- Apr 15, 2024
- 11
- 2
- 515
Hi I would like some guidance on a consumer related issue concerning a new caravan we bought in April 2024 from leisure world group in Newcastle
We rejected the caravan within 14 days of purchase because it had faults. The microwave and decorative kitchen panel were damaged. The tracker required for insurance purposes wasn't working. The radio housing inside an internal locker was damaged. The lock on the external front gas locker was broken. The alarm wasn't working correctly.
LWG agreed to take the caravan back, after approx 2 weeks from purchase but found
scratches under the rear of the caravan, not caused by us. We got an estimate to repair the scratches from an NCC registered repairer, who said the damage,which was very minor would have been caused by the caravan being offloaded from a trailer. He called it gravel rash. The scratches were going to cost at the most £250 to fix. LWG refused to take it back.
We went through a solicitor, who were prepared to take it court but the counsel said we didn't have a 51% Chance of winning so the case was drops.
All the time the legal work was going on we couldn't get to use the caravan.
There were alot of issues that needed fixing, we found a good local NCC registered Swift approved repairer, ( let's call them NCS) to carry out the repairs, including the scratches that LWG refused to do. which were all paid for under Swift warranty and cost us nothing. The caravan was with NCS for about 4 weeks in March this year
No sooner did we get the caravan back but we found other problems with the heating which wouldn't work and an operating panel that controls sensors and timers wasn't working either. We were told by Sargent who do the electrics to have the software on the panel updated, something the dealership should have done back in April 2024.
NCS did more repairs again under warranty and had to send the panel back to Sargent for a software update as they had problems doing this themselves. They fixed the heating, the alarm and main door which wasn't closing properly.
NCS had to chase Alde in respect of the heating system as well as Sargent. Obviously I am not their only customer.
To city a long story short. We took our caravan back to NCS and it was with them from 15th may 2025 to 11th September 2025.
We got the caravan back on 11th September but the heating failed again,and the sensor failed again.
We took the caravan back to NCS where it has been since 15th September. They have been informed by swift that the power supply unit needs to be swapped out.
Since March our caravan has been in the workshop for a total of 6 months. In that time we have been unable to use it. This is not the fault of the workshop, they are trying to fix faults and have other customers to deal with.
Where do I stand legally. We haven't had to pay for any of the work.. all done under warranty, but we have a caravan we can't use as it is constantly in the workshop.
We haven't gone back to LWG because of the terrible customer service. They have also relocated their premises from Newcastle ( where we bought the caravan) to Catterick. Where would we stand in rejecting the caravan as not fit for purpose.
We paid £450 to store our caravan on a site local to us where it hasn't been as it's spent more time in workshop
We paid £525 to stay in lake District for a 5 day holiday as the caravan wasn't available to use.
We had booked several caravan sites for 2025 but had to cancel as we didn't have the caravan and lost deposits.
We have had caravans for years,both new and used, and have never had issues before like this.
Appreciate any feedback.
We rejected the caravan within 14 days of purchase because it had faults. The microwave and decorative kitchen panel were damaged. The tracker required for insurance purposes wasn't working. The radio housing inside an internal locker was damaged. The lock on the external front gas locker was broken. The alarm wasn't working correctly.
LWG agreed to take the caravan back, after approx 2 weeks from purchase but found
scratches under the rear of the caravan, not caused by us. We got an estimate to repair the scratches from an NCC registered repairer, who said the damage,which was very minor would have been caused by the caravan being offloaded from a trailer. He called it gravel rash. The scratches were going to cost at the most £250 to fix. LWG refused to take it back.
We went through a solicitor, who were prepared to take it court but the counsel said we didn't have a 51% Chance of winning so the case was drops.
All the time the legal work was going on we couldn't get to use the caravan.
There were alot of issues that needed fixing, we found a good local NCC registered Swift approved repairer, ( let's call them NCS) to carry out the repairs, including the scratches that LWG refused to do. which were all paid for under Swift warranty and cost us nothing. The caravan was with NCS for about 4 weeks in March this year
No sooner did we get the caravan back but we found other problems with the heating which wouldn't work and an operating panel that controls sensors and timers wasn't working either. We were told by Sargent who do the electrics to have the software on the panel updated, something the dealership should have done back in April 2024.
NCS did more repairs again under warranty and had to send the panel back to Sargent for a software update as they had problems doing this themselves. They fixed the heating, the alarm and main door which wasn't closing properly.
NCS had to chase Alde in respect of the heating system as well as Sargent. Obviously I am not their only customer.
To city a long story short. We took our caravan back to NCS and it was with them from 15th may 2025 to 11th September 2025.
We got the caravan back on 11th September but the heating failed again,and the sensor failed again.
We took the caravan back to NCS where it has been since 15th September. They have been informed by swift that the power supply unit needs to be swapped out.
Since March our caravan has been in the workshop for a total of 6 months. In that time we have been unable to use it. This is not the fault of the workshop, they are trying to fix faults and have other customers to deal with.
Where do I stand legally. We haven't had to pay for any of the work.. all done under warranty, but we have a caravan we can't use as it is constantly in the workshop.
We haven't gone back to LWG because of the terrible customer service. They have also relocated their premises from Newcastle ( where we bought the caravan) to Catterick. Where would we stand in rejecting the caravan as not fit for purpose.
We paid £450 to store our caravan on a site local to us where it hasn't been as it's spent more time in workshop
We paid £525 to stay in lake District for a 5 day holiday as the caravan wasn't available to use.
We had booked several caravan sites for 2025 but had to cancel as we didn't have the caravan and lost deposits.
We have had caravans for years,both new and used, and have never had issues before like this.
Appreciate any feedback.