Refund on caravan
We have just collected an Elddis Supreme 866 from the dealer. They told us that the upholstery would be different in our van on the April construction run but my wife wanted the original we had seen. Dealer agreed to swap out a set from an early delivery to our van. When we picked our van up 7 months later, we found all sorts of problems, mainly damage. Dealer swears blind we do not have the demonstrator model but a call to Elddis told us the van was shipped on 09.10.17, not our April model as we were told. We have warped doors, sauce and finger marks on the upholstery, scratches on the worktops, peeling wall tape, no handle on the shower door, and the silicon as well as being rubbish is completely discoloured as you would expect from over wintering in the NW of England. Dealer has offered collection and repair but we asked for £2.5k back in order to keep it. They refused and we have invoked our right to a full refund. Still waiting to hear how they will process this. We have found another van but need it sorting quick sharp as we go to France on 16th June.... watch this space
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Sounds very much as though you have been given the demonstrator. Good luck. If you've paid by credit card, contact them too.
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We got a demonstrator last time we bought one and it did have issues, however we didn't realise until too late. This time we have insisted that we don't have the demonstrator they tried to give us (again due to upholstery changes). I think it's very poor service to do this and we had to stand our ground over this one. It will be checked over with a fine tooth comb on collection.
Good luck
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Thank you for having the courage to share your experience, but...
Begs the question of 'why did you accept it and pay for it, let alone tow it from the dealer'? Did you have a gun against your head?
Sounds like the perfect match of a UK caravan dealer familiar with taking the rise and a customer excited to have their caravan in time for a booked holiday.
Appears the germanic effect hasn't reached these shores yet.
Hope you get satisfaction.
In future please take off the rose tinted glasses, go through the caravan with a fine tooth comb, and don't pay a penny beyond the deposit until you are presented with the caravan you ordered.
There are enough examples of the poor quality of caravans and dealers throughout Club Together; this thread has another example of a dealer supplying a demonstrator in place of new. Poor quality products is one thing, but a customer accepting without checking is only playing into the don't care less attitude and practices of the dealer/manufacturer cartel. Then we wonder why there is no improvement.
Let this be a lesson to other buyers, the UK caravan industry has no regard for the customer. Ching ching goes the till.
Name the dealer/s so other people are forewarned.
A sorry tale
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Name the dealer/s so other people are forewarned.
A sorry tale
Hi KS i don't think you need to be a Detective to work out the dealer. Hope you get things sorted out Mark anybody can be taken in by a sharp dealer, I don't know about a rebate i would be wanting a full refund and take your money elsewhere.
Steve
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I have with our last three vans gone to the dealership (very obliging) to see our new van within twenty four hours the latest we went on the same day it came in. They have no issues with allowing us as long as we like to inspect before any cleaning or PDI, it has its advantages in picking up any points straight away and you can see things new and still wrapped. Handovers on collection day don`t really give you a chance to pick up any issues such as window catches etc.
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Just posted this in another similar thread.
Different issue but same legal point. I bought a new Ford Car 18 months ago. Numerous problems but once consistent one that the dealer could not resolve. I took the issue to Ford at the highest level, including the chairman via Linkdin messaging. Whilst willing to give some support and advice to the dealer, the complete message was from Ford:
”.you bought the car from the Ford Dealer. Your contract is with them. It is for them to sort out or replace. It is not Ford Uk’s Issue to resolve”
Ford UK were insistent they would not be involved in replacing or sorting the vehicle, with the exception of one of their technicians looking at it to support the dealer.
The lesson from this was that for 9 months my local Ford Dealer (not the supplier) tried to rectify it and told me it was fine them dealing with the issues. Once Ford U.K. got involved, they were clear that the car had to go back to the supplying dealer for resolution. Luckily whilst a bit of a journey, it wasn’t too far, although it had in excess of 30 visits to the dealer and for one of them, they had it for over 3 months
The lessons from this in respect of any major purchase such as cars and caravans is:
1. Whilst within warranty make sure the supplying dealer is the one dealing with any faults at all times.involving any other dealer, even recognised as an appointed dealer will potentially simply press the restart button on issues if you come to rejection.
2. Make sure the supplying dealer do the servicing...yes I know about NCC registered service agents but a regular issue in disputes such as this is the argument about whether the fault came about from someone else
3 Don’t waste any time with the manufacturer. Their position will be as Ford that your contract is with the dealer and they will not be interested.
4 know your rights around rejection. There are clearly defined timelines about when you can reject and the earlier you do, the easier it is...certainly within 28 days.
What this does create is the issue of buying at caravan shows or distant dealers. Would you want to have to do 30 plus visits at several hours each way. Having bought a new Swift 12 months ago I am sick and tired of the constant problems (luckily not major such as leaks) but I have used the supplier at all times, and in fact was given this tip on the QT by an employee of a dealership I know..don’t take it anywhere else for service or warranty stuff until out of warranty...which is a long time!
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Yep, as has been said numerous times on here, your contract is with the dealer who sold you the item.
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Assuming the warranty has been transferred to the new owner, contact the manufacturer for a list of recognised repairers.
Repair under warranty, though, is not the same issue as having problems with a new van which is a sale of goods matter.
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