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Hi,

Sorry to hear about your van and hope you get it sorted soon.

Sorry to hear of your problems.

We have a good friend who purchased a Series 5 Pageant from new, damp appeared when the caravan was only about a year old, Bailey also replaced the side panel and roof on their van, when it came back from the factory they had not carried out a particularly good repair, damp appeared again within a couple of weeks.  Their dealer they purchased the van from came to some sort of arrangement with Bailey and they were offered a brand new series 6 van, but had to pay extra money (approx £2000) towards it.

Their new van has been okay so far, but they have lost faith in the Bailey brand and once a week they check for signs of water ingress.  They have also had problems with their new van, CD player never working, fridge door hinges that have just fallen off (new door needed), very noisy water pump to name a few. 

Because of the problems they have encountered and the length of time that every took to sort out, I would think twice about purchasing one of their vans and i know they would never buy a Bailey again.

Quote: Originally posted by Nightoff on 02/5/2009

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Hi Frank007. I am sorry to hear about the trouble you have had with your' van. I hope it works out for you.
I have the same model and will be keeping a close eye on it for damp. it goes in for its first service in a couple of weeks. Hopefully all will be well.
Any probs with damp and i'll report back.

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Truly hope yours is ok, I noticed black mouldy dots  all along the gap on the bottom bunk and the bottom widow, once at the dealers they  unscrewed the bunk slats and the whole bunk area full length and width was  completely  covered with damp and black and white furry sections on mould. It appears the middle window  bottom corner on the alloy outer panel  was cut oversize and the seal could not do its job ,the panel was rippled as if the cutter had stuck and ripped the panel causing it to be uneven, the dry wood  just acted as a sponge it sucked all the water in , obviously a manufacturing fault.  

You must be very unlucky , i am about to buy are 4th new Bailey in 10 years and have never had any problems at all , my sister has bought 2 new models over 7 years again with no problems  . My first new van was a Compass (Explorer Group) and had no end of faults with water leaks , dodgy electrics so got rid within year 1 and bought Bailey never looked back . It does not matter what caravan you buy there is always one badly put together regarless of manufacturer

thanks for your reply

 good to hear  that they do make good vans ,

as we really liked our Ranger , it was our first every new  van  but there no way i would want this LEMON back,  but would be willing to accept a replacement , but would want to go round it with a damp meter first!

we have writtern to Nick Howard Baileys MD  and await a reply  as the dealer is saying  hes waiting on them before  he can proceed .

 but in the mean time , we have payed for a new c/van which we do   have the use of  and they are  quoting end june / july before a repair   would be ready,  .  

, i wonder  if they really care            about our family losing it holdays/ it dreams  !

a good guide for self testing on the damp front....

http://www.caravanhospital.co.uk/damp.htm

My father in-law booked his bailey Pageant Champagne in for a service, when he returned for the van they said it had bad dampness and would has to be returned to bailey for major repair, would be at least 6 weeks away. it is all at the side of van where bunks are right up to the roof.  He has had to book a static next weekend as his van is away for repair.

Thanks every one

 Yes the van was band new , not a display etc ,   10/2008  ranger 540/6 model

 great van aprt from the damp and mould !

escot1999 what model and age  was the  van  with damp? wondering id bailey have a design fault  or a poor Q.A  issuse with my model ?

 i also wonder if any one from Bailey  looks at the net ?  its the best way to really  know  whats happening with to their reputation and future customers ,  i intend to  keep everone updated as to how my Dealer and Baileys  treat me ,?

Hopefully our family will have a happpy  quick ending ie a new dry replacement van ,we have already missed one bk holiday  w/end   iwILL & our dealer and Bailey care enought to   sort this out befre then  one . i would be impressed , and sing their praises, i wonder ?

 SHOULD I NAME OUR DEALER , what do people think ?

Sorry to hear of your problems Frank.

We had a similar story with a new Stirling, a major repair within the first year from damp, but written off at 4 years old because of damp. I would strongly suggest you keep badgering them for a free replacement. (It can be done, I got a new £20K+ car out of Vauxhall once).  I fully agree with your comment:

But its HOW THEY DEAL WITH THEIR CUSTOMERS ON WHICH THEY ARE TRULY JUDGED ON and THIS IS HOW THEIR REPUTATION IS FORMED

Swift/Stirling were terrible to deal with and I got nowhere. If anyone from either Baileys or Swift ever read these pages, do believe 1 disgruntled customer is worse than 100 satisfied customer. We lost over £5000 on our Stirling, and I have made sure wherever we have been that as many people as possible know what happend to our Stirling. I hope we have lost them custom, they deserve it, we were very shabbily treated.

Persevere Frank, seek legal help (house insurance?), and also seek redress for the loss of use of your caravan and keep everyone on here posted.