Sundrive Hire (Camper Van / Motorhome Hire) Anyone Used Them?

[loosechange]

it takes a higher level of motivation for a person to write about the good things

[ukmountie]

I actually live in Shrewsbury. This "Virtual Office" is just a building on an industrial estate, where they can have space if they need it. Otherwise it's just a mail drop really.

If anyone knows or can find out where they keep their motor-homes I'm happy to drop by and verify their existence. However I think I'd go with the general consensus here that it's a scam.

[Seamuds]

I actually live in Shrewsbury. This "Virtual Office" is just a building on an industrial estate, where they can have space if they need it. Otherwise it's just a mail drop really.

If anyone knows or can find out where they keep their motor-homes I'm happy to drop by and verify their existence. However I think I'd go with the general consensus here that it's a scam.

[jameshunt]

Love their cancellation email - had a very long converation with Mr Simms and he gave me so much random and nonsensical information. These guys will be gone within the week. Get your money back NOW!

Hallo Mr Jones,

I am sorry to hear you no longer wish to proceed with your inquiry to hire one of our motor homes.I can however confirm that i have erased all your paticulars from our system, and that if in the future you find yourself in a position of wanting to hire again please do not hesitate to contact us for a quote.

Kind Regards

Steven Simms

[eFestivals]

I'm glad (not!) to see that Trading Standards remain a pointless joke.

They've asked me not to pass on the guy's details, and instead say...

Where individual consumers have concerns about the business, they should,

in the first instance, contact Consumer Direct on 0845 04 05 06 to discuss

their concerns. Alternatively they can seek advice through the Consumer

Direct website at www.consumerdirect.gov.uk. Shropshire Council Trading

Standards is unable to offer advice or assistance to residents who do not

reside in Shropshire. With respect to Shropshire residents, advice is

provided where initial contact is made via Consumer Direct

[Morse Code]

I'm glad (not!) to see that Trading Standards remain a pointless joke.

They've asked me not to pass on the guy's details, and instead say...

[alivsey]

I guess we should always be disappointed but never surprised!

Many thanks to all (ok most!) of the forum users who have left comments. I suspect by the number of views though that there are many many many more who have shown an interest

If anyone has any further info or indeed, given that when I spoke to Sundrivehire earlier this week I was assured that there are plenty of their 90 strong fleet of vehicles out an hire as we speak, if anyone can provide a reference for their services, we'd all be very interested to hear.

In the meantime, does anyone know where I can get my hands on a motorhome or campervan between the dates of 21st June 2011 and 28th June 2011?!? Failing that I guess I'll be found trawling the 'Camping at Glastonbury with a baby' threads!

[redmosquito]

I guess we should always be disappointed but never surprised!

Many thanks to all (ok most!) of the forum users who have left comments. I suspect by the number of views though that there are many many many more who have shown an interest

If anyone has any further info or indeed, given that when I spoke to Sundrivehire earlier this week I was assured that there are plenty of their 90 strong fleet of vehicles out an hire as we speak, if anyone can provide a reference for their services, we'd all be very interested to hear.

In the meantime, does anyone know where I can get my hands on a motorhome or campervan between the dates of 21st June 2011 and 28th June 2011?!? Failing that I guess I'll be found trawling the 'Camping at Glastonbury with a baby' threads!

[Dan Uturns]

I've just spoken to management of the address they operate from, and have discovered that it's merely a "virtual office", where mail is sent to them and then forwarded on to another address.

If they were a genuine motorhome rental company, then I would have thought that they would require large premises for storing and servicing and cleaning those motorhomes.

Make of this what you will.

[warriormonk]

Hmmmmm. I had a look at the Sundrive website out of interest. Seems a little short on content and this section.....

http://www.sundrivehire.co.uk/beprepared.php

....gives tips about driving in the UK, as if aimed at foreign tourists. It also quotes fuel prices from 2009. It all seems a little strange.

But wait a moment. Could it be this whole section has been lifted from another website???? Maybe this one?

http://www.motorhomegroup.com/hire/new-motorhomes.asp

Whether or not this Sundrive company is legit, it's seemingly not averse to plagiarism.

Edited April 8, 2011 by warriormonk

[leescho]

Hi,

I am thinking about using Sundrive Hire for a festival in August but I am also a little wary as the prices do seem very very cheap??

if anyone does have any dealings with them I would be glad to hear about it!

Obviously if they are legit, happy days but I don't fancy spending hard earned cash and disappointing the family if it all falls through... might just hire a car and use the old faithful tent instead!

[Sundrivehire]

Dear Mr Neil Greenway of E-Festivals,

I have been monitoring this forum since the 4th of April and I am deeply concerned about your invalidated comments in relation to the Sundrivehire business model and operational procedures. I am sure you would agree that it’s fair to say, “you seem to have a personal interest in our business”. One could also easily assume that for certain personal reasons you are attempting to aid a smear campaign against the business. However I am not aware of any booking that you have placed with us or any failure’s in service that you have experienced.

At this stage I can only reasonably assume that there are other reasons or factors that motivate you to make un-quantified assumptions about our business, and to consciously portray our business in a bad light. I would question whether or not you in fact perceive yourself to be a competitor and thus have a vested interest in a motor home hire business or profit some way by influencing people not to use our services or even to simply speculate.

Having studied your website I notice that there is an unusual high amount of banner advertisements which would usually create a cost for the advertiser based on impressions and or clicks. This would I am sure increase your profits and aid you in obtaining business from advertisers and sponsors in the future based on your sites number of visitors and further more create interest and awareness about your site from our competitors who obviously appreciate the messages that you portray.

It is therefore very likely that this smear campaign will result in further business for you as a result of increased traffic on your website and ultimately competitor advertising or sponsorship. I would also assume that you have targeted other popular websites like ours in the past as one of your tactics to divert traffic to your own website.

As some of the above comments, like all of yours are based on assumptions and speculation, I would therefore like to take this opportunity to offer you a rental of one of our motor homes or campervans so that you may experience our service for yourself. This invitation is an opportunity for you to show your forum users that you are genuine and that you truly stand by your convictions. Your motor home hire can be swiftly arranged by calling our sales team on 0834 289 0867, where a member of staff will be happy to assist you with your booking requirements.

Finally I do hope that you will act on this offer as after our rental agreement is concluded, we would welcome any of your comments or suggestions about our service in the knowledge that such further comments or suggestions will be valid and hopefully honestly quantified.

Kind Regards,

Philip Haynes

Public Relations Manager

Sundrivehire

[eFestivals]

Dear Philip Haynes,

I've become aware of your business only because of the posts made on these forums, which I run. I first became aware of them on the 6th April, two days after you did, and when I made my first post here.

My "invalidated comments"? What invalidated about them? I made a fully accurate statement about the IP addresses of some of the posters in this thread, and that they all share the same ISP. I made a fully accurate statement about how no one from Sundrive hire had been in touch with eFestivals, which your previous posts suggests might have happened. And I made what I believe to be a fully accurate statement about how you do not operate from the address you give on your website, as told to me by the management of that address.

I have no interest, personal or otherwise, in your business. I do have an interest in my own business, where worries have been expressed about your business. I have no interest in smearing your business or anyone else's, but I do have an interest in helping people who post here, by providing clear information which they can use for their own consideration.

You are correct: I've not placed a booking with you. I have no interest in hiring a motorhome, either now, in the past, or in the future.

While you might feel I've portrayed your business in a bad light, all I have done is exposed that your business' does not operate anything more than a 'virtual office' from the address you give for yourself. If this portrays you in a bad light in your own mind, then just think how your potential customers might feel about it!!

I do not perceive myself as a competitor, because I'm not. I have no interests in any motorhome hire business.

As some of the above comments, like all of yours are based on assumptions and speculation

My comments are not merely "assumptions and speculation". I have stated some clear facts, which people can assess themselves.

I would therefore like to take this opportunity to offer you a rental of one of our motor homes or campervans so that you may experience our service for yourself. This invitation is an opportunity for you to show your forum users that you are genuine and that you truly stand by your convictions.

I have no interest in renting a motorhome, either now, in the past, or in the future - from you, or any other company.

If you are a genuine hire company, I wonder why even now you have not stated where your business ACTUALLY operates from, and instead continue to only offer a forwarding postal address to any potential customers.

Giving a real address, where people can see you have some of the motorhomes you claim to rent to people, would do far more to prove your business as genuine than anything you might post on these forums.

[loosechange]

Hmmmmm. I had a look at the Sundrive website out of interest. Seems a little short on content and this section.....

http://www.sundrivehire.co.uk/beprepared.php

....gives tips about driving in the UK, as if aimed at foreign tourists. It also quotes fuel prices from 2009. It all seems a little strange.

But wait a moment. Could it be this whole section has been lifted from another website???? Maybe this one?

http://www.motorhomegroup.com/hire/new-motorhomes.asp

Whether or not this Sundrive company is legit, it's seemingly not averse to plagiarism.

[leon3574]

Funny how Sundrive haven,t come back and said ok here is our address or supplied photos isnt it

[moho79]

Any update?

Having planned super-early + booking our campervan last October, the owner's just emailed and me it's been in an accident + won't be sorted before Glasto. Nightmare!! (Well, not for me, I'm happy to camp but we have persuaded two of our friends to come on the proviso we were in a campervan so they won't be happy ... )

2 groups of my mates have booked with sundrive + I've showed them this thread. They've spoken to them + seem to be been reassured it's genuine but I have a more cynical attitude than they do + remain unconvinced ... all a bit too easy. Given we've been getting quotes for a 5-berth camper between £900 - £2200 (eek!!) from other companies, sundrive do seem unbelievably cheap in comparison.

So would be really interested in if anyone has actually hired a campervan from them recently ...

[alivsey]

Any update?

Having planned super-early + booking our campervan last October, the owner's just emailed and me it's been in an accident + won't be sorted before Glasto. Nightmare!! (Well, not for me, I'm happy to camp but we have persuaded two of our friends to come on the proviso we were in a campervan so they won't be happy ... )

2 groups of my mates have booked with sundrive + I've showed them this thread. They've spoken to them + seem to be been reassured it's genuine but I have a more cynical attitude than they do + remain unconvinced ... all a bit too easy. Given we've been getting quotes for a 5-berth camper between £900 - £2200 (eek!!) from other companies, sundrive do seem unbelievably cheap in comparison.

So would be really interested in if anyone has actually hired a campervan from them recently ...

[Simpy]

So, just to clarify, nobody on this thread has actually had an issue with this company?

I am not worried about the website as it is quite common for companies to pull through info from other sites, particularly if linked content. Similarly, I am unconcerned about the company not having a site full of empty vans waiting to be booked out as it is common for rental companies to keep overheads down by operating more as an intermediary broker through a virtual office than as an owner of the vehicles. What I do want to know is if anyone has had an experience where the van has not been delivered, too much money was taken, the product did not meet the description, etc (other than if the vehicle was in an accident which could result in it no longer being available).

Interested to hear of anything concrete rather than just the concern that we are all experiencing to varying degrees about this company's reliability.

[StoneCircle]

The simple fact that they created users on here to give themselves 'a big up' would be sufficient for me to avoid them.

I would seriously suggest you read through again.

Then read this thread.

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.php?t=3134820

Edited April 18, 2011 by StoneCircle

[mimes]

If the fleet is 90 campers can I ask how many people know of people who have booked ?

I know of 2 campers currently hired off the company.

I would be interested to see what the total count stands at?

I have arranged to have one delivered to my house for a viewing later this week. While I can't say that this free 'preview' will remove all doubts about the company's intentions, I can say that they certainly seem to be making an effort with me. I'll post an update once I've seen the vehicle.

Edited April 18, 2011 by mimes

[DeadAmos]

This topic is sure attracting alot of new users

[GlastoBill]

I've not posted that often but I'm certainly no new user.

I've just booked with this company and I hope they are legitimate. I will keep the forum updated with my experience with Sundrive.

[eFestivals]

If the fleet is 90 campers ...

if the fleet is 90 campers than I would have thought they'd be able to post a picture of a big yard with a fleet of 90 campers in it (cos it's not like they'd all be out on hire at all points of the year), and showing a big sign on the gate saying "Sundrive Hire". And I'd have thought that they'd also be able to tell people where this yard was.

The fact that they have done neither seems very strange, especially when there's so many doubts about their legitimacy flying around.

[TheNewUnion]

Seems there are concerns in other forums too, granted it's a cached page, but similar sentiments to the thread here and on MSE.

######63x6g7c

Mate of mine has a motorhome on a "franchise" agreement, the company he uses to rent it out have motorhomes all over the country. Done some googling and no signs of any threads about them being dodgy. So, make of that what you will (before you ask, his van is already out for Glasto, though not to me disappointingly!)

[mimes]

My friend just spoke with Sundrive hire there and they were more than happy to deal with his questions

He spoke to Tim

He stated to him that the address they recide from at (the below address) is in fact an office an that he was speaking to them from there

The Rural Enterprise Centre

Stafford Drive

Shrewsbury

SY1 3FE

Next, he stated that the company was in fact setup 18 months ago so to my recollection this does not match what is stated in this thread,

He also stated that if I would want to cancel the booking that would be no prob.

views?

Edited April 18, 2011 by mimes