Cracked window on Swift

[woodsieboy]

Just noticed the front nearside side window on our Swift has cracked,warranty says ''Windows the functionality of the opening and closingsystem(stays, handles and catches) and a warranty against the cracking of the acrylic.Excludes fading.

Swift are closed until next Monday, so just wondering if anybody has managed to claim for a replacement window on the warranty.I have spoken to supplying dealer, they say the warranty only covers crazing around the catches.

 

[ProfJohnL]

On the presumption you have accurately reproduced the T&C's of the manufacturer's warranty (as the wording is what counts) it would appear you have a crack, and that as far as a reasonable person would assume would be covered by the wording of "cracking of the acrylic".

However is there any additional wording about damaged caused by impacts or anything similar, becasue that might work against you.

Buckman has a thread concerning the cracking of an ABS panel, and there could be similarities here.

 

[Hutch]

On my Coachman, The centre front window was replaced under warranty, because the inner and outer panels had been touching each other when travelling and had marked right in the center. It was replaced with a slightly thicker window.

 

[woodsieboy]

Hello Prof
I reproduced the warranty wording from the owners manual.My understanding was that the cracking of the acrylic would apply to the window.As stated dealer said no, and then asked if I would like an estimate for insurance.The good news is that Swift have 9 replacement windows available from stock , and delivery to the dealer will be the week after next, so I am happy to wait for the replacement. I have had to pay up front, and have tried to e mail Swift as suggested in owners manual but as they are closed I do not expect any developments for the next 10 days.Hoping that somebody can tell me they have managed to get Swift dealer to replace a window under warranty.

 

[ProfJohnL]

Good luck

 

[Buckman]

Hello Prof
I reproduced the warranty wording from the owners manual.My understanding was that the cracking of the acrylic would apply to the window.As stated dealer said no, and then asked if I would like an estimate for insurance.The good news is that Swift have 9 replacement windows available from stock , and delivery to the dealer will be the week after next, so I am happy to wait for the replacement. I have had to pay up front, and have tried to e mail Swift as suggested in owners manual but as they are closed I do not expect any developments for the next 10 days.Hoping that somebody can tell me they have managed to get Swift dealer to replace a window under warranty.

How old is the caravan and when did you buy it as it may be covered by CRA 2015? Is it on Hire purchase as that may be another avenue to explore?

 

[woodsieboy]

Hi Buckman
Caravan was bought new in July 2019, no finance,3 year warranty on the windows as I read it,cost of the new window is £230, so if I don't get any joy with the warranty just have to suck it up,when I tried to e mail Swift through the website, after usual FAQ that did't help, was told it appeared that I was trying to ask a question that wasn't permitted!Oh the joy of owning a .caravan

 

[Buckman]

Hi Buckman
Caravan was bought new in July 2019, no finance,3 year warranty on the windows as I read it,cost of the new window is £230, so if I don't get any joy with the warranty just have to suck it up,when I tried to e mail Swift through the website, after usual FAQ that did't help, was told it appeared that I was trying to ask a question that wasn't permitted!Oh the joy of owning a .caravan

No you do not have to suck it up as CRA 2015 which is on the side of the consumer and there to protect the consumer, quite clearly states that the goods must be fit for purpose and of satisfactory quality (i.e. not inherently faulty at the time of sale).

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.

Take note of the underlined words as they are important. When one pays £20k plus for an item one would expect it to last several years and not less than 3 years! Obviously the windows are not durable therefore must have had an inherent fault which has taken almost 3 years to manifest itself.

Don't waste you time emailing Swift as your contract is with the dealer and not Swift. It is the responsibility of the dealer to resolve the issue whether or not Swift agree to a warranty claim.

 

[woodsieboy]

Hello Buckman
Thank you for the response, I had contacted the dealer first,and as said they said not covered,so in the Swift handbook they state to contact them direct if you cannot agree way forward with dealer.That is what I tried to do but a, they are closed, b not sure whether the e mail went via their website as it suggested I was asking a question that wasn't allowed. They provide a telephone number in the handbook for 'customer services' so will try that on Monday,I appreciate it is not on the same scale as your ongoing issues, but the principle is the same. However a lot will depend on what mood I am in when speaking to dealer and Swift hence the suck it up comment,all I want is a fault free van that I can enjoy using.

 

[ProfJohnL]

Hello Woodsieboy,
You don't seem to have acknowledged the point both Buckman has made about the liability for the caravan you have bought.

Regardless of what the manufacturer's warranty suggests, the legal liability for the performance of the goods always rests with the seller and a finance house where finance has been used. These are your statutory legal rights that are enshrined in the Consumer Rights Act (CRA)

If the goods fail to conform the criteria set out in the CRA, it is the seller that is liable. The terms and conditions of the Manufacturers warranty has no connection with the the CRA so it is entirely possible that a failure that the manufacturer's warranty does not cover, it may still be covered by the provisions of the CRA, but the evidence needed to make the claim may be different.

 

[otherclive]

Hello Woodsieboy,
You don't seem to have acknowledged the point both Buckman has made about the liability for the caravan you have bought.

Regardless of what the manufacturer's warranty suggests, the legal liability for the performance of the goods always rests with the seller and a finance house where finance has been used. These are your statutory legal rights that are enshrined in the Consumer Rights Act (CRA)

If the goods fail to conform the criteria set out in the CRA, it is the seller that is liable. The terms and conditions of the Manufacturers warranty has no connection with the the CRA so it is entirely possible that a failure that the manufacturer's warranty does not cover, it may still be covered by the provisions of the CRA, but the evidence needed to make the claim may be different.

I think the OP does understand but he doesn’t plan to spend too much time and effort pursuing his rights under CRA 2015 if he doesn’t achieve a fairly speedy and amicable settlement via the dealer and Swift. And at £230 I wouldn’t either. There are some battles you fight and others you don’t. As he says his more important aim is to enjoy his caravan, not pursue litigation for a relatively low cost problem. Life is to short.

 

[Buckman]

Hello Buckman
Thank you for the response, I had contacted the dealer first,and as said they said not covered,so in the Swift handbook they state to contact them direct if you cannot agree way forward with dealer.That is what I tried to do but a, they are closed, b not sure whether the e mail went via their website as it suggested I was asking a question that wasn't allowed. They provide a telephone number in the handbook for 'customer services' so will try that on Monday,I appreciate it is not on the same scale as your ongoing issues, but the principle is the same. However a lot will depend on what mood I am in when speaking to dealer and Swift hence the suck it up comment,all I want is a fault free van that I can enjoy using.

When they put down the phone they have already forgotten about your complaint. Write a letter and take it to the post office and ask for proof of posting which is free. You may need this is the dealer decides to argue and refuses to comply with CRA 2015.

 

[woodsieboy]

Thankyou to everybody for their input so far, to be clear, I understand the sellers liabilities under CRA as with my other hat on as a small business owner I am sometimes required to replace, repair or refund goods to customers. My problem with using the CRA is that I will need to work with the dealership for the window to be replaced,so I will need to book the replacement in with their workshop, leave the van with them,then collect it once the replacement has been done.Ideally I would like them to provide me with a new window FOC and then I can arrange for my servicing engineer to fit it for me.
As things stand the dealer has ordered a replacement window, and I have paid for it, I have followed the actions detailed in the Swift handbook, and am now waiting for Swift to re open. in order to seek clarification from them as to whether the window cracking is covered under warranty.
Sometimes it seems that regardless of consumer rights, the pragmatic approach is quicker and ends up providing an outcome that solves the problem, although I accept that in practice by adopting a pragmatic approach I may well be compounding the problem that dealers get away with not living up to their obligations, so yes I am guilty of not insisting on the rights of the consumer. However the dealer can quite rightly insist that I return the van to them for inspection, then book it in to their undoubtedly busy workshop at a time to suit them, to carry out the work. Having had dubious quality work carried out under warranty on a previous Coachman I prefer to have the work carried out by somebody I can trust.
Years ago we had a problem with a leaky shower tap on an Abbey Expression, the dealer at the time posted us a new tap FOC and asked that we returned the faulty one to them, which we did.
Seemed the common sense approach, and worked for both sides

 

[Raywood]

I did look at the Swift website and could not find the condition you refer to either in the 2018 0r 2019 wording. Having said that your quote clearly does cover cracking and it is not excluded from the wording I found. I would firstly write to Swift formally making a claim under the warranty saying you have had no satisfaction from the dealer and demanding the window be replaced. This need to be done before the three year warranty expires which looks to be in July some time so the action is urgent.
If you cannot get the work done under the warranty then you are faced with a claim against Swift for the failure to deal with the claim under the warranty and one against the dealer under the CRU and possibly their failure to put the warranty claim to Swift as it not for them to make decisions on this. This would be a small claims action meaning the defendants would have to employ a solicitor with a cost of more than your claim so I doubt they would want to defend this dubious case.
It may be that you used a credit card for the deposit or any part of the purchase. If so the credit card provider will still have a liability if the item purchased is faulty so if you used one contact the provider as well as anything else you do.