Wirral Caravans - shoddy repairs

Apr 3, 2005
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A few months ago we bought a 1995 Swift Challenger 400SE from them. After using it for a couple of weekends we found damp in the back wall and the floor was starting to de-laminate. We had been given a 6 month warranty on the van so I contacted them to inform of the problems.

No problem they said, bring it in and we will sort it out for you, it will take about a week to fix those. A date was agreed and I called to confirm the day before, only to be told that they didn't have room to store the van and I would have to wait till the next week. Fair enough, I took the van in on the agreed day, showed them the faults (plus a few other niggles which they agreed to fix)

So it was in for:

1) Damp repair to rear wall, involving stripping out kitchen removing wall boards, replacing damaged wood work, re-sealing exterior trim, new wall boards and a new window seal.

2) Re-bond the floor, involving removal of carpet and fitting new carpet.

3) Replace cracked shower tray.

4) Replace broken front window stay.

5) Replace broken blind clip.

I was informed that this would only take a few days and I could pick it up the following weekend. I called to see if it was ready, they said the work was going well but they needed it a few more days and would call me when it was ready. A week passed and no call, so I call them, still not ready they have found extra work that needs doing? Finally I got the call to say it was finished after THREE WEEKS!

I collected the van last night (he agreed to stay back late to wait for me as I could not collect during normal working hours) when I arrived he helped me hitch up while telling me all the work had been competed and that I would be satisfied with it. He handed the keys over, made some excuse about being late to pick someone up, jumped in his car and drove off before I had chance to inspect the van.

On inspection it became immedately obvious that nothing had been done with the floor, the clip on the door blind had not been replaced, the window stay had not been replaced, the shower tray had not been replaced, and worst of all the damp had not been fully repaired.

One small peice of wall board around the kitchen window has been replaced (very poorly, it is badly cut and has untidy siliocone sealant around the edges to fill in the gaps) The damp wood work behind the wall boards has not been replaced, the window seal has not been replaced, my damp meter still reads off the scale all round the back end of the van. They havent even replaced the wall board in the washroom, it is still soft & has visible damp patches!

They have re-sealed the exterior trim, which they do appear to have done a reasonable job of, that is the only part I am happy with.

I called them today with my concerns, they told me that the wood was not damp enough to warrant replacing and would dry out by itself, and the same goes for the wall board that was not replaced. They said not to worry about it there is a 2 year warranty on the repairs....

The reason they had done nothing with the floor is because there is nothing wrong with it and they have done a stress test on it......

They have not replaced the shower tray because they are no longer available......

Blind clip and window stay - pop it in some time and we will replace them.

On top of all this, since calling them I have noticed the van has not been cleaned again, there are black bits over the work surface, sink & cooker, there is some sort of glue on two of the cooker knobs and there is polystyrene stuck in the glue. There is also some polystyrene and wood shavings on the floor.

I'll be speaking to trading standards on monday morning unless anyone has any other ideas?
 
Mar 14, 2005
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Hi Steve & Ruth.

You give a quite detailed account of your experience. In your third paragraph you list 5 specific points. If you have those listed in a letter from the dealer as the agreed faults and required remedial work work, then you would have a pretty rock solid case, however I suspect it was a verbal contract over the phone. Unless you have an independent witness that can confirm those points were discussed over the phone it comes down to your word against theirs.

I think that to be able take it further you would need to obtain an independent expert engineers report on the condition of the caravan, and the likely remedial work necessary to return the caravan to the typical condition of a caravan of its age or to a minimum saleable condition.

They would also need to assess the work already carried out, identify if it was necessary, and it is appropriate for the required repair.

Out of all of this there are lot of value judgements, they are not black and white, and thus they are very much open to debate. How do you define what a 10 year old caravan should be like?Its difficult!

Trading standards are certainly the best people to advise, but don't be surprised if they say there's not much they can do.

There is a moral, always get agreements written down and if possible witnessed.
 
Mar 14, 2005
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Hi Steve - what a disgracefull way to be treated regarding your warranty repairs.

Contact the CAB regarding the possibility of suing the dealer in the small claims court.

If you are getting no satisfaction from your dealer get an estimate cost of the repairs from an approved repairer in writing

Send the dealer a letter clearly outlining the faults and if possible a copy of the estimate and inform them that you are going to sue them in the small claims court. for the sum in the estimate. if he does not respond within 2 weeks from the date of your letter, acquire the relevemt forms from the small claims court, fill them and send them to the court with a copy to the repairer. the court will do the rest and if you have a genuine case you will probably have a good chance of winning.

however nothing beats getting him to do the repairs without having to resort to the courts so try,try and try again to get him to perform - regards
 
Apr 18, 2005
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Hi Steve I don't know what you paid for the caravan but some of the faults are a bit minor for a ten year old caravan . The damp it seems they have attended to the cause of it so maybe it will dry out I should try and get things in writing like people say . If the shower tray is broken that could be the cause of the floor being faulty . If it were me I would ask for a refund or exchange the caravan for something else with a cash ajustment . But beware some of the faults that I have seen published about brand new caravans would make your eyes water Take a lok at this one I found

Hi all, :D , remember me? :( , i'm the guy who was here last year with my Argente with loads of problems..... and the last you heard from me was when i was waiting for Avondale to collect my van in October to replace the front and rear panels due to cracking, and to also replace the whols shower unit.

Anyway, the van was picked up on January 23rd!!, only 3 months late but still, and had a new front panel fitted, new rear panel fitted and a complete new shower unit fitted! I got my van back approx 6 weeks later.

On my first outing out 2 week ends ago, guess what..... yep, more problems:

1. The heater does not work, only blows out cold air then stops (possible thermostat fault?)

2. When using the water it sounds like machine guns going off! Pipes all rattle loudly.

3. I have a leak yet again from the onboard water pump and makes the pump hunt every 2 mins, not good at night causing us to switch it off.

4. The rear left awning rail (new due to rear panel been fitted), has ripped our awning while we tried to thread it through as it is rough and jagged (not been finished off)

5. Scratch on front main window (about 6 inches long and looks like a graze.

6. We also have what looks like silicone sealant (white) or glue on most of our seats and cushions. We actually tried to remove it but it is stained now.

7. The last point we have is that when it was picked up from our local dealer after being brought down by Avondale one wheel trim was tottally smashed to bits! (this was replaced by my dealer, though i was not impressed.

8. Oh yeah, we have lots of small white plastic "bits" all around the van and in between the windows.

As you can see from the above faults let alone what we had previously:

1. Rusty shower hinges.

2. Shower cubicle cracked.

3. Washroom door bowed.

4. Water leak from pump under seat.

5. Heater not working.

6. Main door leaking when it rained

7. Awning rail above door not sealed, so when awning was up, it leaked!

8. Cracks to front and rear panels.

etc, etc, etc.

Now, what i would like to know is what rights (if any) Do i have?

i have been back to my dealer, and he said to write to Avondale, as he will not get involved saying it is there problem now!

I am totally fed up with this van and Avondale, i am new to caravanning, this my first van and was bought from new in 2004. Its not even 1 year old yet!!

Help me please as i would like your respected information regarding this matter so i may get either my money back or a new van,

Cheers and happy hols,

Nic.
 
Mar 14, 2005
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Steve, being a Wirral-ite myself i've tried anyone who is anyone in Wirral for stuff. Trust me on this, Tern Caravans in Ledsham are bar none. Service is excellent, family run and they know their stuff. Bit of a daunting place when you go, looks like a back street garage in the middle of knowhere, but i would trust them with my new van any day.

I've trusted them with the last 2 and even beyond the call of what was required they have surpassed every time.
 
Apr 3, 2005
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Thanks for all the advice, I have just pulled off the wall boards in the shower compartment that they claimed were fine and would dry out.

I have found that the wood framework is soaking wet, soft and rotting. There is water running down the inner walls and the insulation is holding water like a sponge!

I will get photos of this tomorrow and also get another dealer (with an approved workshop) to carry out a report on the condition of the van and the cost of work required to put it right!

I will then take this to trading standards or small claims court.
 
Mar 14, 2005
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Steve, being a Wirral-ite myself i've tried anyone who is anyone in Wirral for stuff. Trust me on this, Tern Caravans in Ledsham are bar none. Service is excellent, family run and they know their stuff. Bit of a daunting place when you go, looks like a back street garage in the middle of knowhere, but i would trust them with my new van any day.

I've trusted them with the last 2 and even beyond the call of what was required they have surpassed every time.
Is Tern Caravans the one alongside Welsh Rd ? If so it was known as Tow-U-Like or similar. I bought a second hand van there 3 years ago. It turned out to be very badly damaged from a crash. This was not pointed out when I bought it, but they must have known, a caravan dealer must spot these things straight away. The price was too good to be true, and they took my van in part exchange. Fortuneately I have a caravan engineer friend who immediately spotted all the signs. I rang the seller up who agreed to refund my money and give the old caravan back.
 
Mar 14, 2005
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Is Tern Caravans the one alongside Welsh Rd ? If so it was known as Tow-U-Like or similar. I bought a second hand van there 3 years ago. It turned out to be very badly damaged from a crash. This was not pointed out when I bought it, but they must have known, a caravan dealer must spot these things straight away. The price was too good to be true, and they took my van in part exchange. Fortuneately I have a caravan engineer friend who immediately spotted all the signs. I rang the seller up who agreed to refund my money and give the old caravan back.
Dave, Tern caravans IS NOT tow-u-like, or what ever they're called. But if you go down the Welsh road and when you get to the junction at tow-u-like, and you would turn left for them, turn RIGHT instead. Im sure it's signposted Burton??? Go down there about 100 yards, maybe a bit more, then turn first left. On your right about 40 yards is what looks like a big farm building, thats the place.
 

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