Warranty requirement

[RayS]

In the process of buying a new 'van. Have been advised by dealer that annual service must be carried out within a window around the anniversary of the purchase date - no problem as this is usually plus/minus a month.
However, that the service on the 3rd anniversary must be on that anniversary.

I suspect this is something to do with the Sale ofGoods Act provisions, but have they thought this through ? what happens if this date happens to be at a weekend ?
This may mean you have to effectively block in this date 3 years ahead when taking delivery - not terribly convenient, especially when the dealer will not give you a firm delivery date.

At my age I shall be quite happy to have the van serviced in 3 years time anyway, but resent having to be dictated to so far in advance, when warranty is so important in retaining value of the 'van.

Have the legal eagles of the Forum any comments / advice ? (apart from 'don't buy the van at this time, which is not an option).

 

[Parksy]

Hi Ray
The only reference to the date of the third serice that I'm aware of is from Bailey (other manufacturers may also have similar deadlines) who allow a window of six weeks on either side of the service deadline except for the third and the sixth sevice which have to be completed on or before the anniversary date for warranty purposes.
It might be worth checking with their customer services via customerservices@bailey-caravans.co.uk if your new caravan is a Bailey, but I'd say that as long as the service is completed within the allowed time frame before or on the anniversary, but not a day after, your warranty will remain intact.
If a fault was discovered on a part or an accessory covered under the three year warranty when your caravan was being serviced, but the service took place after the anniversary and therefore the parts warranty expiry date had passed your claim may be refused, which is why the importance of the third and the sixth service deadlines is highlighted to you well in advance.

 

[ProfJohnL]

Hello Ray,
I think you have misunderstood.

The Sale of Goods Act enshrines your statutory rights as a consumer when making a retail purchase. Fundamentally SoGA relates to the condition of the goods or service at the time of purchase. It specifically relates to the contract of sale created between the seller(s) and the purchaser(s)

SoGA makes no requirement for servicing of items, so it does not set out schedules for services or other required actions after purchase.

What you are almost certainly referring to is the manufacturers guarantee. Manufacturers are not obliged to offer any sort of guarantee with their products, (but most do as its good customer practice). Consequently it is a gift from the manufacture, they can hamstring it with as many terms and conditions as they like. If you accept it then be under no illusion it is a binding contract, and schedules for servicing must be complied with. Failure to do so is breach of contract, and depending on the T&C's the manufacture may decline any claim you try to make.

To be fair most manufactures do include some latitude for compliance with service dates, but go outside of these limits and they can invoke their breach clauses.

I suggest that if you are having difficulty in meeting their schedule, then write to them and ask for a reasonable variance, but only believe any change they offer if you have it in writing from the company. Incidentally your dealer has no authority to vary the T&Cs of a Manufactures Guarantee or ingress policy, Only the manufacture or the policy provider can do that.

 

[Damian]

Just to clarify on the third and sixth services.
They must be done on or before the anniversary date as it all ties in with the individual appliance warranties.
Those dates are there to protect YOU from finding a fault after the warranty expires and having to then pay for any repair.

 

[RayS]

Thanks for the very comprehensive and prompt replies. I've done a bit more digging and my conclusion, supported by your comments, is that the dealer was not quite correct in what he told me. Or at least he didn't tell me everything.
I hope others will find all this useful, it's all too easy to get carried away with the excitement of a new van and to overlook the need to do the dull stuff like checking warranties and service requirements.
I hear this morning that HMG is to pull all consumer protection law and related stuff into one new Act with one central Agency responsible. If this actually happens it should be much easier to understand in future (although would not affect the topic of this thread)
Thanks again, chaps

 

[Surfer]

I hear this morning that HMG is to pull all consumer protection law and related stuff into one new Act with one central Agency responsible. If this actually happens it should be much easier to understand in future (although would not affect the topic of this thread)
Thanks again, chaps

At the moment it seems to be under CAB who eventually pass it onto Trading Standards, however the people manning the CAB response service have no clue on Consumer Law including Distance Selling Regulations as I found out recently. A visit to a local CAB branch is a better option.

 

[Willi-Wonti]

I have a new for old policy from the caravan club, it stipulates that I must have an annual service on my van
I wonder how many others have this stipulation & know nothing about it?

 

[Surfer]

I have a new for old policy from the caravan club, it stipulates that I must have an annual service on my van
I wonder how many others have this stipulation & know nothing about it?

Where does it say in the CC policy that the caravan must be servcied annually? I don't think any insurance company can impose this condition on any one. The CC policy does state that caravan will be kept in a roadworthy condition and that is the only reference to servicing.

 

[emmitdb]

Greetings,
This is topic my mate and I were talking about last week.
His four year old 'van, a swift has just had it's service and the dreaded damp has been found.
He bought the 'van last year from a well known name (although not a Swift dealer) and the service record had two stamps in it from the previous two years.
He now finds that his 'van is NOT covered because he cannot produce the Invoices for the services that were performed by the previous owners. (Notwithstanding that there are stamps in his service book)
He is currently in the process of discussing this matter with Swift.

Can I offer another scenario which is not beyond the bounds of possibility. I understand that the servicing of my Lunar has to be performed within a six week window of the anniversary of it's original sale, and, like a Bailey the third service has to be performed on or BEFORE the anniversary.
However, my last 'van was about to be three years old and on taking it to the dealer for it's service, me and the Memsahib decided to sell it in Part ex. The service was not carried out, we chose a new 'van and about six weeks later we took the old van into the dealer and the swop was performed. Now our old 'van was not serviced in line with the warranty as described and, unless the receiving dealer told a blatent lie (and issued a false date on the invoice for the service), any subsequent owner would find himself without the protection of a water ingress warranty should the event arise. It's OK for someone to say "The dealer would honour the warranty" but, without the invoices (read my mates saga, above) I would suggest someone would have a fight on their hands.

 

[ProfJohnL]

Hello emmitdb,

I'm not at all surprised at what you describe.

When you buy a caravan your contract is with the seller and possibly also a finance house. The manufacture is not a party to the sale and has no contractual obligation in the sale.

However in most new retail purchases, the manufacturer does offer a guarantee. As this is not a legal requirement it is a gift, and as such the manufacturer can apply as many limitations as they wish. All limitations will be referenced in the guarantees Terms and Conditions.

In the case of larger items like caravans, the manufacturers guarantee does not automatically come into action, you often have to register the product and your details with the manufacture and sign up to the guarantee. Your signature ties you into that agreement. Even though you do not directly pay for it, it is as much a contract as any other and you are bound by the T&C's

In many cases the manufacturer will limit any benefits awarded in the guarantee to the original owner, and the policy is not transferable. But in some cases with caravans some benefits can be reassigned to a subsequent owners provided the caravan is still young enough and meets all the criteria laid out in the T&C's.

The manufactures guarantee must never be confused with the customers statutory rights afforded under SoGA. They are entirely separate and legally SoGA's rights cannot be diminished. So if you purchase a second hand caravan from a retailer (private sales are different and not covered in all respects) you get some warranty protection, but that is with the seller and not the manufacturer.
If you sell a caravan to a dealer, then you must describe it accurately. If you say it is fully serviced, then it must be up to date up to the point you actually sell it. However as in any purchase arrangement, the buyer must obtain any assurances they need to confirm the condition of second hand goods, but the vendor should have evidence to support any statements of conformance.

 

[Dustydog]

It's worth noting that the manufacturer's water ingress guarantee is not automatically transferable to a second or subsequent owner.

Bailey ask for a £36 one off fee, proof all serving has been carried out as required and finally subject to their agreement.

I expect other manufacturers do something similar.