keninpalamos Posted November 18, 2017 Share Posted November 18, 2017 I have been following the sad saga of a couple in Spain with a damaged windscreen who have been trying to have the screen replaced through their well known insurance broker. The story is on Facebook on Hymer owners Group. It is making a joke of the service they tell us they provide. Each company involved passing the buck to the next from the broker to the insurance company to the windscreen replacement company (very well known) and back again while the paying customer is still waiting for a new screen after 3 weeks I will check that. They have just received an email from the insurance company to return to the UK as repair abroad is not the best and unless payment is not prompt screen repair company will seize vehicle. Plus the insurance company never asked the screen company if they undertake work on an A Class. The screen company has refused the work even though they are contracted to carry out such work. these companies are well known to you all and are supposedly leaders in their field of operation. In fact all motorhome magazines carry their advertisements. PS the word saga was not intended as a clue as to who the insurance broke/company are. See Kim Osborne. Hymer Owners Group (HOGS) Facebook Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robbo Posted November 19, 2017 Share Posted November 19, 2017 The following company (based in Belgium) distribute A-Class windscreens all over Europe: http://www.efkglass.com/en/home Perhaps the problem is getting someone competent enough to fit it ? But, Spanish buses, trucks etc obviously don't have this problem !!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KeithR Posted November 19, 2017 Share Posted November 19, 2017 i think this is an area that needs checking when you renew your insurance. all is not always as you expect. i had a chipped screen in spain on my way to morocco, i phoned my well known insurance company (for us old people ) to sent someone to repair it but was told id have to sort it myself and claim back when i returned home. reason was tht they used AA windscreen and they had no service outside uk. i was not amused, as although i was on a site, and could get to a windscreeen repairer, if i was in the sticks or up a mountain and had a shattered screen then it would have been a different matter. i guess my ADAC recovery would have solved the problem, but i think i should be able to rely on my european insurance cover to preserve my no claims without compromising my recovery integrity. im not with that company now, just in case. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
witzend Posted November 19, 2017 Share Posted November 19, 2017 I had a chip which turned into a crack by the time I returned to the UK so for windscreen chip repairs I carry a repair kit which I purchased off ebay £3.50 I've used one to repair a deep chip I did have to do a couple more applications than directed to fill the chip but there was plenty of fluid in the kit to do this and it's not noticable. I now always carry one just in case Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KeithR Posted November 20, 2017 Share Posted November 20, 2017 didnt know you could buy a repair kit but it sounds a good idea. my new screen got chipped and when i returned home i phoned in for a repair. the details were taken by the offfice and i was told because of its size and placement it would mean a new screen. this of course means a £50 payment. the guy that actually turned up with the new screen took one look and said it would take him minutes to repair . He then phoned the offfice expert and got my £50 returrned. one up to the man who knew what he was doing. but i will certainly source a kit myself. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colinsburgh Posted November 20, 2017 Share Posted November 20, 2017 I had a similar problem while in France this year. The screen on my Rapido A Class cracked on the passenger side. I contacted Autoglass, as instructed by my insurers, who after 3 days of procrastination and incompetence directed me to their sister company and nominated contractor Carglass France. The nice people at Carglass informed me that Carglass in France and Spain do not have the facilities or competence to fit A Class screens ( or any other bus/truck type screens for that matter) The Carglass technician informed me that it was safe to continue my holiday with the damaged screen. I contacted my insurance broker (Safeguard) who contacted my insurer (Axa) and informed me that I could continue my holiday as long as it was safe to drive the vehicle. However, if the crack got so bad I couldn't continue I was to contact them and they would arrange recovery to the UK for the screen to be replaced. No alternative was offered. I have since contacted the main screen glass replacement companies in UK and explained the situation to them, None could guarantee that they could arrange to replace an A Class screen if the vehicle was outside the UK. Autoglass replaced the screen within 4 days of my return home. Screen replacement is something I'll have to check with insurers before renewing, Peter Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Muswell Posted November 20, 2017 Share Posted November 20, 2017 When someone smashed my quarterlight in Italy the Caravan Club/Mayday called Autoglass who called me minutes after. It was Sunday night so Carglass were closed but Autoglass called them 0900 the next day and I got a call from Carglass soon after. They booked me in to Brescia that afternoon. You were unlucky. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keninpalamos Posted November 20, 2017 Author Share Posted November 20, 2017 Muswell - 2017-11-20 5:10 PM When someone smashed my quarterlight in Italy the Caravan Club/Mayday called Autoglass who called me minutes after. It was Sunday night so Carglass were closed but Autoglass called them 0900 the next day and I got a call from Carglass soon after. They booked me in to Brescia that afternoon. You were unlucky. I have to say that sounds like excellent service. Which A class do you have. I’m surprised they found a quarter light so quickly. A difficult part to source even if you own an A class Hymer. It might be a different story if it were your windscreen that had to be replaced even if you had a spare one with you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keninpalamos Posted November 20, 2017 Author Share Posted November 20, 2017 Robbo - 2017-11-19 11:07 AM The following company (based in Belgium) distribute A-Class windscreens all over Europe: http://www.efkglass.com/en/home Perhaps the problem is getting someone competent enough to fit it ? But, Spanish buses, trucks etc obviously don't have this problem !!! do they supply a fitting service in Spain Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Muswell Posted November 20, 2017 Share Posted November 20, 2017 keninpalamos - 2017-11-20 6:47 PM Muswell - 2017-11-20 5:10 PM When someone smashed my quarterlight in Italy the Caravan Club/Mayday called Autoglass who called me minutes after. It was Sunday night so Carglass were closed but Autoglass called them 0900 the next day and I got a call from Carglass soon after. They booked me in to Brescia that afternoon. You were unlucky. I have to say that sounds like excellent service. Which A class do you have. I’m surprised they found a quarter light so quickly. A difficult part to source even if you own an A class Hymer. It might be a different story if it were your windscreen that had to be replaced even if you had a spare one with you. It's not an A class, I was just saying how well my insurers/Autoglass/Carglass performed in terms of keeping in contact. I even got a call back from Mayday half an hour after leaving Carglass to ask if everything was OK. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keninpalamos Posted November 20, 2017 Author Share Posted November 20, 2017 Muswell - 2017-11-20 7:09 PM keninpalamos - 2017-11-20 6:47 PM Muswell - 2017-11-20 5:10 PM When someone smashed my quarterlight in Italy the Caravan Club/Mayday called Autoglass who called me minutes after. It was Sunday night so Carglass were closed but Autoglass called them 0900 the next day and I got a call from Carglass soon after. They booked me in to Brescia that afternoon. You were unlucky. I have to say that sounds like excellent service. Which A class do you have. I’m surprised they found a quarter light so quickly. A difficult part to source even if you own an A class Hymer. It might be a different story if it were your windscreen that had to be replaced even if you had a spare one with you. It's not an A class, I was just saying how well my insurers/Autoglass/Carglass performed in terms of keeping in contact. I even got a call back from Mayday half an hour after leaving Carglass to ask if everything was OK. Ah! Right, a misunderstanding perhaps. The problem refers to an A class Hymer and the inability of an insurance broker conveying to a insurance company who don’t seem to understand that the screen company (Carglass via Autoglass)that they have contracted to replace windscreens are unable/incapable of doing such work on some motor homes in some countries in Europe. As above, others have had this problem and instead of finding a solution the companies involved just point the finger at each other hoping the poor sod (customer) will give up and disappear. If like you your ‘van has a standard base cab it’s not a problem. A case of “computer says no” Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Kirby Posted November 21, 2017 Share Posted November 21, 2017 Ken, I'm assuming that the windscreen in question was so damaged that the vehicle could not be driven? Otherwise it is a little difficult to understand why the owners did not merely get the repair carried out on return to UK. I'm not seeking to blame the owners for their decision, nor seeking to excuse the poor service of their (presumably) insurance dictated contractor. Just curious as to why they felt pressured to get the screen replaced while away. We recently needed a replacement screen for ours and, despite two previous screens having been replaced promptly and faultlessly, this last one took about three weeks, exacerbated by poor communication on the part of the supplier. However, the work, when completed, was again faultless. So, even in UK, it can fall apart at times. Knowing what I now know, I'd be inclined to return home for repair if at all possible, especially for an A-Class screen! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keninpalamos Posted November 23, 2017 Author Share Posted November 23, 2017 I’ve just seen an up date on the situation so far which is.... “Okay everyone ANOTHER update on our windscreen. Firstly after a weekend on social media, an email to CEO & 4 other people at Allianz it looks like we are getting somewhere! We had an over apologetic phone call this morning from the person who sent THAT email on Friday eve! Bottom line we should have it replaced very soon now! Another call came in from a very unhappy Autoglass! They also had picked up from social media our complaints! Wait for this ...... From Kerwin at Autoglass Head office ..... Anyone with a motorhome should phone their insurance BEFORE they leave the UK to see what countries they will be covered in should they have glass damage! He then went on to tell me that NO MOTORHOME is covered by Carglass in Spain or France. I asked whether Allianz or any Insurance company knew of this and he really did not want to clearly answer! Hopefully this situation we are in will highlight a big error so others will not have to go through what we have. And hopefully Allianz will take note of the bigger picture and take steps to put something in place to stop a repeat of this ridiculous situation!As ever I will keep you all updated :) “ So I would say that was quite interesting at the very least. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keninpalamos Posted November 23, 2017 Author Share Posted November 23, 2017 KeithR - 2017-11-20 9:19 AM didnt know you could buy a repair kit but it sounds a good idea. my new screen got chipped and when i returned home i phoned in for a repair. the details were taken by the offfice and i was told because of its size and placement it would mean a new screen. this of course means a £50 payment. the guy that actually turned up with the new screen took one look and said it would take him minutes to repair . He then phoned the offfice expert and got my £50 returrned. one up to the man who knew what he was doing. but i will certainly source a kit myself.. Where’s the “like” button. How someone sat in an office who hasn’t seen the damage first hand and is proberbly not qualified to assess such things can come to any conclusion at all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keninpalamos Posted November 29, 2017 Author Share Posted November 29, 2017 An update on the windscreen problems Kim Osbourne has been having. She has received notification from Allianz that a screen is on its way and will be with them by the end of this week. Apparently there is to be a full enquiry in to why it has taken over 3 weeks of none stop resistance to provide the service that Kim Osbourne had paid for but so far has not received plus the dreadful attitude and outright rudeness of the very people she has paid to provide this “service”. As Joe Royal would say “ my a~*e” Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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