Bad experience with a Luton-bodied Mercedes Sprinter.
Hired a Luton-bodied Mercedes Sprinter from the Skegness branch for 2 days (4th and 5th January 2021)
First day was mostly OK, however, at the start of the 80 mile return journey at about 4PM, the van refused to start. Ended up calling out the RAC, and eventually got home at about 23:15 on the back of a flatbed tow truck as the engineer didn't trust the van to get us home, although it had started.
Beginning of the second day, we again had problems starting the van. A mechanic from the branch came and got the van running with a few hammer blows to the starter. Did a 30 mile round trip with no further problems.
Later on the second day, we gave up with the van, and came to return the it. Again, it refused to start. Mechanic came out again, and with him and three others, we managed to bump-start the van (no mean feat, considering it's size!!!) after which they took it back to the branch.
We also noticed a used face mask in the dash compartment, so the claims of a CoViD-safe clean are not accurate.
So the van itself was a bit of a disaster. The delay with the RAC response was really no fault of Hexagon, and if they are to be believed, they bumped us up the RAC priority list. However, we still lost time and were unable to complete planned runs.
Now the response from Hexagon... During the numerous calls to their branch, we asked for a partial refund. Firstly to compensate for the inconvenience of breaking down, and secondly for the £30 or so of diesel we weren't able to use, that was in the tank when it was returned.
They've refunded £50, and we were told by the branch manager that they "owe us a day, plus the diesel" amounting to an additional £65. The branch manager couldn't authorise this, and would have to speak to the owner. That was over a week ago, and we've heard nothing since. We've called numerous times, and have been fobbed off at every opportunity - "I'll talk to him by the end of the week", or "I'll have a resolution by the end of the day".
I fully accept that things happen, but I rate companies on how they respond to unexpected situations. In this case, Hexagon have fallen short of what they said they would do.