Daniel
We had a few issues with our trip. We have tried to deal with Michael directly rather than raise a dispute, but he has refused any compensation.
We booked the motorhome with Michael back in January. We made him aware this was our first motorhome holiday and made him aware we would be travelling to the Southwest of the country. We also made him aware that we will be travelling with a child and potentially an elderly person ( our son & my mom)
As per his pictures there are no signs of any damages to the motorhome, yet on the day we collected it there were.
Also, Michael mentioned the awning was broken so we couldn't use it, this was not listed on the vehicle profile but again we thought we should mention it.
There was a £12 cleaning fee, yet when we picked it up, as per the checklist it was only acceptable. We had to spend two hours to clean it when we got home.
Upon handover with Michael there were two other issues. He said one gas bottle was nearly empty and the other was 3/4 full, that should be enough for the week. We were none the wiser as this was our first time. He was aware of this on our initial booking on your message service. We also mentioned it several times upon handover. He also said we could use the motorhome totally off grid. This was not unfortunately not the case.
We stayed in a few places without an electric hook up but were unsure of how long the gas would last, we also stayed 4 nights at other places with electric hookups to save the gas, this cost us £134, we still ran out of Gas on Thursday eve.
On the first evening, we tried to get the heater going but there was a fault. We spent around an hour looking at You tube videos Michael sent to us trying to get it going. I had to press a reset button on the heater 3 times and eventually got it working around 23:00. This should have really been checked upon handover.
Secondly and more important, the Engine warning light was on when we did the mileage check. I was not happy about this. He said it was with his mechanic for the last 4 weeks and only got it back the night before. He said it's fine to drive just a bit slow uphill. At this point what could we do? It's the morning of our holiday, we either cancel and our holiday is ruined, or try to book another vehicle at late notice and our holiday is cut short and costs more. I did message Michael via what's app at 10:56am the day before to confirm all was ok for collection, he confirmed.
On our first journey I found the vehicle to be very down on power, I had never driven one before so assumed it was just the size and weight of the vehicle. As we approached any incline it was clear to see that the vehicle was struggling and wouldn't rev past 3000rpm. On a B road from 30mph going uphill it would dramatically slow to around 15-20mph. On a faster A road, national speed limit or Motorway it would be fine on a flat 60-65mph, however up an incline it would struggle to do 45mph. We had lorries overtaking us. This was very stressful not to mention Dangerous! I had my wife, child and 70yr old mother onboard. My wife was also on the insurance but I did not want her to drive the vehicle in this state. This would also effect the fuel consumption. I did send Michael a video and message via what's app when we reached our first destination. Again please see the attached files.
On Tuesday 7th around 9pm I messaged Michael saying we only just made it to Cornwall due do to the vehicles performance, he agreed to extend until Sunday at no additional charge. However this was all in vein due to the gas running out and my stress levels driving it.
He has also left a review of us on your app. It's not up to his mechanic or Michael to decide for our vacation and whether we were going to be disappointed. He disappointed us from the morning we collected the motorhome as at that point we couldn't do anything anymore. He's saying he wouldn't hire the motorhome to us anymore. At this point, the motorhome is not fit to be hired. The faults mentioned are still on and yet he's still advertises it on the website. We would never trust him again to hire the motorhome from him. Yes, we forgot to empty the toilet and fill the fuel tank, but that's because we were so stressed & tired and we were trying to get home as we were cold. We have been charged for a product incorrectly described & faulty. We requested a refund of £300, but we thought to be fair and deducted £100 for us forgetting to empty the toilet & fill the fuel tank. So we are looking at requesting a refund of £200.