My 5 year old swift caravan has a damp problem. This is due to cracks in the front panel,the major one caused by a screw in end cap of rail above the front windows this screw is only 6mm in from edge of the panel.This end cap was modified on later models so the screw fixing is now 20mm in from the edge of the panel.The dealer says the other two are stress cracks. Swift have refused my warranty claim on the grounds that the damp is caused by cracks and this is not covered by their 6 year body shell guarantee. Has anybody had a similar problem and if so how did they resolve it. Regards Len
Warranty Information
- Thread starter Len2
- Start date
Hello Len,
I'm sorry to read of your problem, and I don't think I can offer you much hope.
As we do not have all the relavent details of the history of your caravan, it is difficult to provide specific advice.
Howver if you bought it new then in general you have your statutory legal rights that come into play as soon as you purchase your caravan. Those rights are revocably with your seller, and details can be found if you do a google search for "Sale of Goods Act"
If you belive the problem is the result of a design fault or the fault was actually present when you purcahsed the caravan, then you may have a claim against your seller -but beware in general sellers liability only lasts for the normal life expectancy of a product up to a maximum of 6 years. At 5 years you are nearing the end of any sellers liability, and to be succesfull you have to prove that the fault was present at the point of sale. Due to the age of the caravan that proof becomes far more difficult.
If you were sucsessful in such a claim against your seller, you may still have to contribute to the cost of repairs, because despite the problem, you have not been prevented from using the caravan.
As for any warranty or guarantee you have with directly with Swift, their liability is defined in the terms and conditions of the warranty. The continauation and thier liability is dependant on you conforming to the terms of the contract, Missing as service or inspection is suffcient for the gauarantor to have any liability lifted.
My gut feeling is that it may cost you as much to challenge either or both your seller or the manufacture about thier refusal, as it will to have the reparis done at your expense.
As always please read my signature note below.
I'm sorry to read of your problem, and I don't think I can offer you much hope.
As we do not have all the relavent details of the history of your caravan, it is difficult to provide specific advice.
Howver if you bought it new then in general you have your statutory legal rights that come into play as soon as you purchase your caravan. Those rights are revocably with your seller, and details can be found if you do a google search for "Sale of Goods Act"
If you belive the problem is the result of a design fault or the fault was actually present when you purcahsed the caravan, then you may have a claim against your seller -but beware in general sellers liability only lasts for the normal life expectancy of a product up to a maximum of 6 years. At 5 years you are nearing the end of any sellers liability, and to be succesfull you have to prove that the fault was present at the point of sale. Due to the age of the caravan that proof becomes far more difficult.
If you were sucsessful in such a claim against your seller, you may still have to contribute to the cost of repairs, because despite the problem, you have not been prevented from using the caravan.
As for any warranty or guarantee you have with directly with Swift, their liability is defined in the terms and conditions of the warranty. The continauation and thier liability is dependant on you conforming to the terms of the contract, Missing as service or inspection is suffcient for the gauarantor to have any liability lifted.
My gut feeling is that it may cost you as much to challenge either or both your seller or the manufacture about thier refusal, as it will to have the reparis done at your expense.
As always please read my signature note below.
Parksy
Moderator
Swifts body shell integrity guarantee extends to:
'Body leaks and delamination water ingress through any permanently sealed seam joints or delamination of panels and floor, being part of the original manufacturer’s construction.'
This guarantee is subject to terms and conditions:
'The manufacturer will honour the Guarantee for 72 months from the date of purchase,provided that the caravan has had an Annual
Service, within 90 days before or 60 days after each anniversary of the original date of purchase (or hire purchase). The sixth Annual
Service must, however, be carried out before the expiry of the 72 month period from the original date of purchase (or hire purchase).'
Specific exclusions from the Guarantee :
'Seams and panels requiring repair must be part of the original construction of the caravan and must not have been tampered with or
repaired otherwise than by Swift Group Ltd or an authorised Swift Group Service Centre.'
If you bought the caravan from brand new provided that you have complied with the terms of the guarantee by having all servicing done within the time limits by a Swift authorised dealer and no repairs or alterations which contravene the above conditions the next step would be to ask on what grounds the claim for repair under guarantee was rejected, you will need to get the reasons in writing.
Swift are unlikely to have rejected your claim without good reason so my advice is based on the rejection of this claim.
I'm again assuming that you bought this caravan brand new from a dealer, you must remember that your contract of sale under the Sale of Goods Act 1979 is with the supplying dealer and if you decide to pursue this claim further then it is them who you may have to take to court if necessary.
There is more consumer information about the SOGA and your statutory rights Click Here
If you can prove that your supplying dealer has sold goods to you which are either unsatisfactory or not fit for the purposes for which they are intended then you may still have the basis of a valid claim for the cost of repair from the supplying dealer provided that the sale was unconditional.
In this case you should contact your Local Trading Standards Institute who will advise you further.
You may need to engage the services of a solicitor or competent legal advisor at some stage, the Citizen's Advice Bereaux will advise on this.
'Body leaks and delamination water ingress through any permanently sealed seam joints or delamination of panels and floor, being part of the original manufacturer’s construction.'
This guarantee is subject to terms and conditions:
'The manufacturer will honour the Guarantee for 72 months from the date of purchase,provided that the caravan has had an Annual
Service, within 90 days before or 60 days after each anniversary of the original date of purchase (or hire purchase). The sixth Annual
Service must, however, be carried out before the expiry of the 72 month period from the original date of purchase (or hire purchase).'
Specific exclusions from the Guarantee :
'Seams and panels requiring repair must be part of the original construction of the caravan and must not have been tampered with or
repaired otherwise than by Swift Group Ltd or an authorised Swift Group Service Centre.'
If you bought the caravan from brand new provided that you have complied with the terms of the guarantee by having all servicing done within the time limits by a Swift authorised dealer and no repairs or alterations which contravene the above conditions the next step would be to ask on what grounds the claim for repair under guarantee was rejected, you will need to get the reasons in writing.
Swift are unlikely to have rejected your claim without good reason so my advice is based on the rejection of this claim.
I'm again assuming that you bought this caravan brand new from a dealer, you must remember that your contract of sale under the Sale of Goods Act 1979 is with the supplying dealer and if you decide to pursue this claim further then it is them who you may have to take to court if necessary.
There is more consumer information about the SOGA and your statutory rights Click Here
If you can prove that your supplying dealer has sold goods to you which are either unsatisfactory or not fit for the purposes for which they are intended then you may still have the basis of a valid claim for the cost of repair from the supplying dealer provided that the sale was unconditional.
In this case you should contact your Local Trading Standards Institute who will advise you further.
You may need to engage the services of a solicitor or competent legal advisor at some stage, the Citizen's Advice Bereaux will advise on this.
Thank you Prof John L And Parksy Moderator for your replies. I was late with a service and this is one of the reasons my warranty claim was rejected the other being that the warranty does not cover cracks. I am sure the screw in the end cap of the rail above the window being only 6mm in from the edge of the panel is the route cause of my problem. The vibration on the caravan combined with the nearness of the screw to the
edge has caused the panel to split which in turn has allowed the damp to penetrate the shell. This has caused swelling and this has caused the cracks. Swift say the opposite they say the cracks have appeared and this has caused the damp. As you say to prove my case would cause me stress and money and its best that I move on. My wife and I bought our first caravan in 1972 a Thompson Glennevis we sold it 19 years later in1991 and bought a Trophy GL we sold this 15 years later in 2006 and bought our Swift Ace Award now 5 years old and falling apart. How times have changed, is this progress or do we need the Japanese to start making caravans.
edge has caused the panel to split which in turn has allowed the damp to penetrate the shell. This has caused swelling and this has caused the cracks. Swift say the opposite they say the cracks have appeared and this has caused the damp. As you say to prove my case would cause me stress and money and its best that I move on. My wife and I bought our first caravan in 1972 a Thompson Glennevis we sold it 19 years later in1991 and bought a Trophy GL we sold this 15 years later in 2006 and bought our Swift Ace Award now 5 years old and falling apart. How times have changed, is this progress or do we need the Japanese to start making caravans.
Hello again Len,
I'm sorry to read that you missed a service deadline. as I explained previously, those deadlines form part of the terms and conditions of your Manufactures guarantee, and although it may not seem like it, it is as much a legal contract as any other more recognisable transaction.
Consequently you were in breach of that contract by missing the service date.
I'm sorry to read that you missed a service deadline. as I explained previously, those deadlines form part of the terms and conditions of your Manufactures guarantee, and although it may not seem like it, it is as much a legal contract as any other more recognisable transaction.
Consequently you were in breach of that contract by missing the service date.
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