Anyone else having trouble with warranty work on Bailey Caravans

[Bailey Vigo]

We collected our new Bailey caravan in March and immediately noted a couple of issues that were reported to our dealer. The dealer eventually confirmed that Bailey had agreed that the issues were covered by the warranty. and that s as far as it has gone. We have repeatedly contacted the dealer for updates as they never contact us and also written twice to Bailey who have ignored us. We are told that parts are hard to find but no one is keeping us informed. Once they have your money as they say!

 

[Buckman]

We collected our new Bailey caravan in March and immediately noted a couple of issues that were reported to our dealer. The dealer eventually confirmed that Bailey had agreed that the issues were covered by the warranty. and that s as far as it has gone. We have repeatedly contacted the dealer for updates as they never contact us and also written twice to Bailey who have ignored us. We are told that parts are hard to find but no one is keeping us informed. Once they have your money as they say!

If you brought the issues to the attention within the first 30 days, you are entitled to reject the caravan and claim all your money back. Maybe remind the dealership that you have this option.
If you reported the issue after the first 30 days you need to give the dealer one chance at a repair before rejecting the caravan and getting all your money back. Again maybe a gentle reminder of your rights may motivate the dealer.
Your contract is with the dealer and contacting the manufacturer is a waste of time and money.

 

[Woodentop]

Write to the Dealer Principal (by name) and send it recorded delivery - signed for and mark it P&C. Send a copy to the MD of Bailey of Bristol for reference. You can find the names of the people concerned by a company search.

 

[Sam Vimes]

Within the first year of ownership of our van - a different make from yours- we had two problems which were covered under warranty. There was no quibble about the repairs under warranty.

Neither problem affected our use and enjoyment of the van.

Parts for one of the problems came to the dealer from the manufacturer fairly quickly but the other had to come from the original part manufacturer - a window. It took several months.

The van manufacturer was not really interested in supporting an earlier procurement of the part despite the fact that they were still building and shipping the same van so obviously had stock. Spares don't earn them money. As mentioned once they have your money its not their problem anymore but the dealers.

While you may consider it an option to reject the van completely - terms and conditions allowing, there are some things to take into account.

1. You lose use of the van and may have to wait sometime to get another one.
2. Another van may cost you more because of supply and demand and inflation.
3. Another van may still have the same or even different problems so you're back to square one.
4. I can't think of point 4 🙂

The dealer was good at communicating but their hands were tied by supply issues. The manufacturer, less so and only communicated when I pushed them, although it had no affect on the outcome.

 

[ProfJohnL]

Al the replies so far have been giving advice based on Consumer Rights Act 2015.

I suggest you do an internet search for

Consumer Rights Act 2015 - Which?

The Consumer Rights Act protects you in almost all purchases you make. Here we explain what it means when buying goods or services

www.which.co.uk

and read up about how to use your statutory rights.

 

[Buckman]

Write to the Dealer Principal (by name) and send it recorded delivery - signed for and mark it P&C. Send a copy to the MD of Bailey of Bristol for reference. You can find the names of the people concerned by a company search.

The contract is between the consumer and the supplier and not between the consumer and the manufacturer so probably a waste of time writing to the MD who probably never reads letters from consumers anyway. Probably read by his secretary who then decides whether it is worth passing on or binning.

 

[joanie]

Your dealer has agreed to the faults being covered by the warantee, I hope that you have that in writing as with any faults before 6 months the dealer has to prove where the problem is but after 6 months you have to prove it. Can we ask what the faults are or what parts they are waiting on?

 

[ProfJohnL]

Your dealer has agreed to the faults being covered by the warantee, I hope that you have that in writing as with any faults before 6 months the dealer has to prove where the problem is but after 6 months you have to prove it. Can we ask what the faults are or what parts they are waiting on?

Hello joanie,

You confusing the way the manufacturers warranty and a customers statutory rights work. The 6 month time scale only related to claims made under the Consumer Rights Act.

In this case the faults were reported to the dealer who has already obtained approval from the manufacturer to have the repairs carried out, it just taking a long time, which I agree is taking much longer than is perhaps reasonable especially as the manufacturer is still making the same model. The important thing here is the faults have been acknowledged and accepted so any time limit on reporting has already been met and that stops any time limit clock for reporting either for manufacturers warranty or is it happens the CRA in this case.

The OP now has options. He wishes to continue with the manufacturer's warranty, then he is in the hands of the manufacturer regarding how long the process might take. However he also has the right to insist the repairs are carried out under the auspices of the CRA, in which case the manufacturers timetable is not relevant as it becomes the sellers responsibility to under take the necessary work.

However there is a spanner in the works, as it seems the necessary parts are only obtainable from the manufacturer, so the problem may still be the same long delay in obtaining the parts.

Technically the OP might consider rejecting the caravan, but that for reasons given in another comment may not offer any significant benefit as a replacement of refund may not actually advance the buyers position.

 

[RogerL]

For all it's faults, the car industry works very differently - since courtesy cars are provided during warranty work almost universally, in some cases like-for-like hire cars, this puts pressure on the manufacturers to supply spares on a timely basis.

It's not really practical for dealers to offer courtesy caravans but there really needs to be some way of applying economic pressure on manufacturers to include spares demand in their supply arrangements.

If only there were some sort of club that caravanners could join which would represent their interests as consumers against the manufacturers !

 

[Woodentop]

The contract is between the consumer and the supplier and not between the consumer and the manufacturer so probably a waste of time writing to the MD who probably never reads letters from consumers anyway. Probably read by his secretary who then decides whether it is worth passing on or binning.

You should read again what I wrote. I said write to the Dealer Principal with your complaint and COPY it to the MD at Bailey. I didn't say expect the MD to do anything about it (although he is a keen caravanner and does take up poor service personally) you are just putting more pressure on the Dealer by virtue of the fact that Bailey know about it.

 

[joanie]

Hello joanie,

You confusing the way the manufacturers warranty and a customers statutory rights work. The 6 month time scale only related to claims made under the Consumer Rights Act.
ProfJohnL
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my advice was for the OP to make sure he has it in writing whatever was agreed between him and the dealer, things do get forgotten over time, as he has repeatedly contacted the dealer and has been ignored. , My follow up re. the 6 months was from my own experience when we had a fault with a car at 7 months. it took me anther 3 months to get the dealer to put things right as he kept saying it was my fault and it was then that I learned about the 6 month rule.

 

[ProfJohnL]

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my advice was for the OP to make sure he has it in writing whatever was agreed between him and the dealer, things do get forgotten over time, as he has repeatedly contacted the dealer and has been ignored. , My follow up re. the 6 months was from my own experience when we had a fault with a car at 7 months. it took me anther 3 months to get the dealer to put things right as he kept saying it was my fault and it was then that I learned about the 6 month rule.

I'm sorry you had difficulties with your claim. It seems the circumstances of your claim and that of the OP's are rather different. In the OP's case it was brand new, and the faults were reported well before 6 months, and well within the manufacturers warranty time limit to report faults, and both the dealer and the manufacturer have agreed there is a valid claim, so any delays that either the manufacturer or the dealer create cannot change their liability to rectify the problems.

In your case, did you buy new or second hand? and were you claiming under the manufacturers warranty or the dealers warranty, or under the CRA? The CRA does have a 6 month limit in which if a fault is reported within 6months of purchase, then the CRA assumes the fault was present at the time of purchase and it is up to the seller to prove the fault was not present, but after 6months it is up to the customer to prove the fault was present or at least latent at the time of purchase. Your description seems to suggest that might have been the case.

 

[Buckman]

However there is a spanner in the works, as it seems the necessary parts are only obtainable from the manufacturer, so the problem may still be the same long delay in obtaining the parts.

I am not sure, but I would think that many items fitted into a caravan are also available in the domestic market, just under a different brand?

 

[ProfJohnL]

I am not sure, but I would think that many items fitted into a caravan are also available in the domestic market, just under a different brand?

We don't know what parts the OP needs for his caravan, but I would assume that they required parts are likely to be parts made for the OP's model of caravan sand thus not widely available anywhere other than the manufacturer, - hence the difficulty in supply.

Unfortunately caravans are small spaces and many domestic appliances and fittings are just too big and too heavy to be practical for fitting into caravans.

Its also one of the reasons that caravan items tend to be considerably more expensive than similar domestic components because of economies of scale.

The reasons why caravan fittings are often inferior to the domestic equivalents, is because the owners of the proven domestic designs are often not prepared to allow their proprietary designs or intellectual property to be used in caravan products, so caravan parts manufacturers' have to create new designs rather than using proven designs.

 

[Raywood]

Not knowing what the parts needed are it is not possible to advise more than generally. To reject the caravan it would need to be shown that the problems are not just minor but justify this action. You therefore need to know this before you can advise. The delays do seem unreasonable, but if the parts are not available then that is the situation, if they are simply scarce and being used just for new models that is unacceptable.

 

[Lost in time 1955]

I purchased a 2018 Bailey Unicorn Cadiz in 2023 which had only been used six times abs was in immaculate condition. I took it to the company I use for a service and they pointed out that there was a fluid leak on the Alde heating system at a rubber elbow hidden behind a support in the lower rear o/s locker. Just in front of the rear washroom. Fluid had travelled across the floor and damp testing showed it was soaking wet.
On close inspection stains from both the pink and older blue fluids were present so the leak had been there for some time. The problem was caused by a failure at the bleed point where the valve was bonded to the elbow. It looked like the valve had been rotated and the bonding had given way. As the valve was installed out of view I had to cut away the end of a cross member and was able to move the whole radiator assembly to the left so that the valve was now accessible. Here's the rub. I contacted Bardsea Leisure and explained the problem. They had obviously changed the fluid but had not identified the cause of the leak. However, the blamed Bailey for the failure. I contacted Bailey and they would not accept responsibility as it was out of warranty.
So here we are with so called highly professional and well established companies acting like scoundrels. This behaviour brings disrepute to the industry as a whole and shows the caravan industry is no different to any other bunch of ************ think of a word!
Fortunately, the fluid had mainly leaked above the plastic flooring and was trapped between it and the clear plastic protective sheet velcro'd to the floor so it all dried out OK in the end. I drained the fluid, replaced the elbow that had been damaged at my cost, then filled and bled the system. No help or support from the manufacturer or the local dealer. Thanks for nothing Bailey and Bardsea.

 

[ProfJohnL]

I'm sorry to read of your experience, and whilst I also have serious concerns about the honourability of UK caravan companies who take cover behind the legal structure of retail selling to avoid liability for their dreadful record of product design and manufacturing reliability, sadly in this case the manufacturer is correct, the caravan is well out of their warranty period, and as such they have no liability in regards covering repair costs.

However if you purchased the caravan second hand from a dealer (i.e. a retail purchase) then they do have a legal liability under the Consumer Rights Act 2015.

I suggest you read up about the CRA here.

 

[Buckman]

I'm sorry to read of your experience, and whilst I also have serious concerns about the honourability of UK caravan companies who take cover behind the legal structure of retail selling to avoid liability for their dreadful record of product design and manufacturing reliability, sadly in this case the manufacturer is correct, the caravan is well out of their warranty period, and as such they have no liability in regards covering repair costs.

However if you purchased the caravan second hand from a dealer (i.e. a retail purchase) then they do have a legal liability under the Consumer Rights Act 2015.

I suggest you read up about the CRA here.

Unfortunately they had "a go" at it so CRA 2015 may no longer apply, but responsibility lies with the supplier which is either the dealer or the finance company. Bailey have done no wrong.

 

[Dustydog]

As I said in another thread spare parts from Bailey , Swift et al are as rare as rocking horse S**t. Body panel parts , internal and external are not stored on the shelf. They are made by outside companies who probably only supply fixed batch numbers. My part if it does arrive as promised will be more than three months in the making.

However if the part concerned , eg the fridge not working, means you cannot use the “new” caravan then use CRA 15 to its maximum.

Trim things, bite the bullet and be at the manufacturers mercy. They couldn’t care less.

 

[ProfJohnL]

Unfortunately they had "a go" at it so CRA 2015 may no longer apply, but responsibility lies with the supplier which is either the dealer or the finance company. Bailey have done no wrong.

The manufacturer may not have any legal liability under UK law, but we know from countless examples who is morally responsible for poor design and manufacturing that leads to such poor reliability and customer unhappiness when a major investment in their products fail.

I really wish the UK had some simple means of enabling end users to bring the perpetrators of such poor quality product to task for the rubbish some of them make.

 

[RogerL]

The manufacturer may not have any legal liability under UK law, but we know from countless examples who is morally responsible for poor design and manufacturing that leads to such poor reliability and customer unhappiness when a major investment in their products fail.

I really wish the UK had some simple means of enabling end users to bring the perpetrators of such poor quality product to task for the rubbish some of them make.

My bolding - we do have a simple means - stop buying the damn things - it's ridiculous that we (collectively) buy them in the full knowledge that they're likely to have many design faults.

If it ain't broke don't fix it - I regard the caravan warranty as a period to be endured while you get all the faults fixed and then get many years of reliable use afterwards - too many buyers endure the warranty and then buy another new one so they never get out of the cycle of fixing faults.

 

[Dustydog]

I echo Roger’s sentiments.
My 15 year old Wyoming from new was always a work in progress project. It was more of a faff to take it back to the dealer for every little thing. 95% of failures during the Warranty period were fixed by me. A failed oven control knob was a dealer fix for obvious reasons.
I suggest all new caravans should be sold with a comprehensive diy repair kit consisting of glues ,screws ,basic tools ,damp meter ,multi meter ,gas leakage tester, spare oem O rings , etc plus a comprehensive manual . Usual riders on gas and electric but most competent caravanners will know those riders already😉.

 

[otherclive]

Our 2005 Bailey S5 had two end panels replaced under warranty but nothing else in the 9 years we had it although just before putting it for sales in 2014 a bit of damp was found around a front window. £250 to fix it. So the bathtub curve worked for me and never met the rising curve.

 

[Lost in time 1955]

Fortunately I was able to fix the problem but it is a sad reflection on the industry where a fault caused by them, manifesting itself years later is ignored.
Here is where the elbow was hidden behind a cross panel.