Anybody else really naffed off by warranty not really protecting you?
Hi all;
I've got a 2020 Swift Elegance 565 which I bought from my Dad in 2022. Sadly, due to Covid and ill health he only used it once in those first two years, it was like a new one when we got it. We have used it maybe a dozen times so hardly a tough life.
Unfortunately, I have had issues with the alarm going back to 2022 (my Dad had already stopped putting it on because of the number of times it activated on his driveway). I subscribed to Swift Command and so they know how many activations there have been - some in my back garden, some in winter when it was up on blocks(!) and several times rather embarrassingly on site. Despite repeated contact with Sargent, adjusting things as recommended by them, it kept happening. Finally I thought "I've had enough" and took it out to send in for a warranty repair. I have had to pay £180 because - you guessed it - 'it's out of the 3 years warranty'. They have actually replaced the main circuit board! So why, when they have a record of the problem starting within the warranty period, have I had to pay?
Then, more recently, one of the 'aircraft style' lockers fell off! The plinth that it is fixed to disintegrated just by the hinges!
I'd noticed when we loaded the caravan for our first ever trip that the whole plinth moved when you opened the door - it was an obvious design fault that the way the plinth is secured is totally inadequate to support the load/movement of the door on strong hinges (and the others are showing signs of going the same way). Again, 'out of warranty'. Shouldn't Swift be saying 'hang on, this isn't right' and look into it? Whatever happened to quality control? Again, on a 'van that is not yet 5 years old and was nearly £30k when new, there are real issues which the manufacturer has washed its hands of it would seem. Frustrating to say the least.
Comments
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The three year warranty means only claims made in that period are covered and frankly there is nothing you can do. I appreciate the frustration but the wording is concrete. The change of ownership also needs the warranty to be transferred, so if this was not done the claim is lost that way.
It might be possible to claim under the Customer Relations Act, but that lack of action and the change of ownership is I think enough to prevent the claim succeeding.
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Hi Wildwood;
I have done everything 'by the book' but that isn't my point really. The alarm issue was notified well within the warranty period and despite my repeated contact and adjustments as recommended by their tech team - which effectively prevented me from claiming within the three years - it kept going off. The replacement of the main circuit board is an indication of a major fault so why would they not accept responsibility?
As for the locker plinths, I mean come on, should they really be disintegrating at less than 5 years old and only around a dozen trips?! It is definitely a design fault and I'm faced with a bill to replace them but also faced with the probability that they will go again unless I can figure out a better way to brace them.
There have been other niggling faults like screws not securing to the walls etc and I know from personal experience that this shoddy build quality is not confined to Swift - our previous 'van - a Bailey Unicorn Valencia bought new in 2011 - had four warranty issues within the first two years and had to have part of the floor replaced due to damp! Am I just unlucky? Not according to the workshops who fix them…
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@Seasider - I do sympathise with you - but that's not a lot of help and I think Wildwood is correct. I remember I went to look at the same van when it first came out. In fact, the dealer, knowing I was interested in one rang me up to say he had just collected one from the factory and would I like to come and look at it.
Excitedly, off I went to Wandahome at South Cave - just outside Hull - to see this new 'flagship' model in the flesh. Walked inside - opened one of the drawers in the front chest - and the drawer front came off in my hand. Went to kitchen blind - that jammed halfway up in the mechanism. Sliding wardrobe door was catching on a screw head protruding in the bottom track.
Yes, they were all minor faults which could be fixed by the dealer - but I was left with the thought that if this was typical of their so-called 'flagship' models - what were the rest like? Quality control was obviously non-existent.
Needless to say, I didn't buy it!
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Seasider, I do sympathise, but I think you are on a loser here. Firstly your father bought the caravan and there is therefore no legal contract between you and either Swift or the dealer, unless you transferred the warranty, which I assume you did not do. At that point neither Swift or the dealer are required to deal with you, this may sound hard but it is true.
I am afraid you will normally find caravan makers stick rigidly to the warranty terms and if you bought the caravan knowing the alarm problem, they will stick to the legal position. As far as the defective design or parts is concerned Swift and the other firms give a warranty to the first purchaser, although they will normally transfer this if you approach them at the time you purchase second hand and pay a small fee.
It is probably fair to say you have been harshly treated, but I doubt any other maker would have treated you differently. You do have to be very aware that warranty claims are generally only accepted in the industry if they have to be paid and even then sone seem to be turned down on very dubious grounds.
If you were not the second purchaser, the other problems you complain of might just mean a legal claim against the dealer might succeed but that change of ownership breaks the chain and means you are not going to get anywhere. The level of service and construction is typical of the caravan trade, but I am afraid we are stuck with it. Basically if you buy second hand privately, which this was effectively, your legal rights if anything goes wrong are minimal.
Possibly if you got a newspaper, TV or other serious media to take up your case you might find Swift change their tune, but apart from that I am afraid I see no other way of you getting any further. I am afraid that no forum is large enough to change the makers minds as has been shown many times before. The UK industry turns out shoddy products on an industrial scale and could not care less.
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I don’t hold out much hope of any help from either Swift or the dealer. The build quality seems absolutely shoddy to me. Why not have a word with the Citizens Advice Bureau to see if there is any course of action available to you? Somehow I doubt it for all the reasons given by other contributors. However, a bit of negative publicity on social media channels may well provoke some action from Swift or their dealer.
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2 years ago i was on a sight in Cornwall and talking to my next door neighbour who had a Swift Elegance and he invited me to have a look inside, very nice, and i told him i was thinking of trading in my 2008 Coachman…"Dont do it he yelled" and then continued to show me some of the "shoddy" workmanship he was still trying to rectify 2 years in from new and some of the design features that had clearly been dreamed up by somebody who had never toured in a caravan, needles to say i am still using my 2008 Coachman, it has just cost me £300 to have the front resealed against damp and larger screws put into the front windows just as a precaution in case i want to use it for another 14 years.
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