Booking online - human error will not be tolerated

ScreenName070D39CB0F replied on 01/08/2023 19:38

ScreenName070D39CB0F

Posted on 01/08/2023 19:38

On Wednesday 26th July I made a mistake and booked the wrong date for the start of a long tour of Scotland. I realised my mistake on Friday after the Club offices closed and was unable to speak to anyone until Monday morning when my stay at Strathclyde Country Park was due to begin. The agent I spoke to said that I couldn't move my booking to the date I needed at the end of August and that I would lose my £20 deposit. I was invited to book again at the full rate of £37 for one night so with the £20 lost deposit I was effectively being invited to pay £57 for one night + an additional £2.50 for I know not what. I declined so assumed the loss of my deposit to be sufficient - not so, having checked my credit card statement I find that the Caravan Club has £17.50 pending on my credit card statement which I assume to be the balance for the remainder of the stay I had cancelled on Monday morning.

I have lost trust in this organisation which is no longer a Club for me but a money making outfit offering at best average facilities at a premium.

The follow-up email I sent on Monday has not even been auto acknowledged. The Contact Us at the bottom of the page does not give a phone number or an email address but the totally inadequate chat bot which serves no purpose - in person chat was not working when I tried earlier today. The amend function does not work on online bookings - even budget airlines allow a 24 hour period in which you can make amends. Why are there no moderators to monitor negative feedback.

I will now spend the money I would have spent with CAMC with other sites offering far greater transparency and increasingly better value for money.

12 people like this

71 replies

vbfg replied on 14/08/2023 16:55

Member

vbfg

Motorhomer from Merseyside

Posted on 13/08/2023 12:16 by GEandGJE

I have to admit I have just done the same thing as the OP. I thought I had booked Modbury for four nights next Sunday, but if fact booked it for today, my fault entirely. I had written the wrong dates on my calendar, so when I confirmed the booking it was for the dates I had booked. Only realised this morning when the balance confirmation mail came through. I have rung the site to let them know that I won't be arriving today and that I have made a new booking for next week. As this is entirely my fault I do not expect any kind of refund from the club, why should they pay for my mistake.

Posted on 14/08/2023 16:55

I wonder how many people do bother to phone up the site to let them know that they will not be arriving for their booking, even though they will not be able to obtain a refund? I was at Burrs last Friday and wanted to stay for Saturday as well, but they were fully booked and the warden just said that I would have to keep looking on the APP to see if there were any vacancies but did not take my name and phone number, in case anyone phoned up to cancel their booking, as they have done in the past at other sites where I have managed to obtain extra nights due to cancellations

brue replied on 14/08/2023 17:48

Member

brue

Motorhomer

Posted on 14/08/2023 15:25 by Takethedogalong

That’s the whole point JB. If you don’t arrive, the Club still gets paid for your booking. It’s then down to you to argue that you had a legitimate reason for not turning up.

Posted on 14/08/2023 17:48

Yes. There's really no difference between the "pay on arrival" or the automatic deduction, CAMC can still deduct the full payment, they already have your payment details via the deposit and it's part of a contract.

1 person likes this

mickysf replied on 17/08/2023 08:18

Member

mickysf

Motorhomer from South Humberside

Posted on 14/08/2023 17:48 by brue

Yes. There's really no difference between the "pay on arrival" or the automatic deduction, CAMC can still deduct the full payment, they already have your payment details via the deposit and it's part of a contract.

Posted on 17/08/2023 08:18

I’m sure we all understand this. More to the point though is the ethos underpinning it. It’s so alien to many members and contrary to that very notion of membership we have held and enjoyed for decades. As many have said over the past few years both on CT and in our general lives, we should ‘be very careful what we wish for’.

1 person likes this

eurortraveller replied on 17/08/2023 10:08

Member

eurortraveller

from Cornwall

Posted on 17/08/2023 10:08

Try booking flights for the wrong date, or theatre tickets, or concerts, or a festival, and changing your mind after making a mistake. Oops, you lose money.

A carpenter here to do a job today says measure it twice and then check again before cutting wood. Get it right first time.

vbfg replied on 17/08/2023 10:34

Member

vbfg

Motorhomer from Merseyside

Posted on 17/08/2023 10:08 by eurortraveller

Try booking flights for the wrong date, or theatre tickets, or concerts, or a festival, and changing your mind after making a mistake. Oops, you lose money.

A carpenter here to do a job today says measure it twice and then check again before cutting wood. Get it right first time.

Posted on 17/08/2023 10:34

To err is human, to forgive divine, except when there is a nice little earner to be made from the human customer, or in the case of Ryan Air very recently, a nice big earner!

You are of course correct, get it right first time, but we are not all perfect and do sometimes make mistakes but I am sure that we will all endeavour to do so in the future.

1 person likes this

DavidKlyne replied on 17/08/2023 13:05

Moderator

DavidKlyne

Motorhomer from Buckinghamshire

Posted on 17/08/2023 10:08 by eurortraveller

Try booking flights for the wrong date, or theatre tickets, or concerts, or a festival, and changing your mind after making a mistake. Oops, you lose money.

A carpenter here to do a job today says measure it twice and then check again before cutting wood. Get it right first time.

Posted on 17/08/2023 13:05

Not always the case. We visited Wrest Park a while ago and I was silly enough to book the wrong day. I contacted English Heritage and they said to rebook and send them the details of both bookings and they would refund the incorrect one which they did. Very good service.

David

2 people like this

GTrimmer replied on 17/08/2023 21:25

Member

GTrimmer

Caravanner

Posted on 17/08/2023 10:08 by eurortraveller

Try booking flights for the wrong date, or theatre tickets, or concerts, or a festival, and changing your mind after making a mistake. Oops, you lose money.

A carpenter here to do a job today says measure it twice and then check again before cutting wood. Get it right first time.

Posted on 17/08/2023 21:25

Ah, but the CMC isn't an airline or a theatre. Perhaps the CMC no longer deserves the epithet of 'club'.

3 people like this

MikeyA replied on 18/08/2023 10:28

MikeyA

Caravanner

Posted on 17/08/2023 10:08 by eurortraveller

Try booking flights for the wrong date, or theatre tickets, or concerts, or a festival, and changing your mind after making a mistake. Oops, you lose money.

A carpenter here to do a job today says measure it twice and then check again before cutting wood. Get it right first time.

Posted on 18/08/2023 10:28

Not always true that it costs money to change a flight booking. Only last week my wife make a similar error to the OP After booking our flights to Australia she realised a short time later that she had made an error, ammendment online was easy with instantaneous confirmation and free.

Mistakes do happen in life and it shouldn't be an excuse for extracting cash

4 people like this

SteveL replied on 18/08/2023 11:22

Member

SteveL

Motorhomer from Nottinghamshire

Posted on 18/08/2023 10:28 by MikeyA

Not always true that it costs money to change a flight booking. Only last week my wife make a similar error to the OP After booking our flights to Australia she realised a short time later that she had made an error, ammendment online was easy with instantaneous confirmation and free.

Mistakes do happen in life and it shouldn't be an excuse for extracting cash

Posted on 18/08/2023 11:22

Would they have been as accommodating if it was close to the date of travel or if the time elapsed between booking and noticing the mistake was considerable? Let’s not forget that outside of 21 days you can cancel or amend with no loss of deposit.

3 people like this

moulesy replied on 18/08/2023 12:11

moulesy

Caravanner from Wiltshire

Posted on 18/08/2023 10:28 by MikeyA

Not always true that it costs money to change a flight booking. Only last week my wife make a similar error to the OP After booking our flights to Australia she realised a short time later that she had made an error, ammendment online was easy with instantaneous confirmation and free.

Mistakes do happen in life and it shouldn't be an excuse for extracting cash

Posted on 18/08/2023 12:11

Lucky Mrs A! Easyjet wanted to charge me £98 when a booking came through with my forename abbreviated instead of in full and that was within an hour of booking!