I hire out Ford Transit based car transporters. To cover oursselves and our clients we have, hitherto taken out single trip policies with services supplied by Green Flag and underwritten by Aegeas insurance company. We have sent 200+ clients abroad with this cover bought through Europeanbreadowncover.co.uk.

One of my trucks broke down onn the morning of the 22nd March 2013 and so our client contacted Green Flag for assistance.

First of all Green flag stated that there was no policy in place only for them to recant and agree that a policy had been bought and paid for.

HOWEVER: the truck would not be covered because Green flag covers vehicles only up to 7m long and ours is 7.25m long. The policy clearly states that vehicles up to 8m are covered.

HOWEVER: we got a call in the afternoon on Friday to tell us that the vehicle would not be covered because it was a hired vehicle. We pointed out that the policy clearly states that hired vehicles are covered provided that it is abroad with the hirer's permission.

HOWEVER: Green Flag stated that if they recovered the truck the classic Citroen SM could not e recovered as that was not part of the cover. Again the policy wording EXPLICITLY states that recovery and repatriation includes the load provided the total wieght does not exceed 3500kgs, which it does not.

HOWEVER: we then get a call from Green flag to say that the vehicle would not be covered because the vehicle was being used for "hire and reward". The Green flag definition of this is that the truck was hired and money paid for the hire therefore it was hire and reward. We pointedout that this was not what "hire and reward" meant. Green Flag told us to call the insurance company Aegeas in the morning which we did.

The helpline guy agreed that the vehicel was covered and green Flag provided our client with a car to get home in.

HOWEVER: Monday mroning and Green Flag stated that they would not provide any more service because, in theri view the policy had been missold. They would not elaborate on what they meant.

We called the insurance company who stated that they would not cover the vehicle because it was being used for hire and reward. Their interpretation of hire and reward is that: as our client had gone to France to buy a car which, even though it is for his own use, the fact that the car was probably bouhgt more cheaply the money saved on the car purchase would be classified as a reward.

They will therefore not provide any cover. I would point out that on that basis any breakdown cover where you went over to France to buy wine cheaper or buy anything would, according to this bizarre logic, render the recovery cover invalid.

Meanwhile I have a car sitting 500 miles down in France and on paper i have a client who has responsibility for getting the truck back. Unlike Green Flag and Aegeas insurance company I will not leave a clint in the lurch and we will do all we can to get the stricken vehicle and its load back to the UK.