Motorhome hire-legal advice needed

Kamsi

Hello, not a typical question by I'm after legal advise. 

We have hired as a family a motorhome for a weekend. Handover was a little chaotic as the lady was late to meet us and we headed off. On the way back we needed to refuel the motorhome as per our T&C' and by unfortunate accident my husband has filled the diesel into the water tank of the motor home. 

We have paid £1000 deposit to cover any damages and also in our T&C' it states....

1. Any damage to the vehicle including tyres, windscreen & windows is the hirer’s responsibility. 

2. Any damage caused be negligence i.e. driving through width / height restrictions will not be covered by the insurance policy. Any repair costs will be at the hirers expense. 

3. The vehicle is only insured for the hire period stated in the rental agreement & therefore the driving of the vehicle after the expiry of the contract period may result in the driver committing a traffic offence. 

4. The hirer is entirely responsible for any accidental damage & is responsible to ensure that the total number of person to be carried does not exceed the vehicles berth limit & all passengers are wearing a seatbelt whilst the vehicle is in motion. 

We take the responsibility that we need to cover the cost of replacing the water tank. The person who own the motorhome have tried to use cleaning solution for contaminated tank and unfortunately it hasn't work. 

As we are going to pay for this repair what are my rights? Also what comprehensive insurance will cover that the hiring company has? 

I only receiving screen shoot of conversation where the owner is requesting a quote for the part etc. I don't see the full conversation and I cannot even estimate the repair cost at this stage. All I know it's beyond our £1k deposit. 

Any advise how to handle this in the right way?

DullGreyGuy

Kamsi said:

Hello, not a typical question by I'm after legal advise. 

We have hired as a family a motorhome for a weekend. Handover was a little chaotic as the lady was late to meet us and we headed off. On the way back we needed to refuel the motorhome as per our T&C' and by unfortunate accident my husband has filled the diesel into the water tank of the motor home. 

We have paid £1000 deposit to cover any damages and also in our T&C' it states....

1. Any damage to the vehicle including tyres, windscreen & windows is the hirer’s responsibility. 

2. Any damage caused be negligence i.e. driving through width / height restrictions will not be covered by the insurance policy. Any repair costs will be at the hirers expense. 

3. The vehicle is only insured for the hire period stated in the rental agreement & therefore the driving of the vehicle after the expiry of the contract period may result in the driver committing a traffic offence. 

4. The hirer is entirely responsible for any accidental damage & is responsible to ensure that the total number of person to be carried does not exceed the vehicles berth limit & all passengers are wearing a seatbelt whilst the vehicle is in motion. 

We take the responsibility that we need to cover the cost of replacing the water tank. The person who own the motorhome have tried to use cleaning solution for contaminated tank and unfortunately it hasn't work. 

As we are going to pay for this repair what are my rights? Also what comprehensive insurance will cover that the hiring company has? 

I only receiving screen shoot of conversation where the owner is requesting a quote for the part etc. I don't see the full conversation and I cannot even estimate the repair cost at this stage. All I know it's beyond our £1k deposit. 

Any advise how to handle this in the right way?

Is that the exact wording from the T&Cs or a paraphrasing? 

Not sure what "rights" you are wanting clarified? Rights tend to cover for things like buying from a shop or online etc not for when you damage someone elses' property, they are the ones that have the rights then. They are entitled to indemnification for the damage you have caused including loss of hire. Contrary to urban myth that doesn't mean they have to get a dozen estimates and use the cheapest... they have to be "reasonable" but the courts have a fairly loose interpretation of these things in recent years. 

Loss of hire would be number of days out of action x normal hire rate x utilisation rate - never believe a hire company saying every vehicle is 100% booked 100% of the time. For car hire companies it's normally circa 80%, would guess motorhome is lower. 


With the accident having already happened there is no insurance you can buy now to cover what's already happened. Anyone doing so would charge the cost of the repairs + IPT + margin on top of their standard price. You can buy excess insurance for motorhomes, and other hire vehicles, and most do cover glass, keys, tyres, roof and undercarriage thats normally excluded from a hire policy but they dont include misfueling as standard. 

teaselMay

It will be a lot more than just the tank needs replacing, if it were me, for personal use let alone hiring to other people, it would be every bit of pipe, tank and outlet from the filler point onwards. Including any water heating systems

mr_stripey

a very frustrating and probably costly mistake. I would not think any insurance would cover this and you could be on the hook for a very big bill.

bit of a nightmare really!

caprikid1

teaselMay said:

It will be a lot more than just the tank needs replacing, if it were me, for personal use let alone hiring to other people, it would be every bit of pipe, tank and outlet from the filler point onwards. Including any water heating systems

Surely if the Motorhome had only been driven since there is unlikely to be onward damage ? Not sure any insurer would accept a replacement as extensive as this.

Ayr_Rage

caprikid1 said:

teaselMay said:

It will be a lot more than just the tank needs replacing, if it were me, for personal use let alone hiring to other people, it would be every bit of pipe, tank and outlet from the filler point onwards. Including any water heating systems

Surely if the Motorhome had only been driven since there is unlikely to be onward damage ? Not sure any insurer would accept a replacement as extensive as this.

In the OP, this was mentioned

"The person who own the motorhome have tried to use cleaning solution for contaminated tank and unfortunately it hasn't work."

That being said, I guess the owner may have flushed the whole system with cleaner which did not work and now all of the pipes and tanks have residual contamination.

Looks like it'll be a very expensive mistake.

Kamsi

DullGreyGuy said:

Kamsi said:

Hello, not a typical question by I'm after legal advise. 

We have hired as a family a motorhome for a weekend. Handover was a little chaotic as the lady was late to meet us and we headed off. On the way back we needed to refuel the motorhome as per our T&C' and by unfortunate accident my husband has filled the diesel into the water tank of the motor home. 

We have paid £1000 deposit to cover any damages and also in our T&C' it states....

1. Any damage to the vehicle including tyres, windscreen & windows is the hirer’s responsibility. 

2. Any damage caused be negligence i.e. driving through width / height restrictions will not be covered by the insurance policy. Any repair costs will be at the hirers expense. 

3. The vehicle is only insured for the hire period stated in the rental agreement & therefore the driving of the vehicle after the expiry of the contract period may result in the driver committing a traffic offence. 

4. The hirer is entirely responsible for any accidental damage & is responsible to ensure that the total number of person to be carried does not exceed the vehicles berth limit & all passengers are wearing a seatbelt whilst the vehicle is in motion. 

We take the responsibility that we need to cover the cost of replacing the water tank. The person who own the motorhome have tried to use cleaning solution for contaminated tank and unfortunately it hasn't work. 

As we are going to pay for this repair what are my rights? Also what comprehensive insurance will cover that the hiring company has? 

I only receiving screen shoot of conversation where the owner is requesting a quote for the part etc. I don't see the full conversation and I cannot even estimate the repair cost at this stage. All I know it's beyond our £1k deposit. 

Any advise how to handle this in the right way?

Is that the exact wording from the T&Cs or a paraphrasing? 

Not sure what "rights" you are wanting clarified? Rights tend to cover for things like buying from a shop or online etc not for when you damage someone elses' property, they are the ones that have the rights then. They are entitled to indemnification for the damage you have caused including loss of hire. Contrary to urban myth that doesn't mean they have to get a dozen estimates and use the cheapest... they have to be "reasonable" but the courts have a fairly loose interpretation of these things in recent years. 

Loss of hire would be number of days out of action x normal hire rate x utilisation rate - never believe a hire company saying every vehicle is 100% booked 100% of the time. For car hire companies it's normally circa 80%, would guess motorhome is lower. 


With the accident having already happened there is no insurance you can buy now to cover what's already happened. Anyone doing so would charge the cost of the repairs + IPT + margin on top of their standard price. You can buy excess insurance for motorhomes, and other hire vehicles, and most do cover glass, keys, tyres, roof and undercarriage thats normally excluded from a hire policy but they dont include misfueling as standard. 

I need to understand what is reasonable and what's not. I have received two screen shot of the quotes. One for leaning the tank one for replacing. If this would be my car I would have a choice to look around etc. Here yes I accept it's our costly mistake however all I'm receiving is screenshots of quotes and note to say we are beyond the deposit. I don't think this is reasonable I could be heading for 2-3k bill that I will get screenshots on messenger. This is what I meant about rights and responsibilities...I have asked to be included in the communication with the dealer but this is not been done. I have asked for the report of advising them two replace the tank and I didn't get this so I have no proof of anything but bills 

Kamsi

teaselMay said:

It will be a lot more than just the tank needs replacing, if it were me, for personal use let alone hiring to other people, it would be every bit of pipe, tank and outlet from the filler point onwards. Including any water heating systems

Thank you for your input...I'm not questioning the repair to damage I'm ensuring I'm protected as per my previous comments - this wasn't malicious mistake. 

Kamsi

Ayr_Rage said:

caprikid1 said:

teaselMay said:

It will be a lot more than just the tank needs replacing, if it were me, for personal use let alone hiring to other people, it would be every bit of pipe, tank and outlet from the filler point onwards. Including any water heating systems

Surely if the Motorhome had only been driven since there is unlikely to be onward damage ? Not sure any insurer would accept a replacement as extensive as this.

In the OP, this was mentioned

"The person who own the motorhome have tried to use cleaning solution for contaminated tank and unfortunately it hasn't work."

That being said, I guess the owner may have flushed the whole system with cleaner which did not work and now all of the pipes and tanks have residual contamination.

Looks like it'll be a very expensive mistake.

I already know that however I have some questions around how this should be dealt with the correct way. All I'm receiving is screen shot of quotes etc and notes to say I'm beyond the deposit value. My question is more about how to do it the tight way ...I already know its not a cheap repair and I'm aware how costly this mistake is.... 

mr_stripey

Do you have an legal cover on you home insurance? Not sure if they can help but could be worth a try.

I can understand why you want to see a detailed quote rather than just "screenshots" and I would be insisting on this. Whether you are permitted to get your own quote or not I am not sure but it would be worth gathering that evidence so you at least have a comparison point.

Can the rental company just "take" the value for the repair from a credit card on file ? (question for the forum)

sheramber

This forum does not give legal advice. It is a public forum where members give their opinion.

If you want legal advice you need to consult a lawyer. Some give 30 minutes free advice.