warrenty

[Themass31]

I bought a caravan in the summer 0f 2005 and during the year it went in to the workshop several times because of the amount of faults on it,when it went in end the end of last summer for more work, one of the many jobs was to find out what had lifted up part of the lamenet of the kitchen bench, they told me that it was a srew from the outer wall of the caravan.

Broadlane have told me that swift won't pay up, so I got in touch with swift and they told me they won't do it because it was not noticed on the inspection when I bought the van.

Has anyone got any ideas on how to get them to change there mind's

Craig

 

[WilliamTups]

Hi

I am having the same problems a dealer that supplied my caravan and also problems with the manufacturer - have a look at the following link

www.dti.gov.uk/files/file25486.pdf

This DTI booklet tells you what the trader should be doing and what your rights are..

Hope it helps

 

[Themass31]

thanks

 

[Themass31]

sorry waranty

 

[Themass31]

warranty

 

[ProfJohnL]

Hello Craig,

I am sorry to read of your problem, however I cannot understand how this was not discovered any earlier? 12 months seems a long time! If it is obviously a manufacturing fault I am surprised the dealer has refused to correct it, so my suspicion is that there is some doubt about its cause and it may not be a manufacturing fault.

For everyone's benefit, it is better to avoid unpleasantness, so try to resolve it with the dealer, find out why they are refusing, and try to convince them otherwise. If that fails then you may wish to consider further legal action.

In any situation like this you need to be wary about costs, because if you intend to pursue it through your legal rights, it is unlikely you will be compensated for time and trouble related to pursuance of the issue. Your unrecoverable costs may be more than the cost to have it repaired.

Use written correspondence and keep all documents. If you have a phone conversation ask for a written confirmation of the details of the call.

William has identified an interesting document, and I think you might find the following link of interest also:-

http://www.dti.gov.uk/consumers/index.html
In a nut shell - your contract is with your seller, and they are obliged to sell satisfactory goods, and if the goods are faulty they have to put them right or compensate you, however and importantly whilst there is no fixed time limit on this obligation it depends on the nature and use of the product, if it goes to court the delay in bringing the problem to the attention of the seller will be considered in any judgment, along with normal wear and tear and actions of the owner that may have affected the condition.

Now you will note that I have referred to the seller rather than dealer, this is because your contract is with the who ever sells the caravan to you, and if you have used a finance package, then the finance house may be deemed the seller. Clearly you did not purchase it direct from the manufacture, so Swift are not obliged to you and should not be involved at this stage.

In cases like this where it is not clear cut it is important to establish the fault and its probable cause. You would be wise to employ an independent engineer to inspect and report on the problem. If the report supports your view, then you should send your seller a copy of the report and ask to have the fault fixed under the terms of the Supply of Goods and Services Act 1982 (Supply of Services).

If they still refuse, then you need to seek professional legal advice.

 

[Surfer]

Although you only get a 3 year warranty with your caravan, you can claim up to six years warranty against bad workmanship and that is what thsi appears to be.

 

[Themass31]

Thanks for the replies, broadlane got in touch the other day to tell me they had some more replacement parts for the caravan jack built, so I will speak to them and try and thrash something out.

I think after the problems we have had with this van I will go back to buying second hand one's.

Craig

 

[ProfJohnL]

Hello Ian,

In essence what you write is correct in principal, though it is not quite as cut and dried as your posting might suggest. The manufacture is not obliged to offer any warranty to the end user, however where they do it can be very limited and covered by a specific time interval. Not all manufactures offer three years.

The workmanship issue comes under what is commonly called the sale of Goods Act and these are your legal statutory rights. The regulations do not give a fixed period of efficacy, so for some products a normal life span may be a few minutes, and for others tens of years. There is no fixed table so each case if it goes to court is judged on its own merits, and what is reasonable. Judgments do take into account wear and tear, and any actions that might have unreasonably cause problem or delayed the repair.

So whilst as a rule of thumb and precedents set in previous cases it may be considered reasonable for a caravan to remains sound for 6 years, but it will depend on the individual circumstances of the claim.