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Hi, I wonder if anyone can help me. I purchased a 2000 Swift 490Se caravan privately recently and basically, we were lied to by the previous owners about a number of things, which we have now discovered wrong with the caravan. One of the things was that the caravan had been stored under trees and I think they had never cleaned the roof! It was an inch thick in grimed in bird dirt and tree sap! They also told us that it had been fully serviced in May of this year and that the engineer had said what fantastic condition it was in for its age, but guess what they have lost all the paperwork associated with the service and all they have is the 2010 sticker! Thank goodness, I have been able to rectify and repair most of the problems, that we have found, but one of the things that they told us was that they had only owned the caravan for about 5 years and that they had only used it 3 times. They also said that they had the Powertouch powermover fitted and a new high powered leisure battery fitted at the same time. I have now discovered that it was in fact fitted by the previous owners in August 2003, so it is well and truly out of the guarantee period. The main problem is that the mover only moves the caravan forwards or backwards by about 2 feet and then it stalls. It will still move to the left and right, but after a while it won’t move backwards or forwards at all, and the motor seems to be labouring. There is a leisure battery fitted and it appears to be fully charged The isolator switch is on, and the batteries in the remote control appear to be OK. I am wondering if Power touch will do a service or repair? or if I may be able to rectify the problem myself. Regards Mike.

when you say the battery "appears to be fully charged " have you tested it ?? to check it is holding the charge ?

also sorry but a bit of grime on top is hardly somethig the previuos owner would lie about sadly it is something that happens and can be cleaned of easily

Quote: Originally posted by ron m on 31/8/2010

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it sounds to me that the battery is duff.if it was me i would try another battery

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As the mover will move the van left and right the rollers are clearly operating ok. they move the same way whether left/right/forward/back. Wonder if you may be on a slope which takes some power. You need a battery with something up around a 110amphour to power the mover. The battery in may be too low an amp hour. If it is old it will have less efficiency as well.

Just an observation on guarantees for anyone reading. They do not always pass with the caravan. Many folks advertise vans "in guarantee" without understanding how guarantees work. Always read the guarantees and check that they are not personal to the seller and can be transferred. Then, subject to what the guarantee states about transfer you may need to take a formal assignment of the guarantee in writing and send a copy of that document to the party giving the guarantee. You also need to make sure that the person selling the caravan has complied with his obligations under any guarantee/warranty so that it is still valid. You may need a document like this....cut and paste and save in your "Documents" folder. You never know whan it may be useful.

This Deed of Assignment is made the                           day of                               2010 between: [insert full name and address of current caravan owner as indicated on the CRISS document] (The Assignor) of the one part and [insert full name and address of purchaser whose name will end up on the CRISS document] (The Assignee) of the other part

Whereas:

1.0 In this Deed the following words or phrases shall have the meanings hereinafter defined

1.1        “The Warranty” shall mean a warranty dated the [insert the date of the warranty] given by [insert full name and registered office of the manufacturer who gave the original warranty] [if the warranty has a number add:- ] numbered [add in number]

1.2        “The Caravan” shall mean a [insert make and model and year of manufacture of the caravan as described in the CRISS document]

Now this deed witnesses that:

1.1    In consideration of the Assignee paying to the Assignor the sum of  [insert the agreed purchase price of the caravan] to buy the Caravan (the receipt of which the Assignor hereby acknowledges) The Assignor hereby assigns unto the Assignee all benefit rights and interest in the Warranty to hold the same unto the Assignee absolutely

1.2    The Assignor (jointly and severally) [only include the words in brackets if there are two Assignors] covenants with the Assignee that s/he has fully complied with his/her obligations under the Warranty.

1.3  The construction, validity and performance of this Assignment shall be governed by English Law

In Witness whereof the parties hereto have executed this assignment the day and year first before written

SIGNED BY [INSERT FULL NAME OF ASSIGNOR] _____________________________

In the presence of

Witness signature

Name

Address

SIGNED BY [INSERT FRULL NAME OF ASSIGNEE] ____________________________

In the presence of:-

Witness signature

Name

Address

Notes:- Check the actual wording of the warranty to ensure that it can be assigned; The warranty may want assignment to be done in  particular manner e.g using the manufacturers form of assignment with the manufacturer joining in the deed. Doubt it but worth a check.

Check the CRISS documents for evidence of ownership of the caravan

Undertake CRISS checks etc to ensure that the caravan is not the subject of any Hire Purchase/Loan agreement

Obtain evidence from the Seller of the caravan that he has complied with the terms of the warranty e.g annual service documents. Clause 1.2 above enables you to sue for compensation if you find that they have lied about this issue

Witness should be independent - not be a member of your family

Send copy of the Assignment to the party who gave the original warranty. Maybe also to the Original Dealer if you are to use them for servicing. Ask the party you send it to to acknowledge receipt and to confirm that it accepts the assignment.

 Phil

Phil, I'm not personally involved with a warranty at the moment, but I just wanted to say how much I value your knowledge and experience of legal matters.

I have learned a great deal just from reading your posts.  We all have our areas of expertise, but it's great to get such definitive answers.

When I'm Emperor, you will be given some very important job.  I'll work out the details when it happens.

Jim

Better put it in writing Jim...........

Phil

Phil

I hereby offer you the important job of your choice when I become Emperor.

Jim

Does a twin axel and Range Rover Sport come with the job?

Phil

Phil

Naturally! Plus all reasonable expenses.  Just the small matter of becoming Emperor standing in our way...

Jim

Many Thanks Legsdownkettleon, I wondered what that piece of cable was for!

Mike