Red Pennant - Caravan Servicing
Good morning,
Are people aware that one of the conditions of Red Pennant is that your caravan is serviced according to the "manufacturer's specifications"? Or at least it may be!
A couple of months ago a friend advised me that it was now a Red Pennant condition that your caravan is serviced as per the above. This surprised me somewhat. So I checked out the terms and conditions. And indeed it is. In the definitions a caravan is classed as a "vehicle". And General Condition No 2 states:
2. Vehicle(s) and secondary vehicle(s) must be serviced in accordance with the
manufacturer’s specification both before, and if necessary, during the tour and must be
in a roadworthy condition (this includes not being overloaded) and mechanically sound.
So there it is in black and white.
I contacted the club for clarification via online chat. The response was that a caravan does NOT need to be serviced as a condition of RP.
I sent an email to seek further clarification. I received a call on my voicemail saying that a caravan DOES need to be serviced!
I rang RP for further clarification to be told a caravan does NOT need to be serviced.
So there we are. It's now as clear as mud. A caravan needs to be serviced as a condition of Red Pennant. Or it may not.
Comments
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You may be right Amesford. But my point is more that the Caravan Club, in this respect, don't seem to know what they are doing. And also, are they ensuring current and prospective RP members are fully aware of the new condition. If RP staff aren't clear themselves I don't see how they can be.
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General Condition 2 seems to be common sense to me. Are they not basically saying that if either caravan or tow car needs to be serviced whilst you are away that perhaps it would be sensible to have it done before you go? For most people going on the average 2/3 week holiday it probably wouldn't be an issue but for those that go for 2/3 months at a time it could be an issue.
As to contacting the Club my preferred method is to use email so that I have a written response as a record.
David
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Thank you David. Like you I would much rather have a written response. Which I got from the online chat (I have a copy). For extra clarification I did email RP customer services, expecting a definitive written response. However their response was to leave a message on my voicemail. Nice though the lady was, that was not what I expected. Especially when it contradicted the online chat response.
That's my concern.
Amesford - I agree. And, unfortunately, it seems to be getting worse. In my opinion anyway.
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Peedee - Thank you. But with the greatest respect I tend to disagree. All the other breakdown policies I have, or are aware of, expect the vehicle to be taxed and MOT'd ( in the case of cars and, i would expect, motorhomes) and generally in a road worthy condition. I would argue that that is different to being serviced according to the manufacturers specifications. If I am wrong and all the breakdown policies have servicing as a condition then I am happy to be corrected.
If Red Pennant want to introduce that policy then that is up to them. But please let members know for definite one way or the other. They can then make an informed decision whether to buy or renew RP as appropriate.
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I just checked a couple of policies, here is what one says:
3. Vehicle Specifications All vehicles must:
a. be built to manufacturer’s specifications
b. have a current MOT certificate (where required)
c. have current vehicle excise duty/road tax in place
d. have appropriate insurance for driving overseas
In the event of a claim we may require proof of your vehicle’s service history.and another:
At all times during the period of cover, the vehicle must be maintained in a roadworthy condition and regularly serviced.
I would not risk not having evidence that a vehicle was regularly serviced in case it was asked for.
peedee
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peedee - Thanks. I appreciate your response. It is a very interesting subject. Because I am considering moving away from Mayday/RP I have had a good look at some of the other major breakdown policies. Neither Maday, the RAC, the AA, or Arrival require a caravan (or car for that matter) to be fully serviced, presumably by a third party, as a condition of the breakdown policy. They all stipulate tax, insurance, and MOT. As you have stated, I accept there are some other policies which do have a "fully serviced" stipulation in their terms and conditions. It would be interesting to know which one you found. Personally, I would steer well clear of any such policy. If I breakdown, the absolute last thing I need is a breakdown company asking me to prove the service status of my caravan (or car). I just want to have my vehicle repaired or recovered home. I do not want a breakdown company having a way out of refusing help. But, of course, the choice is yours. If some people prefer their breakdown provider having more stringent requirements then that is their perogative.
LLM - Thank you. Presumably that is what the MOT is for. I don't think anyone would dispute that. The main point of my post is caravan servicing, and the poor communication from the Club.
EmilysDad - Thank you. That, of course, is a very good point. I know a fair few people who service and maintain their own car and caravans. If the Club do require a caravan to be serviced then those people need to move to another policy. That is why it is important the Club clarifies exactly what their requirements are. It should be a simple thing to do. But they can't seem to make their mind up. That is the main point of my post.
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Some years ago I worked in a pub and one of our neighbours, who was a car salesman, was a customer. He had had a caravan up his drive for some time and loaned it to a friend of his, who was towing it along the motorway when one of its wheels fell off. My neighbour was in the pub with his friends and they all thought that it was really hilarious! I didn't think that it was funny at all, especially as he was a car salesman and should have made sure that the van was roadworthy. I don't think that I would have wanted to buy any cars from him!
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It would be interesting to know which one you found.
The first extract came from the Nationwide's break down offering which is provided by the AA!
The last was from my own motorhome insurance with Comfort.
Personally, know how picky insurance companies are when it comes to paying out claims, I would not want to give them the opportunity not to cover or partially cover any breakdown.
Once out of warranty I used to service my own caravan, it is not too difficult a job. In these circumstances I would seek clarification that that was acceptable to any insurance company who required it to be fully serviced.
peedee
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Thank you peedee. Your post highlights the need to check the fine print of all breakdown policies, no matter who the end service provider is.
As you did with your caravan, I am thinking of going down the route of servicing my own van, now the warranty has finished. I used a mobile servicing engineer last year. To be honest, I felt as if I had wasted my money. It was over 200 quid and he was there just under the hour. I'm certainly not doing that any more. I can do a lot myself, and I have plenty of help at hand from some very helpful (and skilled) members of my rally group. Consequently I will avoid any breakdown policy which mentions servicing in their terms and conditions, irrespective of any clarification they deem to provide.
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Another David - Thank you. When I signed up for Red Pennant last year they stated, over the phone, that the car had to be serviced according to the manufacturers specs. In all the previous years I have signed up they have never mentioned this before. This makes me think the policy may be new. They have never mentioned the caravan having to be serviced.
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Stato, the CAMC confusion passed on to you is appalling, however, the only thing that matters is what is written in the terms, which are quite clear.
The MOT is only a roadworthiness check it does not require the vehicle to have been serviced and only confirms the roadworthiness or otherwise, of the vehicle at the time of the examination.
A caravan is not required to have an MOT, however, if towed on a public highway it must be roadworthy as must the towing vehicle. The CAMC terms seem to cover both although not entirely clearly.
EmilysDad, If you are an engineer and capable of doing your own servicing then that should be entirely acceptable to the insurer. A good friend of mine is also an engineer. He has serviced his own cars, caravans, and now motorhome for many years. To cover this point he records his work in the vehicle service logs and at my suggestion signs and dates the log "Owner/Engineer serviced".
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I downloaded Approved Workshop Scheme check sheet from the internet and a lot or the checks you're paying for are things that you know whether they are working or not from using them in the van such as lights, fridge, toilet, water pump etc.
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LLM - Thanks. You quite rightly say that the only thing that matters is what is in Red Pennant's terms and conditions. On that basis I am seriously considering moving over to C&CC's Arrival breakdown service. At least then I won't have any hassle about whether or not the car or caravan servicing meets their requirements. And as an added bonus it appears to be cheaper than RP. A double win!
Burgundy - Thank you. That is helpful. I will have a look at the check sheet.
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From memory the Nationwide plan with AA does not include Caravan within their definition of vehicle so does not have a service requirement. The towing vehicle does as per Peedee's post further upthread. Document currently in Caravan so am willing to be corrected.
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How many people carry all their servicing history with them? I certainly don't. It lives in a box file at home.
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I think that the clubs Red Pennant is ensuring (the only way they can), that the caravan is in a roadworthy condition, as they have no other way of telling.
Who carries out the servicing can be debated, but documentation would probably be required if one was to make a claim.
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Cyberyacht - You are quite correct. And I have no intention of using a breakdown service that needs me to "back up a claim" when I get home. Absolutely no way.
Lagerorwine - That, of course, is Red Pennant's perogative. If that is the route they want to go down then I will happily move elsewhere. It seems the majority of breakdown services (like the Club's own Mayday for example) do not need you to prove a caravan has been serviced according to the manufacturers specifications.
Funny thing, of course, is that we still don't know whether or not RP require the caravan to be serviced. Perhaps they are still thinking about it. Even though its in the T&Cs!
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Tammygirl - You mentioned in an earlier post that you reported this thread to the Club. I was wondering, did you ever get any sort of response?
Incidentially, before I started this thread I "reached out" to one of the RP managers with the intention of asking them about the servicing requirement for RP policies. I was advised that a RP manager would contact me the following week. Unfortunately I never heard anything.
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