Delamination

[darren_5040317]

We have a brand new Lunar caravan which we bought on the 30th November 2004 which we brought from a local dealership. Firstly we experienced a faulty stabiliser & now after taking the van to be looked at for a creeky floor we have been told that the floor has delamination problems. Should a van 5 weeks old suffer these problems? We have requested that they replace the van but have been told that they will only repair it. can anyone give us advise on what we should do next?

 

[Janice_5040656]

I would suggest you contact your local trading standards and ask for their advice. From what I can recall when we had problems with a new car, we gave them the opportunity to repair the fault, and in doing that we gave up the right to return the car under the sale of goods act. Had we returned the vehicle without giving the dealer the chance to repair it, we could of insisted on a full refund. That happened a good few years ago though, so the law may have changed since

 

[MikeP]

Contact Lunar and ask them to tell you the date of manufacture from the serial number. This will help you to decide what to do. Should a floor delaminate after just 5 weeks? Absolutely not. Your contract is with the dealer, who has failed to deliver a satisfactory product. Even without knowing the full facts I would be thinking about rejection. It could wreck your holiday plans though ...

 

[Damian_5039967]

Check this site out:http://www.dti.gov.uk/ccp/topics1/facts/salegoodsact.htm

Under recent amendments tothe law, it is up to the seller to PROVE there was nothing wrong when he sold the van to you, just saying it was OK is not enough!

You are within your rights to demand your money back. Take a copy of the law regarding this with you, it often works wonders to place written legal rights in front of the seller,,,he then knows that you are not an easy push over.

 

[Mike_5041089]

Darren - on no account accept a repair! Demand a full refund or replacement van. Under the Sale of Goods Act merchandise has to be fit for purpose. Clearly this van isn't. If you accept a repair & it's not done properly the van could easily develop later problems with damp etc, rendering it unsaleable/worthless. See a Solicitor or CAB if the Dealer won't play ball - the law is on your side. Good luck!

 

[PaulM_5041268]

Darren - I agree with the other respondents - under the sle of goods act - the product MUST be fit for the purpose that it was intended for, also recent amendments mean that if a fault occurs within 6 months then the product is deemed to have been faulty at the time of purchase.

Best of Luck - not that you need it, after all the law there to potect you

 

[Steve L]

Under no circumstance accept repair. The dealer can easily return the van to the manufacturer under the same complaint status you have with the dealer. My In-laws are having a simlar problem with the same dealership with a secondhand van. It was sold supposedly serviced and ready to use. I have found several things wrong and we are negotiating repairs with the dealer but they are very reluctant to help. We used to think the dealership you are dealing with had a good reputation, but it seems the halo has slipped. You will need to get in touch with CAB and trading standards to get resolution.

 

[Surfer]

I bought a 2004 Lunar caravan from the same dealer and had the same problem and it was only when I involved the finance company and Trading Standards that I got the problem and others resolved.

I have since traded the caravan in on another 2004 Lunar and this time a so called professional installed the fire blanket behind the stove, so first of all you cannot have a fire on your stove because you cannot light it as the glass top cover will not go back fully and even if you could light the stove and a fire did occur you could not get to the fire blanket without burning yourself if the fire was on the stove. Same applies if there was something cooking on the stove and a fire broke out elsewhere in the caravan. I don'ty beleive that any one could be that dumb!

 

[Noproblems_5041246]

Darren, reject the van as others have said - if necessary issue a summons in the small claims court (very easy to do, cheap, and not at all intimidating) and get your money back. Then, if you still want the same van buy another one. This way, your warranty will run fom the date of delivery of the new one. Accepting a replacement will mean that your waranty will run from the date of delivery of the original one. As for your dealership I have had bad experiences with them. Others seem to have as well, so it might be beneficial to choose another dealer for your new caravan.

 

[mickngill_5041086]

We agree with janice. Contact your local trading standards office, they have websites. You can download the required forms and they also give you a procedure to follow. if you are a member of one of the clubs, contact them as they also have a legal dept.

Do NOT agree to a repair. Tell the dealer you are rejecting the van under the sale and supply of goods act. Put it in writing stating you want a full refund and dont forget to put a reasonable time limit on the action (ie.14 days). Follow the guidelines from your LTS office they are there to help you. Dont let the dealer fob you off. be polite but firm. Hope you sort it out.

 

[Albert_5039897]

I don't believe that this problem has occured during the first five weeks of the van's use it must be a manufacturing fault so what happened to the manufacturers quality control and the dealers PDI.

10 replies to date not one from the dealer or manufacturer to attempt to defend themselves, seems that sales are so strong they have no reguard for their reputation

 

[Pete_5041298]

Up to 6 monthes after purchase:

For the first six months after purchase, the consumer need not produce any evidence that a product was inherently faulty at the time of sale. If a consumer is seeking any other remedy the burden of proof remains with him/her.

In such a case, the retailer will either accept there was an inherent fault, and will offer a remedy, or he will dispute that it was inherently flawed. If the latter, when he inspects the product to analyse the cause, he may, for example, point out impact damage or stains that would be consistent with it having been mistreated in such a way as to bring about the fault.

This reversal of the usual burden of proof only applies when the consumer is seeking a repair or replacement. After the first six months the onus of proof is again on the consumer.

 

[darren_5040317]

Thank u to the twelve people who responded to my problem with floor delamation. I took my van to an inderpendant dealer for an inspection and report to be done this is what he found,body and walls not fasterned to chassis at front end ,both sides of van had bowed making the furniture come away from the walls,hole in floor were the electric cables go in to the caravan , inside the van a 40%damp reading was measured dueto the hole not being sealed ,a dent repair done on nearside of van which we were not told about steady legs out of line.after numoros phone calls to chichester caravans and lunar ,solictors trading standards ,chichester caravans are now going to fully reinburse our money.thanks to everyone for the advice and time to reply

 

[Noproblems_5041246]

Darren, glad you finally succeeded. What a poor performance by Lunar and Chichester Caravans. From the faults found by the independent surveyor it sounds as though there is absolutely no quality control at Lunar or any form of acceptable build standards - a make best avoided methinks. And as for Chichester Caravans, my experience of them is one of gross tardiness. In addition, I was in their Redhill branch and a customer came to collect his caravan from srvicing, as agreed as he was about to depart on holiday that day - he was a little bit miffed as they had not even started it and did not know when they could do it. However, Chichester Caravans do seem to bpopular with the caravan press. I have read numerous articles where caravans have been picked up from them for test etc, some singing the praises of the nice people at Chichester Caravans - perhaps the magazines need to reflect the life of ordinary 'punters'.