Keith Gooden
Welcome along to the Motorhome Matt Podcast. I’m Keith Gooden and as usual, we welcome our motorhome expert, the man himself, it’s Matt Sims!
Matt Sims
Hey, Keith, how are you doing?
Keith Gooden
I’m fine, thanks very much. All the better for being with you. Today we’re talking about something very important, quite a lot of them as well – 6 things that could ruin your motorhome hire holiday and how to avoid them. A snappy title.
Matt Sims
It is what it says on the tin.
1. Research
Keith Gooden
Okay then, first of all, I feel that we should have that chart music. So we’re counting up not down. Number 1: research. Tell us about the research. What should we be doing before we hire a motorhome?
Matt Sims
So I’m going to assume you’re looking to hire a motorhome to go on a holiday. Maybe you’ve never done it before and you’re looking to find someone to hire from. There are lots of places you can hire from. You can hire online from these Airbnb types of sites where you’re basically hiring a motorhome off someone’s driveway, or you could go to a rental business where they’ve got 1, 2, or maybe 30 or maybe 200 motorhomes to choose from and hire.
So doing your research into who you’re hiring from is really important. It’s a great first place to start, both in terms of the research of which motorhome you want to hire, and then into the company that you want to hire from.
Now as you know, I’m the MD of Motorhome Holiday Company. So I come at this with a big sense of bias. And we have a fleet of 30 plus motorhomes that people can hire based near Weston-super-Mare. And so we deal with customers every day that are looking to hire from us that have never used a motorhome before. In fact, they’ve got no idea what to do and what to ask about which motorhome to hire. They’ve just got the dream of going away on a motorhome holiday.
So number 1, do your research. And by that, I mean into the business. So wherever you are in the world, you can do this research. Google is your friend. So look for their reviews, read the reviews. Have they got reviews, are they a genuine business? There sadly have been a number of scams in the past, where these businesses are fake. And they look really, really real. Friends of mine were caught out by them and they considered themselves pretty savvy. And their money was taken and there was no holiday at the end of it.
So do your research, check that they’re a real business, read the reviews, go on their Facebook page, and do a Google search on them. Go to Companies House if you’re in the UK and the company is registered in the UK.
Go to Companies House. Are they a bonafide limited company? Or are they a family who’ve launched a brand name and they’re hiring out Mabel from the driveway – that’s fine, just be aware of what you’re dealing with. If you are hiring Mabel from the driveway, it might be you’ve got his DVDs and her knickers in the drawer. You know, you just need to be mindful.
Keith Gooden
Or the other way around.
Matt Sims
Could be! She might be a keen DVD watcher. Just be aware of what you’re in for. And if you’re hiring a motorhome from a third party website – there are lots of them out there, Goboony, Camplify and so on as well as the Airbnb type models where they are just a listing site – again, try and do as much research on the person or people and company you’re hiring from as you possibly can.
2. Check your Plan B
Keith Gooden
Well, number 2 on the list of the 6 things that you should pay attention to before you go on your holiday is to check your plan B. It’s difficult enough for me to come up with a plan A – now you want another one!
Matt Sims
What I mean by that is what if something goes wrong? Motorhomes break down. They go wrong. What’s the company or your supplier going to do in that instance? Ask the question. It might be they don’t have one – it is their only motorhome that you’re hiring from them, and they haven’t got a plan B. Is that a risk you’re prepared to take?
As a motorhome hire business with a fleet, the guys have a backup plan. There’s always another plan B. We’re also part of a big network of hire companies and we will help each other out. If we had to, we could bring a motorhome in from somewhere else.
So what is their plan B? It’s your holiday. You’ve saved up for this all year. You’ve looked forward to it for a long time, particularly currently. Some of us have been on holiday for 2 or 3 years. So what is plan B? Make sure your holiday has got a plan B.
3. Your breakdown policy
Keith Gooden
Number three on the list – confirm your breakdown policy. What does that mean?
Matt Sims
So again, as I say, motorhomes can go wrong. What breakdown cover have you got? What’s going to happen if the motorhome engine fails? What’s the breakdown service? Most hire companies pay quite an extensive sum of money to have a fleet breakdown cover, which is brilliant.
We have a range of suppliers, actually. We use the RAC with their fleet policy in our business, but we also have a range of other suppliers. If a tire blew out we have a network of tire repair people that we can call upon. And they are remarkable. I mean, these guys are at the side of the road 24/7. And they’ll get somewhere in minutes, often, and have a new title on the vehicle. And we have those accounts set up.
So just check. Again, it’s about protecting your holiday and making sure that if something goes wrong, there is a plan to fix it.
4. Are you legal to drive?
Keith Gooden
Well, point 4 of our 6 point plan seems obvious to me. Forgive me for saying so. But are you legal to drive?
Matt Sims
Well, yes! So if you passed your test before 1997, as you and I did, because we’re old, we can drive up to 7 and a half tonnes. But Jordan behind the camera – we’re videoing this podcast – didn’t. He’s a youngster and he passed his test not that long ago, 7 years ago back in 2015. Jordan can’t drive anything over 3 and a half tonnes.
Now, lots of motorhomes require you to have what’s called a C1 licence entitlement. If they weigh over 3 and a half tonnes, they’re 3.8 or 4 tonnes, you have to have that C1 entitlement. Equally, when you turn 70, the DVLA automatically removes that entitlement. So if you’re over 70 and you’re hiring a motorhome, you need to check you’ve got that entitlement.
You of course only need it if the motorhome you’re hiring is over 3 and a half tonnes. The vast majority are 3 and a half tonnes. So anyone with a car driving licence, a B1 licence, can drive them. But just check you’re legal. The other thing to check is that your photo driving licence is actually still in date. So every 10 years, you have to renew it. Do you know when your photo driver’s licence expires?
Keith Gooden
I think it’s in about 3 years’ time.
Matt Sims
Yes, I know mine is about the same. Most people have an idea, but do you remember to check it? I remember putting it in my diary to remind me. You’re going to need to produce that as ID when you hire the motorhome. And if you don’t have that photo ID you may not be able to go away on that holiday. So check you’ve got the right licence entitlement for the vehicle you want to drive and that your photo licence ID is in date.
Keith Gooden
So in 3 years’ time, Matt, when you’re 70 and you can’t drive with a C1 entitlement, how do you gain one?
Matt Sims
Good question. It is pretty simple, actually. You go to the doctor, they will give you an assessment and fill out a form for you which you send off to the DVLA. And the DVLA will reinstate it for you. There is a charge. The surgery is going to charge you a fee anywhere between £50 and a few hundred pounds depending on where you are in the country and depending on the surgery.
I was given a great tip on this recently by an audience member of a talk I was giving at the recent NEC Campervan Show. Someone in the audience said, ‘Matt, don’t go and get the forms from the post office. They’re always out of date.’ I’m sure that’s not true. ‘Go and download them from the DVLA website,’ which is a great piece of advice.
Keith Gooden
And what if you’ve got one of those licences like Jordan who’s filming us today and you want to get that C1 entitlement? What do you have to do then?
Matt Sims
Well, you have to take a test. So to do that is typically around £1000. And you have to go through a lorry test, which is about a week or longer of your life and go and sit a driving test.
Keith Gooden
So just to get this right, somebody who’s passed their driving test ages ago and is older can drive a motorhome which is above 3 and a half tonnes. But it’s going to cost £1000 for young, fit Jordan, who might not have had his licence for as long but has probably got better reactions and is a better driver.
Matt Sims
That’s probably true. I’ve seen you drive, Keith. I know that’s true of your driving. So yes, that’s it. So the law changed on the 1st of January 1997. When you’ve passed your car driving tests, if you think about this logically, you get out of a Nissan Micra or a Mini and take the L plates off because you’ve passed – woohoo – as my daughter did the other week. Very proud dad. Well done Neve. And you can then get in a 7 and a half tonne lorry. That’s madness. I wouldn’t want my daughter to get out of a little Citroen C1 and then into a 7 and a half tonne Big Green Parcel Machine. That’s madness.
I did that. Within a week of passing my car driving tests, I was driving a lorry, which seems insane. I loved it at the time. I was keen to do it. So the rules changed, and I think common sense did prevail.
There probably should be, I think, a breakpoint because a motorhome at 3 and a half tonnes is very, very easily overloaded. And this is something else which isn’t on this list that we’re talking about today – just check your weight. Because if there’s 6 of you, 6 adults going to a festival and you’ve all got kit and kaboodle, you could overload that motorhome very, very easily.
Keith Gooden
Yes, check how many tins of baked beans you’ve packed.
Matt Sims
And liquids!
5. Your security deposit
Keith Gooden
Number 5 on our list, then – how secure is your security deposit?
Matt Sims
Oh, there we go. So to hire a motorhome, you are going to have to pay for the hire, and then you’re going to have to give the higher company probably £1000 pounds. Some charge £500 pounds, some charge £2000 pounds, but there’s going to be a refundable security deposit to be paid. And any damage or shortages in the motorhome when you return it are going to be deducted from that.
So again, this is why doing the research on the company is so important because you want to know you’re going to get that money back. There have been lots of stories – and you’ll see them online – of people returning a motorhome in perfect condition. And there has been a deduction for damage that they insist they didn’t do. The disreputable companies might do that.
We have a policy where within 48 hours of the return of the motorhome, it’s inspected, and the deposit is returned and refunded. And we will email to confirm it’s been refunded. And if there’s any problem, we will call you and go through with you the issue and send photographs and have a discussion about it. So where is that deposit going? We put it into a separate account, we have a client account that it goes in that’s ring-fenced. It doesn’t go into our cash flow. And the risk is that the deposit’s held on to for a month, and some companies will hold on to it for 30 days – what if they go bust? Your £1000 is going to disappear into their bank account.
So we will return it within 48 hours. It takes a few days to arrive, but ask the question. It’s an easy one to ask and say, ‘Well, where is my deposit going? And how quickly after I return it am I going to get it back?’ Your expectation is then set and you understand the process that you’re in with them.
Keith Gooden
Because after all, you don’t want a disreputable company using your deposit to pay their staff and hoping for customers next month to be able to return your money.
Matt Sims
That’s right. Yes, it’s your money. And I think it should be held in a separate account. Because it’s not to be used unless it has to be used.
Keith Gooden
As it is when you’re renting a flat these days.
Matt Sims
Exactly.
6. The Small Print
Keith Gooden
The law has changed. Okay, number 6 on the list, the final one as well. I suppose this is obvious, but we’ve all come a cropper with this at some point doing something, haven’t we? Read the small print. And sometimes it is very small.
Matt Sims
It is very small and sometimes can be hard to find. So a reputable business or operator will send you a link to read their terms and conditions and will ask you to sign that you’ve read them. How many times have we – particularly on an iPhone or a smartphone – just tick the box, ‘I agree’? Do you read them? I don’t.
Keith Gooden
I don’t think anybody does. And in fact, I came across a site the other day, and I whizzed down to hit the agree box. And it actually said to me, ‘You haven’t read enough of these terms and conditions,’ and brought me back to the top of the page. But that’s only ever happened once.
Matt Sims
Wow. So it must have timed how long you were on the page. So my advice is to read them. It’s very easy just to go, ‘No, it will be okay,’ and just tick the box or sign away your rights, as it were.
We have spent thousands of pounds on our terms and conditions. And our lawyers have come back to us and said, ‘You can’t say that of a customer. It’s not fair.’ I was actually stunned because we restructured ours recently. And I was impressed and shocked at how the legal team came back to us very much on the consumer’s side. And it amazes me how the rules have changed.
So as a consumer, you are protected. Any company can’t just impose terms on you and expect you to abide by them. If there’s some term you’ve signed and agreed to and they’re saying, ‘Well, you signed this, tough,’ you’ve got a battle on your hands which you just don’t need and don’t want.
So I advise you to read them even if it’s a scan through. And if you think everything’s happy and everything’s safe, then go for it. If you’ve got a question, ask it. ‘I didn’t understand this term. Can you explain it to me?’ Just make sure that you’ve got peace of mind before you commit.
Keith Gooden
So read those terms and conditions, because as you say, a company cannot take away your rights, but they can make it very difficult to get your money back by putting one of those unreasonable little paragraphs in there. You’ll have to argue with them about it. And if you did then have to go to the law you’d win. But how much hassle, time and money has it all cost you?
Matt Sims
Absolutely, yes. And it’s rather ruined the holiday.
Keith Gooden
Just a bit.
Matt Sims
Another thing I’d say as well is to go and visit the company if you can. So we’ve got a site here with motorhomes available to view. Because of some of the COVID restrictions that have been in play, we’re still operating at the moment and probably will for a long time around fogging motorhomes after they’d been viewed and certainly after they’d been used.
Keith Gooden
That’s to disinfect and aerosol, isn’t it?
Matt Sims
Yes, that’s right. So we fill it with the atmosphere inside to keep them ‘pathogen-free,’ is the official phrase. And we ask you to arrange an appointment to come and view a motorhome. And the way we would operate is to say, ‘Well, we want to have an idea of how many of you there are.’ And then we can advise and steer you to a layout that would work. And then come and view some.
We run open days as well, which we hope to run again this year, where people can come and just have a look at lots of them. And you can have a choice. So take some time to go and look at layouts, and make sure you’re choosing one that you think is going to be a good fit for your holiday.
Keith Gooden
So those are the 6 things that could ruin your motorhome holiday and how to avoid them. I’d like you to put that on a business card for me. Matt Sims, thanks very much.
Matt Sims
Pleasure, Keith. Make sure you subscribe to the YouTube channel. Hit subscribe, hit the bell and then the gods of YouTube can tell you when there’s a new video coming out. And we’ll see you on Instagram as well. You can find me @motorhomematt.co.uk. See you there.
Download the free eBook
To read the full guide and learn some of the real horror stories that people have endured, head to motorhomeholidaycompany.com/ruin to download our free eBook!
