Keith Gooden
In today’s episode of the Motorhome Matt podcast…
Matt Sims
We unpack the recent story of a UK couple fined after discovering a migrant in their motorhome’s bike rack.
Keith Gooden
In the news, updates on the DVLA road tax upplating changes…
Matt Sims
And we answer your questions on buying an ex-rental motorhome and fitting a tow bar.
Keith Gooden
Welcome to the Motorhome Matt Podcast. I’m Keith Gooden.
Matt Sims
And I’m Motorhome Matt.
Keith Gooden
Industry insights and expert advice for the world of motorhomes, caravans and camper vans, brought to you by www.thatleisureshop.com and sponsored by Ripe.
Matt Sims
Now, remember to follow on your favourite podcast app, and please do make sure you subscribe on YouTube.
DVLA Up-plating and road tax issue
Keith Gooden
Let’s delve into the news, shall we? First of all, the DVLA upplating and road tax. What does this mean, and how does it involve SvTech?
Matt Sims
Yeah, so SvTech, a company that are experts in upplating vehicles, motorhomes particularly and horse boxes – people were upplating so making their motorhome heavier, thus giving them more payload, the ability to carry stuff. And when you jump over three and a half tonnes, your road tax that you pay drops from £345 down to £165 pounds.
There were two problems – the DVLA were not refunding the road tax, and also they were incorrectly updating the V5. So it would mean, technically, you were illegal if you went through a weight in motion sensor camera, and if you were at your new weight of, let’s say four tonnes, the camera would say, “This is a three and a half tonne vehicle,” and you could be fined.
So this was a big, contentious topic. The DVLA changed this rule without any consultation at all with the industry. And SvTech have been one of the leading lights in trying to get the DVLA to see sense and revert back to their old ways, which I’m delighted to say they have, which is good news!
If you’re upplating now, provided your V5 has an M1 category on it for your motor caravan – so it says motor caravan, it says m1 and you’re not a van with windows – then the likelihood is you are going to upplate and get a refund, and they will update your V5 correctly, which means you will not fall foul of a weight in motion sensor or camera.
Keith Gooden
Give it a try, and if you’re running into any difficulties, remember to get in touch with us here at the Motorhome Matt podcast. We find out what’s happening in the real world, don’t we, Matt?
Matt Sims
But there’s a new curve ball. So there’s a more recent complication affecting goods vehicles, including horse boxes. And there’s a lot of horse box owners listening to this. The DVLA’s decision to change the maximal permissible mass and not the revenue weight on the V5 means the MOT status is incorrect because the MOT is not being updated.
So owners of those vehicles who are above three and a half tonnes will not be able to update their road tax online. So if that’s you, stay tuned. SvTech are campaigning with the DVLA to correct this. It is a mistake, and it is anticipated that they will see the light and put it right.
Keith Gooden
If you’re heading to Europe in your motorhome this year, you’ll want to make sure that you’ve got the right insurance cover, because not every policy automatically includes it.
Matt Sims
Exactly, and you don’t want to find out the hard way when you’re already halfway through France, do you?
Keith Gooden
No! But the good news is that Ripe offers extended cover for travel to a range of European countries.
Matt Sims
That’s up to 90 days per trip, or 180 days across the year. So whether you’re planning a long tour or multiple trips, you’ll be covered.
Keith Gooden
And we know how important it is to make sure your cover is right. The good news is that Ripe has a lovely team based in Manchester who are just a phone call away if you need any help.
Matt Sims
We’ve had some great feedback from listeners who’ve saved money by switching to Ripe. So it’s definitely worth seeing how they compare for you.
Keith Gooden
And here is the best bit. You can get 15% off your premium by using the code “MOTORHOMEMATT,” one word, over the phone, or just click the link in the description.
Matt Sims
It’s a no brainer. More money for coffee and croissants.
Keith Gooden
Or fromage and vin.
Matt Sims
Now you’re talking. So if you’re heading off to Europe, check your insurance before you go, and don’t forget to grab a 15% discount on your insurance premium with Ripe. Quote “MOTORHOMEMATT,” over the phone, or click the link in the description.
The motorhome owners fined after finding a migrant stowaway
Keith Gooden
It’s the Motorhome Matt podcast. I’m Keith Gooden.
Matt Sims
And I’m Motorhome Matt.
Keith Gooden
It’s brought to you with That Leisure Shop and sponsored by Ripe. Now, this podcast is about something which has gone worldwide, a big story, and lots of people have been in touch about it, including Rose van der Worf from Texas.
Rose van der Worf
Please could you discuss ideas of how to avoid the situation Adrian and Joanne Fenton found themselves in recently? They found a refugee hidden on the back of their van when they returned home and ended up with a £1,500 fine from the government. Much enjoy all your podcasts on YouTube. We’re considering buying a van for the first time in retirement. Thank you so much. We’ve learned so much from you.
Keith Gooden
And thank you Joanne, very much. And Texas is a beautiful state in the US, so looking forward to you driving around that state and seeing some of its beauty. Now, some of the background on this. Adrian and Joanne Fenton were returning to the UK from France in their motorhome.
When they got home, they discovered a young clandestine, I will call him, hidden in their bike rack. Yes, he was small, and if you can think about it, he’s in the bike rack, and they’ve zipped up a cover on the bike rack. They’ve got home, they’ve unzipped it, and this person falls out. Now, what happened next, then?
Matt Sims
Well, they immediately reported the stowaway to the local police when they got home to Essex, and then the Home Office issued them a fine of £1,500 for failing to properly check their vehicle before travel, which just seems ironic. You know, they’ve done the right thing, and then they suffer a £1,500 fine.
Keith Gooden
So they’ve got home, they found the clandestine in the bike rack, they’ve told the authorities who have come and taken the young man away, and then subsequently the Home Office have fined them £1,500. Well, this actually made it to Parliament. Sir John Whittingdale is the MP for Adrian and Joanne Fenton, and he raised it.
Sir John Whittingdale
Prime Minister, look at the case of my constituents, Mr. and Mrs. Adrian Fenton, who returned home from visiting France in their motorhome to discover an illegal immigrant concealed in the bike rack.
They reported it immediately to the police, only to receive a fine from the Border Force of £1,500. Will he agree that my constituents ought to be thanked rather than punished, and does he accept that this action will send a message to deter anybody from acting responsibly in the future?
Keir Starmer
Can I thank him for raising this important case on behalf of his constituents? I have seen some of the details, and I am concerned about it. And I do think it’s important, as he says, that the Home Office look into it, and therefore we will do so, and I’ll make sure that he is updated in relation to that in due course.
Keith Gooden
Now, the Home Office did look into it, and as we’ve heard from Matt earlier in this podcast, the fine was rescinded. But we’ve also seen from other news outlets that this isn’t the only time this has ever happened. Now, Adrian and Joanne Fenton appeared on their local BBC radio station, Three Counties Radio, and they had this to say.
Joanne Fenton
The fine’s now nothing, but it doesn’t change anything. It doesn’t change the borders. It doesn’t change the holiday makers. I understand, you know, why we’ve got fined. I understand it’s for negligence.
There’s people out there that can’t check. You know, what happens if they’re on the roof? You know, we haven’t got ladders on the top to go up and check at the roof of our motorhome or anything like that.
This is what the Border Force is there for. I think they need to do more checks. And also put something into play, you know, put in infrared, you know, anything. They used to have X ray machines, anything that you can drive through like you do in the airports, we have to all put our baggage through. We have to stand and go through the little machine, you know, to make sure we’re not carrying anything.
Why can’t it be exactly the same for cars, vans, motorhomes and caravans, lorries, coaches? So many people since 2023 when this legislation came out have been caught. And I think it’s just another way to get money. But it’s hitting people like pensioners. They’re not people smugglers. They’re just getting caught out the same as us.
Keith Gooden
There you go, Matt. So before I ask you to expand on this, I must say that my father in law, God rest his soul, and his brothers used to run Broads Transport in Plymouth, and so he always had a lot to say about new legislation and new rules which would affect HGV drivers. I remember when the law… what was it? 10, 12 years ago?
I can’t remember the exact time was brought in, because a lot of clandestines were getting into what they call taut liners, you know, the trailers. Yeah, the curtain side on them. They would either untie them and crawl in or slash them and get in. And the Border Force and the Home Office started this policy of fining the individual lorry drivers for not checking their vehicle properly. Isn’t this what we’ve got here?
Matt Sims
It is the case. Yeah, and actually, you can be fined up to £10,000 per person, unless you can prove you took all responsible security precautions. So as a motorhome community, we need to take this seriously.
We have a responsibility to ensure our vehicle is secure and that we’re not putting ourselves at risk of somebody getting on board or climbing inside somewhere or even underneath. It is your responsibility as the driver to do that, and there are big fines if you are caught with a clandestine on board.
You know, saying you didn’t know is no defence. So you do have a really big responsibility here, and you must, as a motorhome driver, conduct thorough checks before departure, particularly in high risk areas such as Calais.
A friend of mine is a tour operator with coaches, and they now don’t stop anywhere near Calais, and an hour away from it, they stop, allow all the passengers off to use the loo, and then the driver goes around and checks every locker, checks the driver’s sleeping pod, and locks them all, secures the vehicle, and then says to the passengers, “Right, we’re now not stopping at all until we are through the border control and on the ferry or the train, and that’s the next time you’ll be allowed of.”
Keith Gooden
So you have to make those checks. And they have had scanners at the Channel Tunnel and the ferries for lorries for a long time, but I hear what Joanne was saying there in that interview with the local BBC station. But if everybody had to go through a scanner before they could get on the train or get on a ferry, these lengthy processes are going to get even lengthier, aren’t they?
Matt Sims
The queues will get even bigger. That’s the last thing we need. They are for lorries. They’re for commercial vehicles. But I think if you’re concerned, you can approach a border control official and ask them to check your vehicle for you. They will do that if you have a concern that there might be somebody under it or in it.
Friends of mine were travelling through Calais, went into the terminal to get their ticket scanned, went back to the motorhome, heard a noise, opened the bathroom door, and there were three people stood in the bathroom. They had no idea when they’d got in there. They assumed that their stop at the supermarket 20 minutes earlier, where they filled the garage with booze, as we do, is when these people probably got on board, and thankfully, they found them.
There was no recourse for them, as the driver and the board officials got hold of them and arrested them. But it’s your responsibility as the driver to check your vehicle and make sure it’s secure and safe, and the gov.uk website does have a load of advice on it in terms of what you can do as a motorhome driver and the passenger. You can have a role in this too.
My advice would be, check all your external lockers – the roof box, check it’s locked. Check your bike rack. Unlike these people, take the cover off. Don’t leave a cover over your bikes, because it’s somewhere somebody could hide, and if there is space under your motorhome between water tanks or somewhere like that, look underneath.
These folks have a very, very strong motivation to get into the UK, and they will take risks that you think would be absolutely bizarre and totally stupid. They will do it. So check underneath, particularly if you’ve got rear wheel drive motorhome, there’s going to be more space under the vehicle. Go and check underneath and that there’s nobody lurking there.
Consider locks. Just put some tape over a door. So a piece of gaffer tape or electrical tape, just stick that either side of the door seal. And if that’s broken or has come off, it might be somebody has opened that door.
And check that none of your security locks have been tampered with, because that’s a sign that somebody may have been trying to get into your motorhome. And remember, this is like battling a thief with security. If you’ve got strong security, a thief is going to just move on and go to the next one. You know, these folks are acting really quickly.
In the blink of an eye, they’ve done what they need to do and got into a vehicle. If they can’t do it quickly, they will just move down the line to the next one. So do check. And common sense really does prevail, but there is not enough you can do, really. You just secure everything and double check.
Keith Gooden
So let’s give a bit of context here, shall we, Matt? 10 years ago, around that sort of time, there was terrible trouble with people jumping onto trains for Le Shuttle and getting onto ferries, because security at Calais wasn’t particularly tight. They have tightened it up now. Fences are higher. People have been moved out, and the problem has moved. It’s moved to the small boats.
And people wouldn’t put their lives at risk getting into a rubber dinghy, believe me, unless they were desperate. But those people who were trying to get on transports at the Channel Tunnel and the ferries and lorries have now moved to these small boats. Desperate people take desperate measures, and the criminals are happy to exploit that. So we must keep that in mind.
It appears they’ve moved again and may be targeting motorhomers, because they’re just ordinary people who aren’t looking out particularly for this sort of thing to be happening. All we’re saying is, you’ve got to from now on.
Matt Sims
Yeah, these folk are desperate. That’s the reality. And as I say, as motorhomers, we have to take responsibility. We have to be more vigilant so that you don’t end up where this couple did from Essex, where you could end up with a fine. The worst case is, as was said in Parliament, they don’t report the fact there’s a clandestine on the vehicle at all, because they’re going to get fined.
Keith Gooden
Yeah, so people might come back, find somebody and not report it. And we don’t want that.
Matt Sims
No, so be super vigilant. My advice would be, when you’re travelling, you stop an hour or so away from Calais, check the vehicle and then plan to stay in it. Don’t leave the keys in it and disappear somewhere. Just go straight to the port, get on with your crossing and don’t stop anywhere, and don’t put your vehicle at risk.
And then when you get to the border crossing, as I said, you can request an inspection. If you’re worried, a border official will happily look over your vehicle. But stay vigilant at ferry ports and the train terminal, where a stowaway may still attempt to hide. And if you’re worried, write a checklist of all the things you need to do.
You have all the lockers you need to check, the roof box, the bike rack. Everything you think, “Right, let’s go through this.” Common sense will prevail. And if you’re questioned if you checked, because you can be subject to a fine if you haven’t, qnd you’ve got your checklist and you’ve ticked it all off, you can evidence that you’ve done your bit. And I think a border official will appreciate that.
Keith Gooden
Absolutely, 100%. Remember, this is a 16-year-old young man who stowed away in Adrian and Joanne Fenton’s motorhome on the bike rack underneath the cover. So you think nobody will ever get in there, believe me, you know, you’d be surprised.
I mean, we still have people every so often, when planes are coming in at Heathrow or Gatwick, falling out of the undercarriage bay, frozen solid because they’ve crawled in there to make crossings from other countries. People are desperate and will do desperate things.
And remember, ignorance of the law is never a defence, okay? So ignorance of the presence of a stowaway is not a legal defence unless steps have been taken and you can prove it to secure the vehicle. So when you’re doing the checks, film it on your phone.
Matt Sims
That’s a good idea. Yeah, do the checklist and film it, just evidence it. So what do you do, then, if you discover a stowaway? This was a question that we were asked. My advice would be the first thing to do is stay calm and ensure your safety.
Avoid direct confrontation with the individual, and keep all the doors and windows locked if you feel unsafe. If they’re inside the vehicle, then you’re going to want to let them out, but it’s really important you report it immediately. You must report it to the local police where you are. So if you’re back in the UK, just ring 999, if you’re still in France, then ring 112.
Or if you’re on a crossing, if you’re on a border itself, then alert the border police where you are, and also report it to the UK Home Office as soon as possible, providing the details of where you were and when you discovered the stowaway.
And my advice is, document everything. Take photos, take video evidence if it’s safe to do so, and as Keith says, keep those records of your security checks and then use all of that to communicate with officials. Your willingness to cooperate and communicate with Border Force is going to have a big impact on the level of fine. That is very clearly detailed on the gov.uk website. So co-operate.
Keith Gooden
The Home Office and the government have shown that they are willing to be flexible with that fine having been cancelled, but you’ve got to do your part. Are there any implications for your travel insurance, for instance, if you do get into this?
Matt Sims
This is interesting. Yeah, I don’t know. The motorhome insurer will cover damage to the motorhome caused by somebody breaking into it. That, I think, is fairly clear. They’re not going to cover you for a fine, but your travel insurance provider might cover your legal expenses in contesting a fine.
But that is something you would need to check with your travel insurance provider. The fine, as we’ve seen, you need to get it to Parliament to get that overturned, but I think this is a great case in law where we’ve seen this fine overturned, and this means that people will remain willing to report any breach like this. Because that’s my fear, that this fine will deter people from doing exactly that.
Keith Gooden
Happy motorhoming!
Audience Q&A
Keith Gooden
It’s the Motorhome Matt podcast. I’m Keith Gooden.
Matt Sims
And I’m Motorhome Matt.
Keith Gooden
And it’s brought to you with That Leisure Shop and sponsored by Ripe. It’s time for our Q and A, our questions and answers, where you ask the questions, and Matt, the motorhome expert, he will answer them. And if he doesn’t know, he will find somebody who can.
First of all, Nick Blake’s in Waterlooville. And he says, “Hi, Matt and Keith, thanks for the excellent podcast.” Thank you. “My wife and I are recently retired and planning to take the plunge on buying a motorhome. Your show has given us much more confidence about stuff we didn’t even know we needed confidence about.” Well, thank you very much for your kind words there, Nick.
“Anyway, our question is this. What are your thoughts on buying an ex-rental motorhome? There seem to be some good deals to be had. We’d appreciate your thoughts on the pros and cons of buying ex-rental. Keep up the great work.” Well, you can speak on this because you do run a company that rents out motorhomes.
Matt Sims
We do, yeah. Motorhome Holiday Company is ours. I’d say there are pros and some cons. Bear in mind, I do own a motorhome hire company, so I’m going to say there’s more pros than cons, perhaps, but I would say if it’s a decent and reputable hire company as ours, is they are going to be very regularly serviced. They’re going to be completely repaired and maintained prior to sale, probably more so than a privately owned one might be.
So that scratch on the rear bumper that you’ve ignored as its owner for years because it doesn’t really impact it, as a hire company, somebody’s going to pay for it and we’re going to repair it. So generally, in my experience, our own hire fleet are presented for sale in very, very, very good condition. The cons – they could have higher average mileage than maybe an alternative for sale in the market.
Keith Gooden
And that’s a key point, isn’t it, because motorhomes do tend to have fairly low mileage as compared to cars.
Matt Sims
I’ve said this before. An exceptionally low mileage motorhome, 10 years old and 6,000 miles, I would be very cautious about buying. You know, they’re delivery vans underneath, they need to be driven. They’re built to do 40,000 miles a year. A hire motorhome… it depends where you’re buying it in the country. Here’s an interesting fact.
Our hire fleet tends to do about 8,000 miles a year, because most of our customers, being based in Bristol, go to South Wales to Gower or Devon and Cornwall. We don’t do many miles. But my friends who operate hire companies in Manchester, they’re running some of their fleet doing 25,000 miles a year, because everybody wants to go to Scotland and even a trip to France. You know, it’s a several hour and 200-mile journey just to get to Dover.
So where we are puts us at a bit of a strong point, really, because our motorhomes tend to have much lower average mileages. Another thing we do, and we do this very diligently, is engine servicing. So oil changes very frequently, no more than 8,000 miles, and we do cam belts and wet belts in Fords at 40,000 miles, so way earlier than the manufacturer says.
Keith Gooden
What’s the wet belt?
Matt Sims
The wet belt is this silly new idea that Ford came up with. Quite frankly, it’s a rubberised belt inside the engine, which lives inside the oil, and the oil rots it down. So somebody at Ford said, “I know. Let’s put some fiber inside it.” So then the fiber breaks up and gets into the oil and clogs up the oil pipes inside the engine. So they are a daft idea. The sooner Ford get rid of it, the better.
Keith Gooden
It’s just Ford, is it?
Matt Sims
It’s just Ford, yeah. And so we change those at 40,000 miles. That is a big job. That’s a full day in a workshop, and it’s four figures to do it, but we do them. And the reason we do it and we do it early, you snap one of those, you write the engine off. But we want that motorhome to be as reliable as possible when it’s on hire.
We don’t want to spoil somebody’s holiday, because there’s a big knock on effect for us operationally. So I would say there are big pros to buying ex-hire. The big con, of course, is that more than one or two people have at slept, weed and pooed in it. That’s the reality. Now, you can buy a fresh up kit for the toilet, where you replace the toilet seat, and you can buy a new mattress.
And you can fine tune the inside so there’s less sign of wear and tear. But that’s the big issue – more people have been away in it than maybe a privately owned one. But does that matter? It depends on the condition inside. So I would say, are the companies selling them reputable? If you can find out, do – and have a really good inspection of it done, and look at the service history.
Ours have massive service histories. We keep a log of every wiper blade change. If a brake light’s blowing, we keep a log of it, and all of that is available to view because we keep the log. But that’s because the nature of us as a hire company.
Keith Gooden
So the answer to the question is, yeah, it’s a good idea to buy ex-hire, but do all the checks you would normally do when you’re buying a car.
Matt Sims
Provided the hire company were reputable that were operating it, yeah. So ask to see the service history, and the seller should be able to just demonstrate that to you.
Keith Gooden
There you go, Nick. Hope that’s helped. Gary’s in Christchurch. “Hi, Matt. If you fit a tow bar to your motorhome, does this have any effect on your payload?”
Matt Sims
Sensible question. Yes, of course, because the tow bar has a weight. The heavier the tow bar, the less your payload. And be warned – some motorhomes, we’re having one fitted at the moment with a tow bar, have to have extension bars fitted at the back, underneath the rear floor in order to fit the tow bar.
And they are big, long bits of metal, and they are heavy. So I reckon the tow bar could be about 80 kilos in its own weight, and that’s going to therefore reduce the payload by 80 kilos. So the answer to this is yes!
Keith Gooden
But if you’re towing a trailer, then you you will have stuff in the trailer to save on payload.
Matt Sims
A trailer is a great way to carry extra stuff, because you’re only considering the tow bar weight and the nose weight that’s on that the trailer, which might only be 100 kilos max. The rest of the weight is over its own axle and its own tyres.
Keith Gooden
Cheers, Gary, thanks for your question – and Nick as well.
Ask Matt
Keith Gooden
If people want to get in touch, Matt, what should they do?
Matt Sims
We’d love it if you did. Please do. mhmp.info/askmatt. You can fill in the form, or you can record your question. Please tell us where in the world you are. Click the orange button. You can listen back to it and check you’re okay with it, and then press submit.
Keith Gooden
And if you’re looking for trusted brands and services, then make sure that you visit the Motorhome Matt Approved directory. It’s at mhmp.info/approved.
Matt Sims
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