If the caravan is on hire purchase, then CRA 2015 does apply even if the HP is paid off early.
And then they will keep it for three months meaning you have not enjoyed a first class caravan for 8 months.
It’s your decision but for me I’d push all the buttons for a full refund now using all the “tools” suggested on here. Good luck
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Thanks ...I have contacted Bailey direct to see if we can still use the van without invalidating the warranty...if not then I will be pushing for a refund or at least a replacement van !
If possible go for the refund or replacement because this damp issue will always be in the back of your mind.
In 2016 we bought a brand new caravan and within the first week we found cracks in the front panel, but because we liked the caravan we let the dealer go ahead with the repair.
Within weeks of getting it back, another crack was found in a different panel. The things start falling apart inside the caravan, but by this time is was 11 months old. It got to the stage that whenever we went to the caravan, we were looking to see what would happen next and suffered loss of enjoyment.
We rejected the caravan and it took 4 months to get the refund plus compensation. Uphill battle, but I was persistent and we won out at the end of the day.
Thanks Buckman
I think Bailey will want at least one attempt to repair but yes it will alway be there lurking in the back of my mind .
When we had the Lunar I had a toolbox full of every conceivable tool as there was alway something to fix every vist !
The van will be inspected with a fine tooth comb when it comes back.
Being an ex engineer I struggle to see how they can't make a box on a trailer water tight ?? ...I guess they don't want them to last too long ...mine certainly hasn't
I think Bailey will want at least one attempt to repair but yes it will alway be there lurking in the back of my mind .
When we had the Lunar I had a toolbox full of every conceivable tool as there was alway something to fix every vist !
The van will be inspected with a fine tooth comb when it comes back.
Being an ex engineer I struggle to see how they can't make a box on a trailer water tight ?? ...I guess they don't want them to last too long ...mine certainly hasn't
Previously we had a 2011 Lunar Delta TI and in the first year the nearside front had 60% damp. repaired under warranty. Next we had damp around the flush tank and the nail heads rusted and this reacted with the aluminium skin resulting in bubbles around the area of the flush tank. We traded it in for the caravan that we eventually rejected using CRA 2015.
That's exactly how we were with our previous 2022 Swift, we found ourselves just looking for faults so traded it in.
That is true, but then no protection and basically you are on your own. Where possible we use a CC for deposit, balance on HP and after a year or so pay off the balance. Worked for us on more than one occasion.
Bailey have confirmed that they are taking the van back to repair late Sept and we can use it until then...I had a look underneath and after two days stationary the edges of the floor underneath are still very wet ...is this normal ? 
At the end the day you have received some very good advice on here but the final decision rests with you. Have Bailey explained what they think is wrong and what they intend doing to remedy the water ingress? Ie let’s see their schedule of works. Will all the evidence of the ingress be eradicated? When you come to sell / trade in you don’t want a reduced value because of the previous damage evidence.
It must also be remembered that for damp so severe more than likely the fault was there at time fo purchase taking into account state of caravan and build quality. Therefore under S9 of CRA 2015 there is probably a good chance that the caravan could be rejected, but you would require an independent report from a AWS technician to help your case.
Your best bet is to contact Which Legal Services and to have a chat with them. Initial contact is free and then about £95 per annum for as much legal advice as required. They have saved us in excess of £20000 over the past several years. WLS have helped us reject a caravan which was 11 months old and more recently saved us £3500 on a car repair!
Your best bet is to contact Which Legal Services and to have a chat with them. Initial contact is free and then about £95 per annum for as much legal advice as required. They have saved us in excess of £20000 over the past several years. WLS have helped us reject a caravan which was 11 months old and more recently saved us £3500 on a car repair!
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You asked if it is normal for the sides of the floor to be wet, well it is if you look at Dustys post to another poster with a problem with a 15 Unicorn, the dealer in the video explains how the damp is caused, FWIW I would be seeking to reject the thing as it must have left the factory with the inherent fault,although I suspect it would not be easy to reject given that the supplying dealer is no longer trading, have you spoken to the Administrator for Robinsons, as they may have a liability to you.
The van was serviced by an Ncc workshop and they flagged the problems up and after speaking to Bailey took it to my nearest Bailey Approved repairer and they did a report and submitted it to Bailey ...they then requested the van back for repair
The supplier is the finance house and all dealings will be with the finance house as they own the caravan. CRA 2015 also applies to the finance house. One of the reasons why it is always best to have a bit of finance on any high value goods like cars, caravans etc.
When I looked underneath after rain there is a constant dripping of water from this point in the corner ...I assume this is normal ? As you can see the floor is getting a soaking and I can feel soft spots in wood which is in line with the inspection
Initially they will try and fob you off which is usual practice, however stand your ground and use the advice from WLS.
Thanks ...yes I'm expecting an initial brush off but that won't work ...thanks for all the good advice 👍
While looking for latest van I inspected two 2010 Ranger 460/4 that had water damped floors where yours are wet. Along both sides on rear, ie behind wheel to rear corners. Front half of both vans were fine. After that I stopped looking at these models.
In your case it could be rain water blown up and under in which case should be wet all along one side front to rear and would dry quickly. If only rear and not dry after a couple days I suspect its coming from inside.
I have now spoken to the finance company and they say that it's up to me/Ncc engineer to prove that the faults were there at point of sale if they are going to get involved for a refund.
Not quite sure how you could prove this on a 1 year old van and seeing that the dealer has gone.
I am hoping now that Bailey do a proper repair that is permanent and non visible, if there is any doubt the van will be traded in !
I know things go wrong but in my case it's just too many things, and quite serious stuff.
I don't think I will be buying a British van in the future...maybe I will look at Adria...sad but that's the way it is !!🤔
Not quite sure how you could prove this on a 1 year old van and seeing that the dealer has gone.
I am hoping now that Bailey do a proper repair that is permanent and non visible, if there is any doubt the van will be traded in !
I know things go wrong but in my case it's just too many things, and quite serious stuff.
I don't think I will be buying a British van in the future...maybe I will look at Adria...sad but that's the way it is !!🤔
It is not as difficult as you think. Firstly it needs to be established why the damp occurred. A report from an Approved Workshop Scheme technician is the first step asking them to detail in their opinion the reasons why the damp may have occurred.
Next is a report from the current dealer detailing the reasons why they think the damp may have occurred. Screws through the floor is a sign of poor workmanship. As they are not the supplier it is no skin off their nose giving you possible reasons.
Finally if possible a report from Bailey themselves for reasons why the damp would have occurred on such a new caravan. They do not need to see the caravan in the flesh to be able to give you a reason why the damp occurred as they rely on the dealer's report.
Don't roll over and give up. Remember that as per legislation "Goods are of satisfactory quality if they reach the standard that a reasonable person would regard as satisfactory, taking into account the price and any description. Aspects of quality include fitness for purpose, freedom from minor defects, appearance and finish, durability and safety." Obviously fitness, durability and safety are the main concerns. Damp creates mould and mould spores are dangerous to your respiratory system hece the safety aspect.
Using the words "possible" and "may" is best if they are wary of committing themselves. However I guess that WLS would have given you similar advice.
It would appear the caravan has recently been towed, so the underside of the floor will inevitably show signs of spray from not only the caravan tyres but also the tow vehicle, consequently you cannot make a clear conclusion just from the pictures you have posted, however the preponderance of dampness along the majority of the caravans edges does suggest water is possibly emerging from the bottom of the walls.
You ask is it normal? You would hope the answer would be " no" but sadly due to the caravan industries failure to to use proven quality assurance processes to prevent incorrect assembly of their caravans, far too many caravans do leave the factories with inherent faults. So the answer has to be sometimes yes sometimes no.
I concur with the advice you have been given. If you used any form of credit facility to help purchase the caravan, apply the CRA and go for a full refund. However if that is not an option for you, then at least the manufacturer has offered a repair, take it, because the caravan will be worth more than it is now.
You then at least will have a working caravan, but you will have to decide if you want to trade it in against another caravan, or is it better the devil you know, and keep it.
A caravan that has had a damp issue is always going to have the fact hanging over it, but without a doubt, if the damp has not been repaired, the caravan will deteriorated more quickly if left in repaired, but if a full good repair has been made, it's very possible the caravan will out live it's siblings.
You have to hope the manufacturer applies better control over such repaires than they do in normal construction.
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