Is this Normal proceedure (1 Viewer)

[bartiny]

From my neighbour last night (Friday).
Bullet points.

Autosleeper with VW base 02 plate very good condition, Not sure on the model, but not big.

Returning home from southern Spain, 30 mins. into journey on the motorway, motorhome breaks down.

Pays 150 euro to be recovered to local garage.

The mechanic diagosed the problem as the cam belt (shredded)

He Rings his insurance/breakdown provider (breakdown arranged through his insurance).

They tell him that they will send out an assessor to assess the condition/value of the motorhome, the cost of repairs, and the cost of repatriating the motorhome, then they will let him know the course of action.

They are refunding the cost of the recovery 150 euro.

They put them up in a local hotel for the night.
Paid for them to return home (minus the motorhome) consisting of; Train to Paris and overnight stay, then onward journey home via train.

So they are now back home and the motorhome is 'stuck' in Spain waiting to be assessed.

Reading between the lines (as he was a bit stressed and I did not want to bombard him with questions) it seems like;

The breakdown company will either repair the motorhome in spain then it will be up to him to get it back here.

Or they will recover the motorhome to the uk and then he will have
to get it sorted, depending on the cheapest option.

The motorhome is full of all their personal belogings as they could only carry a limited ammount of stuff back.

As the title asks, is this normal.

 

[vwalan]

if the cost of repatriation is greater than the value of the vehicle then they may not bring it back.
thats normal in many cases .
same old story read the small print.

 

[bartiny]

if the cost of repatriation is greater than the value of the vehicle then they may not bring it back.
thats normal in many cases .
same old story read the small print.

I can understand that to a certain degree but he paid £20,000 for it just 12 months ago, so I would not have thought that questioning the value would have come into it.

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[vwalan]

there is the cost of the fixing as to cost of bringing it back .
all these things are in the small print.
recovery is business . they arent into it for fun .
what the op payed isnt anything to do with it .
it could be .
remember a motor could be cheaper than recovery or alot more .

 

[bartiny]

there is the cost of the fixing as to cost of bringing it back .
all these things are in the small print.
recovery is business . they arent into it for fun .
what the op payed isnt anything to do with it .
it could be .
remember a motor could be cheaper than recovery or alot more .

Thanks for that, I was trying to put myself in their position, wondering what I would do in that scenario, I think I would inform the breakdown company, pay for the repairs and wait for the motorhome, and worry about it when I had got it back home, I do not know, its a tough one.
If the breakdown company repair the vehicle then he still has to get it back home.

 

[etap]

Perhaps I am having a senior moment so forgive me if needs be, but if your vehicle breaks down abroad and you have break down cover then the insurance company take your vehicle to a repairer and look after your needs, either take you home or pay for accommodation whilst the vehicle is being repaired, but surely they don't pay for repairs do they? Or is that not what you are suggesting?
Etap

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[Wildman]

he should have stayed with the vehicle until the outcome was decided to protect his belongings before they disappear.

 

[bartiny]

Perhaps I am having a senior moment so forgive me if needs be, but if your vehicle breaks down abroad and you have break down cover then the insurance company take your vehicle to a repairer and look after your needs, either take you home or pay for accommodation whilst the vehicle is being repaired, but surely they don't pay for repairs do they? Or is that not what you are suggesting?
Etap

From what I understand, the situation is that the breakdown/recovery company make the decision, if it is cheaper to repair than recover then they will repair it, then it is up to you to get it repatriated.

 

[bartiny]

he should have stayed with the vehicle until the outcome was decided to protect his belongings before they disappear.

They had to return home as they both have work commitments, otherwise I am sure that is what they would have done + less hassle, stress.

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[bartiny]

Perhaps I am having a senior moment so forgive me if needs be, but if your vehicle breaks down abroad and you have break down cover then the insurance company take your vehicle to a repairer and look after your needs, either take you home or pay for accommodation whilst the vehicle is being repaired, but surely they don't pay for repairs do they? Or is that not what you are suggesting?
Etap

Sorry to "Quote" you again, but just to clarify the situation.

They asked to be repatriated with the motorhome then they would effect repairs themselves.

This was Refused by the company until the motorhome had been assessed for value /costs.

 

[bartiny]

What I can't understand is that the breakdown company must have an idea on potential costs of a cambelt failure on that base vehicle, knowing that it failed on the motorway so not a slow speed failure.

Also they must have an idea on the cost of repatriating a vehicle of that size.

So why all the messing about, is it that they want you to "sort it yourself" saving them the hassle/expence!!

I will update the thread if and when I get further info, for those that may find themselves in the same position.

Suffice to say that it is day 6 now since the breakdown and they are no nearer, no contact zilch!!

 

[TheBig1]

what may happen is the insurance get the engine repaired at your cost in Spain and pay to fly you back out to drive it home when its done. A friend of mine used to specialise in transporting vehicles and on many occasions had to drive across europe to fetch broken down vehicles when the breakdown insurance refused to cover it
The insurance might at their discretion pay for the repair. its then down to the owner to go fetch it and drive it back

small print on policies can be a real bugger to sort out and very expensive

please let us know what happens

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[Techno]

Only time will tell but it appears they have been well looked after to date

 

[sallylillian]

It would also be interesting to know the company underwriting the breakdown service as this story pans out.

 

[bartiny]

Update for those interested

His motorhome was valued, and the cost of repairs assessed on Tuesday 15th, so 8 days after breakdown, They said the delay was with the Spanish assessors.

They have not told him the valuation or the estimated cost of repairs, fair enough.

They (breakdown company) have decided that they will repatriate the motorhome back to Uk, this will take 15 to 20 days, so he is expecting it back first week in October. He will then get it repaired.

As I uderstand it now it is this; If the cost of repairs (even though no cost to the breakdown company) and the cost of repatriation is more than the value they put on the motorhome, you are on your own they will not repatriate it

It has opened my eyes abit.

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[tonyidle]

I would have assumed that:

The recovery company are obliged to repatriate the vehicle.
They will look at the cheapest way to do so.
The cheapest option will be to either transport it home
OR
Have it repaired where it is then allow the owner to drive it home

If the cheapest of those two options is still more than the vehicle is worth then they would pay the owner the value of the vehicle.

 

[bartiny]

I would have assumed that:

The recovery company are obliged to repatriate the vehicle.
They will look at the cheapest way to do so.
The cheapest option will be to either transport it home
OR
Have it repaired where it is then allow the owner to drive it home

If the cheapest of those two options is still more than the vehicle is worth then they would pay the owner the value of the vehicle.

That is not how I understand it Tony, from what he says the breakdown company do not get involved with the repair (even if it is the cheapest option, as it is here) but they do take into account how much it would cost for the repairs, even though it is at no cost to them.

So it was not an either/ or as I first interpretated it, it is if they think the motorhome would be worth the repair + repatriation in the first place.

Hope this makes sense, My head hurts

 

[bartiny]

[QUOTE="tonyidle, if the cheapest of those two options is still more than the vehicle is worth then they would pay the owner the value of the vehicle.[/QUOTE]

I "think" you could be right on this one (but not sure as it did not come to that) as (again not certian) ADAC work like that or so I have heard, So they could all be the same T&C.

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}