquin (Oct 15, 2007)

Mrplodd said:


> And of course the C&MC also get commission of some sort from the ferry company whenever they "sell" a "discount" crossing to a member dont they?
> 
> I wonder if its £75??
> 
> Andy


I doubt that it is as much as that, Brittany Ferries for instance, credit us (note that word, not PAY us) £10 each time someone uses our Club Voyage Brittany Ferries travel club, to book a ferry. So we get nothing out of it until and unless we book a journey ourselves, it canot be used to offset the cost of the Club Voyage Membership and there is a maximum of £150 in one year.

I suspect that the member clubs get a similar level of "kickback" when they book the ferries, although, of course, they will not get it as a simple credit against a future booking for them.

But when the time and effort is considered as egards the booking, the fee charged is NOT OTT IMO. Bear in mind that if something goes wrong with the booking they have to sort it out, that will include late arrivals and no-shows, it will include those who have trouble on other ways, all of which they have to sort without charging for their services then.

BUT as oters have said, book elsewhere, take the risk yourself - that has been shown superbly by the collapse of Monarch Airways this week; those on package holidays are covered in many ways more than those who simply booked a flight. The same will apply to the members clubs; if you have booked a full holiday package, their reponsibility is much greater than if you had just chosen flights to book.


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## raynipper (Aug 4, 2008)

If we go to a show, foire, vide grenier, exposition de camping cars and they want to charge for parking, entry or just looking then I drive away.
So £75 I would expect a weeks camping for that.

Ray.


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