# Battery Master fitting only - £96.93 at Autosleepers W/shop.



## Marrabone

I decided to get a battery master. I balked at having to go down to Taunton so bought it at the cheapest place, planning to get it done locally. Its a very quick job l was told. Its just a little box with 3 wires to be soldered.

After posting on here, several places were suggested but none were too keen, mostly because they didnt know what it was and hadn't fitted one before. Another mobile company contacted me by pm and l agreed but they didn't bother to contact me again to arrange a date despite me chasing them.

After several weeks had gone by l thought l must get it sorted so l rang Autosleepers, they are 10 minutes drive from me. The guy l spoke to know what it was and agreed it was a quick job but said they'd have to charge for an hours labour which would be about £60. 

I thought about it for a while then rang back to make an appointment for today. I took it in this morning, spent 2 hours in their waiting room and then was presented with a bill for £96.93 which was purely labour 1.5 hours. I protested but they wouldn't budge. 

Wish l'd gone to vanbitz!


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## Chascass

That's disgraceful, had mine fitted by my local auto electrician including locating and repairing a bad connection to the rear fog light which wasn't working, total cost £10.

The only difference is I am a good customer of his, and the reason I am, is that the first time I used him I was not ripped off.

Charlie

PS. They had never seen one ether


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## Zebedee

*Re: Battery Master fitting only - £96.93 at Autosleepers W/s*



Marrabone said:


> The guy l spoke to know what it was and agreed it was a quick job but said *they'd have to charge for an hours labour*


Why?

I know A/S are not cheap, but this doesn't sound like what I would have expected from them. 8O

Dave


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## Marrabone

He just seemed to pooh pooh my idea that it was a quick, simple job. No extra difficulties or anything like that mentioned, just one and a half hours labour.

I was going to get them to fit a Fiamma seal over my wind out awning but they didn't have the right one, lucky for me as it happens!


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## nukeadmin

just to rub salt in the wounds, if you buy a strikeback alarm via outdoorbits then a battery master gets thrown in and it is installed for £0


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## Marrabone

I knew that but, at the risk of awakening the "you've spent 30K on a MH and are too stingy to buy a tracker" brigade, l couldn't really run to that kind of expense at the moment.


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## sideways

Thats disgraceful its one thing paying its another being ripped off i,ve fitted a couple and they are so simple its a few minutes job. Why dont you write to them politely telling them you feel very dissapointed with their service.


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## Marrabone

I may try that , Sideways but l don't hold out much hope.


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## RhinoInstalls

I don't understand people that chase for jobs. Get it, then don't bother ???

Phil


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## DSL2

They are having a laugh charging that much having just fitted one myself, never having done one before it took all of 40 mins & that included lengthening all of the leads to fit!


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## Marrabone

I have now rang them to discuss. I was very calm and reasonable but the guy was quite shirty and advised me to get an independent check done by the AA or RAC.

When l related the comments you guys had made, he was very insulting about the people on this site, l won't go into too much detail for fear of inciting a riot but he was basically saying they don't know what they are talking about and you should never listen to anything they say.

I pointed out that was nonsense and indeed some were in the trade or qualified electricans and that l find the site invaluable.

I invited him to tell me about any special difficulties incurred with the job but he couldn't. He also said he would write out a description of the work carried out.

I am a little concerned that as it took so long it may have been fitted incorrectly, maybe by running a long wire to the battery or something.

When l pointed out that £60 was quoted and should have been honoured he offered to take out the unit and return it to me with a full refund.

I have asked to first see the fitting notes and then will decide what to do.


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## rayc

Marrabone said:


> I have now rang them to discuss. I was very calm and reasonable but the guy was quite shirty and advised me to get an independent check done by the AA or RAC.
> 
> When l related the comments you guys had made, he was very insulting about the people on this site, l won't go into too much detail for fear of inciting a riot but he was basically saying they don't know what they are talking about and you should never listen to anything they say.
> 
> I pointed out that was nonsense and indeed some were in the trade or qualified electricans and that l find the site invaluable.
> 
> I invited him to tell me about any special difficulties incurred with the job but he couldn't. He also said he would write out a description of the work carried out.
> 
> I am a little concerned that as it took so long it may have been fitted incorrectly, maybe by running a long wire to the battery or something.
> 
> When l pointed out that £60 was quoted and should have been honoured he offered to take out the unit and return it to me with a full refund.
> 
> I have asked to first see the fitting notes and then will decide what to do.


Far be it for me to tell you what to do, but if it were me, and the thing worked, I would just get on with it and put it down to experience. You were willing to pay £60 and it cost £96. Is it worth getting it ripped out and starting again for £36, taking travel, fuel etc into account? 
I would also not want them messing about with my MH when there is ill feeling -I doubt there will take much care.

Just for comparison Solor Solutions, Poole, are quoting 'D.I.Y. Price: £69.95' and 'Fitted Price: £99.95' [supply and fit].

Ray


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## wakk44

Got to agree with Ray,is it worth the hassle for the sake of £36 and you don't really want them tampering with your pride and joy any more surely.

If any member wants any work done or advice it's always worthwhile putting a post on here first and getting first hand advice from the horses mouth.MHF has never failed me yet. :wink:


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## Spacerunner

Solar Solutions fitted my Battery Master at the above quoted price.
When I had a problem they fitted a brand new replacement, even though the problem was down to a blown fuse.

When Solar Solutions wanted to test the installation they just switched on the hazard indicators and checked that the green light turned red after a couple of minutes. Maybe you could do the same with your installation just to be certain that the job has been done right.

Then make a mental note not to return to Autosleepers.

My, how the world has changed so quickly, they (A/S) used to be such a trusted outfit.


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## JockandRita

Yep, I too agree with Ray, but I'd still want to read the fitting notes, as offered.

I fitted the BCM from CAK Tanks (similar device) and it was the cable extending and routing that took up most of my time. The actual connections (3) were simple. >>BCM 12 - Page 81<<

Regards,

Jock.


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## eddievanbitz

Marrabone said:


> I have now rang them to discuss. I was very calm and reasonable but the guy was quite shirty and advised me to get an independent check done by the AA or RAC.


Van Bitz will undertake a check FOC for you



marrabone said:


> When l related the comments you guys had made, he was very insulting about the people on this site, l won't go into too much detail for fear of inciting a riot but he was basically saying they don't know what they are talking


I do! I designed the thing. The £30 we charge for installation represents about 30 minutes average installation time.

Eddie VanBitz


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## Zebedee

Hi Marrabone

Just a thought, which is so bloody obvious it can't be true. :roll:

I suppose you did make sure that the bloke you talked to fully understood that you *supplied *the component - and their mechanics only *fitted *it! 8O

It is just possible that this is the reason for the high cost - which is more or less the same as Eddie's charges for both supplying and fitting.

As I say, highly unlikely - but worth mentioning just in case it was a simple misunderstanding between the workshop and the office. :?

Dave


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## Marrabone

*AutoSleepers service*

Thanks everyone for your *excellent* help and expertise.

No way am l going to allow them to get their hands on my van again so having it taken out is not an option. I realise l will probably have to accept the outrageous charge.

My main concern now is making sure it has not been fitted by an unsupervised trainee who doesn't know what he's doing. I did wait almost 2 hours while it was done, although admittedly they were busy.

Wak44, l did post on here for recommendations for a local company but none of those suggested were very interested in taking it on, mostly because they didn't know what as involved. Broad Lane leisure told me they only deal with caravans.

Zebeddee l wish what you are suggesting could be true but after making the booking l rang back to make sure they understood that l was supplying it. Then when l arrived, l told the guy (Trevor) responsible for the billing that the Battery Master was on the front seat. It was unopened and complete with instructions. The bill only shows 1.50 hours labour at £55 per hour plus vat - nothing mentioned about parts.

Eddie, thank you for your kind offer. As l am a 200 mile round trip away, could l perhaps take you up on that at some point in the not too distant future when l am down your way? I shall certainly make the trip for any further additions!

If l get details from them of exactly how they fitted it l will post them here. Many thanks to you all,

Marrabone


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## neilbes

Try at get anthing done at a main dealer for less than a £100.. :idea:


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## Techno100

I really sympathise IMHO you have been clearly VERY much overcharged but they will lose in the long run. Most business lives on recommendation and returning customers. They've lost one already and one with a poor experience is worth a 100!


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## Marrabone

*Update*

I have now received the report from AutoSleepers. As l had begun to suspect, they have done a very long convoluted job. This, they say, was in order not to invalidate the manufacturers warranty by interfering with the original wiring. They say they have in fact run cables in split, convoluted trunking from the leisure battery near the rear of the MH to the vehicle battery in the engine compartment.

I do feel they were being overly pedantic about this and it would have been nice to be consulted about my feelings on the subject.

At least, l know now though that its not a plain and simple ripoff although l'm still annoyed at being charged so much more than the quoted price.

I'd be interested to hear your views on whether this was necessary.


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## TR5

Autosleepers = Marquis!


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## rayc

*Re: Update*



Marrabone said:


> They say they have in fact run cables in split, convoluted trunking from the leisure battery near the rear of the MH to the vehicle battery in the engine compartment.
> 
> I'd be interested to hear your views on whether this was necessary.


I assume that the cable has been run under the floor and cable tied or clipped to the chassis. This makes it a simple and much quicker job as no need to access the interior cable runs of the motorhome, undercupboards etc.
They can say what they like but they took 3 times as long as Vanbitz or Solar Solutions do.

Ray


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## Techno100

They have totally defeated the simplicity of the fitting instructions. I don't think any alteration to a vehicles wiring is called for? just piggyback connections.

I believe for such as my Autocruise it could be installed behind my hab control panel and connected to both sides of my battery selector switch and a common negative or adjacent to the alternator after establishing which wires run to each battery and probably the simpler option.


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## whistlinggypsy

I was very fortunate to win a BM from Eddie VanBitz and with the help of the enclosed wiring diagram managed to fit mine in 30 mins. a quick call too Eddie's guys too confirm the testing procedure all was done correctly and I was very pleased with the job.

I cannot think why it took a qualified fitter so long to do such (too them) a simple wiring job.

Bob


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## Spannerman007

*Battery Master fitting only*

I was sad to see the comments about Marquis.
When I owned a troublesome Berkshire, I found that they could not be more helpful.
My dealings were with Marquis Berkshire in Chieveley. Richard Morse and his team bent over backwards to try and solve my problems.
It was the product that was at fault, not the dealer.
From my personal experiencs I would be happy to recommend them to anyone.

Regards

Spannerman007


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## TR5

I speak as I find.......

http://www.motorhomefacts.com/ftopict-42083-marquis.html

Sorry Marrabone, I don't mean to interject on your thread!


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