Costs involved in returning caravan.

[woodsieboy]

We had our year old caravan serviced by our local NCC approved service centre last week and several warranty issues were identified,he has advised that it should be returned to the selling dealer for these issues to be addressed. Has any one had experience of claiming back the costs involved.i.e fuel and time to deliver the van back to them and fuel and time to collect the van once repaired, I am asking as I seem to recall a thread with regard to Sales of Goods Act, which said that the buyer should not be out of pocket for the costs of returning goods to the seller.

 

[Martin24]

We had a lot of problems years ago with a compass. The dealer came and collected and returned each time (245 mile round trip) before replacing it the next year FOC. My local approved centre has carried out any warranty work on the Coachman's, submitting any claims direct to them. I haven't bothered with looking into costs as it's only 20 minutes down the road. When we had damp in year 2 the van went back to the factory at their instigation but again only 20 minutes down the road so no real cost involved there.

 

[RogerL]

The Sale of Goods Act requires all products to be defined as "portable" or "non-portable" with different remedies when faulty - a caravan is universally defined as "portable" which I think precludes any statutory rights to reclaim costs of taking it back for repair or refund - but it's worth trying with the dealer.

This is one of the problems of getting a good deal from a distant dealer - getting warranty work done is a PITA.

 

[DeliDave_]

It is a balance between a good price and convenience,we bought a van from Torksey Caravans and although they were first class at service/warranty it was a two day job with an overnight stay which was down to us as we decided to buy from them.

 

[Damian]

This is just part of the Bailey Warranty T&C's:
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13. No liability will be accepted for:

(a) damage caused by neglect or abuse, corrosion, intrusion of foreign or deleterious substances, lack of servicing, over-heating, freezing, or the continued use of the vehicle after a fault has become evident;

(b) any loss or damage caused by parts not covered by this Warranty Cover, including soft furnishings or trim;

(c) any accidental or fire damage or any losses incurred by accident or fire; or

(d) transport costs to and from point of repair.

14. Bailey will only be liable for costs which are incurred as a direct consequence of the event, defect or fault leading to the claim being made under this warranty. No liability will be accepted for any other loss or damage (such as loss of income or revenue, or loss of business or profits), costs, expenses or other claims for compensation howsoever arising which was not reasonably foreseeable by both parties when the caravan was originally purchased. Bailey will not be liable for any loss or damage suffered by third parties, nor for bodily injury not caused by our negligence.

15. Nothing in this warranty shall limit in any way our liability: for death or personal injury caused by our negligence; for fraud or fraudulent misrepresentation; or for any matter for which it would be illegal for us to exclude, or attempt to exclude, our liability.

16. The purchaser has statutory rights in addition to this warranty and this warranty does not affect those statutory rights.
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The obvious answer is to purcase locally, but if you purchase from a dealer a long way from your home, it is unreasonable to expect them to cover costs which are of your making.

 

[ValA.]

When our Swift was just a few weeks old a problem was discovered with the Alko axle assembly - and at no cost to us the caravan was taken back on a transporter (it couldn't be towed), to the Alko factory somewhere in the Midlands. Not only that but it was taken on a Monday, repaired, and returned to us on Wednesday, ready for us to go on holiday to France on the Friday!!
We had no involvement, once we'd towed the caravan to our nearest caravan dealer (not even a Swift dealer at the time!). They liaised with, and arranged everything with Alko and Swift.

 

[otherclive]

Doesn't the Bailey warranty still uphold your statutory rights. Best to talk to Trading Standards or Consumer Direct. Be sure of what rights you do have before initiating any action. Or if you have to bear any initial costs be sure to put in writing they are borne without prejudice to any future claim. Your statutory rights are against the supplying dealer not Bailey.

 

[Damian]

Bailey , along with pretty much every manufacturer do uphold at least minimum Statutory Rights, and in most cases more than that.
However their, and their Authorised Repairers are only obliged to cover the cost of the materials and labour to put right any problems.
It is the owners responsibility to deliver and collect from the repair location, which if a locally bought van would present the least amount of cost to the owner.

The problem comes when a purchaser is swayed by a relatively "Good Offer" from a dealer many miles away from them.
In this instance it is the owners choice, but as has been said, the owners disadvantage when warranty repairs are required.

A similar situation happen when an owner has problems away from home and a Mobile Engineer is asked to fix a problem under warranty.
The repair, spare part and labour, are covered BUT the owner is responsible to pay the Mobile his call out charge.

 

[woodsieboy]

Thank you all for your replies,sadly I am none the wiser,to avoid doubt,the caravan is not a Bailey,and was bought from the chosen dealer for the layout rather than the price, my understanding so far is that my contract is with the selling dealer. I take the view at this stage that it should not matter where the caravan was purchased as the faults that have been identified would presumably have occured in our particular van where ever it was purchased.I spoke to the supplying dealer by telephone last Wednesday with regard to the work being done and am currently waiting for the person responsible to phone me back.

 

[RogerL]

I take the view at this stage that it should not matter where the caravan was purchased as the faults that have been identified would presumably have occured in our particular van where ever it was purchased.

I can understand why you'd like that to be the situation - but UK legislation is very clear that all your legal remedies are against the retailer and no-one else.
Franchised caravan dealers have no obligation to carry out servicing or warranty work on caravans they haven't themselves sold. The same legal situation exists in the car industry but there dealers are generally willing to do warranty work on any car - but they can't be forced to.
Don't try going down the legal route, it'll end in tears - bite the bullet, get the caravan back to the dealer who sold it and then get on with enjoying caravanning.

 

[Dustydog]

Thank you all for your replies,sadly I am none the wiser,to avoid doubt,the caravan is not a Bailey,and was bought from the chosen dealer for the layout rather than the price, my understanding so far is that my contract is with the selling dealer. I take the view at this stage that it should not matter where the caravan was purchased as the faults that have been identified would presumably have occured in our particular van where ever it was purchased.I spoke to the supplying dealer by telephone last Wednesday with regard to the work being done and am currently waiting for the person responsible to phone me back.

Roger and Damien have clearly explained why "transport" costs are not an admissible head of claim. My dealer is a two hour round trip. I chose them because they have a gold plated reputation and quickly fix 99% of problems , the 1% takes a day or so longer!
In Law your contract of purchase is with the supplying dealer , not the manufacturer or mobile engineer.
Don't waste your money or upset yourself trying to get them to pay for the transport.
That said a Woosie friend of mine did get his supplying dealer to let him stay on their caravan site for a few freebie days holiday. Sometimes a nicely nicely approach can bring a better result than a sledge hammer.
If you look back over the years on this forum you will see a number of people bought new caravans at the NEC show etc from dealers who were hundreds of miles away. Things needed fixing and they found themselves in your position. Sad but not the dealers problem I am afraid.
Have you tried approaching the dealer to see if they will allow a mobile qualified engineer to do the work? If they at least supply the parts you can then balance up the fuel ,inconvenience cost against paying an engineer yourself?
Good luck.

 

[Damian]

Quote " Thank you all for your replies,sadly I am none the wiser"
In very simple terms then,YOU are responsible for getting the van to the dealer and back again, at YOUR cost.

Quote "to avoid doubt,the caravan is not a Bailey"
It does not matter which make it is, all the manufacturers have the same kind of exclusions.

Quote "and was bought from the chosen dealer for the layout rather than the price"

So, yet again, it was YOUR choice to purchase from whichever dealer, you were not dragged by the collar to get it.

 

[woodsieboy]

Damian
Thank you for your succinct replies,I am happy to report that I have spoken with the supplying dealer today,who incidentally was the nearest dealer with the layout we were looking for,available at the time,and at their suggestion they are contacting the manufacturer to make a warranty claim. This claim will be for work to be done on our caravan at our address to repair or replace the main item of concern. The less concerning items they are suggesting they arrange to send the required parts to me for me to arrange fitting locally.
The other issues do not require parts and again they are suggesting they be attended to locally,at their or the manufacturers cost.They have asked for photographs of the faults,and have also asked for the parts being replaced to be returned to them. I am now waiting for authorisation from them and must say that so far they have been very good in their response.It seems the issue of returning the van to supplying dealer is not as definite as we are led to believe

 

[RogerL]

It seems the issue of returning the van to supplying dealer is not as definite as we are led to believe

There are legal rights/obligations and customer service - the two are quite disconnected - your dealer will almost certainly know his obligations but is quite at liberty to invest in good customer service by assisting you over and above his obligations

 

[Raywood]

To a certain extent the warranty conditions are not relevant as your contract is with the dealer and if you have a claim for your expenses in returning a caravan for warranty work. If the caravan has a problem you should have a claim against the dealer for your expenses but if you choose one a long way from home the courts may take the view that the total cost of this is unreasonable as you would be aware of the problem at the time of purchase.