Dealer servicing package

[lesleystrawson]

Good evening all

My husband and I own a Bailey Madrid with the Alu-tech bodyshell. When we bought our van (from new) 2 years ago, we signed up to a 3-year servicing deal with our local dealer. This saved over £100 (excluding parts) on paying for each of the services paid for separately.

The pricing schedule 2 years ago stipulated a saving as the 3rd year service included a full-whammy torque/bolt check of the alu-tech system, which apparently took a lot longer and thus cost far more. Now of course this has since been withdrawn as necessary by Bailey.
We are due on Saturday to take our van in for its second service, and will at the same time book in our 3rd service. How would people approach the fact that we've effectively paid for something that we will probably (unless we insist) not receive?

Thanks
Lesley

 

[colin-yorkshire1]

hi, it depends on the terms of purchase if all the 3years servicing were paid for up front then yes there is a argument that the services should be carried out as pro rata as they have been paid for, however if the undertaking was that each service was paid for when the service is done, with no money up front then no, as the last service would not be as comprehensive as suggested and in fact cost no more than the others,

 

[ProfJohnL]

Hello Lesely,

I tend to agree with Colin on this one, but it all depends on what the terms were in the documentation you signed up to. In essence when you agreed to the package, a contract was established. That contract cannot be altered unilaterally by one side or the other unless such changes are permitted in the terms and conditions. So the devil is in the detail.

If you have any doubts or concerns, first re read the T&C's, and if there are any clauses you are not sure about, then contact the other named party and ask for clarification. If you are still not sure, then contact the Citizens Advice Bureau or another legal professional for advice.

 

[Damian]

The simple facts are that the 3rd year extended service was STOPPED in February 2012 and you should NOT be paying the extra cost as Bailey changed the conditions of the service schedule and told ALL dealers as shown below:
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The following information has been communicated to all Bailey caravan
retailers, from Bailey Caravans Technical Department, regarding the
deletion of the “Torque check to the ALU-TECH rail bolts on the 3
rd
service”.
“After exhaustive testing here at the factory the torque check on the 3rd
service has been discontinued and will now no longer require the extra time
allocated for this operation, consequently the cost of the service would now
be set at the retailers standard service rate, this information was
communicated to all retailers on the 20th February 2012 @ 15.50 hrs

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

There are a number of Dealers who are wrongly still charging for the bolt torque check which will NOT be done.
You should NOT be paying for it, and the dealer should NOT be asking for it.

If you want clarification,ring Bailey

 

[RogerL]

Pre-payment or fixed payment schedule for servicing to an "agreed" schedule is a grey area if the manufacturer changes the scheduled tasks during the period covered - removal of a significant cost task doesn't necessarily mean you'll get a refund to reflect it - it'll all depend how that part of the contract is worded.
Contract law is absolute - how it ought to be with the benefit of hindsight is irrelevant.

 

[lesleystrawson]

Hi All

Thanks ever so much for your replies. The 3 year servicing contract was paid for upfront.
I suppose it comes down to whether we want the van in for several days (we normally drop it off early Saturday morning and pick it up at lunchtime so we don't have to book a day off work!) and of course we would have to completely strip the van for this more intensive service to be done - nightmare!!!.
We'll just play it by ear on Saturday and see what they say.

Lesley

 

[Raywood]

What would happen if the caravan was written off or stolen or the dealer goes out of business. Do you get your money back or simply transfer the contract to a new caravan in the event of either of the first two?
Our car dealer did offer a similar deal on servicing but it is paid monthly by direct debit so the downside is less and there is a repayment clause if anything happens to the car.

 

[NickinFrance]

To turn it around, would you be happy to pay extra if additional items were added to the service schedule?

 

[ProfJohnL]

What would happen if the caravan was written off or stolen or the dealer goes out of business. Do you get your money back or simply transfer the contract to a new caravan in the event of either of the first two?
Our car dealer did offer a similar deal on servicing but it is paid monthly by direct debit so the downside is less and there is a repayment clause if anything happens to the car.

Hello Ray,
As has been stated above, it all depends on the wording in the T&C's. and any get out or conditional clauses included in them. Without seeing the exact wording in the contract, the ability to vary charges or cancel is pure speculation.
As you will know in regard of motor insurance, if you take out a policy on a monthly paymant schedule, and you have total loss before the end of the shedule, you remain liable for the full sum as defined in the contract, even though you no longer have the insured vehicle.

 

[Raywood]

What would happen if the caravan was written off or stolen or the dealer goes out of business. Do you get your money back or simply transfer the contract to a new caravan in the event of either of the first two?
Our car dealer did offer a similar deal on servicing but it is paid monthly by direct debit so the downside is less and there is a repayment clause if anything happens to the car.

Hello Ray,
As has been stated above, it all depends on the wording in the T&C's. and any get out or conditional clauses included in them. Without seeing the exact wording in the contract, the ability to vary charges or cancel is pure speculation.
As you will know in regard of motor insurance, if you take out a policy on a monthly paymant schedule, and you have total loss before the end of the shedule, you remain liable for the full sum as defined in the contract, even though you no longer have the insured vehicle.

Hi. I am aware of the insurance position but what I was offered with the car was a servicing deal. You make modest monthly payments so that after twelve months you can have the car serviced for nothing, they get the work and you get about 20% of the cost and with inflation by year three the savings look potentially pretty good. This looks a similar idea to the caravan servicing one but without as much risk. Paying a discounted three years up front looks very risky to me in the current financial climate as if the dealer went down I think you would lose everything unless it was insurance backed and if I Iost the caravan through accident or theft I would need to be sure I got outstanding money back so a thorough check of the T & C's would be needed.
Ray

 

[Dustydog]

Hi Ray

Interesting . A kind of local savings plan?

I'm wary of these things..
Look what happened to the savers with Farepak christmas hampers.
Why not just budget and save up your self ,monthly, and then pay the bill on your credit card for peace of mind?
Ok so they may give you a discount for joining their scheme but at the end of the day you are the one taking the risk .

 

[MichaelE]

When your van goes in ask the to check the front lockers for damp? Apparentley 8 out 10 Unicorns suffer with damp in this area caused by water running down the front and behind the mouldings.
There is a retro fix for this so ask if they dont say anything.

 

[Raywood]

Hi Ray

Interesting . A kind of local savings plan?

I'm wary of these things..
Look what happened to the savers with Farepak christmas hampers.
Why not just budget and save up your self ,monthly, and then pay the bill on your credit card for peace of mind?
Ok so they may give you a discount for joining their scheme but at the end of the day you are the one taking the risk .

Hi
I am wary of these schemes and you simply have to decide if the savings are worth the risk. Paying three years up front looks too great a risk from my point of view but monthly payments could save you quite a bit over three years if you take inflation into account and the risk of a substantial loss is pretty low, but these days you never know who is going to be next to fail.
Ray