Bailey security
Just though I would share our ongoing experience of the Bailey warranty, Bailey customer service and the lack of regard for the security of their customer’s property whilst they are fixing it.
At the beginning of November 2016, our 2015 Bailey Autograph 765 was returned to Bailey for warranty repairs by our dealer Emmbee Motorhomes of Bury. The motorhome had been beset with problems since we purchased it brand new in March 2015. Eventually though the dealer decided that it should be returned to Bailey in Bristol, the manufacturer for them to sort out the numerous problems. This included water ingress by the rear offside wheel arch that was causing delamination. We were quite pleased with this decision as we thought all the problems would be fixed once and for all.
At the beginning of January 2017, Emmbee contacted Bailey to get an update on progress. They were told that Bailey were still awaiting parts.
However, on Monday 16th January I received a very distressing phone call from the Customer Services Manager, Michelle, at Bailey informing me that our motorhome had been stolen from their premises at 9.43am. After getting over the initial shock, I asked for the circumstances of the theft and she informed me that one of their employees had been driving our motorhome, had parked outside one of their buildings whilst he went in to collect some cushions but when he came out, our motorhome had gone! I asked about the key and she informed me that it had been left in the vehicle. I was flabbergasted that our motorhome could be stolen whilst Bailey had responsibility for it. Michelle was very apologetic and reassured me that Bailey took full responsibility and would sort out a satisfactory resolution. I could not believe that this could happen. I could not believe that a thief could enter the Bailey premises, wander around and then drive off the premises with a motorhome without being stopped at some point by security. Where was the security? What kind of training had the driver received? Which manager/director is responsible for this part of operations? Later on Michelle did email with confirmation of the theft and the crime reference number from the police.
Following on from Michelle’s email on the Monday, I emailed several times with questions. I received an email on Tuesday 17th January confirming that she understood how upset we were and that Baileys insurance company had been informed and would sort out the matter.
For the rest of that week we didn’t hear anything more. I emailed again on Friday 20th January asking the same questions again plus a few more but received no response.
Monday 23rd went by with no update.
By Tuesday I was very concerned that I hadn’t heard anything from Bailey so I decided that I would ring Michelle. She informed me that she was just about to email me. She indicated that she was very sorry that she had not been in contact but thought that contacting us to say that no resolutions had been formulated would be upsetting. I pointed out to her that not receiving information or answers to emails was just as upsetting. She told me that she was going to email the details of Bailey insurance company contact so that he could answer any questions that I had and offer his assistance throughout the process. This she did, but when I tried to ring the contact it was a fax number. I immediately called Michelle again and she said she would email the correct telephone number.
On Wednesday, I contacted the insurance company contact who actually turned out to be a contact for the insurance broker and not a contact for the insurance company. He indicated that the insurance company had issued a reference number and would be conducting an investigation. He also asked for our insurance details – I’m not sure why since the theft occurred whilst Bailey had responsibility for the vehicle.
I have heard nothing else from Bailey since Tuesday.
So it looks like we have lost our motorhome (and hence our holiday home, our weekend retreat and a substantial asset/financial investment), through no fault of ours. Bailey is not answering our questions and seem to be directed us towards their insurance company when it is they that have not honoured the common law duty of care towards our motorhome. We are devastated and have no idea how long it will take to resolve the issue, we have no idea what we will get back from them and whether we will have to fight them in the court in order for them to resolve this issue. Whilst I realise that only a short period of time has passed since the theft, it is causing much distress and anxiety especially when they do not respond to emails.
I have taken the time to post on here so that hopefully others might be able to avoid a similar experience.
Comments
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You should tell your own insurers (but make it clear you are not claiming). I believe you have a duty to do so.
Contact the CC legal department for advice.
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Thats real bad from Bailey. To have the vehicle stolen is bad but their lack of contact is even worse.
W've ordered a brand new MH from Bailey for delivery on March 1st. Just before Christmas I contacted Bailey CS via email for information, their reply was scant & just referred me to Peugeot they did not try to answer my query. I did try Peugeot who were helpful but said that really I should deal with Bailey. I did email Bailey again but never got any reply. After about a week I rang Bailey who would not put me through to their CS and said it was not policy to do so. I told the lady on the switch that I was spending over 50k with her company & how could she not put me through to customer services but she was adamant that she was not allowed to put anyone through to CS.
I now have trepidation about what will happen if my Bailey needs warranty work.
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Speaking as someone who lost a caravan back in 2010 from storage it is a blow but dont lose any sleep over it as it can be replaced.Now as regards security i can give you an example of the lax situations that can exist at dealers.The last time i took a new van in for service under the warranty which was a few years ago the dealer in question had a token operated barrier system with a height restriction to get vans in and out of the premises.On arrival you were allowed through the barrier and told to drop your van in the area for vans in for repair/service and they gave you a sticker with your name on it to put in the front window of the van.Now when you returned to pick the van up after the service they asked your name you paid the bill and were given a token to get your van back out of the dealers and away.I realised that any person could enter the dealers drive under the barrier and go into the area where the service vans were kept as it was all open too the public as overflow parking so a couple of visits could tell you which vans were ready to leave and which had only just arrived by monitoring how long they had been there of if they had been moved..Once there you could pick any name from the window stickers and go back to the office,give the name,pay the bill in cash and be given a token to drive out with an expencive van for the price of a service
. I pointed this out but as far as i know nothing was ever done about it.Dureing that same service my spare water pump disappeared as i found out a week later and because i could,nt prove it was there i could do nothing about it.
The dealer in question closed down a couple of years ago.
v9
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Apart from expressing personal sympathy for the position you find yourself in its difficult to offer any advice. As Bailey seem to have accepted responsibility for the loss you would think they might see an opportunity to immediately redeem the situation by offering a replacement motorhome on a goodwill basis and accept that they should be the ones out of pocket rather than your good self? They are no doubt being advised by their lawyers that such a gesture would set a precedent would make them a hostage to fortune in the future. As difficult as it is maybe you do have to give them a couple of weeks to sort it out and hope that they put you first in sorting this mess out so that you don't end up out of pocket. I hope it all ends well.
David
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Let's hope there is an up side to this and you get a brand new MH.
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The insurance company should by now have contacted you although I appreciate they may want to make their own enquiries before taking your claim further. My problem with this is that if the employee left the vehicle parked outside with the keys in then Bailey were in breach of their policy conditions and the insurer will possibly be looking at whether they will indemnify Bailey. That decision probably depends on what the business is worth to the insurer but I cannot second guess what they will do.
If you want the claim settled quickly then I would contact your insurer who can then deal with Bailey and their insurer. If you do not want to do this send Bailey and the insurer a letter and e mail giving them seven days to confirm they will be replacing the motorhome, or you will be passing the claim to your solicitor whose fees will then be added to your claim. Most insurers will want to settle without a solicitors intervention as that could add several thousand pounds to the claim against them.
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Thanks for the replies. After another day of not hearing from the Senior Customer Services Manager or the Managing Director (who we wrote to in person) we have decided that our only option is down the legal route. Wildwood - we have spoken to our solicitor today and so have done what you suggested.
Just to let everyone know - it is a Bailey Autograph 765 motorhome, registration number MX15CSF. Please can everyone keep an eye out for it - it was stolen from Bailey's premises on Monday 16th January at 9.43am. Distinguishing features - Gasit filler point in gas locker door, 4-bike bike carrier to rear, reversing camera, solar panel, no curtains, no cushions.
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I think that their insures WON'T pay out and nor would yours, as the keys where left in the vehicle, you will have to push bailey to give you a new vehicle from their own pocket, as it was their fault
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Dreadful story and I do feel for you. Hopefully on the up side it would be nice to think you should get a new MH with none of the issues that you took it in for in the first place - we can but hope! Shocking on the part of Baileys.
I hope that the intervention of the solicitor hurries things along but I wouldn't get your hopes up. Another story but I fell really ill in Antigua on a holiday booked with one of the High St travel agents and ended up with salmonella poisoning. Travel agents were ridiculously slow (constantly investigating) so ended up with a solicitor - we won but it still took over 12 months.
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All very odd. There are some sections of the Bailey factory that are shall we say quite open to the public. In particular there is one section where there is a small group of industrial units.
So imagine 3 are in a row: Builders Merchants, Bailey, Plumbase then on the oposite side of the road every unit is Bailey as it's where they form the side panels.
Other than that from what I can recall the main larger sections of the site are entered through gates, one of which I think has a security building for the main entrance.
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My sympathies, it does demonstrate one fact of life there is always someone watching ready to take an opportunity.
Usually I say be firm but polite with difficult warranty issues personally I think in this case being livid, demanding a meeting with a senior person at Bailey might be in order.
Have you tried some research on internet its not as uncommon a problem as we all might think in the automotive industry, what about the clubs legal department. Good Luck.
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Sad to read this has happened. Hopefully Bailey, having accepted responsibility via Michelle, will replace your motorhome themselves asap and deal with their insurance company themselves regarding their claim. Just wondering do you have to inform DVLA of the theft as you will still be listed as the owner. Hope it is resolved quickly. Good luck.
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Many thanks for the replies and support.
With regard to the last post - in one of my emails to Bailey (written on 16th Jan) I asked that very question ('do we need to inform DVLA?') - I am still waiting for the reply. That was one of many questions that I asked but have yet to receive a response to. We assume the police will have informed DVLA when it was stolen. If not them, we would hope that Bailey might have done so? We are probably wrong to assume anything. We have definitely told our insurer.
I think the biggest lesson that I have learnt from this episode is that more questions need to be asked about the customer support/service and the claims theses companies make about their warranties. We had had many faults on our vehicle since we bought it new in March 2015 and we were told that it was backed by a comprehensive warranty. After many trips back to the dealer! it was our dealer who decided that it should be sent back to Bailey - in their words 'they built it they should sort it out'. Our motorhome had been back at the Bailey factory since the beginning of November 2016, they had not completed the rectification of the faults in the 9 weeks prior to it being stolen - this time frame would not be acceptable with a car. I think the MH press needs to start investigating the after sales service and warranty claims of the manufacturers and dealers.
My advice to customers buying these expensive vehicles is not to accept them if there is the slightest fault with them. They should be perfect considering the money that is being spent.
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Given the size of Bailey it is difficult to say what will happen. If they place a lot of business with the insurer and it is profitable then they may pay up to keep the business. My feeling after working in the business is that it would be a commercial decision by the insurer based on these points but given the size of the claim it might go quite high in the insurers system which can take time.
Basically the insurer will normally send someone to investigate and find out why it happened. After that a member of the claims staff will draw up a report for the underwriter who will take a view on it. It may then have to be referred to senior management possibly both claims and underwriting for a decision so it can pass through quite a few hands.
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I am very sorry for you. I read this this morning On Motorhome Facts and now on here, I hope they do the right thing and give you a new replacement.
This will not be good publicity for them, but they way they deal with it will Make future buyers think twice.
It would be in their best interest to turn this around and look as good as it is possible to in this situation.
I will keep my fingers crossed for you.
Brian
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As stated here you don't need to inform the delay if you have informed the police it will have been circulated and should have been put on the anpr system also, which should be your last cal force policy I happen to know for,a fact that it is up here. This is automatically updated on the DVLA system as it is linked to the police computer.
I hope you can get this sorted soon.
Jon
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I would have thought that a 2015 MH would have a tracker fitted as standard like a caravan. Security does seem very lax if someone can drive out with a motorhome.
It seems unlikely that a person went onto the premises with the intention to steal a motor home, but rather something else and it was their good fortune to find a MH with the keys in it waiting to be taken.
Most factories seem to have a sign in and sign out book which is part of H&S requirements so surely this should have been checked first when the MH was reported as stolen unless of course the security was working in collusion with the thief? I guess we will never know as Bailey will simply quote Data Protection so only the police can access those records.
Another thing is whether the thief drive in through the gates or did they walk in as most large factories have CCTV scattered around their premises. If they drove in what happened to the vehicle or did they collect it later in the day?
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From the thread it looks as though the factory is part of an industrial estate so there will be no booking in but might be CCTV. I agree this must have been an opportunist theft though unless Bailey were leaving motorhomes parked with the keys in regularly.
If I was acting for the insurer I would also look at it being an inside job, but as I have no knowledge of their systems I am not accusing anyone but it would be a standard enquiry.
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As per an earlier post I made, part of the factory is open and not behind the security fence/gates.
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