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Went to visit my local Caravan Dealer yesterday.

I always thought they were honest ..... but, it seems they are reverting to type. That type being Salesmen who will stoop to lows in the hope of getting a sale.

I'm talking about listing Caravans as 'New Arrivals' - when they have been trying to shift the very same vans for months. They have attempted to trick people into thinking they are different vans by amending the price £100.

Surely this is against some legislation? If not, it is downright misleading and corrupt!

I'm saddened somewhat as they 'seemed' genuine ..... I guess not?

Anyone else got any stories of Dealers stooping to new lows?

The vans have been in for "months". How many? A few months can be a new arrival compared to other models thay may have. Is the £100 upward or downward?

Phil

It's a big Dealership ... with outlets in Reading, Leicester, Northampton and Wimborne, Dorset.

I'm disappointed in them ..... no need to lie to people. To the poster above who questioned when a 'New Arrival' is a new arrival - these have been at the Dealership for about 4 months, 17 weeks ...... by any stretch of the imagination that's NOT a new arrival.

I would guess that the buying public would consider a van marked as a 'New Arrival' as something which has been for sale for up to 2 weeks.

The fact that these vans did NOT have the New Arrival sticker in the window before means that someone has made a concious decision to mislead the public .... I'm not sure whether the practise at this Dealership comes from the Top, I would sincerely hope not!

Mis-represnting the goods, maybe?

Such a big Caravan Company acting unethically is very disappointing. They can lose any reputation they may have by some very stupid lies chasing sales at all costs.

Once such a reputation for mis-leading Customers is gained it is very difficult to lose it.

If you don't think a prospective buyer can be influenced by a sign proclaiming "New Arrival" then why would Dealers use such a sign?

The Dealer believes that it will entice the prospective buyer to buy .... or, why use it?

Or in this case, why ABUSE it?

In the basic analysis, and the reason why it's so important, is that it shows that this particular Dealer is willing to tell lies - and that's so disappointing.

I'm sure most would agree?

The question posed is "Surely this is against some legislation?"

In my view if the van is new then the answer is "No".

If any of us go along and buy one of these vans we know that we are buying a new van. It is not preloved/second hand and ours will be the first name registered with CRiS for the van. We will tell everyone that we have bought a brand new van even though it has been at the dealership for around four months.

The Dealer is simply saying that these arrivals are "new" caravans. Sorry but I am going to be a tad pedantic here. The OP objects because the vans have been there for some four months.  If they said "Newly arrived" then the OP would be right to challenge. "Newly" means "only just" arrived or "recently" arrived which they cannot say as the vans have been there for four months.  "New arrival" is, in my view being used in quite a different context.  Having been there for four months some prospective buyers may think that they are not new vans, hence the need to make it clear to purchasers that the vans are "new" rather than old vans.

Not much for Trading Standards to get concerned about under the Unfair Trading Regs 2008 I think.

Phil 

Let's be clear .... these are ALL secondhand vans.

They are priced between £8000 and £13000

They do move vans between their Reading, Wimborne, Liecester and Northampton sites ....... I have no problem with that.

The vans I speak of have been at the same site for at least 4 months - not labelled as 'New Arrival' until this last week!!

The change in price by £100 is also an attempt to deceive .... and this is my point, they are trying to deceive potential buyers by lieing.

It is blatant - and unethical in my opinion.

Yes, a buyer should ignore all signs and buy on condition and pay a fair price ..... but, it would worry me somewhat if the dealer was shown to be capable of deceit.

Maybe I'm old fashioned? But I believe in telling the truth and not misleading people for ones own personal profit ...... where did honesty get lost?

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