Spanish breakdown nightmare for Inverness family after motorhome mess left them 'thousands out of pocket'
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A FAMILY say they were left thousands of pounds out of pocket after a motorhome breakdown in Spain sparked a nightmare of crippling uncertainty and accommodation woes.
The Camerons – Paul and Ashley and their three children –- had been enjoying a long summer driving the continent in their own motorhome when the vehicle broke down unexpectedly near Barcelona.
As members of the RAC, the Inverness family thought it would be an easy fix and they would soon be back on the road – but were unprepared for the horror show that they say then followed.
They say they were given no idea which garage their home-on-wheels had been taken to by the RAC's local affiliate, and that they were then left "abandoned" in a shopping centre and unsure if or when they would be contacted about alternative hotel accommodation.
When someone did finally contact them about a hotel, they say they were still left not knowing from one day to the next whether they would have a roof over their head the following night, as high summer demand meant their rooms were already booked on other nights and they would have to flit to other locations if/when space opened up.
They even say they felt trapped after being initially warned that if they tried to end this uncertainty by organising their own accommodation they would void their cover.
And, after days of trying to get a straight answer as to where their motorhome was, they say they were finally assigned a single point of contact within the RAC for updates, and found out that the vehicle had never made it to a garage – instead it wound up in a depot where it sat untouched before ultimately being taken to a garage over the border in France for repair.
Later, following an eight-day wait in an Airbnb in the Spanish town of Sabadell – which the family paid for – the RAC ferried the family at the company's expense from Girona to Beziers in France to pick up their vehicle.
But even when the repair was finally made, they say their ordeal was not over – their motorhome broke down the following day because the garage "hadn't connected a pipe properly".
The family, who are now finally back in the UK, say they have been left "shocked" by their ordeal, and by the low "goodwill gesture" from the RAC of £150 "for any inconvenience caused".
Ashley said: "[After the initial repair] we left the following day to continue our France journey and the van broke down again.
"We were collected and taken to a depot and then taken back to the same garage where we found out they hadn’t connected a pipe properly.
"After this we decided to book the EuroTunnel. We were told the cost of the repair would be £890 however we ended up paying £1014 which we had no choice to pay. They have been in touch about our complaint to offer a goodwill gesture of £150 for any inconvenience caused. We haven’t responded yet as we are in shock at the response from our complaint."
A spokesman for the RAC apologised for the wait in getting the motorhome repaired, explaining that it was caused by a combination of factors –including the busy summer holidays, the impact of extreme heatwaves in restricting working hours, and fact it was more difficult to source a garage to repair the vehicle because it was a motorhome.
They also apologised for the way the family were initially made to wait at a shopping centre, but added that this was not "all day" as it occurred after 6pm.
And they added that the family were "always" made aware of the state of play with regards the repair, and added that they were a little surprised to hear that the family said they were left unsure where their motorhome was.
