Need A Bit Of Advice

Aldaniti

Aldaniti

At the Start
Joined
Dec 21, 2005
Messages
2,360
Location
Wickford
I really need some advice on the following.......

We purchased a caravan last august from a dealer local to us ( I will name & shame later) we were told after paying the deposit the caravan would be serviced & if any work needed doing to it would be done, we collected two weeks later to be told nothing need doing, off we went with it,

We went away for two weekends last autumn, one trip approx 30 mile round trip & the other approx 100 round trip, we used electric hook up for everything on theses two trips, sadly due to mum being rediagnosed with cancer the caravan was put away for the winter at the end of sept,

Last week when booking it in for a service it was a may/june wait which wasn't really an issue as it had only been done last august but just by chance they had a cancelation this week & as we were off work we took the offer up,

We dropped the caravan off on friday & on saturday am we received a call from the chap asking us if we had used the gas, only for the hob as we used the electric hook up, apparently someone had installed a new fridge, they connected the gas & electric but did NOT connect up anything to the flue that takes the fumes out of the caravan, basicly if we had used the fridge on gas & left it on which you would do with a fridge we could have gone to bed & not woken up

But that wasn't it, the van had no brake pads & the tyres had been heavily treated with tyre dressing to disguise the perish marks, the service chap was shocked at this!
we have contacted the dealer who is going over to the service place tomorrow to look at the damage & we really don't know where we stand on this one, the service chap seemed to think that the dealer will probably pay for the repairs to the fridge but surely they can't get away with this can they?
 
Consumer Direct's the place to call in the first instance - 08454 04 05 06.

They'll advise you civilly and pass the details on to Trading Standards for any separate criminal investigation if there's an issue with the dealer.

Basically the Sale of Goods Act 1979 (as amended) states that all goods purchased must be of satisfactory quality, fit for all reasonable purposes and as described. Second hand goods are covered by this Act if you buy them from a trader, but normal wear and tear would not count. However, if you have faults that you would not expect from the caravan at this age and value, then it would be reasonable to expect a repair (either free of charge, or for a reasonable contribution if you're ending up with much better parts than you might have expected when buying it).

Things like tyres could be difficult as it could be classed as normal wear and tear, but you could take the "as described" angle - they were clearly trying to show the caravan as something it wasn't by using the spray, hence intentionally trying to mislead you and misdescribing the caravan by their actions.

However, it should certainly have had brake pads, especially as you were told it would be serviced.

The criminal aspect - the Road Traffic Act - would be dealt with by Trading Standards but this won't have an impact on any civil case you have against the dealer, which Trading Standards cannot help with as they do not have legal powers in the civil courts. Consumer Direct would be best for civil advice and they will pass on details of any criminal offences to TS.

Hope this helps a bit though I haven't gone into detail, PM me if you need any more info.

(I've cross posted too so you get the info asap!)
 
I believe Shadow Leader is your woman for all things caravanning, Aldaniti.

I am sure she would gladly assist you.
 
Yes with a concrete wrecking ball no doubt :laughing:

Thanks Purr, I will wait for a call from the dealer today once he has been over to see the van & wait to see what he offers, if he offers to cover the cost of the repairs I will be fairly happy, if not I will go down the TS route which will probably give him a fright :suspect:
 
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