Who is your warranty actually with - and beware of the Al-ko ...

[Val_374343390]

You may well think that if you buy a new caravan then your warranty is with the dealer that you purchase your caravan from.... wrong!

We purchased a brand new Swift Challenger 530 from our local dealer White Arches in Rushden, Northants in June 2007 which was a bit annoying in the first place because we had ordered it back in November of 2006, still that's another story.

We had spent many happy weekends away in our van until one weekend in November when we were preparing to pack up and move off from Top Lodge Caravan Club Site (final weekend before winter closure). My husband went to remove the Al-ko lock when the spline sheared off in the lock.. you can imagine our horror, we couldn't move the caravan we were stuck!

When I contacted White Arches they said 'Nothing to do with us, try Swift', Swift replied 'Nothing to do with us, try Al-ko' and all this for a caravan less than 5 months old. Anyway finally we managed to contact Al-ko and we got a replacement spindle and all was well but does anyone else out there think we are all being taken for a ride by the caravan industry?

Surely it's no different to buying a car that goes wrong only to be told that the fact that the brakes failed was down to the component manufacturers for the brakes and you should take it up with them! It would be interesting to know what the legal position on this would be, any lawyers out there got a view?

Anyway the real reason I have written this letter is to warn any other caravanner's that have the new Al-ko wheel locks fitted to be aware that there is the possibility of this happening to them and it might be £30 well spent to get a spare to keep just in case.

 

[J.Lo]

Your warranty is with company that took your money, the company gets there warranty from Swift, they get there warranty for the lock from Alko. Any trouble with them see trading standards they will show them the way. About the Alko lock appart from the old Status airiel this must be the biggest load of rubbish ever put on a van, mine is in the shed hardly used to go with the van on the next swap. Do the same. Regards John

 

[ProfJohnL]

Hello Val.

J. Lo has it just right - The Sale of Goods Acts (SOGA) are very clear about who is responsible for the warranty on a new retail item:- The Seller.

The seller's responsibility does diminish with time, but they cannot disregard a customer complaint about a product that was faulty or not fit for purpose at the time of sale.

Trading Standards or CAB should be able to offer more specific advice if you provide all the information to them.

 

[RogerL]

Your legal rights under Sale of Goods Act are against the retailer.

Warranty which is additional to your legal rights (it's not allowed to be instead of) can be with retailer, manufacturer or third party.

In the case of a caravan warranty, you'll need to read the small print to see who's providing it - and give them chance to fulfill it. If that fails, take action against the retailer under SoGA.

 

[Dustydog]

Hi Val,

Do you know why the splines sheared. I have two Alko locks on my wyoming and don't fancy getting stuck!

According to the sale of Goods Act the dealer who took your money does have the primary responsibility to remedy the fault. However as detailed on another topic I have done the round robin with Bailey and Alko regarding the jack which doesn't do as it should. This is a design problem and one I feel rests with Alko who designed the chassis in the first place.

Odd isn't it that everyone want sto take your money but when things go wrong they disappear like Houdini.

So far one dealer and one manufacturere have started responding to queries on this forum , very good news. Let's se how many others join them.

Cheers

Alan

 

[ProfJohnL]

Your legal rights under Sale of Goods Act are against the retailer.

Warranty which is additional to your legal rights (it's not allowed to be instead of) can be with retailer, manufacturer or third party.

In the case of a caravan warranty, you'll need to read the small print to see who's providing it - and give them chance to fulfill it. If that fails, take action against the retailer under SoGA.

Hi Roger,

The wording is actually seller, as it can also include financial lenders, who do not physically touch the goods.

The SoGA Warranty rests with the seller. warranty is retrospective statement that defines the condition of the goods at the time of sale ,

Other protection offered by manufactures etc are guarantees, as they deal with a promise of what action they will take if certain things go wrong in the future.

 

[Icemaker]

it seems a bit strange this alko wheel lock, coachman where one of the companies that trialed this product for alko and helped in its development yet despite this it is not possible to use the lock on our 2007 coachman vip 530/4, it wont fit.

on top of this its very expensive for such a simple device.

 

[WatsonJohnG]

It costs

 

[mistermac]

I'm taking it that by 'the splines' you're meaning the piece you insert into the Alko lock in place of the lock barrel to unscrew the unit from the wheel?

Are these all the same or are they unique to each lock?

If they're the same, we could borrow each other's!

But hey - things can't be THAT simple, can they?

How did you get round it anyhow - did Alko send one out to you next day or something? Did you have to stay an extra night?

Mac

 

[mistermac]

As for warranty - I've noticed that dealers are very good at taking your money from you.....but are a little more reticent when it comes to the after-sales side of things.

Pity.

Mac