Motorhome rental - huge deposit request & spidey senses

[Notshortnottall]

I've been wanting to do this for a while to see if it's something we'd enjoy as a young family on a more regular basis and then maybe purchase one if so.

Was mooching around last week and requested a quote from a few places. Was called by a couple but didn't have the dates I wanted available. Was then called by a company who could accommodate me if I went Friday-Monday instead of Sat-Tues - happy days! I booked, paid the hire amount and got on the phone like a kid at xmas to tell the Mrs.

I then started to receive emails saying I needed to submit proof of address, DVLA checks etc. All fair enough and I log onto their secure portal where I'm presented with a checklist of things to verify / add extras and so on. As I'm working my way through the checklist, I get to a step called "Insurance excess waiver".

In summary, I'm required to pay the waiver at £24 per day, or opt to decline the excess waiver. However, if I decline the excess waiver I have to stump up a £250 non-insurable damages deposit and £1,000 insurance excess deposit - in full - before being able to proceed. I have no issues with being liable for damages however I'm feeling rather incredulous that they can expect to force you into this, even BEFORE they're going to take 28 working days (note: this is not 'within', but actually being paid on the 28th day!!!).

So my options now are to stump up another £150+, hand over £1250 and wait 2 months to get it back - or cancel entirely and lose my money.

Oh and their terms and conditions state the hire fee is non-refundable unless cancelled within 24 hours. None of this was made clear or even discussed / alluded to when I booked. I don't do credit cards so paid on my debit card. Lesson learnt there!

I feel I may have my hand forced in this but I'm not expert here and if distance selling regs or similar apply. This feels entirely unreasonable but not sure if this is my petulance after a long day at work and so opening it up to the floor for some advice...


Waiver deets below:

[anonymous-user]

So you have to pay circa an extra 100 quid.

What did they say when you spoke to them?

[Integroo]

Fairly standard for car hire at least. You can probably insure the excess at a fraction of the price through a third party insurer. The arrangement fee is taking the piss though.

[anonymous-user]

Integroo said:

Fairly standard for car hire at least. You can probably insure the excess at a fraction of the price through a third party insurer.

But he would still have to pay a deposit.

[Integroo]

Thesprucegoose said:

But he would still have to pay a deposit.

Indeed. Though sticking it on a credit card when insured separately is low risk.

[stevemcs]

I've hired one for the Moto GP, ours has a £1250 insurance deposit payable on collection and is refunded the day after we return, i did look at some that took a few weeks but thought sod that.

[Notshortnottall]

Thesprucegoose said:

So you have to pay circa an extra 100 quid.

What did they say when you spoke to them?

£144.

The answer was choose one or the other (pay excess waiver or put down £1250 and wait 2 months for it back).

[anonymous-user]

Are they still cheaper than other quotes. As i see it you can cancel (see below though ) and try elsewhere or just suck it up and maybe write a letter of complaint (after). But....

https://www.lawdonut.co.uk/business/marketing-and-...

''What exceptions are there to the right to cancel a purchase?

transport ... that you have agreed to provide on a specific date or within a specific period;''

They should have provided a total cost, whether that includes optional payments is not clear but I bet they know what they are doing..

[Notshortnottall]

I shouldn't have looked them up for reviews...

I'm now really bothered about this.

TrustPilot have rated them 'Poor', with pretty much every recent review saying avoid as you won't see your money again if you hand over any kind of deposit.

Joy.

I'm not naming and shaming here, I'm being entirely factual and all this info can be found on their website - so does that still preclude me from providing their name?

[DJFish]

We hired a van last year, epic holiday!
Anyway we got 3rd papery excess insurance (ihirecarinsurance iirc).
Never had to use it so can’t comment of whether they’re any good.

[silentbrown]

£24/day isn't too way out of line. I ran a 6-day quote here and it came out at about £110... https://www.rentalcover.com/

Stuff like windscreens can be pretty ruinous to repair, depending on the model, so it's worth considering,

Having the deposit actually taken off your credit card is pretty whiffy(particularly with their "arrangement fee" on top). Regular car hire places reserve that amount on your card without actually taking the money, and release the reservation as soon as the car's checked.

[anonymous-user]

Notshortnottall said:

I shouldn't have looked them up for reviews...

I'm now really bothered about this.

TrustPilot have rated them 'Poor', with pretty much every recent review saying avoid as you won't see your money again if you hand over any kind of deposit.

Joy.

I'm not naming and shaming here, I'm being entirely factual and all this info can be found on their website - so does that still preclude me from providing their name?

i would just pay money and move on, like i said they probably knew the law and what they can get away with.

[Integroo]

Notshortnottall said:

I shouldn't have looked them up for reviews...

I'm now really bothered about this.

TrustPilot have rated them 'Poor', with pretty much every recent review saying avoid as you won't see your money again if you hand over any kind of deposit.

Joy.

I'm not naming and shaming here, I'm being entirely factual and all this info can be found on their website - so does that still preclude me from providing their name?

Just insure the excess third party and crack on. For example I have rented cars for a few quid a day from Easirent - dreadful reviews, yet its always been painless.

[stevemcs]

Notshortnottall said:

I shouldn't have looked them up for reviews...

I'm now really bothered about this.

TrustPilot have rated them 'Poor', with pretty much every recent review saying avoid as you won't see your money again if you hand over any kind of deposit.

Joy.

I'm not naming and shaming here, I'm being entirely factual and all this info can be found on their website - so does that still preclude me from providing their name?

I may have looked at the same company and chose to pick a different company.

[evoivboy]

I hired a van last september and thought the £240 insurance excess i paid for 7 days hire was a lot, but just paid it for peace of mind, if you think about it you are borrowing £50k+ worth of motorhome!
We were driving around Cornwall so quite tight roads