This month’s feature on caravan park woes may strike a chord with some of you, but how many? I think we have all driven into town during a peak holiday season and phoned or driven in to enquire about a…
This month’s feature on caravan park woes may strike a chord with some of you, but how many?
I think we have all driven into town during a peak holiday season and phoned or driven in to enquire about a park’s rates, and sometimes been shocked at the response – but that’s a discussion for another day.
Melinda Uys’ feature deals with slightly more complex situations, because it deals with emotions as well as money. It’s one thing to be told a rate, you don’t like it, so you drive off. However, if you have crossed the state, have kids with you and arrive at a pre-booked park for your holiday and there’s something seriously wrong with your allotted spot, what do you do?
I have seen some social media commentators advise ‘’simply leave’’ or to ‘’take your business elsewhere’’, but what about a park’s refund policy? What about deposits, and/or fees you’ve already paid? Or tours you have booked in the local area for your holiday? It may not be practical to just do the bolt. I have a feeling that such advice might be offered by people with no fixed timeframe for travel or people who are permanently plotted in suburbia and are just reactionary by nature.
Have a read of the feature on page 29 and see how it relates to anything you’ve encountered. There’s a section at the end of the story where you can tell us about your experiences but please keep it honest and civil. While we’d like to hear the horror stories, we’d like to hear about situations that were successfully resolved with good business practice and cool heads. As we know, the travelling public are not innocent and, if you add in holiday stress or possibly alcohol, people might not be putting their best face forward.
You may have noticed that the magazine has grown significantly this month with the addition of the buyers’ guide section. We thought you might appreciate a place to compare tow vehicle specs, however, in the interests of keeping the issue under 400 pages, we have set a lower limit of 2500kg tow capacity for inclusion.
As always, you can email me direct with your stories, whether they’re related to the topic above or not here.
