Complaints Following the Hire of Tui Motorhome (AKJ 157) from the Auckland Depot

The 5-Berth Ford Transit-based motorhome was hired for 49 days
From 4 July  to 22 August 2005.

Barry and Margaret Williamson

October 2005

The following comments formed the basis for a letter to the hire company, Tui, towards the end of the hire period. It details a series of minor but unnecessary and annoying faults with the vehicle and with the company.

No reply or response has been received from Tui at the date of writing - January 2009!

Compare our experience and that of Australians Andrew and Shirley Harris with the claims on the Tui Website!

Introduction

We are a retired professional English couple, who for 10 years now, have used our own motorhome for long-term travel, exploring Europe and parts of North Africa and West Asia. We have also made 3 visits to New Zealand, totalling 12 months in the last 5 years, each as part of a round the world journey. We have hired motorhomes and cars in a dozen other countries, including Australia, the USA and, previously, New Zealand. 

Our web site (www.magbaztravels.com) is designed for long-term, long-distance motorhomers and other travellers and it contains at least 65 travel articles and over 1,000 travel-related images. The website has a wide international readership and it is becoming a gathering ground for the shared experience of other motorhomes.

We have published 20 articles in the MMM (Motorhome Motorcaravan Monthly), the UK's leading monthly motorhome magazine. We are also the magazine's consultants on long-term motorhoming, aspects of long-distance European travel and a number of countries in the Balkans. The magazine is about to publish our article on long-distance motorhoming in Australia.

The Motorhome

Overall, the 'Tui' motorhome was a good conversion, roomy and well equipped. It is unfortunate that the company provides such poor personal service and gives such little attention to maintenance and repair. For a small proportion of the overall costs involved in hiring such a vehicle, 'Tui' could have greatly improved our motorhoming experience.

What follows is a record of the series of minor but annoying and unnecessary problems that we experienced with the 'Tui' vehicle during our 49-day hire. They can be read in conjunction with our Travel Notes: New Zealand (travel notes) and our illustrated log of a journey through New Zealand (new zealand log). Relevant images are displayed at (new zealand images).

We stress again that the problems were unnecessary and in no way accidental. Overall, they were a sign of weak and sloppy management. 'Tourism' in general, in New Zealand and in Australia, is on the verge of becoming a 'Milk Cow' in marketing terms – given little maintenance and personal care, but able to be mechanically milked at regular intervals.

In writing these notes, we hope that we will help future motorhome travellers in New Zealand to choose their hire company with care. We advise all travellers to give plenty of time and attention to every detail of collecting the vehicle and signing the hire company's documents, even though you will not be encouraged either to tarry or to ask too many questions! Sadly, it is not wise to trust the company to take the same care as you must.

Customer Service

2.  Let us know when you arrive. 'Tui' requested us to 'advise our accommodation details at least 48 hours prior to the commencement of the hire to ensure that the vehicle is ready'. We did this, by telephone, but the call was dismissed as unnecessary and no note was taken of our name, booking reference, time of arrival, etc. In practice, as we shall see, the vehicle wasn't properly prepared and 'Tui' tried to renege on a promise to collect us from the airport (where we had to return a hired car).

3. Requirement to pay in full 30 days in advance. This is tantamount to stealing – we should only have to pay for that which we actually purchase. Where else does one pay for something, sight unseen, 30 days in advance, and then have no recourse if the product is unsuitable or the time has to be altered? Other companies in our experience require only a deposit in advance, the balance to be paid on collection (or even return) of the vehicle.

4. Refusal to return the cost of one single day's hire (out of 50) when our flight was brought forward by one day. Not their policy! We looked at their policy (terms and conditions) on the internet (www.tuicampers.co.nz ). Along with other NZ hire companies, they refuse any refund if the vehicle is returned early, but they are all silent on the subject of a change of hire period after the full payment is made but before the hire begins.

After some time and some pressure from us, phoning and emailing their website, 'Tui' agreed to refund only half the cost of a day's hire. They claimed that they had a right to charge $NZ25 as an 'administrative fee' and that one-fifth of the total was the non–refundable commission charged by the agent through whom we booked.

5.  We learned that the Agent through whom we booked apparently took a commission of $NZ 15 per day – a total of $NZ 750 (or £300), an amazing amount of money for the little service they offered. We paid the price Tui advertise for the vehicle on their website (although the ones they advertise look much newer and shinier). So Tui actually took $NZ 15 per day less! Why didn't they or the agency offer a discount? We smell something very strange going on here!

6. In the unnecessary confusion over the date of our return, and the initial refusal to offer any refund, we finished up with a form which proposed that we return the vehicle 2 days early, at 10 am in the morning! We could say that the 'receptionist' in the Auckland office didn't know which way was up, and cared even less!  Fortunately, she had a manager in Christchurch prepared to overlook her inadequacies and blame any problems on the customer's lack of vigilance: Caveat Emptor indeed.  

Mechanical & Electrical Problems

On their website, Tui offer you a choice from their "late model Tui fleet of superbly maintained and presented campervans". But read on . . . .

7. Two of five inside fluorescent tubes not working. This was not a matter of a faulty tube – switches were broken and removed. This has been a long-term problem. When we pointed this out to the company, we were told that we should spend time finding an auto-electrician, get them fixed at our expense and look for a 'Tui' refund later! Instead, we bought a reading lamp for the dark evenings.

8. A third fluorescent tube worked intermittently and took some urging into life.

9.  Outside light was not working initially. This was still true when we returned the vehicle.

10. The gas bottle was completely empty and had been replaced wrong-way round so that tap could not be accessed. Obviously someone-else's empty bottle had been substituted. 'Tui' make no stipulation on the amount of gas, either when the van is taken out or when it is returned. However, they should certainly do a safety check to ensure that the bottle is correctly installed and warn a hirer if there is absolutely no gas in the bottle! We were unable even to make a hot drink until we found an LPG-filling station, which are not as common in New Zealand as they are in Australia. The assistant at the BP station in Helensville, who eventually filled it, was astonished that any motorhome hire company would behave in this way and told us to complain!

A foreign visitor with little command of the language, and not forewarned, would have found this a matter of some difficulty.

11. Nearside outside locker door badly damaged, making it unusable. If a previous renter had been charged for this damage, the repair should have been undertaken.

12. The receipt given to us by Tui showed that the fuel tank was full and threatened a financial penalty if it was not returned full. Their Terms and Conditions states: “All vehicles are supplied with a full tank of fuel at the start of hire, and must be returned with a full tank at the end of your hire”.

In fact, we drove away before discovering that the tank was showing only half-full. We returned to the office and a hasty alteration was scribbled (unsigned) on our rental agreement – the sort of change we could have made ourselves! This showed the tank to be three-quarters full and was only altered (again) to half-full when we noticed and resisted! We were then asked to return the vehicle half-full! Why was the tank not checked and filled before hiring the vehicle out? Were the previous hirers charged for this missing half? Why insist we comply with the Terms and Conditions when the Company don't?

When we complained about this by telephone to Headquarters in Christchurch, we were told that it was up to us to check everything before we signed the agreement form. Even though we were asked to sign the form before we were shown the vehicle! Perhaps a simpler solution for the company would be to train their staff to complete the pre-hire checks and the paperwork more thoroughly and carefully and not try and deceive the customer.

Had we not noticed this sloppy work, it would have culminated in fraud on the part of 'Tui' if we been fined $NZ20 for returning the vehicle with the tank not filled.

13.  Windscreen chipped in 3 places – this would be illegal in the UK but we do not know the situation in New Zealand.

14. Cigar lighter socket in the cab is not 'live' under any circumstances,  meaning we have to use batteries for our GPS when on the move.  

15. Water tank overflow. We noticed that excess water overflowed from the top of the fresh-water tank when filling it, rather than backing up the filling tube. Water is therefore 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.

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

17. The hosepipe was not of food quality, was absurdly short given the difficulty in manoeuvring close to a tap, it was so cheap it kinked and it only fitted a certain kind of tap!

18. When a larger hosepipe (supplied by a campground) was used to fill the fresh water tank, a river of water ran down the centre of the floor, inside the van!

19.  The Tui website promises a travel information pack to include “details on camping grounds, maps, New Zealand traffic rules, sightseeing brochures and general information”. In practice, we were offered none of these and we had to ask. In return, we were reluctantly given a scruffy, dirty, dated atlas of NZ roads that was to be as misleading as it was sometimes useful!

No note was made that we had the atlas, but it carried a sticker threatening a fine of $NZ50 if it were not returned.

20. The rear offside tyre and wheel became blackened, not unnaturally since the exhaust pipe pointed at the wheel from only 1 cm away!

21. There were puddles in the cab, on the bathroom floor, in the cupboard under the gas cooker and down the back window after rain.

22. External TV aerial (with amplifier) is useless. A better (though usually poor) signal is obtained from the 2 bits of wire which make up the indoor aerial on top of the TV!

23. The whistling kettle had a mouldy old teabag in it – this speaks of sloppy preparation!

24. A fine of $NZ100 (= £40) was threatened if the van were to be returned in an 'unclean state'. Inside or outside, or both? Who defines this? Who decides? Overall, Tui threaten more fines than a corrupt Moroccan policeman.

25.  We asked where the jack, spare wheel, tools, etc were kept and were told to telephone the New Zealand AA if we had any problems. There is no spare wheel; we couldn't find any tools. How do we ring the AA on a country road? At night? Out of mobile phone range? And what is their number?

26.  Microwave turntable is not the original and does not turn smoothly.

27.  Refrigerator icebox door hangs on one hinge and therefore doesn't close properly. Eventually it came off completely.

28. Refrigerator drip tray is not the original and does not fit properly. It tends to fall out when the fridge door is opened.

29.  The cutlery drawer flies open sometimes on the road. The catch is worn and doesn't always hold.

30. Toilet doesn't seal fully which means that liquids do not stay in the toilet bowl and smells from the holding tank can permeate the toilet itself, particularly after travelling. This poses a health as well as a comfort problem.

31. Glass-fronted cover to grill poorly fitted to its hinges and tends to fall off. This is extremely dangerous should one balance a hot pan on it when removing the pan from the grill.

32.  Jets on the four-burner hob are blocked and sooty and in need of a service.

33.  The drain for the shower lies directly over the grey water waste tank. When the waste tank is partially full, water slops up onto the floor of the shower/toilet compartment when the vehicle is on the move.

34.  Insect mesh is missing on one of the two overcab windows, alongside the double bed.

35. Curtains across the overcab bed were incorrectly hung and the curtain rail is hanging loose from the roof.

36.  Curtain tie by the rear bed missing: it was held by a single screw.

37.  As far we could see, the refrigerator could not be turned off completely, just turned down. This meant that the battery was run down when the van was left unconnected to the mains for some time.

38.  The toilet flush stopped working – this was traced to a loose wire at the 12-volt fusebox

Welcome to New Zealand! In general, this is no way to treat foreign tourists, many not speaking English as a first language, often fresh off the aeroplane and weary! What a reception! What an experience!

Tui's Complete Lack of Response

Despite sending a copy of the above list of complaints to Tui Campers () and to their agents Travelnz () on 27 August 2005 and again on 9 September 2005, we have had no reply.

We have travelled in about 70 countries since early retirement. Some are energetic and pro-active in developing tourism and tourist-related activities and this feeds through into warm and sometimes lasting relationships at a personal level. We think of Slovenia, Croatia, Turkey, rural Fiji, Greece, Thailand, India, the USA. Others are milking a tired old cow that once was fat, while putting no resources into either maintenance or replacement.

We fear that the tourist business in Australia and New Zealand falls into the latter category and the cow only remains milkable because visitors continue to be attracted to the scenic splendours of the two countries, while having to tolerate the tawdriness of the tourist business.