Does anyone know who does recovery work of damaged vehicles from France to UK?
I bought a very light caravan (145kg), nothing more than a towed bed really, from Leicester in April this year.
Less than a month later the A-frame snapped off at the chassis and it broke free. Luckily I had just come off a 110km/hr dual carriageway and was driving at 50 through a village.
The electric cable held long enough for it to stop and prevent it veering off across the road.
The manufacturer accepted liability and asked me the cost of a replacement chassis but then decided that they would recover the caravan to Leicester from Perigueux, where it rests at the present.
I find this totally unacceptable for several reasons, not least the complete loss of confidence I have in their workmanship because they have promised a replacement after examining the wreckage.
So, I would like to know who could they use for recovery, and re-delivery, and how much roughly it would cost so I can compare what they are prepared to do with the costs I am claiming from them to sort it out here.
I know there used to be a chap on here who did this sort of thing all the time round Europe but can’t remember who.
My father in Law had a caravan accident and it was recovered to the garage in Wailly Beauchamp (62?) near Montreau sur mer.
The garage in question is the Opel one and I think they prep rally cars too. But can’t remember their name or contact details.
He deals with a few recoveries, so maybe a call to them and find out which english company comes on a frequesnt basis might help.
Failing that and if you don’t get an answer on here try the caravan club insurance people, thay should be able to put you in touch with one of their contractors.
Thanks for all the replies and sorry I am a bit late coming back but there is something wrong with the notification system on here and this is the first one I’ve had.
I only wanted to know who did it to try and find out how much it was going to cost these rogues as opposed to what I want to do, that is, have the body re-mounted on a suitable chassis here. This would be much cheaper for them and better and quicker for me.
They are digging in their heels now and insisting on recovering it ‘for investigation’ and then supplying and delivering a new replacement. This I don’t want, for 2 reasons. As already said I wouldn’t trust their lousy chassis as far as I could throw it now so i don’t want a replacement. Secondly, I strongly suspect, because they have seen the damning photos, that all they want to do is get it back and scrap it to get rid of the evidence. They are hinting that I let the jockey wheel drop causing it to wrench the A-frame apart. I have the proof of the undamaged jockey wheel to disprove this and am now going to obtain an independant engineer’s report here
Trading Standards and Citizens Advice are premium rate line useless, leading me round in circles. One bloke even inferred that as I lived abroad I was no longer a British citizen and not entitled to any rights regarding a dangerously unroadworthy vehicle made and bought in England.
A few photos to put you in the picture:
Would you want a chassis which was put together like this?
it’s not only the weld that’s worse than a five year old’s on a bad day, the design of the connection of the a-frame to the chassis is just something that should never be allowed on a public road.
but as it broke and you said it was held on by the electric cables, doesn’t it have a safety wire that goes around the tow hitch?
it’s not only the weld that’s worse than a five year old’s on a bad day, the design of the connection of the a-frame to the chassis is just something that should never be allowed on a public road.
but as it broke and you said it was held on by the electric cables, doesn’t it have a safety wire that goes around the tow hitch?
Think about it Milodon, the safety cable attaches the A-frame to the tow hitch. The A-frame broke from the chassis, it never parted from the tow hitch. When I stopped all I had connected to the car was the A-frame, complete with safety cable.
Things are moving on a bit. My insurance company is involving their legal department in Paris because the makers are insisting on recovering the remains to Leicester rather than let me have the body re-mounted on a new, and reliable chassis here in France. They have already prejudged their ‘investigation’ by hinting that it was my fault for not securing the jockey wheel, allowing it to fall to the ground and wrenching off the A-frame. I can prove that that isn’t the case but even if it was that wouldn’t have been sufficient to rip the A-frame from a correctly built chassis. It would have trashed the jockey and its bracket.
It is obvious that they are desperate to get everything back and destroy the evidence but we are refusing to do that. It will have an engineer’s inspection here and then repaired here, one way or the other. Then the lawyers can sort out the compensation. Trading Standards have had a report marked ‘criminal’, so they may be prosecuted for supplying an unroadworthy vehicle.
No wonder they want to pay way over the odds to get it back:
Remount here on a new chassis and my expenses to date, plus no more warranty responsibilty = £1,500
Recovery to Leicester, provide a new caravan on a new chassis and redeliver to France, plus 1yr warranty = £ 6,500
Somebody is very keen to spend an extra 5,000 quid. I wonder why?
Just an idea but go onto a popular caravan forum such as ukcampsite and explain your misfortune to see if its a big problem or yours was a friday afternoon build.
Might do that out of interest Ben. I did Google such sites to start with and the first one at the top was one in OZ. Everyone has been very helpful there, no-one has ever heard of a falling jockey wheel ripping an A-frame off though. They do know of that problem though and many remove them when travelling or stow them away somewhere. Perhaps that is where these clowns got the idea for an excuse from.
Spardo:
Think about it Milodon, the safety cable attaches the A-frame to the tow hitch. The A-frame broke from the chassis, it never parted from the tow hitch. When I stopped all I had connected to the car was the A-frame, complete with safety cable.
touche, it really was a stupid thing to ask come to think of it
but now I really want a teardrop! I’ll rather fabricate one myself though
Spardo:
Think about it Milodon, the safety cable attaches the A-frame to the tow hitch. The A-frame broke from the chassis, it never parted from the tow hitch. When I stopped all I had connected to the car was the A-frame, complete with safety cable.
touche, it really was a stupid thing to ask come to think of it
but now I really want a teardrop! I’ll rather fabricate one myself though
An easy mistake to make as it is something that I haven’t heard of before and the cable is supposed to be the save all safety feature.
Other teardrop types are available. All are more expensive. I chose this because it was bog standard and very cheap. I don’t need any features like cookers and sinks, just a bed on wheels, as I get everything else from the routiers where I always park up.
Cheap is one thing though because of lack of accessories, but cheap because they can’t make a chassis properly is a definite no-no and something really unexpected.
The next cheapest, and there are several, costs just about what this one will be once I buy a replacement chassis.
Buy a teardrop by all means, but not from Teardrop Caravans UK in Leicester.
And to Ben. I checked that and another site, and, like the Aussie site I mentioned, plenty of problems with jockey wheels descending but not one with a sheard off A-frame.
If they are desperate to get it back so they can destroy they evidence of faulty workmanship you could possibly suggest that the chassis only is taken back and they make a contribution to your time, expenses and undue stress.
You get a chassis made to your specification locally and an afternoon with the spanners, hey presto.
mucker85:
If they are desperate to get it back so they can destroy they evidence of faulty workmanship you could possibly suggest that the chassis only is taken back and they make a contribution to your time, expenses and undue stress.
You get a chassis made to your specification locally and an afternoon with the spanners, hey presto.
Already been done mate, and already refused, twice. They want the lot.
Thanks Kerbut, but that was the other site I checked after the one Ben suggested. I think, having exhaustively checked 3 sites now without finding a single case of an A-frane being ripped out by a falling jockey wheel, that they are clutching at straws and will easily be overruled.
I have the proof of the undamaged jockey wheel to disprove this and am now going to obtain an independant engineer’s report here
I wonder why? 
