Thompson Leisure

Very helpful and friendly service the staff are a credit to the company
Mar 2nd, 2023

I feel I have to share my experience of Thompson Leisure in the hope it is helpful for anyone deciding whether to go ahead and deal with them. The end of this review explains what inspired me to take the time to review. My wife and I purchased a new motorhome five years ago and the purchase process was perfect, no question too stupid, completely honest feedback all the time and it really showed that this is a well run family business with a very loyal following. The complete opposite of some shady car sales trying to cross sell and up sell for profit. The Sales team prefer to be honest and have happy customers making well informed decisions. So, we travelled the UK and Ireland and stayed in places we never would have otherwise seen, incredible memories (and a huge collection of fridge magnets!). The After Sales and Service team at Drumbreeze Road are incredible knowledgeable, honest and professional. Very reassuring as often some companies Sales are let down badly by After Sales. My wife and I felt confident enough to get a bigger motorhome last year and travel around Europe. Again, the advice and honesty of the friendly Sales Team was paramount in making our choice and this being a large purchase, I priced dealers across the UK but the choice to go with Thompsons was easy. Had to wait a good few months due to the popularity of motorhoming and scarcity of models at the time but it was well worth the wait. Handover day at Drumbreeze Road was perfection! Despite being seasoned motorhomers, we had a plethora of (probably OTT) questions but the handover was so enjoyable, again no question too stupid. I had also requested some upgrades and extras (Sky Q satellite dish etc) and everything was perfect. I am just back from several months of a Grand Tour of Europe (including Holland, Belgium, Luxembourg, Germany, France and Spain) and a lifetime of terrific memories (and more fridge magnets!). While I was away, in Spain, I had a problem. A huge thunderstorm and Spanish electrics caused a fault in my motorhome electrics. I could either have 12v or 240v but not both at the same time. We were devastated and thought of returning home, several months early :-( I rang Stephen at Drumbreeze Road but didnt expect much could be done as we were nearly 2,000 miles away. Well , how wrong was I. Stephen was incredible. He was very professional and between him and his professional team of engineers, they managed to help us to resolve the issues and hence save our Grand Tour. The phrase above and beyond is used a lot but in this case, it doesnt even come close to the After Care we received. All the more important as we were very stressed and upset but Stephen was truly incredible and deserves a cape! I feel obliged to say I am in no way related to Thompson Leisure and have not been asked to provide a review. Overall, an exceptional company to deal with that is very rare and deserves the recognition.
Feb 19th, 2023

Friendly staff and plenty of choice
Dec 16th, 2022

Our review was sad to write, but Thompson Leisure must be held accountable for their troubling business practices. In regards to their assistant Glen going above and beyond on his day off when our vehicle broke down, I wouldnt call two full hours of us having to relentlessly call and message the company before FINALLY managing to connect with someone as above and beyond. There should be a dedicated employee available to help any driver in need every single day. We stand by the fact that pulled over and notified them immediately when the warning light came onsomething the owner clearly still refuses to believe. We had several questions during our trip because the video was not comprehensive enough and we had no initial walk through. Had we had a proper walk through at the airport accompanied by a thorough video, we wouldnt have had so many questions. Sheila answered sometimes but most often we could not reach anyone. When something goes wrong or when questions arise, it should not be difficult to reach someone. To future rentersif you want to avoid having to deal with the inevitable consequences of this companys negligence (as well as the owner Sams hostility and condescending, threatening speech in interactions)rest assured it will be the wisest decision to select any other available rental company in Ireland.ORIGINAL: The main issues with Thompson Leisure can be summarized as follows: 1. Unresponsive staff & no vehicle walk-through Rather than having the vehicle features explained to you, the keys are handed to you by a driver who describes himself as just the guy who drives it down. The driver told us we were emailed an instructional video and they dont do walk-throughs. This video, quite possibly the most vague and unhelpful video we had ever seen, can be summarized as simply: This is the gas. This is the water tank. This is the portable toilet. This is the panel for heat. It was our first time in an RV and we had about 15 questions that the video didn't cover. We struggled to get our questions answered in a timely manner throughout our trip. 2. Minimal insurance coverage & serious lack of assistance in the event of a breakdown Three days into our 2-week trip, our RV completely broke down. It was 9am on a Saturday when a warning light came on and we started hearing concerning noises. We immediately pulled over and messaged Thompson Leisure asking what to do. No response. We called. No response. We called again. No response. We then called the FIAT roadside assistance. A repairman arrived, examined the vehicle, and concluded it was unrepairable (roadside). He said Thompson Leisure would be responsible for towing it. He left. Because it was Saturday and the rental team was out until Monday, it took several hours and a lot of creative thinking to finally get in contact with someone to help us. Eventually we were able to get a replacement vehicle. We lost our entire 2000 deposit as a result of this breakdown, as we were told that insurance only covers collisions with other vehicles. Anything else you are responsible for paying for. We then had to pay another 2000 deposit for the replacement vehicle. 3. Neglect in processing deposit refunds Potential customers should be wary that you likely will not get your deposit back within a timely manner. Nearly 3 weeks after returning the vehicle, I still had not received my deposit. After nearly a full week of unanswered phone calls, emails, and WhatsApp messages, I finally got an email saying that the money had in fact been transferred, and the delay was likely due to a bank holiday on August 22 (It was September 616 days after the holiday). I responded that I had not received it and needed it ASAP. Finally, on September 7, 20 days after the vehicle had been returned, the money was transferred (not in August as they originally said). I seriously wonder whether I would have gotten the money at all had I not relentlessly followed up with them. In summary, if youre looking for a smooth and leisurely holiday, look elsewhere.
Oct 27th, 2022

EDIT IN RESPONSE TO OWNER: I will continue to hold Thompson Leisure accountable for their unethical business practices. In regards to their assistant Glen going above and beyond on his day off when our vehicle broke down, I wouldnt call us having to relentlessly spam the company with calls and messages for over two hours before FINALLY managing to connect with an employee as an example of them going above and beyond. After two hours, we managed to get the phone number of an employee named Alex whose response to our situation was "Umm...yeah this is actually a really bad time for me right now. I'm on my way to a wedding." Alex then connected us with a man named Steven whose response was "I'm actually with my kids right now, let me look into this and get back to you". While Steven did get us a van, there should be a dedicated employee available to help any driver in need every single day. Customers should not be left to seriously struggle to connect with ANYONE in the company, and then feel like they're imposing on the employees weekend plans when they manage to do so. We also stand by the fact that pulled over and notified them immediately when the warning light came onsomething the owner clearly still refuses to believe. We had several questions during our trip because the video was not comprehensive enough and we had no initial walk through. Had we had a proper walk through at the airport accompanied by a thorough video, we wouldnt have had so many questions. Sheila answered sometimes but most often we could not reach anyone. When something goes wrong or when questions arise, it should not be difficult to reach someone. To future rentersif you want to avoid having to deal with the inevitable consequences of this companys negligence (as well as the owner Sams hostility and condescending, threatening speech in interactions)rest assured it will be the wisest decision to select any other available rental company in Ireland.Im now writing a long review because I believe people going on their vacation via camper-van with Thompson should know what to expect. So here is a quick synopsis of our experience renting with them. 1. Our vehicle broke down after 3 days. After calling and trying to contact the company repeatedly (with no answer), we called Fiat roadside assistance ourselves. They sent someone who told us the camper was not repairable and it had to be towed. We were shocked. We then repeated spamming phone calls to Thompson (since nobody answered) when they finally answered and they did change out the van after many hours 2. Lack of Communication. The company gives you a very lackluster instructional video when you arrive but offer no walk around of the vehicle. Getting them to answer your questions are like pulling teeth. We were first time RV drivers, which they were aware. They either didnt answer or texted its in the video. 3. Condescending and accusatory owner. The owner, Sam Thompson, after picking up the first camper that broke down, called me on the phone to condescendingly accusing me of wrong doing. He accused us of off-roading. We did not. I especially did not appreciate being talked down to and berated in such an unprofessional manner. And finally 4. The deposit. Our deposit was not returned to us in a timely manner whatsoever. We put down a $2000 deposit for the camper van and it was not returned to us after we had returned the camper. After calling, emailing, reaching out and being repeatedly ignored we finally reached someone who told us it had already been sent (it hadnt). It arrived about 16 days later. Holding the deposit for almost a month is unprofessional and possibly illegal Stay as far away from this company as possible.
Oct 25th, 2022