Hire Booking Centre - www.hirebookingcentre.com

DEFINITELY BEATABLE!

It has taken over 6 weeks to receive a final statement in order to get my deposit (over £1,000) back only to find out that I have now been charged an additional £129 for not emptying the toilet cassette, which was emptied, cleaned and rinsed before return and checked by a staff member when I returned the vehicle! The company won’t deal with this over the phone or by live chat, only by email to which I have now received a response saying it will take 5 days to respond, delaying the deposit refund even longer! I returned the vehicle on 23rd September it is now 8th November & I want my deposit back! DO NOT BOOK WITH THIS COMPANY, they appear to offer great value sounding deals but add so many extras on after you confirm the booking that you can definitely get a better deal elsewhere! They tried to charge extra for a kitchen pack and water hose etc but they were already in the van, I brought my own so had to ask them to remove it all. They also charge extra for a pre hire briefing, Roadside assistance, early pick up (ie before 3pm) parking at their depot and so many other things I lost count. Don’t get me wrong it is all hidden away in the small print but they don’t really tell you about it until after the charge free cancellation period has passed.

Atrocious company. Headline offer price is competitive but then they bombard you with extra costs, everything from pots and pans to toilet roll. Also you have to pay for the blue chemical you put in exhaust systems. What a rip off. Even parking your car whilst away has a fee. Surprised I wasn't charged for each time I turned on the windscreen wipers.

If you use them its your own fault but don't expect anything but a rude and ignorant customer service team and a totally over priced booking

From start to finish the booking process was easy, the motor homes were modern and clean and the return was also simple.

Working with HBC was a real pleasure and made one of the more complicated parts of the rugby tour really easy. The staff were friendly and helpful and the motor homes themselves were excellent! I would definitely recommend them to other and will use them again myself for the next tour.

5 stars out of 5 for a brilliant hire company who take the complexity out of hiring.

Hire Booking Centre, Unbeatable Hire Ltd AKA National Motorhomes

I rented a motor caravan from Hire Booking Centre only after checking that Collision Damage Waiver (CDW) would cover any damage claims as there were a worrying amount of complaints against the company about disputable extra charges on completing a hire.

I was told in writing, “Our insurance excess is £1000.00 (refundable), this can be reduced to nil, per insurable incident, if you qualify for insurance excess waiver” I therefor paid £300 extra for two weeks hire with CDW.

I hired a small motorhome for a Scottish island hopping tour for my wife and myself . On collecting the ‘van, I was given a 6 bed ‘van!! This enormous ‘van, quite unsuitable for the narrow one way lanes on the islands, also pushed me into the plus 6.0 metre ferry rates on the 6 ferries I had pre-booked.

On day one, the toilet/ shower door lock malfunctioned. On day two using a stone off the beach and scissors, I managed to break open the door hinges and do a temporary refix. Other things went wrong but my big complaint was that the CDW didn’t work!!

On my last day I had a no fault accident when another ‘van broke my door mirror, also breaking my driver’s window.

Having immediately completed all the necessary paperwork, I felt grateful for the CDW I had paid for. Two months later with no warning I had £792 charged to my Debit Card. Enraged, I commenced legal correspondence against the registered Managing Director, Mr A Hughes, on the grounds of my CDW but was never to receive signed correspondence from him.

Following months of legal challenges, I had to accept advice that it would cost more than £792 to recover my illegal deduction.

The twist in this tale? Three pages deep in the Terms and Conditions of the Hire Agreement, following the ninth sub clause relating to CDW, is a line saying even if you have CDW, no payment for … ‘Any damage caused to the front cab section’. (Really!!)

This buried, almost hidden clause, defies any decency in commercial practice and, in my opinion, would not be acceptable under the Unfair Terms and Conditions governed by the Consumer Rights Act 2015.

Be warned if you deal with this company.

We hired a camper van in November 2107 for 3 nights on a Groupon offer, part of the deal was a £250 deposit, it has taken many phone calls and emails to get back this deposit as everyone at this company ignores you and I only got this finally paid back on 31.1.18.

The hire appears a good deal, but there are many additional costs such as £24 insurance excess per day so for a 3 night hire your have to pay for 4 days plus a £15 admin cost.

When you add this up with fuel and camp site costs cheaper to stay at a 5 star hotel, your may not have the same freedom but this company were a nightmare to deal.

The van we got was OK if you overlooked the leak on the window when it rained and the TV not working plus a crack in the shower tray. The dishes were all wrapped in industrial blue kitchen role and could have been cleaner. You have to inspect and sign for every little chip or scratch on the van pre and post hire so they can charge you for any damage you have caused. They advise the van mush be brought back clean, not mud or there is an additional cleaning charge taken from your deposit.

We returned the van on the Monday at 9.30am but the site was closed with no one to return it too. Just a total nightmare company to deal with.

Until the deposit issue we over looked most of the issues cause we had really wanted to try a weekend in a van to see how we enjoyed the freedom. They offer all positive hirers a £20 voucher to leave a good review, once you leave the review you have to copy it to them on email to get your voucher.

Whether this is paid I have not idea as my overall experience was not great having to chase like mad to get my deposit back which was 10 weeks from my hire date. I would not deal with this company again based on my experience.

We actually had a nice holiday although the van was a little old it was fine for what we wanted and the chap at Gatwick was outstanding. The problem here is getting your deposit back my view is that the firm are strapped for cash, they tell stories over the phone if you can get through, they don't answer calls always goes to answer phone and they want put you through. Finally last week spoke to a man who ducked the subject, AVOID .

After keeping my money for over 6 weeks past the date due they still haven't returned it - my credit card company are chasing - DO NOT GIVE THEM YOUR MONET I SUSPECT THEY ARE IN TROUBLE if they can not send back a small deposit.

They ask for feedback straight away and induce you with a cash payment - as i say the van was fine the surcharges annoying but i accepted: the retention of my monies not acceptable. Anyone in the same situation report to trading standards and get your Bank involved.

They will not return my deposit of £259 pounds or yours. I have now started an investigation with trading standards and barclaycard into this and is going to take time before i get my money back. I paid wowcher for the 3 days hire but national motorhome with hirebookingcentre they are not returning my deposit back. Thanks

Apart from the heating conking out in the middle of the night, the fridge leaking and then going into alarm at 4am and of course day three the oil light come on.

Worst thing is they debit your account the moment you put your card details in (£1250), hold onto this deposit for 28 days after hire finishes. You have to ask for the deposit to be returned, complete a web form then of course it says 3-5 days from then, that was last friday and as of the following wednesday (8 days) the refund (-£15 "admin fee", for what to return my money).

In total they have had £1250 of my money for almost 6 months and I am having to put through a claim with my credit card provider to get it back. Always always pay it on credit card or better still give this company a wide berth.

Avoid like the plague, read the other reviews on here, the one stars are the ones to read...

I also have had problems getting my deposit returned. They took a deduction of £104 off my deposit of £1,250 for returning the van short on fuel. At the time of returning the van the manager accepted the van could only have been 3/4 full when I got it after I showed him the mileage I had done and the fuel I had put in the van. He agreed that it was impossible that it could have been full when i got it and promised to sort it out so that my deposit was not affected.

I am currently waiting for them to accept that the £104 charge should be cancelled for a deposit that they have held since August this year for a hire in November!!

The irony is that the £104 charge is £5 more than i actually paid for the 3 day hire of the vehicle.

I would not hire from this company again based on this experience.

The practise used by this company is appalling. You pay £1250 deposit upfront ahead of the hire. The agreement they state is after the vehicle is returned, 28 WORKING DAYS, they'll refund it. Sounds simple, but for starters they ask for feedback a week after the hire and offer you £30 for a 4 or 5* response. If you don't reply you don't get any further chance to review on their own website. Next, the dates. We returned our van 27th October, and here I am on Fri 15th December, 35 WORKING days later and still no refund. They won't answer the phone, wont respond to emails, and basically have left me with no choice but to pay £70 and claim on line via the civil courts. Their practises also include sending texts about early pick ups and if you click to open a message they deduct money off your card which you have to ring up and get refunded. As it stands they've agreed to refund £1103 of my £1250 deposit but say they have a problem with the refund system and can't guarantee when it'll be actioned. Definitley avoid!!