Hello everyone ,hope no one ever get's ripped off like we have had done to us in the past ,,and for that matter we will probably get it done to us in some form or another, down the track.We were staying in a c/ park re our work commitments for three months. So we were made to go permanet,so we had to pay for electricity and water on top of our weekly site fee.We agread to that. But the dodgy owner was charging us (12 permanets in total )...We were all on meters for the water and power. The problem was he was getting chaged x amount from Ergon energy per kl/watt and chaging all of us xxx ,same with the water.It is very illegal to re sell at a profit electicity/ water/gas. I might add this was in a park in the Batavia Coast regian of WA...and also the owner/ opperator was / is a local councilor...So makes one wonder what the rest of them are up to .And they wonder why we want to free camp.
Wouldn't you be only paying for the proportion that you used. His total bill would be $x per KW over the whole park and you would be paying only for the power you used as per your sub meter.
It is illegal to resell power and water other than to recover costs. I have a rental property and I'm only allowed to recover the water used. I'm not even allowed to recover the sewage charge that is notionally based on 50% of the water used. This has been tested in court.
When I was gainfully(?) employed I was involved in a shared communications facility where the owner of that facility was only allowed by law to recover the charge for the electricity used and no extra.
I suggest you sus out who is responsible for enforcing these laws and report the matter.
Re water and power over charging..We were on seperate meters per site .the water and power meters were conected to each permenet van site....he came and read them each week .We only worked out what he was doing from a friend who happenes to work for Ergon Energy. We mentioned to her how our power bill was so expensive...and she looked at the set rate for caravan parks ( by the way they get a cheaper rate than a nornal business ) and then seen straight away what he was doing .If you were only staying in this park over night he did not charge you in this way. So to try an explain it a little easie ....say the charge was 38c kl watt he was calculating it out to around a $1...same for water.When we confronted him with the proof he asked us all to leave his park.he said he wan't charity.... I also only found out that if caravan parks have x amount of permanet sites their rates are cheaper than just a caravan park with no permanets.Well that is in WA..i do not know about other states.
I live in WA this is the shadiest state ever and most expensive just a rip off central. After seeing My wife watch My Kitchen Rules and the 2 wankers from busselton I cant wait to leave. It's in the water I think.
Santa, I am not being negative in any way towards caravan parks,just stating a fact to what happened to us and other people in this one particular caravan park in WA,..My post on here was to let other travellers know that there is cow boy's out there .After 12 years full time on the road i think we know a thing or two about being ripped ofbig time by these kind of operators.You may not mind getting ripped off but the magority of us don't rip people off and pay our way in a honest way. Reading your reply to me makes me wonder about your honesty.
-- Edited by herbie on Friday 15th of February 2013 06:25:35 PM
I find it strange that people focus on their negative CP experiences
Wev'e travelled Oz pretty extensively and found that the majority of parks are fine, sure you find the odd dud, get over it and move on, no one is forcing you to return.
This is how it works, your a caravan park owner, your first priority is to get elected on the local council. You then pressure the authority to ban all overnighting in vehicles in that area. Once that is local law, you can then start to increase your nightly tarrif which can include water, electricity and anything else you can dream up.
The more you can increase your occupancy percentage and profit margins the more your caravan park is worth.
hi Herbie, Hope he does not have a monopoly and there is somewhere else you can stay. It costs a lot of money in fuel to get to WA from the east coast - so I figure "why waste my money and time" when there is plenty to see right where I am and hearing of the ripoffs makes me want to stay right here. good luck. cheers.
we have been on the road since jan 2011 and stayed in plenty of parks, some are better than others, some are value for money and some not. There are places we will go back too, a couple we wont but on a whole we have very few complaints. We always follow the rules, be curitous to staff and management because we only want good experience and basicly you get back what you give cheers blaze
Like others here I have found the majority of caravan park operators are a generally decent bunch offering good service at a price commensurate with the market. That said I have stayed at some that were run by cowboys and that I would never go back to.
Santa, I am not being negative in any way towards caravan parks,just stating a fact to what happened to us and other people in this one particular caravan park in WA,..My post on here was to let other travellers know that there is cow boy's out there .After 12 years full time on the road i think we know a thing or two about being ripped ofbig time by these kind of operators.You may not mind getting ripped off but the magority of us don't rip people off and pay our way in a honest way. Reading your reply to me makes me wonder about your honesty.
-- Edited by herbie on Friday 15th of February 2013 06:25:35 PM
I was generalising, not referring specifically to your post, but seeing you've put your hand up as well as taken a swipe at my integrity.
There are glass half full and glass half empty people in the word, you sound very much like a member of the latter group Herbie.
Have a bad experience, get over it and move on, no need to let it eat you up.
Having never met me and knowing nothing about me I find it very poor form for you to question my honesty on the basis of a single post, like you I simply stated an opinion, thankfully we don't all adopt your paranoid attitude toward life.
Let's move on folks, simply expressing a different view is not a cause to pass judgement on that person. I regularly express contrarian opinions knowing that there will be those who will disagree and will say so. I do not take this personally but regard it as part of the broader debate.