Oh dear! - costly mistake

greylag
greylag Club Member Posts: 585
Name Dropper
edited June 2019 in Caravan & Motorhome Chat #1

Asking my storage owner if I could put the van away for a short while, he said that would not be a problem as the other van parked beside me had gone.

I asked where they had gone and said 'No not on holiday, just gone.  It turned out that having bought an £80.000 van, plus Smart car....he no longer had C1 on his licence.....very costly mistake.

 

Comments

  • young thomas
    young thomas Forum Participant Posts: 11,356
    1000 Comments
    edited June 2019 #2

    depends how/why he lost the C1.....if just age related, get a medical perhaps and restore it? folk do drive larger vehicles beyond 70.

  • derekcyril
    derekcyril Forum Participant Posts: 408
    100 Comments
    edited June 2019 #3

    Again ,no forward planning , When you buy it ,lovely ,salesman commision ,probably get it back sell it again to another 6 9 year old ,

  • Unknown
    Unknown Forum Participant
    edited June 2019 #4
    The user and all related content has been Deleted User
  • Wildwood
    Wildwood Club Member Posts: 3,581 ✭✭✭✭
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    edited June 2019 #5

    I suspect he did not realise that a C licence limits you to driving only motorhomes of 3,500 kg or less. You do wonder if the salesman should have checked the licence position but may be commission was more important to him.

  • greylag
    greylag Club Member Posts: 585
    Name Dropper
    edited June 2019 #6

    Why should the salesman worry, he has just made a tidy sum.  Buying back an Autosleeper Whinchombe? and selling a new caravan.  I am surprised my friend slipped up, perhaps he doesn't follow sites such as ours, which is always going on about weights/age somewhere.

    I haven't seen him since this upset and I am not sure how to broach the subject....probably just wait for him to kick it off.

  • Navigateur
    Navigateur Club Member Posts: 3,880 ✭✭✭✭✭
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    edited June 2019 #7

    Not having the C1 entitlement seems a very limp excuse.  More likely something far more serious, such as he cannot pass the basic medical because of something he had been hiding/has just discovered.  Or the size of it frightens him!

  • DavidKlyne
    DavidKlyne Club Member Posts: 13,860 ✭✭✭
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    edited June 2019 #8

    Greyleg

    Why not contact him, he might appreciate the concern. Depending on how well you you know him it could be and oversight or perhaps something happened that has preventing him continuing with his C1 licence? 

    David

  • Pippah45
    Pippah45 Forum Participant Posts: 2,452
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    edited July 2019 #9

    My neighbour was unaware of the rules and drove a Horse Box and Carriage trailer round for several years before she discovered!  Then she failed the medical so had to find a driver for her outings!  

    I wouldn't have known about it if I didn't follow CT from time to time!  

  • EmilysDad
    EmilysDad Forum Participant Posts: 8,973
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    edited July 2019 #10

    I know they say that ignorance of the rules is not an excuse, but IMHO the 'new' rules were not very well publicised at the time. 20 yrs on and if you ask around, there are still many people that haven't a clue about what they can & can't tow or drive.

  • dunelm
    dunelm Forum Participant Posts: 373
    edited July 2019 #11

    It is the would be driver's responsibility to make sure that  s/he has the necessary licence to drive a particular vehicle be it motorhome or horsebox.

    Presumably  without the necessary licence insurance would be invalid. Imagine a situation where an unlicenced driver caused an accident which crippled someone!

  • Wildwood
    Wildwood Club Member Posts: 3,581 ✭✭✭✭
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    edited July 2019 #12

    Insurance policies require the driver to have a valid driving licence and therefore if yours does not cover the vehicle you are driving technically there is no cover. There are times when you might get away with it, but I would not rely on that.