Got up this morning and looked at fb, as you do, to find the place where we store our vans (its a farm shop, outlets,cafe and petting area) saying they were closed due to flooding. OH sent them a text at 8.30am just checking the van was okay. I happened to call in as had heard nothing... only to find other van owners bailing their vans out and saying that their's had been written off.
Called OH as I wasn't brave enough to go into van on my own. He arrived, we went in and sure enough van has had up to about 6-8 inches of dirty muddy water in her. Spent next 2 hrs emptying her.
Still no reply from site owner! In situation of having to get a new van in less than 2 weeks , as we're due to go to France 2 weeks tomorrow. There were other vans whose owners had not been ?didn't know about it and I feel for them. I'm absolutely brokenhearted because I'd just got her how I wanted and was looking forward to our trip.
I pathetically sat and cried. OH is fuming that owner did not feel he should let us know what had happened, esp as it's not the cheapest storage in the area. Other owners were equally angry. Not his fault about flood but he has a duty of care to inform us surely? i
How awful for you. Hope you get things sorted in time for your holiday.
I too would have expected to be contacted by the owner if something had affected my van whilst in storage. It’s not at Glebe Farm, is it, as featured on the BBC news tonight?
Might it be an option to look at hiring accommodation at sites in France? They may have some available with it being later in August when you’re there.
If I was paying for storage I'd expect the site owner to be insured and that his or her insurance would cover all my costs. Why claim on your insurance when the site owner did not inform you that there was a likelihood of flooding and give you the chance to move you caravan to a safe place?
I think I'd be talking to a no win no fee solicitor and taking action against the storage site owner.
------------- We camped for years. In 2019 we bought an Elddis Avante 454. We like it as it is short (6.9m) and fits in our driveway and has a fixed bed.
We had 127 nights away in the caravan in 2023.
I had a look at his facebook page, so he claims that their is flooding and a power outage, yet manages to inform on his facebook page about the shop yet not one word regarding the caravan storage! yes I agree with the earlier posts regarding seeking help from a solicitor, but I also suggest that you check out other storage sites and when you find a replacement get your new one put on that site because as soon as your solicitor writes to him you will likely be told to remove your caravan/motorhome from his storage site.
We used Tilshead to hire a caravan once (before we were caravan owners). We wanted it delivered to where we were camping (in Wiltshire). The caravan was excellent. Really good quality, clean and all functioning, and Tilshead were really friendly and professional - very easy to work with.
MrsTheChief has just reminded me that this was 13 years ago though.
The owner should have known there was a risk of flooding, as far as I can tell his site is clearly at risk (Google the flood warning information service.gov.uk) Using that website, I input the post code and checked the risk of surface water flooding at Glebe Farm. You can cross check the flood risk map with Google Earth, seems pretty clear to me.
So, did he warn you at any point ie is it mentioned anywhere in the details/information he gave you when you first signed up? If not, you might want to ask him why he didn't. However, assuming he has insurance it may be invalid if he did't disclose the risk to his insurer.
Anyway, totally understand that you'd be upset, I would be too! Fingers crossed that you get yourself sorted for your trip and that your 'van situation is resolved quickly.
That's the problem, it doesn't smell very nice. Think it might have silage in it too as its beginning to smell very sweet! Its still got a couple of inches of water in the parts of the van we can't reach.