Welcome to Motorhomefacts, we are a thriving motorhome community (Largest in Europe). Why Not JOIN NOW and get instant access to more of the website. It costs nothing to join and only takes a few minutes. We have 200,000 different people visiting our site monthly and this amount of motorhomers in one place guarantees a fast response to any questions you may have. We also have unique facilities not found elsewhere such as our Online Logbook, stopover tracker, Motorhome directory with Ebay type feedback and the largest repository of motorhome campsites reviews found anywhere
We recently hired a Motorhome at the end of December from an established company to go to France.
We had hired the same vehicle in July with no problems.
On arriving in France after dark at our first night's site we found the heating system would not work.
We contacted the owner immediately and despite his suggestions (gas not connected correctly, valves in wrong position, etc) we were unable to make it work.
The temperatures that night, and subsequent nights, were well below freezing - and so were we.
The heating system failed to work at all and after two nights we decided that enough was enough and returning to the UK was our only alternative.
We had our dog with us, and due to Customs regulations, had to wait 24 hours after he had seen a French Vet before we could cross by Eurotunnel.
At that point we had spent three nights in freezing weather.
This crossing also incurred an extra charge of Ł31.
We contacted the owner immediately after returning and took the Motorhome back to him after only four days.
He agreed the heating did not work and was most apologetic.
Would a total lack of heating, during possibly the coldest Winter for years, qualify the vehicle to be considered not fit for purpose?
If so, what steps could I consider taking to retrieve some or all of the hire monies totalling Ł720 as the owner seems to be dragging his feet in deciding what he should or shouldn't do?
I hope you paid by credit card. If so contact the card company to seek some redress on your behalf. Clearly the vehicle was inadequately prepared for hirs.
I believe the "Fit for Purpose" words are associated with sales of vehicles not rental ones. Was this a private rental or from a known and established firm I wonder?
(clip)
The heating system failed to work at all and after two nights we decided that enough was enough and returning to the UK was our only alternative. (clip)
I know you shouldn't have had to do so but couldn't you have just bought a relatively low cost heater locally. Or else found a local motorhome/caravan dealer workshop who may have been able to solve the problem, which may have been as simple as a failed thermocouple? You could have then sought recompense for the outlay when you got back. On the face of it, either of those would surely have been a lot less cost and inconvenience than the steps outlined in your post, unless there's more behind this?
Regarding any possible claim on the hire firm, at some stage were you not given a copy of their Terms & Conditions? If so, is this eventuality covered there, as that would form the basis of any contract.
______________________________________________________________ cheers
Roger
---------------------------------------------------
I´m not really as paranoid as everyone thinks I am
"Clearly the vehicle was inadequately prepared for hirs."
Clive, how can you make such a comment?
Appliances break down for unknown reasons, especially Electrical/Mechanical. Gas appliances require electricity for their controls. Unfortunately we must expect these things to malfunction, it is a part of life.
I realise that Keith and his family were upset and had their holiday ruined but you can't blame anyone without knowing the full facts. Did Keith inspect the vehicle when he collected it from the hirer? Was everything in working order when collected?
Could the problem have been a blown fuse? Sometimes fuses blow for no apparent reason, over a period of time they can just get tired.
One other question I would ask, is, why did Keith not contact a local MH dealer in France and ask his opinion.
In answer to the original question, If the vehicle was in perfect order when picked up and the hirer advised that it was being returned as not fit for the purpose, then I would expect a full refund.
Drew
______________________________________________________________ Loch Sloy
This IŽll Defend
Of course the hire company is in the wrong for not making sure that the heating system was working but surely you asked for a demonstration before you departed knowing what time of year it was.
Also a quick post on MHF would have given you the address of a local Motorhome Dealer who could have sorted it out.
We had the same experience in April last year in freezing temperatures in France when some idiot had filled the gas tank with Butane. Unfortunately, I cannot sue myself.
Maybe if I knew all the facts my opinion might be different, but based on what you've told us, I think you could have tried harder to avoid/solve the problem but still good luck with your claim. I certainly think you are due some form of refund or a free hire in the future.
Whilst not condoning the lack of gas heating, most modern vans have two forms of heating, gas and electric.
As the OP was on a site, surely there was electic hook up, if not, running the engine would have provided heating in the cab area and lighting the oven or gas hobs would provide additional heat until bed time.
The next day the OP should have found a camping shop or hypermaket and purchased a cheap 3 kw fan heater or found a MH dealer and asked them to investigate the problem.
As to the additional days delay and wait due to the dog being examined by a French Vet, this could have happened anyway at the end of the holiday causing him to bring the van back late unless he had pre-booked an appointment.
Incidentally the OP should have checked that all systems were working corectly on handover before embarking on the holiday.
A liitle thought would have avoided a spoilt holiday.
Strange that the dealer did not offer the above advice when he was contacted by the hirer.
My own Truma boiler conked out - on Christmas Eve - and yes it was -14 degrees the following morning. The boiler was working, but on gas only, the electric side was out of action, so not really a crisis other than the rapid use of gas and associated costs. I always have a small fan heater that lives under the drivers seat - so this, plus the gas on low did the job. I also made use of the roof aircon on heat setting. The boiler was repaired on the 4th January. On the evening of the 5th January, the boiler conked again - this time a different fault - no blown air working, but the boiler was able to heat water using either gas or electric power. I cannot get a repair effected for a couple of weeks as I am away, but once again the Ł9.99 fan heater is doing the business, plus the roof aircon. My point here whilst the boiler was fully operations on the morning of the 5th January, it was not so later in the day - things do breakdown. Maybe, on the part of the hire firm, they should leave a small fan heater in the van as a "back up plan", but on the other hand, anything from the water pump to the oven could conk out, so how many back up plans should one carry? In order to assist with keeping the van warm, I filled my 20 litre jerrican with hot water from the site facilities and left this in the rear garage overnight - like a hot water bottle!
A couple of years ago I had problems with habitation equipment and through a "help me" post on MHF, I was able to do a temporary fix until an Italian dealer could work on the vehicle. Most parts such as Truma, Thetford, Fiamma etc are common to many vehicles irrespective of the country of manufacture of the motorhome.
If I hired a motorhome, I would expect to see everything working at the start of the hire period - just like Enterprise go through the car on a car rental etc. Was this done with the motorhome hire?
I suspect that given Keith hired a motorhome, he does not own one and thus may not have as "much as experience" as some of us in respect of faults, a back up plan and so on. Also, as he was in France, a quick connection to the internet for a "help me" post may not have been possible.
In respect of a resolution, I would try to resolve this at an amicable level first, for example a free hire or something. The credit card option may apply to this scenario - check with your bank.
Did the hire firm OWN the motorhome, or was the hire firm a third party acting as agent for individuals who rent out their motorhomes to generate income?
Russell
______________________________________________________________ Our long trip around Europe - blog now online at www.swift-kontiki.co.uk
You cannot post new topics in this forum You cannot reply to topics in this forum You cannot edit your posts in this forum You cannot delete your posts in this forum You cannot vote in polls in this forum You cannot attach files in this forum You cannot download files in this forum
All times are GMT + 1 Hour Page 1 of 2Goto page 1, 2Next
UK
