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The facts are correct but I will not be naming the dealer on this forum, not just because I could land myself in hot water but it would not be fair on the owners of this site.  I would inform people that wished to know if they contacted me but I don't think this site has a PM facility.

Thank you for your support. It helps to have a rant, especially when I find myself in a situation I can do nothing about. Thank goodness for insurance, I'm with NFU I hope they're good!

If you had the wheel lock on and securing at least wheel nut  I certainly wouldn't let the dealer off so lightly. I understand your reasons for not naming & shaming but you could have been travelling at speed and lives could have been endangered.

Have you spoken to bailey or considered taking it further with trading standards? Does your storage site have security and cctv?

My OH called Bailey today and they told him that his first port of call was the dealer. He explained that we have already been to see the dealer. Bailey couldn't really help us but they did say that the wheels are removed as part of the PDI. I would love to persue the matter but we cannot prove that the dealer was negligent unfortunately.

Sara.

Do you have any insurance that gives you free legal advice.  Lots of insurances and unions now will give you a helpline number.  We always get the legal cover on our car insurance so give all your insurance documents a check as some do give legal cover for free.  I think mine is something like up to £50,000 worth of legal cover which i'd think would cover any claim.

Or your insurance company might decide to try to claim from the dealer :)  When you speak with your insurance company make sure you tell them about the lock covering the other loose nut. 

I do a lot of work on a motoring forum. We have a 'Rate them and Slate them section'. Dealers & workshops that give good service get the credit. Those who need to be avoided are named. If a forum can't do that then there's something wrong somewhere.

In over 20 years of towing I've only seen a wheel come off once - and that was a friend who admits that whilst refitting his wheels (twin axle) his wife called him in for his tea and he left the last wheel only hand tight. Even then the wheel didn't actually come off the van, it just came loose enough for the bolt holes to be damaged.

"When you speak with your insurance company make sure you tell them about the lock covering the other loose nut."

Before you do that have a good look at your insurance policy. There is usually a clause which says that you are not covered if you have failed to take reasonable precautions to avoid an accident. e.g failed to check the torque on your wheel nuts before setting off. 

Leave them to ask the questions rather than offer to let them know that the nuts were loose when you set off.

Phil

Oh dear. Yes, if you have legal advice cover by all means ask the question, but don't hold out too much hope that the principles of tortious liability under negligence, suggested by marlot, are correct. Sorry marlot but negligence actions are not that simple.

In negligence cases the issue of contributory negligence (if any) will be considered by a court. So, if a legal advisor or the Court asks whether you followed the general advice and tightened your wheel nuts before you set off, and the answer is "no", well thats probably the end of any action.. Even if any one were able to proove that a dealer was negligent, a failure to check your wheel nuts before setting off could very well reduce any damages down to nil under the contributory negligence principles.

Phil.  

PS. If you contact your insurers to seek legal advice on taking action against the dealer please consider this first. In suggesting to your insurers that the dealer did not tighten the wheel nuts before handing over the caravan, and that on your first journey the wheel fell off, then you are actually telling the insurers that you did not check the wheel nuts before setting off. Check your insurance policy to see if that would give the insurers cause to refuse any payment. I have checked my own policy... and it would.

The way insurance works, if they pay out, they can take action against the dealer.

The dealer may be in the wrong, it may not be. Keep it simple. You want compensation, and you are insured, put a claim in and hope they don't ask awkward questions. If they pay thats it. If they don't, then consider your options against the dealer, but the burden of proof is a heavy one to discharge in the circumstances set out in this thread.

If you wish to take issue with the dealer, then, just a thought.....My own dealer always tightens the nuts in front of me. I may be wrong here, but I thought that it was part of the Approved Workshop requirements to do this. If it is, and your dealer is an approved workshop, then you could approach this with the dealer from the angle that it failed to comply with the approved workshop requirements (if that is what it is) leading to the accident. If it chooses not to compensate then you will notify those who police the scheme of the failure and ask them to investigate the dealers practices. This focusses on their alleged failure and not any failure on your part to check the nuts (if you didn't).

Phil