Caravans Don't Get Done Get Dom

I've been battling your consumer rights for years,

but some companies still aren't getting the message.

The main aim of companies is profit, they don't care about customers.

Day in, day out, thousands of you are still being taken for a ride

and it's always the same old things -

shoddy products, small print and bad customer service.

In terms and conditions, they use words people don't understand.

Some firms are driving you barmy, causing you sleepless nights

and making you feel like you're the one to blame.

But don't despair because I'm here to take up the fight

and make sure that you don't get done.

Most products that we buy in our life

at some point will need a repair,

whether it be a brand-spanking-new motor

or a very prized ornament.

At some point, they're going to need a service or some TLC.

But sadly, not all repairs...

are permanent.

This is the Hunter family and this is their caravan.

They bought their Jubilee model from well-known caravan-makers Swift five years ago.

The dream was to enjoy family holidays up and down the country

but only weeks after buying the caravan,

the dream turned into a nightmare.

I know people who have had caravans for 20 years

and they're still using them.

We thought we could get our children's holidays,

while they were at school, in that caravan,

-but it doesn't look like it's going to last.

-No.

It all started in February 2008,

just before the birth of their second child.

Helen came into some money,

so they splashed out £10,390

on a brand-new five-berth Swift caravan,

purchased from a Swift-approved dealer.

We thought, "What better than to buy a brand-new caravan?"

so we would have the reassurance of a warranty,

and to buy it from an approved dealer

so that if we did have any problems, we would have some backup there.

And just as well they did, because almost straight away

there was a problem.

-We had a cold spell...

-Yes.

..and we noticed that there was ice coming in through the seams.

Helen and John took photos of the ice.

We thought at that point, "Hang on. Something can't be right. We've got water coming in."

They got straight back in touch with Swift and the dealer

and the caravan was fully repaired under warranty.

I just thought it was a one-off, we'd been a bit unlucky.

But 12 months on, in February 2009,

the caravan failed its first annual service.

We weren't aware that there were any problems,

but it showed high damp readings.

Since they bought the caravan in 2008,

it's been in for repairs not once, not twice, not even three times.

It's been repaired seven times

and, to date, it's failed all but one annual service.

It has to be serviced every 12 months to keep the warranty going.

All of those services, it's had water ingress in different areas.

This means it's had leaks and damp issues.

All four sides of the caravan have been affected on separate occasions,

and twice in the same area.

It's becoming just a joke now.

Over the years, the family say they've had to cancel numerous holidays

and are now in a position where they can't use the caravan at all.

Helen and John even have photos of mushrooms growing inside! Eurgh!

Last...

February,

um, when we'd been away

and my little girl's bedding had mould growing on it,

I said, "Enough's enough. No more.

"I'm not prepared to continue to use a caravan in this condition."

The Hunters are not happy campers.

The question is, can I help resolve this caravan crisis?

I've come all the way to Formby, just outside of Liverpool,

to have a chat about a caravan, of all things.

-Hi there! Nice to meet you.

-Nice to meet you.

-John!

-Hi, Dom.

-Do you want to come in?

-Yes, please. Thanks.

-Nice house.

-Thank you.

So, Helen and John, nice to meet you.

-You're not happy with your caravan, though, are you?

-No, we've had lots of problems.

What made you go out and spend over £10,000 on a caravan?

Well, we'd had a lot of years being very busy, working on the house,

and not spent lots of time as a family.

I was expecting our second child at the time

and we'd had a tough time,

and Victoria was quite poorly when she was first born,

so we thought it'd be nice for us to be able to have some quality family time together

and be able to do things at our own pace.

This was an exciting period when you're hoping to turn a corner and start to have a better life

-and put whatever problems you've got behind you.

-Definitely.

-What's so good about it?

-You have to experience it, don't you?

And there's some nice people go caravanning.

-We've met some nice people, haven't we?

-Yes.

People with interests like ours, people who like outdoor things.

You're caravanners through and through. You love it!

-You do, don't you?

-BOTH: We do.

But their love for their caravan has definitely been dampened.

Service after service has failed, repair after repair hasn't worked.

With seven lots of issues in five years,

it's no wonder they want rid.

-Now we have no faith in the caravan at all.

-No.

We feel as though, if we have the caravan repaired again,

it will only be a matter of months until we have another problem.

If they had been able to afford to part-exchange the caravan for a new one, they would have

but this would cost thousands.

We genuinely weren't expecting to have any problems

because we'd done all of the things that you think are the right thing to do

when you make a big investment, like buying a caravan.

We went to a main dealer,

we bought a brand-new caravan with a warranty,

we did everything we could

to make sure that we would be protected against any problems,

and we weren't expecting to have any.

The caravan has always been repaired through an approved dealer and under warranty.

Swift themselves have acknowledged these repairs where necessary

and, accordingly, have extended the warranty to ten years

to cover damp and leaks, known as ingress,

so at least the Hunters haven't been out of pocket.

Did you ever say, "We don't want it any more" or "Give us our money back"?

All we were ever saying was, "We want you to take it back and look at it

"and see what's gone wrong, why we're having these problems"

but every time we tried, we got the same answer -

"We don't take caravans back. You need to go back to the dealer."

A couple of years ago, the dealer they bought the caravan from,

and who carried out five lots of repairs, went bust,

so Helen and John had to use a different Swift-approved dealer

for their latest two lots of repairs.

They submitted another warranty claim for the repair to be done

but they also contacted Swift to say that, in their opinion,

their recommendation was that Swift recall the caravan

for inspection and repair at the factory.

And what did Swift say about that?

They wrote to us and said that they would take the caravan back

to be inspected and repaired at the factory,

which we were quite stunned about,

because they'd always declined to do that.

The bad news was that the Hunters would have to wait five months

before Swift could take it into the factory,

and whilst they're waiting,

the caravan isn't in a fit state to use.

The walls are so wet and spongy and the floor is so spongy,

I'm not convinced it's safe

for the children to even be in that environment.

And really, for Swift to think it's OK for us...

to continue to use the caravan in that condition is unacceptable.

With all four sides of the caravan affected by damp over the years,

I don't blame them for not having confidence in their caravan any more.

We bought the caravan in good faith,

we expected the caravan to be fit for its purpose,

for it to be all-weathers

and for us to be able to use it through the winter,

-and that hasn't been the case, has it?

-No.

So, at what point does Swift as a company

look at our caravan and say, "We've spent enough money on this caravan now"?

In an ideal world, what would you like?

In an ideal world, we'd love them to replace it

but...they're not going to, are they?

Helen and John feel they've got as far as they can with Swift

and I can understand why they want a new caravan now.

How does it feel having the caravan on the drive, knowing that you can't use it?

It's really disheartening

and it starts to take away the enjoyment, really.

Instead of looking at the caravan on the drive and thinking how nice it is,

now it just feels like,

it just makes me feel ill to look at.

I can see how much this situation has affected the family's life

and I want to sort it out.

I tell you what seems a real shame to me here -

this family's spent over £10,000 five years ago on a caravan,

and the whole idea was that it brought them pleasure

but all they've had is an awful lot of inconvenience.

Let's see what Swift have got to say about this.

Before I start, I like to know a bit more about who I'm dealing with.

Swift have been in operation for over 50 years

and are Europe's number one manufacturer of caravans, motor homes and holiday homes.

According to their website,

they're "revered as the thoroughbred of the touring caravan world".

Well, unfortunately, Helen thinks her caravan is less than thoroughbred.

It's time for me to call Swift myself.

Hi. Good afternoon. It's Dominic Littlewood, calling from the BBC here.

'I get through to reception.'

Somebody purchased one of your caravans a few years ago

and they've had consistent problems

that they've not been able to get rectified.

I need to speak to somebody who would be able to comment on that.

'I'm placed on hold and then told I'm being transferred to someone called Amy.

'She doesn't want her voice used, but she's happy to speak to me.'

Let me give you a rough idea of what these problems are.

The lady and gentleman bought the caravan brand new

in February 2008.

They had problems quite soon afterwards

and it went in for its first repair, which was water ingress.

'Amy asks me to give her further details

'so she can go away and look into it.

'I explained that they'd repeatedly had problems with high damp readings

'and that Swift had agreed to take it in to investigate,

'but not for another few months.

'But the Hunters are sick of repairs and want a new caravan

'and I think they're within their rights.'

The problems are still there, they're still evident.

We got a photograph taken last week

and it's showing mushrooms growing inside the caravan.

They don't want the caravan repaired again.

You've had many attempts, it hasn't happened.

These annual reports are showing that the problem is quite severe, it's still there.

They're not happy, obviously.

I think now, it would be lovely to see if we can try and resolve this

in a way which they're going to be happy with,

and a repair is not going to be what they're happy with.

'I tell Amy that I'll send the details to her in an email and we agree to talk further.

'I ask Amy what her role is and she tells me she's the deputy MD.

'This is great news, as it means I'm talking to the right person from the outset.'

Bye-bye.

Fingers crossed, going straight to the top will help my case

and Swift will sort this sooner rather than later.

Well, true to her word, I've heard back from Amy and it's positive news.

Because the matter has been brought to her attention,

Amy can arrange for the caravan to go in to Swift for an inspection right away,

rather than in five months.

This is great news and a big step forward.

However, I've also arranged to get an independent inspection done myself.

The Hunters have filled me in on the history,

but if I'm going to get anywhere with Swift

I need to know exactly what sort of state it's in at the moment.

Independent engineer John Mackay from Caravancare Limited

is the man for the job.

Most caravans have got a wooden structure

and, um, damp is a major problem if it gets in

because once water gets in and starts to deteriorate the wood,

you're going to have structural problems.

John has brought along a bit of kit that measures damp levels.

With all the leaks, and the Hunters reporting mould and fungus inside the caravan,

I'm keen to know exactly what these readings are.

0 to 15 percent is classed as normal readings.

20 percent and above would require some investigation.

Readings above 30 percent are serious

and could be signs of structural damage.

OK, well, in this area, I'm getting readings between 20 and 35 percent.

I do believe this has been replaced since the last inspection in January

so I would expect this to be reading normal...

normal readings now.

The floor's also high, as well, in the same area.

Gordon Bennett! And this is in an area that has already undergone repairs.

It begs the question, were the repairs done correctly?

But there's more.

On this section, I can see there's damp or ingress problems before I even put my meter in.

Let's see what readings we're getting.

I'm shooting right up here anything up to 90, 92 percent, which is...

I can actually put my finger through the wall in this section. It is very, very spongy.

This is worse than I thought.

And what about the doorway where the mushrooms were taking hold?

We're getting high readings again, anything up to 40 percent.

I do believe that this rail has just been replaced recently,

so I wouldn't expect to see those readings there.

Time for John to feed back.

-Hiya.

-Hi, John.

We've had a good look round the van.

-As you can see, we've got readings going off the scale.

-Really?

-90 percent and above.

I can put my finger through the wall in the places under the bunk.

In my opinion, it needs to go back to a dealership.

What's the highest, John?

The highest, er, actually went off my meter.

-Really?

-Yes.

Have you informed the last repairer

about this mould you found again and damp work?

-Yes.

-And what have they said?

They referred us back to Swift

and said that this time, they've recommended that Swift recall the caravan.

Well, we know that Swift have agreed to take the caravan in

and there's no way they'll be able to miss these issues,

so it'll be very interesting to see what they think when they look at it.

The readings in the majority of the van around the front

were around 12 percent, which is normal.

The higher readings were under the two rear bunks and around the toilet area

where it was ranging from anywhere from 20-25 to over 90 percent.

This needs sorting out sooner rather than later.

Now it's down to Swift to look at the caravan themselves.

John will go along to the inspection as an independent witness.

Swift will then report back.

I'm hoping that at that point, they'll agree to replace it

because the Hunters are sick to the back teeth of repairs.

The repairs to the Hunters' caravan have always been done under the manufacturer's warranty,

which Swift have now extended to compensate them for their trouble,

so the Hunters have not actually been out of pocket at all.

Good thing. But it has got me thinking -

how many repairs do you have to put up with

before you can quite rightly say, "Enough is enough"?

Steve Playle from Trading Standards is going to shed some light on our consumer rights

when it comes to rejecting faulty goods.

Now, as consumers, we're protected by the Sale of Goods Act,

but what exactly is it and how does it cover us?

The Sale of Goods Act covers the basic contract between a consumer and a trader.

The goods should be of satisfactory quality, fit for their purpose and as described.

The Sale of Goods Act is an awkward piece of legislation.

The word "reasonable" is used an awful lot

and consumers have to be aware that it's not black and white.

So if you buy a product and it turns out to be faulty,

how can you get your money back?

There's a short space of time to reject goods, to get your money back.

It's not laid down in law, it's just what's reasonable under the circumstances.

So if you get home, realise the product's not working,

you have to reject it straight away.

You can do that by going straight back to the retailer,

or if you can't do that, put it in writing,

send it by recorded delivery and spell out in no uncertain terms

"I hereby formally reject these goods."

If you're happy to accept a repair or replacement, let the retailer know that's what you'll accept.

The key thing here is that the liability is with the retailer you purchased the product from,

not the manufacturer.

In the case of the Hunters, the dealer where they bought their caravan from

is no longer in business,

so they've gone back to the manufacturer, Swift,

who have agreed to now get involved.

What if something doesn't go wrong with your product immediately, but later down the line?

Or what if you've had multiple repairs done

but they haven't fixed the problem, like in the Hunters' case?

If the goods go wrong over six months after you've bought them,

the onus is then on the consumer to prove that the goods were faulty when purchased.

In those cases,

it's going to be a case of an expert giving some evidence

to try and back your case up.

It could well be reasonable that the fault would take that long to become apparent to the consumer,

the trader may say different and have an expert to challenge you.

And this is the stage the Hunters have found themselves at.

After seven sets of repairs that have failed to fix the problem,

we've called in an independent expert to file a report.

But how long do you have to try and get a resolution?

There's something called a statute of limitations,

which means you've got six years to bring a claim against the trader.

You haven't got six years to take something back, which is often confused,

but six years is the limit for bringing a case when you have a dispute with the trader.

Luckily, the Hunters are within this timeframe,

and Steve has some good advice.

If you think you've been sold something unfit for purpose or not as described,

take the case on, go all the way to small claims court if you need to,

but don't give up, be persistent.

We've had an independent inspection carried out on the Hunters' caravan and it wasn't good news.

In some areas, the damp readings were off the scale.

The Hunters are hoping that Swift will recognise this and offer a replacement caravan

because, after having problems since they first bought it,

the one thing the family definitely don't want is yet another repair,

and I can't blame them.

We just want a caravan back that doesn't leak

-and hasn't got mushrooms growing in it.

-Mm.

The dealer the Hunters bought the caravan from has now gone bust

so they turned to the manufacturer Swift.

They agreed to inspect the caravan themselves,

but initially said it would be five months before they could look at it.

I've managed to get them to do it a whole lot sooner, though.

In fact, the inspection was carried out at the factory a few days ago

and we've now had an email through from Swift with the results.

They say that the repairs that have been carried out up to this point

haven't worked because the wrong parts and sealants have been used.

They've picked up on the same issues as our inspection and found nothing further.

They maintain that the damaged parts can be repaired and replaced

and that they've established where the water is entering the caravan,

and this can also be rectified by them.

I need to speak to Swift myself, as I know this isn't the conclusion the Hunters were hoping for.

They don't want any more repairs. They want a replacement.

'Time for me to get back on the blower to Amy at Swift.'

Amy, good morning. It's Dominic Littlewood.

'I want to sow the seed about a replacement caravan for the Hunters.'

What we need to do now is establish what you can do.

What they ideally want is a like-for-like -

you take the old one back, do whatever you want to do with it

and, in an ideal world, we deliver them a brand-spanking-new one.

Hello?

I was right in the middle of a really important bit there.

I said, "Why don't you give them another caravan?" and it went dead!

I don't think she cut me off. I think it was a case of, she's probably lost reception.

'I call Amy back and we pick up again.

'She says that they acknowledge the dealer used the wrong parts

'and are keen to resolve this whole issue,

'but that Swift need to consider their position - fair enough - so she'll get back to me today.'

Smashing. That's no problem at all.

Thanks, Amy. Nice talking to you again. Bye.

Right, things are getting quite tense now.

I've had a chat to Amy. I've got to say, she's a very lovely lady.

I said, "We realise now about these problems and everything else. Let's give her another caravan."

She said, "I'll chat to the other directors and get back to you this afternoon."

It's going to be a really tense day for me now!

Come on, Amy! Don't let me down, girl!

I've pushed Swift for a replacement caravan

and they're going away to think about it.

For me, it's the only fair option, as there have been seven attempts to fix their current one

and it's still not fit for purpose.

The Sale of Goods Act says products should be fit for their purpose

and of satisfactory quality.

If they don't, there's a breach of the Sale of Goods Act and consumers have certain rights.

There's a statement - satisfactory quality.

A ten-grand caravan that's growing mushrooms after seven repairs

is not very satisfactory to me.

I think it's perfectly reasonable for the Hunters to get a replacement

and I think Swift should recognise this.

But in the wider context, what would the law say if,

worse-case scenario, the retailer or manufacturer refused to agree?

That's when you have to decide on the next stage, thinking about county court,

small claims procedure for anything less than £5,000.

Get a letter off setting out a time limit

and let the trader know that you intend to go to small claims court

unless they resolve your problem satisfactorily.

Luckily for me and the Hunters, things won't have to get this far with Swift

and I'm back on the phone to them.

What are you prepared to do?

I certainly hope we can get a replacement

because the Hunters are already looking at models in anticipation

and been in touch with Swift directly

to discuss a possible replacement.

As they have a bigger car and the kids are getting older,

they're keen to upgrade their model, if possible.

I'm getting to the nitty gritty with Swift now.

I'll put that to them and see what they want to do. Thanks, Amy. Take care.

I've got news for the Hunters. Time to feed back.

-Hi, Helen.

-Hi, Dom.

-Hi, John. How are you?

-Hi.

-All right?

-Hi, Dom.

I've got some news for you.

-It's driven you mad, hasn't it?

-Mm.

-Tell me about how mad it's made you.

-Very angry, but also very upset.

We've had some stressful times, haven't we?

It feels like we're under pressure all the time with the stress of it.

It really has been the worst experience we've ever had because it's gone on for so long.

One of the problems you've got is, that caravan is five years old.

Even though you bought it new, it is old.

Legally, they didn't have to keep doing anything

other than what their warranty said it would,

which was sorting out the water ingress.

I found Swift were actually very concerned about the problem.

They seemed to want to get it resolved as quickly and as amicably as possible.

'I know that Helen and John decided they'd ideally like to upgrade their caravan,

'so I want to know what their thoughts are on that.'

There is a model which I know you're quite keen on.

How would you feel about part-exchanging your caravan

for that caravan?

We'd love to, but we couldn't afford the difference, could we?

-No.

-Yes. And that's the big problem.

'Well, hold your horses. It's time for me to break the news.'

This is what I suggested to Swift

and Swift came back to us and we started negotiating.

We talked about your caravan. You don't want to sell it

because you don't want anybody else to have the problems.

Part-exchanging it, you're going to get very little for it,

but there is a caravan you're quite interested in.

So I started to talk to them about that caravan

and I tried to get the changeover figure between the two as low as possible.

'Swift had this to say on the case...'

'So, after some negotiations, I've done a deal with Swift

'and got them to agree a price which I know the Hunters would be able to afford.

'Swift want to keep the details of the agreement between themselves and the Hunters confidential.

'I've just told Helen and John

'and I think they're pleased with the news.'

-You're joking?

-No.

-Really?

-No.

-That's fantastic.

-Oh, my God!

-Can I give you a hug?

-I like hugs!

-Not from John!

-Thank you so much!

-We have to do a handshake.

That's brilliant!

It does mean you'll end up with a brand-new caravan,

new warranty, you're covered by the Sale of Goods Act.

Hopefully, there won't be any problems with it.

I personally think that Swift have been very, very generous in what they've done.

I can't believe it. I really didn't think that they would...

that they would agree to, you know, even change the caravan.

I thought we would get the caravan repaired and back again and we'd carry on struggling.

-It's like a win on the lottery, isn't it?

-It is.

It's the end of an ongoing problem and start again afresh.

-Start afresh, yes.

-Yes.

To think that we can move on

and not have to have that same caravan back is just amazing.

-And your new van, it's beautiful, isn't it?

-It's beautiful.

-You're going to be the daddies on that campsite.

-Wow! We absolutely are!

-Right, that's my job done. I'm off.

-Thank you so much.

-Thanks, Helen.

-See you later, guys.

-Bye-bye.

-Bye-bye.

-What a result.

-It's amazing.

I never thought in a million years that we'd get a result like this,

that we'd get not only a new caravan

but an even better caravan than we had before.

-And we wouldn't have been able to do it on our own.

-No. Absolutely not.

-Superb.

I'm chuffed to have been able to put this five-year problem to bed for the Hunters

and turn their holiday dreams back into reality.

They got themselves a brand-spanking-new 2013 model upgraded caravan

and they are over the moon about it.

As for Swift, I've got to say, credit where it's due.

Good on you. You've done yourselves proud.

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