CCC let me down again

David Morison

Guest
I have been a member of the CCC for a couple of years but rarely if ever use their sites as I am always travelling and need to be able to book just one night at a time but this is not allowed. So my membership is just for the discounts and I have my camper insurance through them. However I needed to book a return ferry to Orkney in June and tempted by the advertised club discount I noticed on the CCC website that this route is only bookable by 'phone. On 'phoning I was told that it could only be booked through the club link to AFerry online! So again I open up the club website, click the link (only found by entering AFerry in the search box) and put in all the details to book my journeys only to be quoted £200.20 which is a lot more expensive than booking direct with Northlink Ferries (£163) and is supposed to include the club discount. Obviously I have booked direct with Northlink and will seriously consider ending my membership when my insurance comes up for renewal, unless the quote is at least £38 cheaper than equivalent from elsewhere.

And yes, I have sent a strongly worded message!
 
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What a shame you are not a full member here.

You could have got a cracking deal for Orkney in June.
 
David Morison said:
I have been a member of the CCC for a couple of years but rarely if ever use their sites as I am always travelling and need to be able to book just one night at a time but this is not allowed. So my membership is just for the discounts and I have my camper insurance through them. However I needed to book a return ferry to Orkney in June and tempted by the advertised club discount I noticed on the CCC website that this route is only bookable by 'phone. On 'phoning I was told that it could only be booked through the club link to AFerry online! So again I open up the club website, click the link (only found by entering AFerry in the search box) and put in all the details to book my journeys only to be quoted £200.20 which is a lot more expensive than booking direct with Northlink Ferries (£163) and is supposed to include the club discount. Obviously I have booked direct with Northlink and will seriously consider ending my membership when my insurance comes up for renewal, unless the quote is at least £38 cheaper than equivalent from elsewhere.

And yes, I have sent a strongly worded message!
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There's a bit more than that to membership.Have you tried the C@CC temporary holiday sites?You can normally just turn up and use them for one night,there are quite a few dotted around the country now the touring season has started.You could also go to one of the local DA weekend rallies and lastly the nationwide network of certificated sites which usually allow booking for one night.

I also rarely use the club sites but do make use of the THS's and occasionally the CS's so the membership is worth it for me.
 
We use the temporary holiday sites and weekend Rallies for the odd night and have found them quite useful
 
I use the club sites when alone in the low and medium seasons for one night, but not at weekends when it is two night minimum, or you can book grass with no EHUD and take the chance of an upgrade if a handstand with EHUD is available.
 
I have come to the conclusion that the big 'clubs' are more like limited companies!
 
and that is another reason I have not booked a ferry or a holiday abroad with them for years, just booked a dover to Calais ferry for next month, direct ferries cheaper than any one I know and used in the past few years.
 
We've just spent a week in East Sussex, where wilding spots are fairly hard to come by. We spent three nights in separate CL's costing £5, £6 and £14. The expensive one was in walking distance of Battle and had showers and toilets. Yes the Club Sites are expensive, but still a lot cheaper than commercial sites and you do get good clean facilities, at a reduced cost at CCC sites, if you are an old fart like me, outside of the high season.
 
I have never had any success with booking through either of the clubs. I have always gone direct as less cost. Their insurance was unsuitable for my needs both vehicle and travel. I only remained a member to use the CL/CSs and have now dropped the C&MC club.
 
As a single camper the club sites are usually cheaper than commercial sites. Useful when THSs are not around. High season fees are terrible for families.
 
sasquatch said:
I have come to the conclusion that the big 'clubs' are more like limited companies!
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I came to this conclusion many years ago, they have become businesses and therefore out to make as much money as possible, nothing wrong with that, that is what business is about, but they have totally forgot what their formation was about which was to look after membership.
 
C&cc

Good for their Certified Sites
and as others have posted "Temporary Holiday Sites".

Many sites on farms etc with only basic facilities for less than a tenner.

A bit like wild-camping but with water and water disposal and often nice and quiet.
Very useful in the south of England where wild camping is either limited or noisy/unsatisfactory (for us)
 
For the big two, it is all about swelling membership ranks and income generation ( which may or may not be spent on enhancing sites and facilities). Wild camping is not in their interest, So any support from those quarters I would suggest is at best limited.

As others suggest they are being ran as businesses, and are now at the stage "camping" is no more than the product, almost incidental.

This site over the years has changed complexion from the early days, There seems far more emphasis on POI's and Meets. That is NOT a criticism btw, but illustrates how things manifest themselves over a period of time.

There is still a very strong focus on motorhoming , But I do wonder and accept it might upset one or two, Whether considering the landscape as things stand for true wilding seem a challenge, Would we be better becoming a "club" ? afterall the meets do seem very much along the lines of THS and rallyes offered by the big two in the past. The difference is we have not let our pastime become a product unlike the CC and CCC.

Channa
 
hairydog said:
We kept the CC membership for the Mayday breakdown, but decided to switch to Nationwide: cheaper and with European cover.

So I cancelled the CC subscription, then when the Mayday renewal came round, cancelled that.

Mayday were quite happy to offer the same cover as through the CC without having to pay for CC membership, but it is still not as good a deal as the Nationwide cover.

In theory we've lost access to CLs but in reality we've never been asked for my CC membership card at a CL, so if we did want to use one, we probably still could.
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I've never been asked for proof of membership at any of the CL/CS sites we've stayed on...
and often seem to get charged the cheaper rate too.
 
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