Legal Action Complete
 

Well we have had the caravan for a year now, and yesterday we had a service carried out on her, glad to say the safety issues all proved to be satisfactory; Gas, Electrics etc... the water inlet pipe needed a new push on fitting and the kitchen tap a micro switch.

The big issue is two areas of water ingress, now I was aware of these prior the inspection so came as no shock.

The rear window seal is in need of replacement as it is not allowing a tight seal hence water can find its way in. Also above our 'floor to ceiling window' (L shaped seating) there is signs of water ingress, this is a little more complicated, it requires an overseal, a method where the exterior joints are cleaned out and new more modern sealant is used to ensure the water can no longer penetrate the van.

Don't get me wrong, the van is not ruined, it has solid walls and no spongy areas, all in all the work will come in at around the £320 mark, that includes Service, replacement items, seals and sealants plus labour charges.

Very reasonable I think, especially for peace of mind

I agree Keith, have found Mark's prices very reasonable,good service too.

Hopefully that will fix it, but my own experience of damp in caravans is that (rather like rust in cars) sadly the damage is much worse than is apparent on the surface.

I would tend to agree, but also like rust if you deal with it quickly you can prevent to much damage.
Also best to let someone that does it professionally deal with it

Well an update from a less than happy person. I honestly thought that I was getting a good deal with the aforementioned agreement on a caravan service and repairs

Well the work was carried out by a North East Mobile engineer, and the cash was handed over, so it is now two days prior to going away and we brought the van from storage down to the house, whilst here I thought I will hook up the electric and water and test everything prior hitting the site.
Anyway certain alarm bells have started ringing, the Kitchen tap had a fault as in to get it to work you had to turn on the bathroom tap, this is down to a faulty micro switch, well lo and behold the tap still does not work. The rear window has had a 'new seal' fitted as it had previously leaked, only to find it is still leaking, on top of this when we connected the gas my wife noticed a strong smell of gas, upon checking the front locker was wreaking and this turned out to be a faulty regulator.. also part of the service was a full Gas/Electric and Damp test.
So as expected the 1st port of call is to ring the engineer, no answer ! so left a message only to receive a 'TEXT' from him saying the switch must be temperamental and the seal will need adjusting, but he will sort them 'Free of Charge'
Now is it just me, but if he has my number would a Phone call instead of a text message of been more professional and to say free of charge, am I supposed to feel grateful for this??

So it looks like a visit to the Caravan Shop tomorrow for me to purchase and fit a switch.... The rear window, well suppose a towel needs to be handy this week

:mad::mad::mad::mad::mad::mad::mad::mad::mad:

That isn't good news at all :eek:

It sounds as if nothing has been done for the money at all.

One issue I had which wrecked a caravan I bought, was the lack of any sealant between the rubber seal and the body. If you can open a window, then just ease the seal away from the body, with no sign of a soft sealant, yours is the same.

Those horribly delicate plastic microswitched taps can be very tempermental and expensive too. A pressurised system is more reliable, where there is just one pressure switch and you can use any taps, even domestic taps are much better.

If he is doing gas tests and services, he is legally required to be qualified. It sounds as if he is not, leaving a system in such dangerous condition - maybe report him to the authorities?

Is the faulty regulator one of those bulk head mounting Truma ones, with a high pressure pipe leading to it - rather than a regulator mounted straight on the bottle?

Thanks Harry

I believe he is fully registered, the regulator is one that goes on top of the bottle direct, it is a new one that I purchased and fitted a short while ago... turns out it is faulty and has now been replaced, but only because my wife smelt the gas and was not reported in the Gas Test.

One thing for sure, he will not be carrying out the repairs, I am a firm believer of giving people a chance, but I will not be ripped off, If you pay good money then you should receive a good job, it's not rocket science.

I doubt I will get a partial refund, so will cut my loss and move on, only concern now is what else did not get checked?

Sorry to here this Keith - I hope you get sorted.

Steve.

Thanks Steve, I have sorted the tap myself this morning, I also fitted a new gas regulator, have gone through the van with a fine comb today sorting out any issues. More annoyed that the Guy still fails to acknowledge me.... Maybe a letter to BBC Watchdog

I find it difficult to believe that I received a full check list that states the Gas Electric and Water all function correctly when they clearly did not, I am more concerned that it says the wheels have been of and the brake linings checked and return springs etc..... upon close inspection today the wheel trims and wheels have so many cobwebs in them it indicates that this is also a fabrication of the truth.

I accept that I have been well and truly ripped off, just a shame I paid for it on debit card rather than a credit card, as then I would have had some form of insurance.

I wont name and shame him on an open forum but if anyone in the North East /North West is wanting to avoid this guy I will pass on details via a PM

Even a Debit card payment can be recovered now, talk to you bank. Unless this guy is ripping lots of other customers off in a big way, the Watchdog will not be interested. Best talk to Trading Standards and take their advice.

Put your complaints in writting to him, some of them are quite serious as in the brakes and the gas and give 14 days to respond, tell him you expect a full refund or you will be making a small claim in the County Court to recover the full amount. It doesn't cost much and you can get the court costs back plus any expenses incurred.

If you have witnesses to back up your claim, even better, but please don't just let it go - he will only do the same to another unlucky customer.