Damp floor in 2016 in caravan and failed roof stra
My Wife and I part exed our 10 year old bailey olympus caravan in September 2020 for a 4 year old bailey unicorn vigo from a dealer in the North of England. It was sold to us with a full pre delivery inspection and service. On collection of the caravan everything seemed fine apart from they were still replacing an external 240v socket cover then informed us they needed to replace the mains hook up cover but none left in the shop so they would send a couple out to me when back in stock as I said I was happy to fit myself. We then did all the paperwork for the finance company etc. All complete until I asked where my service sheet and damp report were and they advised me they would post out to me, again I didn't see any issue at the time but never received this or the replacement flap even after phoning a number of times. We towed the van to our site where we keep it in storage and used for the next 4 weekends until the second lockdown started in early November. We then winterised not knowing when we would be allowed back which wasn't until 12th April 2021 as we had been in tier 3 then the 3rd national lockdown. We arrived back at the caravan to find our roof strap had failed causing damp and mould in the cupboard above the bed ruining this cupboard. I have temporary applied a plastic sheet strip secured with duck tape to stop the ingress from this. Luckily for us we have an Approved Caravan Technician who has his caravan on our site and does the servicing/repairs to most caravans on our site so we asked him to check our van over to see how far the damp had affected our floor. He carried out a full damp check and found major damp issues in 5 areas of the floor ranging from 30% to 55% in a couple of areas which in his words will affect structural integrity of the van. He then advised us to contact our dealer via letter/email so there is a paper trail and told us to advise the dealer we are offering our Rights to Reject the goods supplied to us as per the 2015 consumer rights act 2015. My first email was over a week ago followed up with a physical letter sent recorded delivery and up to now no reply as yet
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Thats a very sad tale.
The club have a legal department, might be worth a chat to them too..I believe if you bought it with finance they have an interest too so should be informed. If you paid the deposit by credit card there maybe some help there
I wish you success, do keep us updated as things progress.
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Another sorry tale and sad to hear. Without getting into legalities, you may find that your finance company will have more clout than any other avenue you try. It would be worth giving them a call and possibly forwarding the details to them. You've done the right thing in creating a paper trail too. Good luck.
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I bought in 2016 a two year old [2014] Elddis Affinity 550. It was in excellent condition at time of purchase. Within a few months the frame of the HEKI rooflight split and the caravan was soaked with rainwater. This unit was replaced under warranty. Within a couple of months the rear external body panel started splitting - this was replaced under warranty.
During lockdown a roof leak has become evident above the near side front wall cupboard. Unfortunately I could not take the caravan to be examined and repaired as the dealership was on lockdown too. Eventually in November 2020 I managed to have it inspected by the dealer. They were back into lockdown soon after. To cut as very long story short the manufacturers warranty of ten years only applies to the first purchaser. the second purchaser has up to six years. Therefore, my warranty ran out in June 2020.
I have spoken to the dealer and to Elddis customer services but to no avail. Elddis were adamant that I could have had it dealt with during lockdown???? They also stated that as the caravan had not been serviced that would have invalidated the warranty anyway???
The repair is going to cost well over a thousand pounds. It would appear that COVID has enabled manufacturers to shirk their responsibilities toward the caravanner!!
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