International Rescue – Classicline Insurance & The Figaro Shop come to the aid of stranded club member

Breaking down miles from home in a foreign country is everyone’s worst nightmare, We were elated to hear from club member Alan Sykes about the tremendous service he received from Classicline Insurance and The Figaro Shop after his breakdown in Luxembourg. Alan was stuck in the middle of nowhere, far away from the hotel and even further from home. We are delighted that everything concluded in a positive manner and that the two companies we endorse exceeded expectations.

Words and Pictures – Alan Sykes
We booked a trip to Luxembourg with 21 other members of the Figaro Owners Club, and over the months leading up to the trip, I carried out a service and every check you could possibly carry out. We set off to our overnight stay in Folkstone from West Yorkshire on Saturday, May the 20th 2023 then we travelled through France, Belgium and onto our final destination in Vianden, Luxembourg.

The breakdown
After lunch on the last full touring day, we set off back to the hotel but after a long twisty downhill stretch, the car started to hesitate and cut out. Halfway around a hairpin bend the engine totally cut out, we lost the power steering and the brake assistance slowly disappeared. We managed to get the car safely into the side of the road, luckily several of the other club members pulled up to assist. The battery was almost flat, and the alternator was obviously faulty after testing.

Classicline Recovery
At this point, I contacted Classicline International’s breakdown line phone. Everything went very smoothly, I had to give my location, reg and policy number and they told me that the recovery company would be in touch shortly. Going forward, the only downside to what happened next was that we then received numerous calls from the UK, the European breakdown organisation and the garage, I am guessing we received around six separate phone calls and it was a little confusing as to who we were actually talking to. Unfortunately, the breakdown truck driver didn’t speak any English. Still, we managed to communicate using a combination of my wife’s basic French, and my Monty Python-style gestures!!

The Repair and Maz from the Figaro Shop
It was now Wednesday lunchtime and the garage said they couldn’t get a new alternator until Monday so the car would not be available until Tuesday. Because this wasn’t acceptable due to the commitments we had at home, I contacted Maz at the Figaro Shop in the UK, he and his colleagues arranged for an alternator to be delivered to the garage in Belgium (just the other side of the border from Luxembourg) on Thursday by 11 am, obviously, these repair costs were down to us.

“This was a fantastic response from Maz and his team at the Figaro Shop!! We would have been in a total mess if it wasn’t for them. We contacted Classic Line on Friday, and they kindly transported us from the hotel in Luxembourg by luxury taxi to the garage in Belgium. The garage repaired the car at around 1 p.m.”

The Journey Home
We travelled back to the UK without stopping other than for food, fuel, and comfort breaks, we finally arrived home in West Yorkshire at 1 a.m. on Saturday morning.

Reimbursement from Classic Line Insurance
I submitted all the invoices showing the additional incurred costs to Classicline and included a spreadsheet.

“Classicline had no arguments with the genuine costs submitted, and the money was transferred into our account very quickly, it was around 3 weeks from submission.”

Thanks to Classicline Insurance and The Figaro Shop for coming to the assistance of one of our members and dealing with him in such an efficient and professional manner.

Links
Follow the following links Classicline Insurance Click here and The Figaro Shop Click here