Fiat Camper Assist - Terrible Ordeal on M5

[Coolcats]

It is interesting around expectations of the recovery services if available and near you, you could be in your way again in 20 mins clearly a vehicle on a hard shoulder is a higher priority than a a vehicle not starting at home. So if there is one breakdown vehicle covering X area with Y breakdowns it could well be a few hours before your needs are met. Loadofmisscheif had a bad experience and maybe this is something MoHo owners need to double check. When my fiat assist runs out I will certainly do so.

I also posted on another thread one of my low slung cars had a tyre failure, it is fitted with ‘special’ tyre’s which many tyre outlets do not carry. The vehicle was taken back to the factory for a new tyre and I was taken off to a hire company for a hire vehicle. All of this took several hours I also missed a business meeting which was rather frustrating.

I know that breakdown services often take a while to sort a breakdown out so just chill, stay calm and if in a MoHo have a nap or make a cup of tea whilst waiting (unless in a hard shoulder or other dangerous spot).

start with low expectations and if quick efficient service happens then you can feel delighted

 

[rangi]

Join CMC, then Green Flag MAYDAY "premium", cost around £50 for CMC & 140 for Greenflag .

All your recovery problems will end, in no matter what car you are in!!! The "Premium UK personal cover" is well worth the cost, just for peace mind

Just saying

 

[Coolcats]

Join CMC, then Green Flag MAYDAY "premium", cost around £50 for CMC & 140 for Greenflag .

All your recovery problems will end, in no matter what car you are in!!! The "Premium UK personal cover" is well worth the cost, just for peace mind

Just saying

They would still have taken my car to the factory and I would still have had to get a hire car. Do they have more breakdown vehicles than the other services ? If not timescales are probably very similar ( I’m just an old cynic)

 

[Puddleduck]

Green Flag here use a third party company - a local garage and that has worked well for me.

 

[Coolcats]

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[Peterd]

Just get back through the channel tunnel. Three pick up trucks and about 12 hours later we were home. Not bad considering I had to talk to the last driver non-stop to keep him awake. He was cream crackered and wife self and dog were on a razors edge wondering when he was going to fall asleep.
All that and we were only in our estate car having set out from mid France the day we caught the train. We too suffered being left about an hour between pickups.
I really feel for you in what must have been a nightmare situation

 

[rangi]

They would still have taken my car to the factory and I would still have had to get a hire car. Do they have more breakdown vehicles than the other services ? If not timescales are probably very similar ( I’m just an old cynic)

One of the things they quote is the recovery will phone you within the hour and they will be phyically with you in three hours. They will also, take you where you are going for your holiday (in the UK) they will (with the Premium Policy) take you to your holiday destination, then when the holiday is over piggyback you to a garage of your choice or home. In certain cases they will loan you a hire car.
I too was a cynic, but it was well worth the annual cost especially when you are tooling around in a 1992 T4 Auto Sleeper

There is one thing they wont do, that is come to you repeatedly for the same cause within a month I think it is, this stops people with say a flat battery phoning 2-3-whatever times a day to get jump started.

Phone 'em they send you the bumff Far superior in service than RAC or the AA

 

[C33JAY]

It is interesting around expectations of the recovery services if available and near you, you could be in your way again in 20 mins clearly a vehicle on a hard shoulder is a higher priority than a a vehicle not starting at home. So if there is one breakdown vehicle covering X area with Y breakdowns it could well be a few hours before your needs are met. Loadofmisscheif had a bad experience and maybe this is something MoHo owners need to double check. When my fiat assist runs out I will certainly do so.

I also posted on another thread one of my low slung cars had a tyre failure, it is fitted with ‘special’ tyre’s which many tyre outlets do not carry. The vehicle was taken back to the factory for a new tyre and I was taken off to a hire company for a hire vehicle. All of this took several hours I also missed a business meeting which was rather frustrating.

I know that breakdown services often take a while to sort a breakdown out so just chill, stay calm and if in a MoHo have a nap or make a cup of tea whilst waiting (unless in a hard shoulder or other dangerous spot).

start with low expectations and if quick efficient service happens then you can feel delighted

My only expectation was for me and my Wife and two dogs to be placed somewhere safe (Not too much to ask for or expect) and then getting the Motorhome off the Motorway hard shoulder would not of been Urgent, not that the people involved showed any urgency either by their actions or verbally

Rgds CJ

 

[Coolcats]

My only expectation was for me and my Wife and two dogs to be placed somewhere safe (Not too much to ask for or expect) and then getting the Motorhome off the Motorway hard shoulder would not of been Urgent, not that the people involved showed any urgency either by their actions or verbally

Rgds CJ

I feel for you and am truly sorry you had this happen, as far as the animals are concerned it seems the rules are more contentious and I guess its in case they manage to run in to the road and cause an accident (not unheard of).

So the expectation you have is not quite what the 'rules' of the highway code are but it is clear about what people need to do to keep themselves and others safe. I know its not what anyone would expect but is what the rules say.

I was listening to people who had lost loved ones on smart (not so smart) Motorways, and it is the part about being able to have a hard shoulder, to pull in to and being able to move to the other side of a crash barrier. even this advice is very inconvenient and uncomfortable especially if it is raining, dark or cold.

The AA Say:

• It’s usually safest to get out of your car (using the doors facing away from passing traffic) and wait behind a barrier.
• Leave any animals in the car.
• Move up the bank if you can.
• Stay upstream of the oncoming traffic.

Rule 275 of the highway code says:

If your vehicle develops a problem, leave the motorway at the next exit or pull into a service area. If you cannot do so, you should:

• pull on to the hard shoulder and stop as far to the left as possible, with your wheels turned to the left
• try to stop near an emergency telephone (situated at approximately one-mile intervals along the hard shoulder)
• leave the vehicle by the left-hand door and ensure your passengers do the same. You MUST leave any animals in the vehicle or, in an emergency, keep them under proper control on the verge. Never attempt to place a warning triangle on a motorway
• do not put yourself in danger by attempting even simple repairs
• ensure that passengers keep away from the carriageway and hard shoulder, and that children are kept under control
• walk to an emergency telephone on your side of the carriageway (follow the arrows on the posts at the back of the hard shoulder) – the telephone is free of charge and connects directly to an operator. Use these in preference to a mobile phone (see Rule 283). Always face the traffic when you speak on the phone
• give full details to the operator; also inform them if you are a vulnerable motorist such as disabled, older or travelling alone
• return and wait near your vehicle (well away from the carriageway and hard shoulder)
• if you feel at risk from another person, return to your vehicle by a left-hand door and lock all doors. Leave your vehicle again as soon as you feel this danger has passed.

 

[C33JAY]

The Rules are the Rules I accept that however every situation is different and our Motorway hard shoulders forgetting Smart Motorways are not all the same and as in my case not designed for people to get out of a vehicle and get to a safe area without perhaps walking miles.

I worked in Control Centres for a lot of my working Life @ Heathrow and dealt with evacuations and Aircraft ground Incidents and was responsible for managing Friends & Relatives reception halls in the event of an incident where lives were at risk etc etc and the evening in question I got the distinct feeling of a severe lack of professionalism when talking with the staff in the control rooms, at one point a guy at the end of the phone was spilling me loads of Info and when I asked him to stop for a second so I could speak he carried on telling me what he wanted to tell me.

Ive written a letter of complaint to The Highways Agency & Fiat Camper Assistants & Fiat Customers Services.

Happy Travels everyone and who knows when our MH is fit we might see you out there

I will leave it there I think

Thanks everyone for your responses.

Best Regards CJ

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[Casper46]

My niece is with Green Flag. Her cam belt went last week in South London. She sat for 7 hours at the side of a main road with her 3 month old baby. It took over an hour for anyone to arrive, they told her it was dead and then left her for 6 hours waiting for recovery. She said that the locals kept checking that she and the baby were ok, but Green Flag didn't seem to care.

 

[wilsonofthewizard]

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.

If only Toyota made Mh`s !

 

[TheBig1]

My niece is with Green Flag. Her cam belt went last week in South London. She sat for 7 hours at the side of a main road with her 3 month old baby. It took over an hour for anyone to arrive, they told her it was dead and then left her for 6 hours waiting for recovery. She said that the locals kept checking that she and the baby were ok, but Green Flag didn't seem to care.

that is worthy of an interview with the local TV station, beyond disgusting

 

[Coolcats]

that is worthy of an interview with the local TV station, beyond disgusting

Whilst it sounds an awful experience its probably not news worthy as it is the norm as posts here are starting to outline I am not saying its right but have low expectations. We live in a world where we have highs service expectations but unless there is a dramatic increase in recovery vehicles nothing is going to change during periods of high demand.

Here is one survey of the 'Best Breakdown' cover 2019 I have never heard of many of them and suspect they may be 'white label' companies by that I mean Tesco do not have a mobile service they will use another provider such as Voda or EE its just they have a contact centre for you to call for service

 

[tonyidle]

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.

This excellent advice can only apply if there is a timely recovery. In adverse weather and particularly if it's very cold exposure becomes a real issue. Imagine a family in Winter with young children or a baby in the vehicle. As things stand it's a judgement call and there is no safe solution. Many, probably most, motorists will not have adequate clothing with them thus exacerbating the issue. It is time the official advice was called out for what it is: neither option is safe and both are a reflection of poor road design and very poor safeguarding procedures.

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[Sunnyb]

that is worthy of an interview with the local TV station, beyond disgusting

That is shocking considering the circumstances. I hope she is going to complain.

 

[Gillygrim]

On our way home from Antibes last year we had a catastrophic puncture where the tread stripped off the wheel and jammed the shock absorber. After zigzagging for several yards I came to a sudden stop in the inside lane with just the front of the moho diagonally on the hard shoulder. Impossible to move the van. Partner (88) and great grandson (9) and I (78) got out and I rang the breakdown who advised they were not allowed to come on French motorways and we'd have to be recovered by the French service and call them when we were off the m way. I called the French assistance from the m way phone and less than 5 minutes later the breakdown arrived, along with a m way van with huge flashing arrow lights. They were unable to winch the van onto the truck due to the seized wheel so the chap had to hacksaw the remains of the tyre off whilst lying on the motorway! Having changed the wheel, he then told me to drive behind him on the hard shoulder to the next exit where we did paperwork. 850 euros and an hour later we were on our way. The total sum was recovered within a week of getting home. Superb service, sympathetic assistance but I will never go on the motorway again !!

 

[mitzimad]

the only wrong doing in this case is really the free recovery service who should have got you to a place of safety they deal with 44 tonne lorries i cant see how a 3.5 tonne van is a problem

 

[Camdoon]

the only wrong doing in this case is really the free recovery service who should have got you to a place of safety they deal with 44 tonne lorries i cant see how a 3.5 tonne van is a problem

Dump the onboard water and with the passengers inside the truck then the van would have been well within 3.5 ton (even assuming it was somewhere near the limit and how would he know anyway). The recovery guy was obviously near the end of his shift or had something more lucrative lined up.

 

[Gillygrim]

The reason we couldn't be winched on his truck was the rear wheel was completely jammed and presumably it would need to turn to get up on the ramp. It was Sunday afternoon on a bank holiday weekend and I shudder to think how long we'd have been stuck if that had happened in UK!!

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[Deneb]

the only wrong doing in this case is really the free recovery service who should have got you to a place of safety they deal with 44 tonne lorries i cant see how a 3.5 tonne van is a problem

Having read through the entire thread, I have to agree. I know that I am a few years out of date now, and it's possible that things may have changed slightly, but with safety being the over-riding concern I can't imagine that things are all that different. This is how things used to work when I was involved.

In motorway roadworks areas, recovery contractors are appointed by Highways England to cover the roadworks area for the duration of the contract. The appointed recovery contractor has sole responsibility for recoveries within the contract area (which normally starts at the advance warning signs or specific signs notifying the start of the zone, not the commencement of the works themselves) and all other "normal" contract recovery operators on police or HA lists are suspended from operating within the free recovery area for the duration of the contract. Breakdown organisations and other recovery operators are normally instructed not to attend the live carriageway, but to go to the designated recovery compound and meet the disabled vehicle following its remove to the location by the contracted free recovery operator.

The rationale for this approach is to ensure that recovery vehicles stationed prior to the approach to the works are able to attend any vehicle broken down or disabled within the danger area as soon as possible and quickly remove them to a secure location where normal breakdown and roadside assistance operators such as the AA, RAC etc. can attend in safety and assist the motorist.

Operators such as the AA, RAC, Green Flag etc. will normally decline to attend to breakdowns within the roadworks area for safety of their own personnel, but will meet the recovered vehicle at the compound after recovery by the HA contractor.

In my time policing motorway roadworks, admittedly several years ago now, I have never heard of a disclaimer. C33JAY did you receive a copy of that document?

If the free recovery operator (who would have bid to operate the contract) was unable to deal with the recovery using the equipment available to them, they should remain with the broken down vehicle pending the attendance of another of their vehicles which has the correct capabilities. If, as a company, they do not possess the necessary equipment (which might apply in the case of an abnormal load or specialist vehicle breakdown for instance) it is their responsibility to employ another contractor with the necessary equipment at their own cost (sub-contract) to complete the removal of the vehicle from the roadworks area.

For that reason, if the HA or police were initially aware of your breakdown, and had informed the free recovery operator via their direct link, they would assume that the incident had been resolved unless they heard from the recovery operator to the contrary or had subsequently found you during a routine patrol.

So the questions I would be asking are, why did the recovery operator who attended not make immediate arrangements for suitable assistance to remove your vehicle to the safe compound if he was not able to deal himself, and did he inform either the HA or police control rooms that he had not been able to recover you and had left you in situ? If a disclaimer process actually exists (which for safety reasons I find rather dubious) what responsibility does it then place on whom, and were you properly informed of the course of action that you should follow?

 

[TheBig1]

The reason we couldn't be winched on his truck was the rear wheel was completely jammed and presumably it would need to turn to get up on the ramp. It was Sunday afternoon on a bank holiday weekend and I shudder to think how long we'd have been stuck if that had happened in UK!!

In my past, I have recovered accident damaged vehicles in much worse condition by winching onto the lorry using one or more trolley jacks. Imagine a front corner collision, with collapsed suspension and the wheels jammed on full steering lock. Easily possible with only basic recovery kit

 

[C33JAY]

Having read through the entire thread, I have to agree. I know that I am a few years out of date now, and it's possible that things may have changed slightly, but with safety being the over-riding concern I can't imagine that things are all that different. This is how things used to work when I was involved.

In motorway roadworks areas, recovery contractors are appointed by Highways England to cover the roadworks area for the duration of the contract. The appointed recovery contractor has sole responsibility for recoveries within the contract area (which normally starts at the advance warning signs or specific signs notifying the start of the zone, not the commencement of the works themselves) and all other "normal" contract recovery operators on police or HA lists are suspended from operating within the free recovery area for the duration of the contract. Breakdown organisations and other recovery operators are normally instructed not to attend the live carriageway, but to go to the designated recovery compound and meet the disabled vehicle following its remove to the location by the contracted free recovery operator.

The rationale for this approach is to ensure that recovery vehicles stationed prior to the approach to the works are able to attend any vehicle broken down or disabled within the danger area as soon as possible and quickly remove them to a secure location where normal breakdown and roadside assistance operators such as the AA, RAC etc. can attend in safety and assist the motorist.

Operators such as the AA, RAC, Green Flag etc. will normally decline to attend to breakdowns within the roadworks area for safety of their own personnel, but will meet the recovered vehicle at the compound after recovery by the HA contractor.

In my time policing motorway roadworks, admittedly several years ago now, I have never heard of a disclaimer. C33JAY did you receive a copy of that document?

If the free recovery operator (who would have bid to operate the contract) was unable to deal with the recovery using the equipment available to them, they should remain with the broken down vehicle pending the attendance of another of their vehicles which has the correct capabilities. If, as a company, they do not possess the necessary equipment (which might apply in the case of an abnormal load or specialist vehicle breakdown for instance) it is their responsibility to employ another contractor with the necessary equipment at their own cost (sub-contract) to complete the removal of the vehicle from the roadworks area.

For that reason, if the HA or police were initially aware of your breakdown, and had informed the free recovery operator via their direct link, they would assume that the incident had been resolved unless they heard from the recovery operator to the contrary or had subsequently found you during a routine patrol.

So the questions I would be asking are, why did the recovery operator who attended not make immediate arrangements for suitable assistance to remove your vehicle to the safe compound if he was not able to deal himself, and did he inform either the HA or police control rooms that he had not been able to recover you and had left you in situ? If a disclaimer process actually exists (which for safety reasons I find rather dubious) what responsibility does it then place on whom, and were you properly informed of the course of action that you should follow?

Deneb

Thanks for your response, Ive been very fortunate and only ever broke down twice before and never required recovery so this whole Motorway Recovery process is new to me, so if I made mistakes I need to learn from them but you do hope that the Recovery experts out there have your best interests at heart

I was not offered a copy of the Disclaimer by the Driver of the Free recovery and he asked if I had called my Recovery to which I had so he said leave it to them and said I will probably see you at the services later and went on his way.

The Recovery driver that eventually Lifted my Motorhome onto his vehicle in conversation said lots of the Recovery drivers do not like picking up New Vehicles in fear of scratching them which is why he gets lots of those types of jobs, his vehicle was the type where the flat bed platform comes out and lays flat on the ground then drags your vehicle on and lifts your vehicle up level and not at an angle, a nice piece of kit.

The RAC guy said the Free recovery should of arranged for another vehicle to take me too safety !

Ive written to the Highways Agency / Fiat Camper Assistants (RAC) & Fiat Customer Service, Investigations ongoing.

Rgds CJ