written by woNielsen283 on 19/09/2015
We hired a Chausson Flash for a week from the Edinburgh Depot. Just to be clear the depot workers were worth 5 stars. Brilliant. Unfortunately the parent company which has various names such as unbeatable hire and hire booking centre is poor. The booking process is a bit of a joke, paying for extras that come as standard, so be aware. Also be aware that the collision damage waiver covers very little. It is however worth getting so you can leave a smaller deposit. AS it takes an age to get your deposit back, however they have written this into their t&cs if you have a read, they keep it for a minimum of 2 weeks after hire (in case you get a speeding fine etc). We were quite happy with the hire, but we did have a problem while out in the van with the electrical socket for the mains power cable, sorted by the campsite warden. The problem is on return they send you emails with a double deposit of your next hire if you let them keep your deposit, they send a dodgy email where there are lots of big links to accept the proposal and one small one to decline. They also send it more than once even once you have declined! SO be aware. They also try to bribe you with Amazon vouchers to leave a positive review:- Fancy £30 worth of complimentary Amazon Gift vouchers? All you have to do to get your £30 Amazon Voucher is post your feedback about your motorhome holiday (providing either a 4* or 5* review) on the website below: http://www.reviewcentre.com/ Once your review is published, take a screen shot or send a link of the review page - when we receive it, we'll send your £30 Amazon Gift Voucher within 3 working days. What professional company does that? So yes, we had a decent holiday and enjoyed the motorhome experience. However I find the company just a bit dodgy and also very hard to get hold of on the telephone unless booking. SO for those reasons I wouldn't hire from them again, which is a shame as price wise they are very competitive. I think 3 stars is a fair evaluation. Not sure if that will get me those amazon vouchers though......
written by xbBallard109 on 20/04/2015
Very friendly staff, who were really helpful and kind before the holiday. Lovely motorhome, easy to drive. All in all, a fun week with the family on campsites round Norfolk. Overshadowed after the holiday by several abrupt emails telling us the van had been returned in an unacceptable condition. When we enquired further, we were sent 2 pictures of the muddy floor. This surprised us as we had asked the rep when we returned the motorhome whether it was ok to leave the floor muddy. He said it was normal in April. We were charged £75 plus admin fee for 6 hours of cleaning. Shame, bit of a disappointing end to an otherwise lovely holiday.
written by Schofferoo on 09/04/2014
We hired a 6 berth motor home from Unbeatable Hire for February half term with our three children and absolutely loved the experience. The motor home was in good condition and the pace of life the holiday offers is really enjoyable. In order to avoid excess charges for mileage we carefully planned a tour of Wales and loved every part - despite some pretty rubbish weather! I can highly recommend the site in Beddgelert and also the Cardiff City Council site - you won't believe you're in the City! Any negative feelings I have about the hire are derived from me not reading the T&C's carefully before I booked. There are lots of charges but they are clearly listed on the website so take the time to read them before you book. It was too late for us but once we compared them to others providers many of the fees are comparative. The ladies that answer the emails did so in a timely, polite fashion - and I sent lots before I got the clarity I wanted so thank them for that. The Collision Damage Waiver we took out is £1250 which is refunded 28 days after the hire - again listed in the T&C's. This was done with as stated with a clear break down of what additional charges we had accrued. There was nothing untoward about it. Due to a sale price offer we got 7 nights in the van for £250 when all was said and done and I think that's a bargain. If something looks too good to be true it generally is so I repeat do some research before you book!!
written by Romeo1972 on 02/08/2013
After reading all the reviews I was extremely concerned that I had hired a motorhome from this company. When picking up the van I was pleasantly surprised. A brand new nice 7 person van. The handover was very friendly and professional and all the "standard" problems that turns up when delivering back was explained. The main concerns about this company is: Too many angry and disappointed customers Motorhomes are easily damaged in the interior and you can´t have insurance for this A lot of extra charges applying after the initial booking. Most people would be required to deposit 1250 pounds as extra security for up to 28 days after hiring. This seems difficult to understand since they also demand rights to withdraw from your credit card without prior confirmation from the customer. I think the concept is great - but I would most probably find a more trustworthy supplier next time.
written by on 17/05/2013
My family recently rented a motorhome from Unbeatable Hire for a long weekend. It was a great experience. The motorhome itself was bran new and had everything we needed. The checkout and checkin sessions were very well managed and extremely helpful. However, the model of this company is to promote an attractive base rate for the motorhome hire and then add many MANY extras to that along the way. This will greatly inflate the cost of your hire if you are not aware and do not plan to minimize these. Here are some tips from my experience: - read ALL the terms and conditions BEFORE booking anything - be very aware of the mileage charge - only 100 miles per day is included - ask for written confirmation of any additional insurance that may be charged due to your particular history - note that there at least 3 "service charges" each of £7.50 built in to the system (all plus 20% VAT) - booking fee when you first make a booking - service charge for any pre-rental add-ons - service charge for any post-rental costs - use a debit card to avoid additional credit card charges (2 to 3%) - book your CDW excess reduction insurance elsewhere e.g. Questor which were £8 per day instead of £15 - ensure that you return the waste water and toilet cassettes empty - be aware that there is a £10 charge for using the toilet paper and "loo-blue" which is handily provided in the loo. Use of this will trigger a post-rental service charge too! - take photographs of the condition (inside and out) of the motorhome to prevent arguments afterwards - ask for a copy of the checkin condition report - be aware that the insurance provided has a large number of items that are excluded from cover - all the bits you might expect to damage - return the motorhome with at least as much fuel as you hired it with - be aware that you are buying ALL the gas in the bottle whether you use it or not (exception if you use none). Charges are about two times the normal rate for Calor gas. Of course, this cost also triggers a post-rental service charge Be aware of all this before you book and then you will know how much the total rental is likely to cost you. Have a great holiday.
Written on: 17/05/2013
Sensible suggestions-like all hire companies need to protect yourself against the unknown and disputes.
However we have CDW insurance yearly and used our own loo paper and elsan chemicals.
The staff on handover and return at Southampton were very helpful and I would hire again.
written by Craigston on 03/05/2013
Booked the van a number of months before our trip in April and got a decent deal from Unbeatable hire who matched their recent promotional offer in Groupon. I booked the Medium sized van (6 berth) as was travelling with my wife and 2 kids and wanted the bunk bed option (for the kids!) Received loads of emails from unbeatable hire and requests to send info on credit cards and ID, but after speaking to them(at unbeatable) I was told to expect loads of emails requesting the same info. the vehicle hire included the insurance but when you read the T's&C's you realise that the excess is extortionate for any incident £1250! so I ended up paying an extra £15 excess cover per day to reduce the any potential excess to £125. Bedding is also extra so be prepared to pay for that convenience or leave space in your car for duvets/sleeping bags/pillow etc if your not prepared to pay the extra cost. On arrival at the Fife depot the van that was waiting for us was the wrong one and was only a 4 berth (we had booked the 6 berth) but the employee at pick up point sorted things out with head office and although we had to wait 2 hrs we eventually got sorted out with a Large van which was sent over from Glasgow. Thank you. Had a good weekend with no issues and returned the van in one piece. Just received an invoice from unbeatable hire (3 weeks after hire) to inform me that I was due £51 surcharge for the gas usage and admin fee (this has already been taken off my credit card)...This surprises me as we only had the van for 3 nights and ate out every night, I suppose the heating used up some but gas I believe this cost was over the top and unexpected. Overall we had a good time but don't think I'd be in a rush to do it again purely based on all the additional costs that start to make what seemed a decent price become quite an expensive one. Good experience though.
Written on: 13/05/2013
The heating does not use the gas, my gas bottle was never switched on and I had heating on during a dreadful weeks weather. So that does not account for gas usage. We too ate out every day so had no requirement for the gas.
written by on 13/04/2013
We had a brilliant trip; the campervan was clean, nearly new, roomy and warm, even on a snowy night in April! The Bristol team were genuinely helpful, reliable and didn't even mind us phoning with a 'flushing the toilet' question on our first night! We would definitely recommend the Bristol depot to family and friends. It's worrying to read other reviews on this site that talk of the unexpected credit card payments and this would definitely make us recommend this company with caution, in spite of our mostly positive experience. We would agree that the initial quote is a little misleading and although we did read through some of the small print, we also missed the fact that there would be a post hire charge for the gas we had used (including another linked admin fee). Similarly, we also had a few problems with the initial financial statements we were sent as the online booking system didn't appear to accurately 'remember' all our details so we were initially overcharged. The phone number promoted was never answered and our calls were never returned. However, our emails were fairly promptly responded to and these issues were sorted out without too much hassle. It is a great shame that these admin / small print problems are ruining the possibility of people having an uncomplicated, lovely holiday with Unbeatable Hire as all these reviews seem to show that the vans themselves are a good deal. Let's hope things improve as we would like to use them again but will check the latest reviews before doing so.
written by on 01/04/2013
I booked through Groupon and thought I had a bargain. I thought all the costs were explained at the time of booking and assumed it was all ok. In the week before we went we got several emails about checking in which I did but kept receiving the same email. I had HUGE trouble trying to get though to the Support office and after numerous emails and phone messages, I was contacted personally once. I received a stream of emails containing the financials and all of these varied to a degree. I then get asked if I want collision damamge waiver which I agree to as this reduced the excess from £1250 to £100. They never took the money for this although the email confirmed I had this cover? We then get an email asking for £1250 as an insurance surcharge (after looking at the T&C's I guess this was because my hubby had 1 claim in the last year). I thought this was hugely excessive considering that we had both been driving for 20 years plus. Again this surcharge was never taken, nor was the CDW excess. This was when I needed to get hold of someone to confirm everything but had no luck. The company need to seriously look at their financials emails and ensure they contain all the correct information each time and they also need to employ more staff as trying to get hold of [name removed] was impossible and infuriating as all I ever got was her answer machine. Saying that we went to collect the motorhome from Bristol and [name removed] were so helpful. The motorhome was lovely, I drove it with no hitches and we had a great few days (depsite constantly worrying about the huges bill we would recieve for a dent/scratch/broken light etc!). The handovers at the start and end of holiday were seamless and [name removed] were brilliant. All in all, I would not book with them again as they caused so much stress before the holiday it put a dampener on the whole thing.
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Teresaparker's Response to Schofferoo's Review
Written on: 14/04/2014
Thank you for taking the time to provide your feedback which is invaluable in our tireless endeavour of improving the level of service we provide our customers.
UnbeatableHire Limited is now under new Management and our main focus is to consistently meet all our customers expectations on every occasion.
We are currently revising our Hire Terms, Collision Damage Waiver Policy Terms and Post Hire Charges in an attempt to achieve both ultimate transparency and fairness to all of our customers.