My 1st caravan, 40% damp - help!
Hi All
I am new to Caravans and just took delivery of a used 2008 Avondale Dart that I paid £5750.
The dealer advised there was no damp and provided me with a piece of paper that stated what they have checked on the van and the damp "report" which shows areas with no more than 21%.
When I got it home, I bought a moisture meter and set about checking for my self, only to find the rear drivers side corner reading 41%!
I have called the dealer who stated that the damp report did not show any damp, I have advised them that there has been no drops of rain sine the time I bought it till now.
I will be taking it in tomorrow for them to look at, but I pop in to a local large retailer to get one of there service guys to look at it and he advised that it will not dry out and there is 2 areas of corrosion on the out side where the damp is starting to affect the aluminium. He said with out doing a full damp check and quote, I am looking around the £1000 to fix.
Please can you help me with what I should do, as its only 4 days since I collected it and the dealer has not advised me of this problem, am I able to reject the van and ask for a refund under the Consumer rights Act 2015, or dose that only apply to new vans?
I paid with HP finance.
Thanks
Comments
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I’d recommend contacting the club's legal department, S15. I’m not sure of the position with a second hand van other than you may be able to hold the finance company liable. This might help -
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take it back to dealer and ask for full refund, if he refuses then seek legal advice. if the damp is 41% as you say and he said 21% then he lied to get a sale and would not want to go to court as he would have to pay all your legal fees on top of the caravan price when you won your case.
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According to my damp meter up to 16% is normal, 16-20% requires investigation and at over 20% treatment is essential.
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There is probably quite a bit of a difference in the readings between two different meters, especially if of different makes and types. Have you had your meter calibrated against any standard? Can you measure again with one (or more) borrowed meters? I hope most of the problem may be with the meter and not the caravan.
x
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Get the dealer to demonstrate the reading with his meter, if it is as you say then the ball is in his court. It may also be your meter, the dealer will probably have a more expensive / accurate type than you have .
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I think Nav has a fair point re quality of damp meter. I bought one from Aldi a couple of years ago but because of the cheap price of the meter, I only use it as a rough guide now and then. it would be in interesting to know what meter would be used in a legal case/claim. Best of luck. Hope you get satisfaction.
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Re my last post - I bought it from Liidl (pardon me if I spelt that wrong).
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The CAB are very good and should be able to provide you with very useful advice. With regard to damp meters I have a Protometer which is accurate.
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If you checked all over the caravan and only a small area showed elevated readings and the rest were in a a 'safe range' then I doubt that the calibration of your meter is relevant. Likely a problem.
If there is evidence of corrosion on the outside of the caravan (pimples) in that area then it is likely that any damp is significant.
If The dealer advised there was no damp and provided me with a piece of paper that stated what they have checked on the van and the damp "report" which shows areas with no more than 21%. I would be looking for a retest in my presence with a letter of rejection to hand.
If it has damp take advice if necessary and reject swiftly - within the next couple of weeks is my advice.
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I'd certainly refer the problem back to the dealer and ask him to recheck it with you present. If they find a problem then I would have thought they ought to put things right. If they refuse to put It right then refer it to the HP company. I'm sure the HP company would not want you to stop payments. The van would then be the property of the HP company - they wouldn't really like that - but you would lose any deposit paid, and it probably wouldn't do your credit record any good. Many caravan dealers use Black Horse finance, so I'm guessing caravan dealers would not wish to pick an argument with them.
Do let us know how you get on.
David
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I think this comes back to what was actually in writing, if you were told No damp, then find 21% that is not no damp, if however you were told 21% and you accepted that it is a grey area whether or not it is more than that or not. 21% is as someone else said earlier - possibly minor damp but needs investigating asap. If you accepted that then buyer beware, you now have a fight to get the dealer to accept a) he told you no damp ! or b) you were mislead that 21% is insignificant.
Good Luck
Alison
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UPDATE:
Took the caravan back today and they retested and found the damp in qestion 43% was there reading!!!
I was offered a repair and I said no thank you I will be rejecting the caravan and wanting a refund.
they said ok they would need to contact the finance company.
Left it with them I still have the keys as I need to finish emptying it.
I will get a letter drawn up as a formal rejection when I go out to them, do you know where I can get a template online?
Thanks for all your advice.
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Check out the link I gave you earlier. You should find something there.
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Plenty of options online but it is really quite simple. Personally as well as sending a letter I would also e-mail it and send a copy to finance company with covering letter. Also I would be in contact with the finance company tomorrow.
I would also keep a note of any conversations with names and dates. Best to have evidence to hand even if not needed.
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Sorry to hear of your bad experience, particularly as it's your first caravan. It sounds like your dealer is acting responsibly and giving you a full refund, even though they sold you a damp caravan in the first place.
Also sounds like Lidl damp meters are pretty good!
However, my main point is, well done to you for not taking everything for granted and for taking your own damp readings. If only more people did the same before buying a caravan, particularly used models.
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What a great result for you. I'm so pleased it was resolved.
At least next time you go out to buy you will be better equipped to choose something without problems. They are out there - and let's all hope that you find an absolute gem this time!
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