The following comments are intended to be helpful, coming as they do from 2 people with considerable experience of motorhoming. On the whole, the comments deal with minor matters which you could easily have rectified or avoided altogether. Although small, they add up to a poor impression of your overall service and your care for your customers. You save a little money but lose a lot of customer satisfaction and good will.

We would be interested in receiving your response to our comments by email using: . Your comments on this letter will be published on the website.

The motorhome, based on a Mercedes Sprinter (Vehicle Unit Number 22031), was collected from the Maui Perth depot on Saturday 2 April 2005 for a 90-day hire period. It was returned to the Brisbane depot on Thursday 30 June 2005.

1)  The attitude of the man running the Perth depot was deplorable. He was surly and withdrawn, showed little interest in us or his work, gave us the minimum amount of attention and quickly withdrew. What was apparently a computer glitch meant that we had to wait something like an hour after the formalities were completed, left to our own devices, not even offered a drink – indeed completely ignored.

A measure of this man's attitude is that when he heard that we had the van for 3 months, he generously gave us another small sachet of toilet powder. He is also the person ultimately responsible for handing the van over in the condition and with the accessories (including the bedding and towels) described below.

2)  The deposit of $A5,000 was actually taken from our credit card in Perth and held for 3 months. This is something that has never happened before in our many years of travel and vehicle hire. Recent hires in India (2), Thailand and Malaysia and hires coming up in NZ and USA did not and do not take the money! With you, we lose the use of the money, interest payments and we risk loss on changing exchange rates

3)  Only one small window opened for ventilation with an insect screen. This made it impossible to create any movement of air without opening a non-screened door!

4)  There were no opening roof vents (with or without insect mesh). In Australia's climate, these are essential to catch the breeze and allow hot air to escape. The tiny fixed roof vents were quite inadequate.

5)  The limited life of the fridge running off the 12-volt battery forced the use of a mains hook up most nights. This was also forced by (3) and (4) above – a mains voltage is needed to run the air-conditioner which is the only means of cooling down.

6)  The overall crude build of the van (including roughly made chipboard cupboards and lockers) means that it was built down to a price rather than up to a standard.

7)  Only one small overhead locker is supplied. This is quite inadequate when there are so many small things to be stored

8)  The sharp corner on the one overhead locker over the cooker (just where a person exits from the rear seats) meant a number of knocks to the head, including one that drew blood.

9)  When filling the fresh water tank, it was very difficult to get the end of the hosepipe to enter the tube leading to the tank.

10)  We noticed that excess water overflowed from the top of the fresh-water tank when filling it, rather than backing up the filling tube. This means that water is lost from the tank when the vehicle is in motion and there is nothing to stop the ingress of dust and dirt into the tank.

11)  We regretted the inability to carry any passengers (when visiting friends) in such a large vehicle.

12)  The 12-volt cigar lighter in cab is live only when the engine is running! This gives it limited use for re-charging cameras, mobile-phones, etc. In the evening it could not be used for our short-wave radio.

13)  Following (12), there is no 12-volt supply available in the living area to run accessories, including a reading light.

14)  Radio/CD player in the cab was only live when we left the key in the ignition!

15)  No towel rail or hanger was supplied.

16)  It is virtually impossible to empty the grey (waste) water tank. The tap is difficult to reach and water cannot be directed or captured. In practice, water has to be released onto grass or gravel! It is impossible to manoeuvre over the usual campsite drain opening.

17)  No hooks for hanging clothes, etc are supplied and there is no opportunity to hang things to dry.

18)  The safe is a waste of valuable and limited cupboard space. What happens if the batteries flatten?

19)  There is no way of knowing how much water remains in the fresh water tank.

20)  The adjustable flaps in the air-conditioner/heater were broken.

21)  The six poorly-fitting wooden cupboard doors rattled constantly when driving.

22)  There was no rear-view mirror on the windscreen – a view of following traffic through the rear door windows would have been useful. The man at your Perth depot told us that it was not Maui's practice to supply any kind of internal mirrors, even for the driver!

23)  The Mercedes-fitted internal roof light over the kitchen area (which should switch on when the sliding door is opened) was broken – in fact most of it was missing. The man at your Perth depot told us it was up to us to get it fixed.

24)  The passenger seat belt was dangerously twisted several times.

25)  The rear near-side curtain rail was off the wall.

26)  The bed sheets were too small – probably designed for the smaller motorhomes based on the Toyota HiAce or similar.

27)  The duvet (doona) was also too small – a major fault. It was also thin, torn and worn.

28)  The 2 towels and 2 tea towels were also worn and had small holes

29)  Only 2 towels and 2 pillow cases were supplied – this meant they had to be washed and dried within the same day.

30)  The first Maui depot we were able to visit was in Hobart. They replaced the bed sheets and duvet/doona with ones of the correct size and better quality and also replaced the tea-towels and towels. However, they failed to include pillow-cases in the replacement pack and we had to purchase 2 more.

31)  The 2 knives, forks and spoons were so cheap that they bent at the slightest provocation. 'Flimsy' is not the word!

32)  We should not have had to buy and then dispose of the following: toilet roll holder, mirrors, stick-on hooks for the washroom, washing-up bowl, teapot, chopping board, sharp knife (yours wouldn't cut a tomato), crates to hold loose objects in cupboards, large serving spoon, egg cups, pepper & salt containers, fly swat, fly spray, door mat, coat hangers (you supplied 3, that is 1½ each!)

33)  We were given 3 packets of chemical toilet powder to last 3 months!

34)  The curtains were of minimal size – barely deep enough to cover the window and clothes pegs were needed to avoid gaps between them.

35)  The hosepipe was not of food quality and it was so cheap it kinked.

36)  The cooking pans, etc were of the cheapest. The pan bases were so thin it was impossible not to burn food on the gas hob.

37)  Since it is necessary to have a mains electrical connection in order to use the fridge and air conditioner, a small electric kettle could also have been supplied for safety, to save gas and to avoid overheating the van.

38)  The mains lead plug was for a 15 Amp socket. An adaptor to fit lower-rated sockets would have been useful.

39)  The given definition of 'sealed road' is too vague for Australian conditions. A sealed road may become unsealed for a few kilometres due to road works and road improvements – do we turn back? It is also not uncommon to find a single track road which requires the vehicle to be driven off the bitumen when being overtaken or when meeting an oncoming vehicle. Is this not allowed? What is the penalty for this kind of use? Loss of insurance cover? None of this is clear.

40)  The discount booklet given us on 2 April had expired at the end of March.

41)  The first Big 4 caravan park visited told us we should have a special key fob to qualify for a 10% discount. They took some persuading to give it without this or any other evidence!

42)  'Turn off the fridge and gas bottle, refuel the tank and gas bottle if required, fill the fresh water tank, empty the waste water tank, throw away all rubbish, clean all dishes, sweep the floors and wipe the benches.' This is not the army giving orders to new recruits, but your company addressing customers spending a significant amount of money to buy a service from you! And not even a 'please'!

43)  The word 'Maui' is displayed FIVE times in large letters on the outside of the van. We don't see why we should provide free publicity for the company – a mobile billboard the length of Australia. Other Australian motorhome hire companies are more discreet, hire companies in Europe never do it and neither do car hire companies in Australia.

In addition to the Maui name, a telephone number, website address and the slogan 'Spirit of Independence' are also displayed. Given the restrictions on keeping to the bitumen and having to find a campground most nights, it could be thought that the latter was a bit overstated! But not as ambitious as the Britz 'No Boundaries'!