I need some legal advice. I purchased(privately) a 7 yr old caravan, had it tested at the time for damp, all clear!I was advised at the time by the owner it had had some insurance work done on it because of damage through a falling branch.This was completed in Jan 04.We have now had the van serviced only to be told that when the previous work was done they had omitted to clear all the damp areas, failed to fit a new shelf that was stated on the work sheet, therefore the appearence of dry rot.Can anyone shed any light on where i stand with the repairers of the previous work? Have i got any cause for complaint to them? i would be really grateful of anyones thoughts ideas on this matter.Thanks Dawn.
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Dry rot
- Thread starter Dawn_5040242
- Start date
Hello Dawn, Sorry to hear of your predicament. Sadly I don't think you have a case, because it was a private purchase. The phrase caveat emptor (buyer beware) applies to auctions and private purchases, and basically it is assumed that you had the chance to inspect the merchandise and ask questions before you buy.
The only chance you may have is if you could prove that the vendor was trying to defraud you, by deliberately concealing a known flaw in the product.
It is worth noting, that the insurance repairs will only correct the damage stated in the claim (Fallen tree) they will not pay to "improve" the product. In this case, if the repairer discovered rot, they would probably have contacted the owner, and reported the matter. Only if the owner agreed to pay for the repair of the rotten material would the repairer under take the work at the same time as the insurance job. It is possible that the owner refused to pay for this so you cannot assume the repairer is at fault.
It must also be born in mind that a seven year old caravan may be prone to degradation of this nature. This can depend on how it has been used and maintained. Regrettably, I believe there are too many variables that could have affected the caravan. It would not be worth trying to prove the repairer was at fault when they may be innocent. To do so would be expensive, It may be better to use that money to repair the van or put it towards a replacement. Learn from your experience.
Please feel free to check with your CAB or a solicitor who can inspect any documentation you have and give you a more learn-ed response.
The only chance you may have is if you could prove that the vendor was trying to defraud you, by deliberately concealing a known flaw in the product.
It is worth noting, that the insurance repairs will only correct the damage stated in the claim (Fallen tree) they will not pay to "improve" the product. In this case, if the repairer discovered rot, they would probably have contacted the owner, and reported the matter. Only if the owner agreed to pay for the repair of the rotten material would the repairer under take the work at the same time as the insurance job. It is possible that the owner refused to pay for this so you cannot assume the repairer is at fault.
It must also be born in mind that a seven year old caravan may be prone to degradation of this nature. This can depend on how it has been used and maintained. Regrettably, I believe there are too many variables that could have affected the caravan. It would not be worth trying to prove the repairer was at fault when they may be innocent. To do so would be expensive, It may be better to use that money to repair the van or put it towards a replacement. Learn from your experience.
Please feel free to check with your CAB or a solicitor who can inspect any documentation you have and give you a more learn-ed response.
I purchased a caravan which had been damaged 6 months before I owned it and needed a whole new outside side panel replacement. After about a month we noticed a small crack in our bathroom wall on the same side as the replacement panel. I contacted the previous owner and asked them if they still had the receipts for the work. I was lucky they had the receipts and all copies of the insurance claim documents. I contacted the caravan repairers who were not helpful, so I and the previous owner contacted the insurers who were most helpful and pointed out to the repairers that the work cames with a statutory 12months guaranttee. Left it with the insurance company to deal with, who promptley got it sorted, great stuff. So it is worth finding out if there are some recipts and who was the covering insurance company assuming it is within a 12month period of repairs.
How did this blast from the past surface? Must be a record for the most delayed reply to an OP which dates back from about the time the website was set up. Amazing. Is this a record of some sort?
Parksy
Moderator
I should imagine that Damian is very busy with his approved caravan service engineer business and I've just strolled in after taking my Pajero to the MOT garage for some chassis welding prior to the MOT
I normally delete spam and use the reporting software to add it to our database, but if I deleted any subsequent comments would also be lost.
In this case because I've replied I just banned the spammer, so perhaps they will live to spam another day
Bearing in mind the difficulty that many of us have when using the search facility to find previous threads it's amazing the lengths that some of these spammers must go to in order to find a topic to insert their rubbish into.
I normally delete spam and use the reporting software to add it to our database, but if I deleted any subsequent comments would also be lost.
In this case because I've replied I just banned the spammer, so perhaps they will live to spam another day
Bearing in mind the difficulty that many of us have when using the search facility to find previous threads it's amazing the lengths that some of these spammers must go to in order to find a topic to insert their rubbish into.
Parksy said:I should imagine that Damian is very busy with his approved caravan service engineer business and I've just strolled in after taking my Pajero to the MOT garage for some chassis welding prior to the MOT
I normally delete spam and use the reporting software to add it to our database, but if I deleted any subsequent comments would also be lost.
In this case because I've replied I just banned the spammer, so perhaps they will live to spam another day
Bearing in mind the difficulty that many of us have when using the search facility to find previous threads it's amazing the lengths that some of these spammers must go to in order to find a topic to insert their rubbish into.
Now that sounds painful to the wallet Parksy, perhaps the spammer thought you might need some financial help ?
Parksy
Moderator
Good one!Rob-T said:Parksy said:I should imagine that Damian is very busy with his approved caravan service engineer business and I've just strolled in after taking my Pajero to the MOT garage for some chassis welding prior to the MOT
I normally delete spam and use the reporting software to add it to our database, but if I deleted any subsequent comments would also be lost.
In this case because I've replied I just banned the spammer, so perhaps they will live to spam another day
Bearing in mind the difficulty that many of us have when using the search facility to find previous threads it's amazing the lengths that some of these spammers must go to in order to find a topic to insert their rubbish into.
Now that sounds painful to the wallet Parksy, perhaps the spammer thought you might need some financial help ?
I can't really complain Rob, the bill came to £70 and I've got another years MOT from August.
I could never afford the spammers rate of interest but they couldn't afford Haymarkets advertising rates either
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