One of my daughters recently hired a motorhome so that she and her husband could attend a music festival in some comfort. After talking with a couple of companies and discussing what they wanted, why and for how long they settled on a Midlands based outfit, paid the £800 hire and £1250 deposit. 

All went well; they had a great time at the festival and the motorhome was returned to the hire company where it was checked over for any mishaps or damage and there was none. Some days later my daughter chased them up for the return of their deposit. She was told the contract she had signed specified a deposit return in 28 days. She was a tad surprised and at the 28 day mark she called again.

Only to be told this time it was actually 28 working days (effectively six weeks) “at which point you can write to us to apply to have the deposit returned.” 

“To apply to have my own deposit returned?” she said incredulously.

These terms seem utterly oppressive and unreasonable to the point my daughter thinks it highly likely there will be a huge battle to get the money returned in full. I hope she’s wrong.

It’s got me thinking in the meantime. I often say to friends who are thinking of buying a motorhome and particularly caravanners who are thinking of going over to the Dark Side that a one week hire really would be an excellent idea before taking the plunge. Now I am thinking that I need to add they need to find a reputable hire company with a more friendly attitude and less oppressive terms.

Christopher Macgowan

@motorhomenews