Eric – 4 berth Volkswagen Campervan - Eric

Response from James Thanks for the 5 star review Sinead! It was a pleasure hosting you and Richard and I hope to see you both again in the future if you decide to explore more of Scotland.

Response from James We are genuinely sorry that an unexpected alternator failure disrupted Tim and Lisa's NC500 holiday. However, we are disappointed by the suggestion that Campbell Highland Hire showed little empathy or failed to take responsibility, and feel it is important that prospective customers are able to see the other side of what occurred. The campervan broke down on Sunday 5 July. Breakdown recovery was immediately arranged and Tim and Lisa requested to be taken with the vehicle to their booked campsite in Wick, where they stayed in the campervan on both Sunday and Monday nights. On Monday, I contacted garages in Wick and arranged for a mechanic to attend the campervan at the campsite. He diagnosed an alternator failure which unfortunately could not be repaired locally within the remaining hire period. Tim and Lisa decided to return to Inverness by train on Monday evening. I collected them on arrival and we sat down together to discuss the situation and what I could do to compensate them for the disruption. The campervan was due to be returned before 11am on Wednesday, meaning Monday and Tuesday were the two full remaining hire days. Nevertheless, I refunded THREE days of my hire income, reimbursed their £56 train fares in full and absorbed the cost of refuelling the recovered campervan rather than expecting them to return it full as would normally be required (and could not be expected under the circumstances). In addition, I offered Tim and Lisa a 50% discount on a future campervan holiday as a goodwill gesture. They declined, explaining that this was a one-off bucket-list trip and they did not expect to return to the Highlands. I completely understood and respected that decision. It is therefore particularly disappointing to subsequently read that I regarded paying their train fares as a "favour", showed no empathy and that "it only took a gesture" to recognise their loss. There WAS a gesture. In addition to paying their train fares and absorbing the fuel cost, I refunded an additional day's hire beyond the two full days remaining and offered 50% off another holiday. Tim and Lisa were entitled to consider the future discount of no value to them, but it is not accurate to suggest that no goodwill was offered. The review also states that "Goboony were immediately empathetic & refunded 4 days as a gesture without hesitation." For clarity, Goboony did not refund four days of campervan hire. I had already refunded £305.57 from my share of the rental for three days. Goboony subsequently refunded £127.43 from its own service fee, calculated using four days. Goboony confirmed in writing that the combined refund for unused rental days was £433, which exceeded the £401 Tim and Lisa had initially calculated as the minimum they were seeking. Their subsequent correspondence then sought additional compensation towards hotels, meals, fuel, unused campsite bookings, food and lost holiday time. I declined to make a further cash payment and invited them to use Goboony's formal dispute procedure if they believed the booking terms entitled them to additional compensation. I fully accept that a refund cannot give someone back lost holiday time. Vehicles can unfortunately suffer unexpected mechanical failures, and I have apologised repeatedly for the disruption this caused. What matters is how we respond when something goes wrong. In this case I arranged a mechanic, reimbursed the train fares, refunded three days' hire despite only two full hire days remaining, absorbed the refuelling cost and offered a further 50% future-hire discount. Prospective customers can decide for themselves whether that represents a lack of empathy or an unwillingness to take responsibility. At Campbell Highland hire we do our level best to ensure customer satisfaction and if things go wrong we do everything we can within reason to compensate customers.

Response from James Thanks very much for the great review Nik! It was a pleasure hosting you and Chris. I hope to see you both again in future if you decide to explore the Highlands and Islands further.

Response from James Thanks very much for the 5 star review Suzanne! It was a pleasure hosting you and Lucy and I hope to see you both again in the future if you decide to explore more of Scotland!

Response from James Thanks very much for the 5 star review Jason! It was a pleasure hosting you and Katie and I hope to see you again if you decide to explore more of the Highlands and Scottish Islands.

Response from James Thanks very much for the 5 star review and your kind words Quentin. It was a pleasure hosting you and Lozéa and I hope to see you again in the future if you decide to explore more of the Scottish Highlands!

Response from James Thanks very much for the great 5 star review Jon. It was a pleasure meeting you and Amber. I look forward to seeing you both in the future if you drop in to say hello or want to hire again.

Response from James Thanks very much for the 5 star review Phil. It was a pleasure hosting you and I look forward to seeing you again when you explore more of the Highlands!

Response from James Thanks very much for the 5 star review Ann! It was a pleasure hosting you and Matthew and I hope to see you again in the future if you decide to explore more of the Highlands!

Response from James Thanks very much for the great review Jerry. It was pleasure hosting you and Nicky and I hope to see you again in the future if you wish to explore more of the Highlands!