Fiat Camper Assist - Terrible Ordeal on M5

[C33JAY]

surely they could have towed you off the motorway did not need to put it on a truck

Its an Automatic gerabox.

 

[C33JAY]

l am so pleased you survived this experience it must have been frightening.l,m sure you had Hazard Lights on but would recommend carrying Reflective Triangles they are collapsable and cheap but very effective when placed at intervals behind the Vehicle ,l also carry a battery powered freestanding flashing warning light. Being prepared often costs very little but can save your life in a situation that you have just had.

Yes indeed and I have those items onboard and were in use being a Biker has prepared me in so many ways, the fact your more vulnerable on a Bike makes you take precautions.

Rgds CJ

 

[C33JAY]

Did Highway Officers or Police Officers provide no shielding for you?

I thought, for some reason, that that was one of their responsibilities.

No the only contact I had during this ordeal was over the phone and in person the Free Recovery guy / The RAC guy & eventually the guy that lifted my MH onto his flatbed, so no Police / No Highway Officers and certainly No protection and its an unlit Motorway with absolutely No Crash barriers for miles so No protection.

Rgds CJ

 

[C33JAY]

Last Friday my sister broke down
She happened to be in a safe area, outside my mothers house.

• 4.30 pm - Called the RAC. - with you within 90 mins they said.
• Text Confirmation
• 6.30pm - Called the RAC - Bit of a delay should be with you within the hour
• 8pm - Called the RAC - Not sure when we can get to you
• Text confirmation of a 'delay'
• 10pm - Called the RAC - We dont have anyone available, and it's dark
• 11pm - RAC called back! - We cant come tonight, do you have a way of getting home ?
• 11.30pm - My sister got her son to pick her up and take her home
• 9am - Text from RAC - We will be with you between 11am and 2pm
• My sister has to get a taxi back to my Mums
• 11.30am - RAC finally arrive!
• 12.30 - Problem is diagnosed as a totally knackered battery (oddly, a RAC battery bought 18 months ago)
• 12.45 - RAC sell her a new battery for £175 (list price is £75)

Car now working, 20 hours from the initial call, RAC log it as fixed from the 9am text, so within 4 hours

So a 7 hr wait on the side of a motorway I'd say is par for the course.

Thanks for sharing The text bit is interesting I didnt get any and the callbacks promised didnt happen in a timley fashion either.

Rgds CJ

 

[Brains]

Thanks for sharing The text bit is interesting I didnt get any and the callbacks promised didnt happen in a timley fashion either.

Rgds CJ

It may have been that as my sister was in deepest darkest Cornwall the only way of communication was by text as the signal at my mothers house varies been appalling and non-existent

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[chatteris]

Its an Automatic gerabox.

true auto? or robotised manual,cant see why a robotised manual could not be towed out of danger

 

[Camper634]

It must have been an awful ordeal and you have my deepest sympathy.It is always easy to comment after the event isn’t it?Hope 1 or 2 on here never get a job with the Samaritans

 

[C33JAY]

true auto? or robotised manual,cant see why a robotised manual could not be towed out of danger

New 9 Speed Auto

 

[Trev45]

We are on our way to Cornwall my Wife and I & our Two dogs just joining the M5 on Junction 23 from Bridgwater where we live when between junction 24 & 25 just before the 50MPH speed limit / Road works & narrow lanes we break down @ 1700hrs so onto the quite narrow hard shoulder I roll, after a few attempts to try and get it started no joy so we rang Fiat Camper Assist to get the Recovery process started, this is a very long story however this is the short version.
After 30 minutes the Free recovery turns up only to tell me the limit on his flat bed is 3.5t and Im 3.5t fully loaded for holiday, so he says that will bend my flatbed and advises me to request a bigger truck from my breakdown service and very keenly gets me to sign a disclaimer (Mistake on my part and i sign)
3 & half hours later the RAC guy turns up and plugs into the OBD port = Fuel Pump low pressure ! he bangs a few things the pump included with a lump of wood but no joy very apologetic he contacts the control and requests a Flat Bed and also asks me why I refused free recovery to the services where I would be safe, I told him what the Free recovery guy said about bending his flat bed, he said he should of requested at that stage a bigger flat bed (Why he didnt god only knows) the RAC guy says some recovery drivers are scared of New Motorhomes and scratching them !! what can I say to that.
So @ 2100hrs I organise my Daughter in law to pick my Wife and our 2 x dogs up and take them home so they are safe.
I continue to wait on the Hardshoulder making several calls to Camper Assist and the Highways control who tell me the Flat Bed is 90 minutes away which should of been approx 2230hrs, the Flat bed arrived just before Midnight so Ive been sat on the hardshoulder with Lorrys rumbling past for 7 x hours, I arrived home @ 0100hrs.

So ive read up on the Camper Assist to see what it says about Dogs and it does not make mention of them, the reason I want to know more is because this terrible ordeal has left me thinking No one cares about individuals safety and certainly not about 2 x dogs.

I count myself fortunate that in my Driving career ive only ever broke down twice once in a car with a snapped cam belt and once on a Motorbike with a water pump failure, and I confess I expected a lot better than what I got when I broke down on a UK Motorway.

Im going to look into alternative Breakdown cover and will ask Fiat Camper Assist what there policy is regarding dogs.

My Motorhome is due to be picked up @ the end of this month to be taken to a local Fiat dealer for repair.

Rgds CJ

Have I read this right your motorhome is not going to be picked up until the end of August to be taken to a local Fiat garage for repair . This sounds like atrocious service from Fiat ,please keep us posted as to the eventual outcome .

 

[C33JAY]

Have I read this right your motorhome is not going to be picked up until the end of August to be taken to a local Fiat garage for repair . This sounds like atrocious service from Fiat ,please keep us posted as to the eventual outcome .

Im in Somerset and Fiat tell me they have tried several dealerships and the earliest date is the end of August, which yeah not ideal
Its a 2020 March registered and I have covered 250 miles, that was one trip out which was great, this ordeal should of been our 2nd trip out and weve had to cancel the 3rd trip booked for 1st week in September Oh well im hoping I will get back a reliable van at the end of all this lol

Rgds CJ

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[Trev45]

Im in Somerset and Fiat tell me they have tried several dealerships and the earliest date is the end of August, which yeah not ideal
Its a 2020 March registered and I have covered 250 miles, that was one trip out which was great, this ordeal should of been our 2nd trip out and weve had to cancel the 3rd trip booked for 1st week in September Oh well im hoping I will get back a reliable van at the end of all this lol

Rgds CJ

Breaking down after 250 miles is not a good advert for Fiat but I would have thought they would pull out all the stops to get you back on the road sooner . Could your supplying dealer not have worked something out even if it meant paying overtime to a fitter ?

 

[C33JAY]

Breaking down after 250 miles is not a good advert for Fiat but I would have thought they would pull out all the stops to get you back on the road sooner . Could your supplying dealer not have worked something out even if it meant paying overtime to a fitter ?

That would be nice but who is the supplying Fiat Dealer ? or do you mean the Motorhome Dealer that supplied the vehicle to me ?

 

[TheBig1]

We have broken down twice over the last 10 years in a motorhome. 1st time was a clutch that shattered on an A road on a bank holiday weekend. The RAC turned out within the hour and and pulled us on a straight bar 250metres to a lay bye after waiting for a second van to tow our trailer, took us to a campsite. A local firm collected the van bank holiday monday and I was taken to collect a hire car. The wife waited in a driveaway awning in the rain with 3 dogs till I returned

Second time, same van, a diesel line split going up hill on a fast A road dual carriage way. We waited 40 minutes and had to decline the offer from another motorist to try towing us 1/2 a mile to the services. The RAC man did not hang about and used a fixed bar to tow us, despite being in a vw t5 which seriously struggled to pull the weight. An hour later we were back on the road home with a temporary repair, which held out well till I replaced it a couple of days later.

 

[gus-lopez]

or do you mean the Motorhome Dealer that supplied the vehicle to me ?

Yes . they are the supplier.
You at least need to notify them of the problems & if it was me I would be asking them who will be compensating for the loss of use of the vehicle expenses re) next trip etc; etc;

 

[Mikeclaire]

Read your story, that really is piss poor service all round, knowing that stretch of motorway well and how notorious it is for accidents I would have been bricking it. But to leave you there for 7hrs that is madness.

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[C33JAY]

Read your story, that really is piss poor service all round, knowing that stretch of motorway well and how notorious it is for accidents I would have been bricking it. But to leave you there for 7hrs that is madness.

Ive just compiled a long letter of complaint to Fiat Camper Assist asking them to investigate, it contains the Time line from when we 1st broke down through to when I was picked up some 7 hours later.

Rgds CJ

 

[pappajohn]

First driver shouldn't be allowed out on his own.
His truck was rated at 3500kg, your van weighed 3500kg....whats his problem.
Unless his gross was 3500kg in which case he should only be sent to light cars as his payload would only be around 1000kg..
Of course, it won't matter to him or the company, they'll get paid for the call out regardless of outcome.

 

[Pausim]

I am rather glad that my supplying dealer is also a Fiat Professional. If anything goes wrong with either base vehicle or subsequent construction I can reasonably expect them to sort it out quickly. None of the sloping shoulders and “we are in the hands of the Fiat garage”. I’ll be honest and say it was not a factor when I chose to buy from Chelston but in the light of recent posts it will certainly be a factor if I buy new again.

 

[Trev45]

That would be nice but who is the supplying Fiat Dealer ? or do you mean the Motorhome Dealer that supplied the vehicle to me ?

I mean the motorhome dealer to whom you paid a considerable sum of money to purchase a vehicle you cannot now use and won't be able to use for another month or so unless they pull their finger out. Once connected to their diagnostic computer and the fault identified I suspect the repair will only take an hour or so to sort out and you will be on your way. Get on the phone to the dealer and let us know what they say ,it is times like this that good customer service shines through . Good luck.

 

[NicandJay]

We are on our way to Cornwall my Wife and I & our Two dogs just joining the M5 on Junction 23 from Bridgwater where we live when between junction 24 & 25 just before the 50MPH speed limit / Road works & narrow lanes we break down @ 1700hrs so onto the quite narrow hard shoulder I roll, after a few attempts to try and get it started no joy so we rang Fiat Camper Assist to get the Recovery process started, this is a very long story however this is the short version.
After 30 minutes the Free recovery turns up only to tell me the limit on his flat bed is 3.5t and Im 3.5t fully loaded for holiday, so he says that will bend my flatbed and advises me to request a bigger truck from my breakdown service and very keenly gets me to sign a disclaimer (Mistake on my part and i sign)
3 & half hours later the RAC guy turns up and plugs into the OBD port = Fuel Pump low pressure ! he bangs a few things the pump included with a lump of wood but no joy very apologetic he contacts the control and requests a Flat Bed and also asks me why I refused free recovery to the services where I would be safe, I told him what the Free recovery guy said about bending his flat bed, he said he should of requested at that stage a bigger flat bed (Why he didnt god only knows) the RAC guy says some recovery drivers are scared of New Motorhomes and scratching them !! what can I say to that.
So @ 2100hrs I organise my Daughter in law to pick my Wife and our 2 x dogs up and take them home so they are safe.
I continue to wait on the Hardshoulder making several calls to Camper Assist and the Highways control who tell me the Flat Bed is 90 minutes away which should of been approx 2230hrs, the Flat bed arrived just before Midnight so Ive been sat on the hardshoulder with Lorrys rumbling past for 7 x hours, I arrived home @ 0100hrs.

So ive read up on the Camper Assist to see what it says about Dogs and it does not make mention of them, the reason I want to know more is because this terrible ordeal has left me thinking No one cares about individuals safety and certainly not about 2 x dogs.

I count myself fortunate that in my Driving career ive only ever broke down twice once in a car with a snapped cam belt and once on a Motorbike with a water pump failure, and I confess I expected a lot better than what I got when I broke down on a UK Motorway.

Im going to look into alternative Breakdown cover and will ask Fiat Camper Assist what there policy is regarding dogs.

My Motorhome is due to be picked up @ the end of this month to be taken to a local Fiat dealer for repair.

Rgds CJ

We are on our way to Cornwall my Wife and I & our Two dogs just joining the M5 on Junction 23 from Bridgwater where we live when between junction 24 & 25 just before the 50MPH speed limit / Road works & narrow lanes we break down @ 1700hrs so onto the quite narrow hard shoulder I roll, after a few attempts to try and get it started no joy so we rang Fiat Camper Assist to get the Recovery process started, this is a very long story however this is the short version.
After 30 minutes the Free recovery turns up only to tell me the limit on his flat bed is 3.5t and Im 3.5t fully loaded for holiday, so he says that will bend my flatbed and advises me to request a bigger truck from my breakdown service and very keenly gets me to sign a disclaimer (Mistake on my part and i sign)
3 & half hours later the RAC guy turns up and plugs into the OBD port = Fuel Pump low pressure ! he bangs a few things the pump included with a lump of wood but no joy very apologetic he contacts the control and requests a Flat Bed and also asks me why I refused free recovery to the services where I would be safe, I told him what the Free recovery guy said about bending his flat bed, he said he should of requested at that stage a bigger flat bed (Why he didnt god only knows) the RAC guy says some recovery drivers are scared of New Motorhomes and scratching them !! what can I say to that.
So @ 2100hrs I organise my Daughter in law to pick my Wife and our 2 x dogs up and take them home so they are safe.
I continue to wait on the Hardshoulder making several calls to Camper Assist and the Highways control who tell me the Flat Bed is 90 minutes away which should of been approx 2230hrs, the Flat bed arrived just before Midnight so Ive been sat on the hardshoulder with Lorrys rumbling past for 7 x hours, I arrived home @ 0100hrs.

So ive read up on the Camper Assist to see what it says about Dogs and it does not make mention of them, the reason I want to know more is because this terrible ordeal has left me thinking No one cares about individuals safety and certainly not about 2 x dogs.

I count myself fortunate that in my Driving career ive only ever broke down twice once in a car with a snapped cam belt and once on a Motorbike with a water pump failure, and I confess I expected a lot better than what I got when I broke down on a UK Motorway.

Im going to look into alternative Breakdown cover and will ask Fiat Camper Assist what there policy is regarding dogs.

My Motorhome is due to be picked up @ the end of this month to be taken to a local Fiat dealer for repair.

Rgds CJ

The fact that the Highways patrols did not stop and check on you, your wife and dogs is inexcusable. They were brought into service for just this type of situation following heavy snowfall stranding 1000's of people on M11 maybe 15 years ago and saves Police units who have been scaled right back anyway. They should have stopped after 2 hours maximum of knowing you were there to check on your situation regardless of what they are being told by RAC or other recovery and they can arrange a statutory removal within something like 90 minutes from their call. If hard shoulder was narrow and you were close to lane 1 they should have closed the lane. 2 hours max and you would have been gone to a safer location even if that is the next services or somewhere off at the next junction. Please , everyone, never stay in your vehicle despite all the reasons not to be outside. Better cold, wet, stung, sunburnt than..... well I wont say it.

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[TheBig1]

a motorhome carrying show dogs a year or two back. Despite being on the hard shoulder, a HGV hit it with tragic consequences. Not a place to feel safe at all and being left abandoned for 7 hours is a total failure of the breakdown recovery system

 

[Abacist]

We wrote off a caravan in Cumbria years ago in mid afternoon and had to salvage what we could and abandon the rest and cram it all into our new fortnight old Land Rover Discovery. The 2 dogs and mynah bird had to stay in the Disco and were refused room in any of the recovery vehicles employed and there were three!

We were with AA Relay and they quickly palmed us off onto third party recovery services for some reason. Initially we were taken north back up to Tebay Services whilst they planned how to relay us home to Devon. Hours later we taken about half way home then dumped at a motorway services and told another truck would be along later to complete the relay home. We were there for hours into the night. We got to Land Rover, Exeter as they opened in the morning and then taken to our house. Absolute nightmare all round so I feel for you. The last recovery driver had us in the back seat behind him but he kept turning around to talk to us whilst driving - absolutely terrifying!

 

[C33JAY]

The fact that the Highways patrols did not stop and check on you, your wife and dogs is inexcusable. They were brought into service for just this type of situation following heavy snowfall stranding 1000's of people on M11 maybe 15 years ago and saves Police units who have been scaled right back anyway. They should have stopped after 2 hours maximum of knowing you were there to check on your situation regardless of what they are being told by RAC or other recovery and they can arrange a statutory removal within something like 90 minutes from their call. If hard shoulder was narrow and you were close to lane 1 they should have closed the lane. 2 hours max and you would have been gone to a safer location even if that is the next services or somewhere off at the next junction. Please , everyone, never stay in your vehicle despite all the reasons not to be outside. Better cold, wet, stung, sunburnt than..... well I wont say it.

I appreciate all the advice is get out of your vehicle however rightly or wrongly and perhaps the latter I decided to stay in the vehicle because I felt safer over the alternative which was Standing on Large Grey stones looked like Hardcore and would be ideal for a base approx 1 mtr wide and then the steep Grass verge overgrown with bushes, in my humble opinion this stretch of Motorway is unfit for purpose and is not designed for people who may have to get out of their vehicle and wait for recovery, I have mobility issues which no one asked if I did therefore I made my decision and appreciate it could of been my last, but I would do it again.
I wonder If the Highways Risk Assess the Motorways for these very reasons when their advice is get out of the vehicle ??

I have since driven in my car along this stretch of Motorway not far from my home and it has No crash barriers for Miles & Miles and a variation of flat Grass and steep verges, Not good at all.

Rgds CJ

 

[meanders]

I would also complain very strongly to the Highways agency and whatever police force is responsible.

 

[NicandJay]

I appreciate all the advice is get out of your vehicle however rightly or wrongly and perhaps the latter I decided to stay in the vehicle because I felt safer over the alternative which was Standing on Large Grey stones looked like Hardcore and would be ideal for a base approx 1 mtr wide and then the steep Grass verge overgrown with bushes, in my humble opinion this stretch of Motorway is unfit for purpose and is not designed for people who may have to get out of their vehicle and wait for recovery, I have mobility issues which no one asked if I did therefore I made my decision and appreciate it could of been my last, but I would do it again.
I wonder If the Highways Risk Assess the Motorways for these very reasons when their advice is get out of the vehicle ??

I have since driven in my car along this stretch of Motorway not far from my home and it has No crash barriers for Miles & Miles and a variation of flat Grass and steep verges, Not good at all.

Rgds CJ

CJ,
The fact that you have mobility issues only makes the issue of the atrocious level of care demonstrated to you and your whole situation even worse. I understand now why you didn't get out and that alone should have prompted a stop by the Highways England patrol. Heaven forbid there is a next time but if there is and you feel the way you did with this situation call 999 they will prompt a reaction from Highways and if not visited in a reasonable time keep phoning. Not too late to contact Highways England and ask why you were not given any assistance to get clear of the motorway once it became apparent your own recovery wasnt working properly and at the very very least one safety check visit.
Regards

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[landscaper]

Move to Safeguard. We were stuck with an 8 m motorhome in the depths of knowwhere on Skye and Safeguard really looked after us.

 

[Puddleduck]

I am glad you and yours are safe. As I started to read your experiences I had a sense of dread.

Really appalling service by everyone who were or should have been involved. If you get nowhere with your letters to breakdown company / police/ Fiat then it is worth contacting the media - making sure that anyone who has made amends is given credit and people who have not are shamed.

My own experience of Fiat (once head office became involved) has been that they do at least try to make good.

I changed from a well known recovery service many years ago when (disabled and pregnant) I waited for recovery and when I phoned for the third time (using a call box in those days before mobiles) I was told I'd been recovered an hour before ....... it turned out the recovery truck had recovered someone else in error. I can laugh now but it wasn't funny at the time and I had a couple of nights in hospital as a precaution. The recovery companies we use now use local garages under contract for their recovery work - I've only used them for puncture repair / changing wheels (I know how and where the tools are but physically can't do it) and they have been great.

 

[Loadofmischief]

Hi CJ , sorry to hear your really awful experience,
we had a problem in France on a saturday pm, oil leak , contacted RAC who I must say were more than helpful ..............

Terry

That wasn't my experience with RAC Arrival via the Camping and Caravanning Club. When I phoned to say we had broken down they did send a patrol and he tried hard to get me going again. He couldn't and phoned his office to say a flatbed was required and left me to wait. Some time later I received a call from RAC to say I was not covered for recovery as the motorhome was too big (4 tonne & 7.3 metres!) They wouldn't have it I had Arrival and any size motorhome or caravan must be covered. I had to then source a private company who got me to repairer 10 hours after I had broken down Cost £300. Next day I read the small print of my Arrival policy and, of course, discovered ANY size vehicle is covered. There followed an almighty ding-dong with RAC who refunded the £300 and a measly goodwill gesture of £50. Breakdown was just 6 miles from home.

 

[bigfoot]

I broke down in Wales try explaining that location to Luigi in Milan!! RAC were their recovery agents and were late and it cost me £120 because the Police said I was obstructing a main road and called out their recovery agent instead, who were more like a gang of Itinerants!
I now use Green Flag through my. bank far better by miles!!!!!!

 

[RustyRuss]

I had the misfortune to have a wheel fall off my Peugeot 307SW whilst trundling down the A55 towards Chester. I felt very exposed at the side of the road and phoned the emergency services. A police man turned up 10 minutes later, reversed about 200yds, put the blueys on and coned off the inside lane, then walked back down to me and spoke to the RAC on my behalf after they'd said it would be a 2 hour wait. He was very stroppy with the RAC people, asking for names and extension numbers and writing them all in his note book, a third party transporter from Hough Green turned up 20 minutes later and lifted me on to the back of his flat bed truck, took me back to their depot and supplied 4 new wheel nuts and I was on my way. Total time 1 hour 20 minutes. I had had to have a puncture fixed on the wheel that came off 3 days previously, so they obviously hadn't tightened them up properly.

Long and short of the experience, the policeman was very pleased that I'd phoned and asked for help as in his words he'd rather deal with a broken down car than a pile up with lots of injured people and a road closure.

When I see people in distress at the side of the road now I always phone the emergency services, if your vehicle is in a dangerous situation it's better to be safe rather than sorry.

Cheers!

Russ

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