My Mercedes Sprinter van insured through a company called Autonet Van insurance. I found them through a cost comparison site, despite being alarmed at how many things were extra they were still the cheapest. As part of the package I stumped up extra for their discounted RAC cover with relay & home attendance. Well, something went wrong with the clutch today & I ended up stuck with very little drive over 15 miles from home. After calling the RAC, it turns out that they have a size limit of 5m & my MWB Sprinter exceeds this! Contacting the insurance company, they left me hanging on hold for nearly 15 minutes before coming back stating that it was my responsibility to know how long my vehicle was -I was suprised by this as from past experience insurance companies now all the facts about the vehicles they are covering. They stated that there was a script they would have stated to me at the time of taking out the cover specifically stating this & that it would state this in the paper work. I may well have thought that my new to me van was shorter than 18ft, but there is nothing in the paper work stating anything about length limits -in fact I had to phone them to find out how to contact the RAC if I did break down... Where do I stand on this? Is it really my fault?
I have been caught out by this one too. Took cover to go to France in my camper van, renewed the following year and found out I wasnt covered the previous year. I'm with the AA now, and the salesman definately said the size was ok. If I ever break down, I will find out... (joint: 8/month inc recovery) TBH, the cover is for the wife, as I work away.
Cheers Jon & Mush Well, as requested, a supervisor called me back today. It seems they had also assumed that all MWB van falls within the RAC 5m length... I had a very frank conversation about the issues I had had with their service & they ended upgraded my RAC cover to the out-size requirement for free! This saved me 55 (+5 admin fee) & took a bit of the sting out of the 530 for the fly wheel & clutch kit my van requires.
Was trying to avoid going into that, but here goes 200 fitting & 60 for the tow, should be sorted for mid morning monday D, I need it back ASAP so no option there! -at least I will have ditched the bloody awful dual mass fly wheel
Yes, I think I have stumbled onto a good garage. They are going to throw in with the cost -adjust the hand brake, check oil in diff + box & check that the brake compensator valve is working correctly.
