Dealing with BMW Assistance/ Mondial any tips?

[E. Buygum]

White van man Poland put paid prematurely to my recent trip and the BMW recovery worked pretty well, with a reassurance that the bike would be repatriated "within 10 days". That was 3 weeks ago and I have been chasing BMW Assistance (Mondial in reality) daily by phone/ email. I get the same reply every time from someone different every time that they are "waiting for a response from our Polish agent". I can't seem to get past that and am at a bit of a loss.

Does anyone have any ideas how I might escalate this? Bizarrely, I am being chased by my Insurance company. The agreement was that they would send out an assessor as soon as the bike was back in the UK at my local dealer....this seemed better to me than getting the bike fixed abroad and then shipped. Am I doing something wrong?

Apart from wheel, fork sliders and crash bars are bent, headlight smashed, pannier frame bent and a few other bits...on the positive side, Polish driver was insured and has admitted liability.

My bike looked so sad and lonely when I abandoned it...some pieces of loose glass fell from the headlight and I could have sworn it was crying...yes, I really do need to get out.

 

[mark2jag]

Sorry ot hear about your bad experience.

White van man Poland put paid prematurely to my recent trip and the BMW recovery worked pretty well, with a reassurance that the bike would be repatriated "within 10 days". That was 3 weeks ago and I have been chasing BMW Assistance (Mondial in reality) daily by phone/ email. I get the same reply every time from someone different every time that they are "waiting for a response from our Polish agent". I can't seem to get past that and am at a bit of a loss.

Does anyone have any ideas how I might escalate this? Bizarrely, I am being chased by my Insurance company. The agreement was that they would send out an assessor as soon as the bike was back in the UK at my local dealer....this seemed better to me than getting the bike fixed abroad and then shipped. Am I doing something wrong?

Apart from wheel, fork sliders and crash bars are bent, headlight smashed, pannier frame bent and a few other bits...on the positive side, Polish driver was insured and has admitted liability.

My bike looked so sad and lonely when I abandoned it...some pieces of loose glass fell from the headlight and I could have sworn it was crying...yes, I really do need to get out.

I feel for ya. the bike does look a bit dejected at the moment, and i hope it all works out well. Find out where Mondials Head office is, phone them and ask politely to speak to a manager. Dont let them fob you off with bullshit. if they do, phone back and try your best to speak to someone else. It does sound like they dont know what they are doing. Most companies have directors. i'm sure a search of Google or some other search engine will find them. Try and speak to them. I am mostly an optimist and hope this will solve your problem.

HTH, Mark

 

[E. Buygum]

I feel for ya. the bike does look a bit dejected at the moment, and i hope it all works out well. Find out where Mondials Head office is, phone them and ask politely to speak to a manager. Dont let them fob you off with bullshit. if they do, phone back and try your best to speak to someone else. It does sound like they dont know what they are doing. Most companies have directors. i'm sure a search of Google or some other search engine will find them. Try and speak to them. I am mostly an optimist and hope this will solve your problem.

HTH, Mark

Ta, Mk2...I did all that but decided to put off calling until Monday...I just didn't have the will to make what would almost certainly be yet another frustrating phone call. Then this morning without any reference to any of my earlier calls or emails, I got a message saying my bike has been picked up and I'll have an exact arrival date in the UK on Monday. My baby's coming home!

 

[boatman]

MORE to the point sir how are you doing, hope yer not as dinged as your bikie !!!!!! Machines CAN be replaced Hope yer ok

 

[BenGS]

Bit worried actually as this is my first trip away abroad on a bike ever, and being so young i have taken extreme measures to protect myself including BMW recovery. (God forbid anything happens but your case clearly shows it can) It seems that it was all sorted in the end which is very reassuring especially at the price you pay for the service. Hopefully everything works out for you pal and the bike gets a bit of TLC from a dealer.

Out of curiosity did they fly you home?

 

[wessie]

I believe there have been a series of bank holidays throughout Europe in recent weeks which have probably accounted for the delays. As well as shipping staff being on holiday the number of breakdown claims spike up as the tourists emerge from their winter slumber.

If you have been inconvenienced whilst the bike has been off the road e.g. had to use pubic transport or hire a vehicle then just charge it to your insurer who will recover the cost from the 3rd party.

 

[E. Buygum]

Well, I did feel a bit rough the next day but that was because I carried on the trip by hire car and discovered Vodka in Krakow and so remembered why I don't drink spirits. Not a scratch from the accident: I was very well protected by Alu pannier and engine/ crash bar. I have to say on the day, BMW/ Mondial were very good. They got me + bike to nearest (air conditioned) BMW dealer where I was looked after very well: free (very good) coffee, mineral water and they even offered to pop out for a sandwich for me. I was provided with a hire car and on I went.

I felt very, very glad that I had been on a BMW at this point.

If I had been injured I understand they would have flown me home but because I wasn't, I took the hire car alternative. I would have completed the whole trip but the hire car had to be returned within Poland...so I decided to fly back from Krakow. It cost me £70 only. (Less than my separate travel insurance excess).

The only real mistake Mondial made was by telling me up front that repatriation of the vehicle would take typically 4-5 days, 10 days max. They even kept saying that 2 weeks after the accident...I was definitely suffering Call Centre fever at that point.

I have to say, the communication with my Insurance company (Chaucer) hasn't been great and with hindsight, I wish I had also been insured with BMW.

BMW said the recovery would be by "SOS"...I suspect (?) that's these...http://www.sos-motorcycle-recovery.co.uk/ who seem a good bunch. They are currently advertising that they are off to Wroclaw and they'll do a good deal on motorbike transport around that route. (That's where my bike is).

God, I miss my bike.

Incidentally, this is my first ever vehicle-vehicle collision in 42 years of driving/ riding and >1m miles...it doesn't pay to get smug (I should add that I have fallen off on my own loads of times).

 

[Wapping]

Bit worried actually as this is my first trip away abroad on a bike ever, and being so young i have taken extreme measures to protect myself including BMW recovery.

Don't worry about it.

Just make sure you have:

(1) Good roadside recovery (BMW Assistance is fine, trust me).

(2) Good personal accident travel insurance (that gives cover for riding a motorcycle of your chosen capacity) along with your EU (EHIC) medical card. If in doubt as to whether you need insurance, work out how far you can push your bike with a broken leg and a temperature of 103.... on a hot day.

(3) A half decent map of where you are going to be on each day. A GPS is feck all good when conversing with an aged crone as to where it is you have broken down.

(4) Your original V5, your valid passport, your original and valid insurance certificate.

(5) A spare set of keys (panniers, bike and alarm fob). Do NOT keep your spare keys locked in your pannier, just keep them somewhere safe about your person. If you MUST keep your spare keys in a locked pannier.... work out in advance how you intend to open the locked pannier, when you have lost the key.

(6) Mobile phone and charger, preferably one you can somehow plug into those pesky 'foreign' electricity sockets.

(7) Some spare cash and a separated cash or credit card.... In case someone pinches your jacket and your keys, together. I have seen it happen... and yup, the spares were in the locked pannier.

(8) Don't leave your helmet lying about. Someone might pinch it, along with the keys and gloves you stuffed into the helmet. The good news is that the thief will be able to open your locked pannier whist you are wandering to the local police station to report the theft.... but at least they will not then steal your spare keys, as you will not have put them in the locked pannier, will you? Please say, "No, I would never do that".

(9) A basic lock to lock up your bike. You do not need to go mad, Europe is not packed with rabid thieves the moment you cross the water. Just enough to even vaguely put them off (or to persuade them to nick your mate's bike) is quite sufficient.

(10) An inner sense of wellbeing and calm. I say, "It'll be alright", a lot Invariably it is.


PS Someone is bound to say a puncture repair kit, but then forget to tell you to bring something sufficiently well designed to get sufficient air back into a tyre under pressure. Like miles of spanners, both items are completely useless if you have no idea how to use them. Read and understand the instructions before you go. It will save you doing it in the rain on the side of a motorway.... Just as the wind blast carries the instructions into lane three. How fast can you run, exactly? Or call BMW Assistance