Oh crap holiday motorhome disaster- what do I do?

[IHeartKingThistle]

I'm such an idiot but I didn't check. We're supposed to be going away on Friday in a hired motorhome. It's all paid for. It's a 4 berth. I assumed this meant 4 seat belts as it has when we've hired motorhomes from other places. But I didn't check. It has 3. And a side seat with no belt.

Is this normal? I understand that new vans have to have belts but older ones aren't under the same laws. But it's not safe, surely? We've been told an adult has to sit in the side seat. So I have to travel unsecured, sideways (which will make me feel awful) and not next to my husband on our family holiday?

There's no way to get the money back at this stage. Campsites and activities are all booked for the week.

I'm actually in tears. Tell me it'll be fine.

www.luxury-motorhome-hire.co.uk/6berth.html

Just for interest, this is the motorhome we hired, and this is all the info we got. I didn't see anything about number of seat belts, just 6 berths. But hey, it has a 'chic tv cabinet' so all is well.

I'd kind of forgotten how angry I was about this, it was 2 years ago I think we hired ours. The guy knew we were 5 people as well, I phoned him up to make sure.

I have no idea what you can do though KingThistle, is there somewhere else you can hire from and pick it up on the way? Not ideal but better than sitting without a seatbelt for the whole journey.

Does the Caravan Club have a forum that you can ask for advice?

This is dreadful! There's no way anyone would know they weren't getting a 4 seatbelts. Their advert is misleading.
I'd phone the company and tell them you either want a van with 4 seat belts OR a full refund. If they say no, tell them you will take them to the small claims court.

It's utterly ridiculous of them to mislead customers in this way.

Argh they should definitely be clearer when you book about the seatbelt situation - that's not on.

However, I would say still go - appreciate you have a long drive up there but is there any way to lessen the driving once you are there?

I agree that you need to kick up a sitnk - that the literature was not clear - and what they're offering you is not safe.

They need to make this point absolutely clear to families. There is no excuse for the lack of clarity.

Did you book on a credit card?

I don't think your expectations were at all unreasonable and I agree that you were missold. If it's sold as a 4 berth I would expect a clear warning if it doesn't have 4 seatbelts. Do you have legal protection with your home insurance to seek free advice?

That's a great shout about contacting caravan club. They may have some advice.

see if you can rent something up in scotland instead?

How did you pay op?

I think it's arguable they have said all forward fitting seats have seat belts, so by default they are saying any others don't, but it's not clearly written. I think everyone would assume four berth is four seat belts and this isn't fit for purpose.

I guess it did say 'forward facing seats have seat belts' Did you see from the plan that there were only 3 forward facing seats?

I'm still not blaming you, it happened to us too, it's really unfair and difficult to figure out. But they might use that as a get out clause for not giving you your money back.

The person who suggested travelling in convoy and taking an extra vehicle has got the right idea.
We used to have a motorhome and found it highly inconvenient when we got to a site, unpacked all our bits and bobs, then suddenly we realised we had to go somewhere/ remembered we needed to get some shopping/go to the bank etc etc and had to pack everything up again before we went anywhere.
I think this is why so many people take bikes with them when they are using a motorhome.
If the Op can't sort anything with the company she hired from I think this is something that she should consider.

i certainly would not go. Only a small collision could have dreadful consequences. It's not with the risk!

Mind you've I've lost someone very close in an accident so I know what "might" happen.

Can you drive/train up to Scotland and hire one here? Our schools have gone back now, so there might be some availability although I think the whole of Italy has come here

Sideways facing seats don't have seatbelts, because in the event of an accident, the seat belt can cause more injuries than they prevent.

I'd put the biggest child in the sideways facing seat and drive very carefully!

There must be a way around it, fingers crossed for you.

I don't think it's missold.
It seats 4 of you. Just one without a seat belt.
I'm sympathetic - I'd be raging, and very upset too. I also think it's shady of them - or at least poor service. But as the van itself is legal, I don't think they're under an obligation to tell you.
I think they should be!
I'm not a lawyer though.

Could trading standards help on that perhaps?

In terms of quick solutions... you have all day tomorrow - what are your chances of pushing them to install a lap belt on the side facer? Not a big job if it's a stand alone seat, but sounds like it's part of the next seat so could be tricky.
IIRC though, lap belts aren't good in some accidents

Is it a small company? Is there anyone in another branch you can hassle?

I'd put the biggest child in the sideways facing seat and drive very carefully

But you can't guarantee everyone else on the road will drive very carefully.

I agree with the suggestion to get the train further north and hire something else. I hope you can get some money back.

I hated every minute of our journey sitting sideways with no seatbelt. I was so so relieved when we got safely home.

Thanks so much for the advice. The cancellation policy is strictly set out in strict bold letters in every email. It's a pity the number of seatbelts wasn't set out that clearly.

I've emailed her back with my concerns and said that the information I needed should have been more explicit. Not a lot she can do either I suppose, she's got her money

I'm going to check out these suggestions as soon as I can. Thanks so much.

We used to borrow my parents' motorhome for driving round Scotland and managed to adapt the forward facing seat in the back to take both children when they were young. One sat sort of on the corner itself with their feet facing forward, resting on the side seat, and we must have added an extra strap or extension to the existing one somehow. Sadly I'm not good at posting diagrams. The kids were very cosy and happy together.

Cross-posted. Hope you manage to sort something OP

Paid first 2 installments on debit card, think the last 2 were credit card.

She might have your money, but if you paid by credit card you might get it back. I also think small claims court is a realistic option, if not.

Kitkat I should have put two and two together, I know. I registered the fact there was a side seat and I registered the fact that the FAQs said the forward facing seats had belts. Didn't put that together at all, they were on different documents. I've got to take some responsibility for that.

FAQs is not part of your contract and I think they have been less than forthcoming with the full information. I would be surprised if this issue doesn't flare up every week with this vehicle.

April 2012 the legislation that relates to the use of sideways facing seats was adopted. European Whole Vehicle Type Approval Regulations prohibit the use of side facing seats as travel seats, stating that ‘Research has shown that it is not possible to provide side-facing seats with safety belts ensuring the same level of safety to the occupants as front-facing seats. For safety reasons, it is necessary to ban those seats in certain categories of vehicles.’
This ^^ was on a UK caravaning website. If true they couldn't rent the van to you as having room for four passengers, there aren't four forward facing seats.