# Dishonest motorhomers?



## stevian (Aug 12, 2009)

Hi all
i stayed a night at the coachman caravan park in Snainton near Scarborough a couple of weeks ago, its a very nice small site for about 12 or so caravans and motorhomes with no resident owners . We booked over the phone and was asked to leave our nights fee (£15) in a box by the gate as the owners might not get round to seeing us that day. As soon as we had settled in the site we put our money in the box stating who it was from.
Now what has shocked me is the owner came on site the next day as we were ready to pack up and go after a peaceful nights stay and thanked me for putting the fee in the box as requested, he went on to say that he was only half expecting to find the nights fee in the box as quite a few people don't bother paying! especially motorhomes!! i was stunned to hear this and asked him to repeat what he had said just so i was sure what he had said, i know there are many dishonest people out there but i am amazed to hear that people with motorhomes or caravans would try and get away (literally!) without paying for a nights stay at a lovely setting, the fee included toilets electric and water with awning and 2 dogs. I dont really have a question to ask , just hope that any unscrupulous people reading this that have got away with not paying in the past might feel a bit of shame and think twice before doing it again, if you dont want to pay then wild-camp.


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## CliffyP (Dec 19, 2008)

Its the same the whole world over, the amount of M/Home owners who brag at getting away on an Aire before the ticket man comes. They give everyone a bad name :x


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## shingi (Apr 18, 2008)

Such people are not capable of feeling shame. I personally put them in the scum class along with the 'pond life' who have just nicked the collection 'box' actually a milk churn and very heavy one at that in the local church and those who steal from charity shops. All theft is bad but some just seems worse than others, don't you think?


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## Hobbyfan (Jul 3, 2010)

It doesn't surprise me in the least. We seem to be bombarded with posts about dodgy dealers and camp sites that have the temerity to charge a decent rate, but the other side of the coin is the vast number of greedy and dishonest customers who'll do anything to save themselves a few bob!

It's getting worse I'm afraid and people have been brainwashed into thinking that, if they haven't got something at the lowest price, they've somehow failed in life!


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## stevian (Aug 12, 2009)

at least i'm not on my own with this one, not often that i post topics on here .


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## foll-de-roll (Oct 29, 2007)

Hi 


This does not surprise me in the least about M/Hmrs.

You only have to read this Forum to come to the conclusion that our hobby/pastime has been infested by cheapskates giving us all a bad name.


Last October we were on the Aire at Biarritz, and a fair number would hide in their vans, pretending to be out, when the Gendarmes came round to collect the fees about 6pm,then they would openly brag about doing so, and relay how little they had paid after weeks, sometime months of touring in France.


It made us quite ashamed to be associated with those sort people, and they were not in the minority.

Andy
:roll: :roll:


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## raynipper (Aug 4, 2008)

There are many state parks and forestry sites in the states that have 'Honesty Boxes' with envelopes and a tariff.

The first thing we did was to deposit the $10 or $12 so as to get enjoying the very reasonable facilities.
But often later that evening or early the next morning you could hear the warden remonstrating with sneaky campers who had no intention of paying.

Ray.


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## ramblingon (Jul 15, 2009)

There will be ticket in and ticket out parks next -just like the multi story 
parks and airport parks have, IMO a thief is a thief no matter how he travels. 8O


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## gj1023 (Feb 23, 2010)

If someone puts you on trust, you don`t break that trust, period, end of.

Way I was brought up

Gary


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## Sonesta (May 10, 2005)

It does beggar belief but sadly, I fear this does happen quite a lot. 

When we were touring around France recently, we witnessed many motorhomes arrive at teatime onto an aire, plug into the mains, fill their water tanks, empty their loos & dump their waste all before doing a hasty bunk early the next morning in order to avoid paying the attendant for their overnight stop! I just find such dishonesty & selfishness so embarrassing & feel these people cannot possibly have a conscience! 

Sue


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## mandyandandy (Oct 1, 2006)

Wonder how many will be visiting the spot now they know what they can get away with. 

Stayed on Aire at Prefailes last year , 3 euros a night. Got there at 2pm and the place was filling up. At around 4.30 7 vans went off leaving a huge gap right down one side, no idea where they went but after the lady had come for the money at 5pm they all returned for the night. Turns out they had been doing this for over a week. :roll: 

Mandy


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## Rapide561 (Oct 1, 2005)

*Cash*

I have to say, that if I was running a business, albeit with only a handful of spaces, I would either have the facility to prepay on the phone, or ensure I was there to collect the cash.

Can you imagine what would happen if there were no staff in Debenhams?

The fact that people own a motorhome does not make them anymore honest or dishonest than the next man.

Russell


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## eddied (May 9, 2005)

*You pay ? No way!*

 Ciao tutti, I'm afraid this is the ay of the world now. You should see the posts on Italian motorhome forums in a similar vein. How they get away without paying on French aires, or in Scotland, or even in Southern Italy.
sad sad sad
saluti,
eddied


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## goldi (Feb 4, 2009)

Morning all,

We were at a french aire in March and were the only people on We took the dog for a walk and left the money on the step of the van for the gendarme to collect none turned up to collect so did not pay but it had not been opened for the season no water toilets or anything but I would have felt ashamed at appearing to cheat.


norm


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## peribro (Sep 6, 2009)

I certainly don't condone the antics that have been described here and if there was an honesty box, then I have no doubt that I would put into it. However, where is the line between honesty and dishonesty? I was using a local council pay and display car park recently and was walking up to the pay machine when another motorist stopped and lent out of his window and offered me his ticket that had 40 minutes left on it. I was aware that the rules and regs say "not transferable" but I thanked him, took the ticket and saved myself 70p. I suppose that is dishonest. However I would also argue that the the same council is morally dishonest in that it uses machines in the same car park which do not give change.


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## Marilyn (Nov 5, 2009)

> If someone puts you on trust, you don`t break that trust, period, end of.
> 
> Way I was brought up


Me too

I was a bit surprised to hear that many of you think that *most* people are dishonest enough to do this - I always believed that most people were basically honest and it was a minority that were not. Sad if it's the other way around.

What Sue said about people using the electric and everything and then clearing off without paying - well! I'm flabbergasted.

However, sometimes you wonder whether honesty does pay. Recently my husband went back to a shop (walked back quite a way from a car park) when he realised that he had been given change for a £20 when he knew that he'd only given £10. The assistant, instead of saying 'thank you very much' attacked him for accusing her of being dishonest (work that one out if you can) then snatched the £10 note out of his hand and put it in her pocket!!

He came home grumbling that he won't both next time and can you blame him?


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## DABurleigh (May 9, 2005)

"The assistant, instead of saying 'thank you very much' attacked him for accusing her of being dishonest (work that one out if you can) then snatched the £10 note out of his hand and put it in her pocket!! "

Not the sharpest knife in the draw then.

Probably the same type whose brain explodes when you give them change after handing over a note, in order to minimise the change received. You get looked at like you are from another planet. 

Dave


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## Grizzly (May 9, 2005)

*Re: Cash*



Rapide561 said:


> Can you imagine what would happen if there were no staff in Debenhams?


Waitrose, for years, and Tesco recently both operate the" scan as you shop" scheme in their stores. There is the possibility that you will be checked on a random basis but, in the 7 years we've been doing it at Waitrose this has happened twice. Tesco, used a few weeks, never.

I realise that it is probably cheaper for these stores to " lose" a few items rather than employ check-out staff but it still amazes me that they trust us so much ! Tesco last week told me they have 500 new people use it per day- though we have only seen a few so far.

G


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## oldenstar (Nov 9, 2006)

Article on the local TV News yesterday about a smallholding with several hens.

They put out the eggs in a basket together with a box to put the egg money in.

She is becoming totally disillusioned at the number of times that people take the eggs without paying, but even worse sometimes take both all the eggs and any money in the box.

How low can people stoop!

I'm minded to say 'It didn't happen in my day', but realistically I suppose it did.

Paul


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## SpeedyDux (Jul 13, 2007)

I have always wondered how those people who seemingly take satisfaction by having "blagged" something by avoiding paying for it justify their dishonesty to themselves and their loved ones.


SD


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## gj1023 (Feb 23, 2010)

Symptom of life it seems, nowadays. 

No deterrent and no real punishment

Leads to no self respect, no shame.

Gary


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## Sonesta (May 10, 2005)

I used to work in a restaurant when I was a teenager in the 70's and the times we had salt n pepper pots, cutlery & even loo rolls nicked from out of the customer toilets was unbelievable. I remember being so shocked but the worst was when the customers left without paying for their meals!!! This only happened a couple of times whilst I worked there but both occasions it happened on a busy Sunday lunch time when customers were queuing for tables and all the waitresses and kitchen staff were rushed off their feet! I also recall an incident where the customer left his payment and my tip on the table and some thieving rogue snaffled the lot! :twisted:

This all happened in an affordable restaurant in, what back then, was just the very small & peaceful seaside village of Chapel St Leonards, so it wasn't like it was located in a big city, where incidents of crime were more frequent! Most of the customers in the summer were families on holiday for the week in their caravans! 

Sue


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## dawnwynne (Nov 14, 2009)

*Re: Cash*



Grizzly said:


> Rapide561 said:
> 
> 
> > Can you imagine what would happen if there were no staff in Debenhams?
> ...


I'm not really sure how you could get away with not paying for an item using the self service checkouts without putting the goods in your pocket. The checkouts have weight scales that the bags sit on and if you either don't put an item in the bag that you've scanned or do put an item in the bag that is not scanned it will tell you that there is a problem and unless the problem is resolved an assistant will have to come look it over.

However, most times the assistants don't really check they just put the code in to let you continue :roll:


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## Grizzly (May 9, 2005)

*Re: Cash*



dawnwynne said:


> [I'm not really sure how you could get away with not paying for an item using the self service checkouts the :roll:


I'm not talking about these but the scan and shop method.

Here you have a wand that reads barcodes. As you go into Tesco or Waitrose you scan your club card and a barcode wand flashes your name and a greeting ! You put all your shopping bags neatly into your trolley, pick each item off the shelf and scan it with your barcode machine and put it in your shopping bag. You can delete any mistakes and you can see the running total and any special offers are flashed up on your machine as you go round the shop.

When you have finished you flash your barcode machine at the cash machine, your shopping list is printed out, you enter the number of bags you've used and any money saving vouchers and that is it.

You don't unload your shopping until you get home; it goes straight from shelf to shopping bag.

If you have fruit or veg you have to weigh it at scales nearby and then you scan the receipt before you stick it on the veg and put the veg in your basket.

If you were trying to defraud the shop then you would simply load your basket and not scan anything.

G


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## Sonesta (May 10, 2005)

You wouldn't think anyone would dare attempt to put something in their basket without scanning it but I know from owning my own shop, that some people will steal absolutely anything! What they nick sometimes costs peanuts and is by no means an item of necessesity and I have come to the conclusion now, that they must be the type of person who will not feel satisfied unless they have managed to leave a shop with something for nowt! 

Nothing surprises me anymore I'm afraid to say!

Sue


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## emmbeedee (Oct 31, 2008)

Sonesta said:


> You wouldn't think anyone would dare attempt to put something in their basket without scanning it but I know from owning my own shop, that some people will steal absolutely anything! What they nick sometimes costs peanuts and is by no means an item of necessesity and I have come to the conclusion now, that they must be the type of person who will not feel satisfied unless they have managed to leave a shop with something for nowt!
> 
> Nothing surprises me anymore I'm afraid to say!
> 
> Sue


When I owned a shop it was quite difficult sometimes to keep an eye out for all the "customers", especially at busy times. I know we had stuff stolen, sometimes they even left the torn packaging outside! 
The worst one that really sticks in my craw was when some lads came in, asking questions about BMX bits & pieces but not buying anything. They huddled up in one corner & I wondered what they were doing but I was busy dealing with other customers. After they left I discovered the Air Ambulance collecting tin was missing! It had been tied up as well, so either they untied it or cut the cord. I don't suppose it meant anything to them, but this was on Good Friday as well.
Getting back on topic, some CL's make it quite difficult to pay. We stayed on one in Skye last year (disgusting place but that's another story) & I had great difficulty getting any response from the farmhouse to take the money (£8 but not worth £2) but I still wouldn't have left without paying. In June this year we stayed on a CL near Bude. Drove into the farmyard, collies going mad, no-one about. Knocked at the farmhouse, no response. Eventually SWMBO spied a farmworker sorting some sheep & he directed us to the camping field. No-one came near & next day we were ready to leave & still couldn't find anyone, so had to call by telephone to find out how to pay. We could have just driven off without paying, it would have been much less hassle!


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## sooty10 (Feb 22, 2009)

Back to the motorhome topic. We have seen many people disappear from aires in France just before they have to pay. I seem to recall the French and the Dutch were the worst offenders. However it is still not right.

Sooty


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## raynipper (Aug 4, 2008)

Thieving is definately not restricted to the so called 'poor'.

I have had many celebrities in my RVs over the years and it's not unknown for them to take things. Sometimes as a souvenir or trinket from the film.

Two RVs had The Rolling Stones one weekend and Ronnie Woods bird at the time stole my plastic decorative flowers...!!!!

She went out of her way to serepticiously hide them and take them from the RV. Other things like cutlery and crockery was just discarded and never found. 

I have had personal clothing gathered up by wardobe people but that was more likely a mistake.

Ray.


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## Grizzly (May 9, 2005)

Years and years ago ( about 1980) we camped at Camping Gitzenweilerhof above Lindau. It was only a one nighter and we forgot to go in and pay on Saturday night. Next day- Sunday- we wanted to leave early but the office was closed until 9.30am. We could not rouse anyone and the only person we could find was the cleaner. We gave her the exact money in an envelope with our details and left as we had a long day ahead.

For years I worried that she might have pocketed the money and they would think we'd done a runner.

Two years ago we went back and, to our delight, they had all our details on the computer and gave us 2 shot glasses to commemorate the fact that we'd visited before. The money clearly got to the office and I can now relax !

G


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## dawnwynne (Nov 14, 2009)

*Re: Cash*



Grizzly said:


> dawnwynne said:
> 
> 
> > [I'm not really sure how you could get away with not paying for an item using the self service checkouts the :roll:
> ...


Oh that type of shopping...I've never done that myself but can see the problems with it.

Sorry, I'll step out now so things can get back on topic! :lol:


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## Stanner (Aug 17, 2006)

raynipper said:


> Thieving is definately not restricted to the so called 'poor'.
> 
> I have had many celebrities in my RVs over the years and it's not unknown for them to take things. Sometimes as a souvenir or trinket from the film.
> 
> ...


I've just had exactly the opposite - my van was rented by Fox TV/Radio for "Hamish & Andy" an Aussie double act who used it to do a tour of Uk and Ireland for a TV special.

They left so much stuff in it that I'm thinking of putting it all on Ebay in Australia - I could probably make as much again as the hire fee.


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## teemyob (Nov 22, 2005)

*Fee*

A while back we stayed at Stoneycroft http://www.stoneyfoldcaravanpark.co.uk/index.html

in Macclesfield. He suggested £20 a night and we booked two nights. The agreement was we leave it in the honesty box. We arrived, no toilets, no water, no showers or facilities for dumping waste water or toilet.

But I still left the £40, only because it was pre-arranged.

TM


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## duxdeluxe (Sep 2, 2007)

So people will willingly pay £50K for a motorhome and then go to extraordinary lengths to avoid shelling out a few quid for an overnight stay????

I'm really glad that most of us still have principles and a sense of decency but distressed at the bad name a few invariably give the majority (like dumping grey water.......)


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## Hezbez (Feb 7, 2009)

We were on a site a while back and the caravanner next to us had not taken up the offer of EHU at a cost of £1.50 per night.

Fair enough, EHU is not a necessity.

However, every evening just before Emmerdale came on he would sneak out his van in the pouring rain, check reception to make sure the site owner had left for the night, reel out his cable, plug in, watch his soap, then unplug and roll up his cable. All to do it again the next evening.

A lot of hassle for the sake of saving (stealing) £1.50 :roll:


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## Hobbyfan (Jul 3, 2010)

When I first starting using CLs years ago (as a tugger) you would get the odd CL owner who'd put in EHU. Often it would be a pound or two extra.

Although I didn't actually need it I would always take the EHU option. My feeling was, that if the farmer had gone to all the trouble and expense of installing electricity for us, then we should use it.

Just imagine if he'd done all that but no one actually used it.
It would be pretty disheartening!

They make little enough without being niggardly about a pound or two!


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## DTPCHEMICALS (Jul 24, 2006)

Motor home £xxxxxxx of pounds have to be paid for.

A decent night in a lovelly setting £free if you can get away with it.


Do they wear masks.


Dave p


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## Grizzly (May 9, 2005)

Hezbez said:


> ....., reel out his cable, plug in, watch his soap, then unplug and roll up his cable. All to do it again the next evening.
> :


This surely answers the question as to why the big club sites don't offer basic aire-type, no facility pitches.

G


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## julestony (Jun 22, 2010)

*What a read*

My husband and l have so far have only done a few nights away at registered sites so we paid on arrival,we are shocked that people do this,we are going fulltiming next month and would not dream of being dishonest and would always pay,we feel its giving us m homers a bad rep which is a shame as there are lots of honest people out there or are we just being naive.

Julie+Tony 8O


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## mygalnme (Jul 12, 2009)

gj1023 said:


> If someone puts you on trust, you don`t break that trust, period, end of.
> 
> Way I was brought up
> 
> Gary


Well said Gary...Margaret


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## JustRadio (May 21, 2005)

I'm amazed that people would hide under their vans in Biaritz to avoid the Gendarmes, apart from anything else it would be so demeaning! And you might do it to a site operator, but a Gendarme! I loved that Aire, wonderful town, great location, power included, great value at E10.

I almost left Calais without paying, I'd pulled in from the ferry at about 02.00 and in the morning couldn't see a sign about how to pay. It's there among other signs, and then I went walkabout to find the municipal site. There is a legitimate question about how hard you should try to pay though, if a charge is made it's a business, and the business has an obligation to make payment reasonably easy.

Finally I went to Honfleur, arrived at about lunchtime, went for a bike ride, failed to find an Intenet cafe with WiFi so decided to move on. (Yes I know about McDonalds but I was burgered out). On returning to the Aire, which was by now nearly full I gave my overnight ticket to a German Gent who took my place, so I guess honesty is a very personal thing and includes perception of fair value. E9 or 12 I can't remember being a lot for a short stay. I didn't sell it though, it was in my gift I thought. 

I paid dearly for moving on though, the Garmin took me into an underpass and I crunched the Air Con unit leading to an early end to the holiday and an insurance claim. Come and see my new Air Con at Malvern!

John
Motorhome Radio - just look for the radio player in the left hand navigation on the home page, click the drop down and choose us!


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