The following is my "Sterling Diary", updated as things progressed during the 15 months or so we've owned the Europa. Although it does not detail the first year of ownership, when we were still living in hope that the promised 'solutions' to the problems would be forthcoming, it will perhaps serve to show up the inadequacies of the manufacturer and the dealership when it comes to Customer Care.
It is a long post, but worth reading if you intend to buy a Swift Group caravan, or buy from Kirkcaldy Caravans. The following text in BLUE italics was posted by me on June 3rd, 2009 on the UK Campsites website; thereafter in black type are extracts written as it went, and until now not posted.
I'll add to the post as things progress, and hopefully the next message will be one singing the praises of the caravan when it is back to 'normal', but somehow I doubt it..................
June 3rd 2009.
Our 2008 Europa 460 is going back into the dealership AGAIN, this time for the last time. The noisy pump is getting worse, and we've had enough. On top of the faulty gas fridge when on holiday when it was being used for the first time, the faulty brakes binding on (3 attempts by the dealers, sorted myself), a sliding shower door which wouldn't (1 attempt by dealer, repaired myself), wardrobe and toilet doors which wouldn't close (done myself), the sliding table held by one screw instead of three and the glue fixed over the protective film (ditto), spurting hot water which makes the taps and shower unusable (2 attempts - still unresolved) pipes which freeze at any sign of frost as they are placed directly over gas drop-out vents, the pump is so noisy we're reluctant to use it at night.
All in all the 'van is rarely used as we've lost faith in it, and spend the time we do use it wondering what'll break next. Sterling don't want to know, the dealers are stalling, probably until the warranty runs out, and if we could sell it and buy our old Ace back we would.
Sterling? Rubbish.
16th June 2009
The first year service (£180) on the 'van has just been completed by our local dealer from where we bought it and the noisy pump issue is still unresolved.
It's likely been made worse by the fact that the pump was left switched on with no water connected after the service, then parked up in their yard and only discovered when I walked into the van this afternoon with the service mechanic. How long it's been running is anyone's guess, but it was red hot, though I'm assured that "it'll be OK, they can run without water"!
As usual no-one was available to take note of this as the salesman was away as was the manager, but the ever helpful shop lass did what she could to assure me she'd pass on my comments.
The noisy pump has been explained though, "they all do that, and Sterling changed pump suppliers to another, quieter, pump" according to the engineers, which will be news to the owner of the almost identical Europa we met in April, who has an identical pump without noise we're stuck with. Another dealership engineer had previously blamed the Alko chassis for the overheating hubs, ("they've had issues with the brakes") which was news to the less-than-happy Alko man I spoke to, so I'm reluctant to take any of their comments at face value, so I'll be checking that out.
I suppose the real issue may be seen to be with the poor after sales service from Kirkcaldy Caravans, who happily accepted full payment in cash for the caravan with no trade in to worry about, but Sterling's lack of interest is not good. Teething troubles are to be expected with any new caravan, but we've lost all faith in it and are spending more time waiting to see what'll go wrong next than actually enjoying our purchase.
The Europa is well appointed, is good to tow, was well priced and we can't fault the bits that work, when they work. We're not being picky, as it's embarrassing to have to admit that we've bought a pig in a poke, we're just looking to have value for the money we spent and service when things go wrong.
We hear that manufacturers and dealers are struggling to survive in the economic downturn so are offering better service and deals, but this seems to have gone unnoticed at Kirkcaldy Caravan Centre and at Swift.
We'll not be back to either the dealer or the manufacturer unless we can resolve the issue amicably and if that's the case as soon as we can find a buyer or a trade in somewhere else it'll be someone else's noisy pump.
17th June 2009
I'm in a less black mood than yesterday after having spoken to the MD of Cookstown Caravans (the company which owns KCC) today. He's up to speed with the situation, having heard of the problems with the caravan before I alerted him to my posting of yesterday at 6.40pm on the site here.
How he got wind of the problems so quickly I don't know as yet, but I'm sure he'll not object to my using part of the text of the email he sent me at 9pm last night. This might put your mind at rest that it is intended that things may be improved as regards the after sales service.
I quote the relevant parts of Mr Sempey's email;
" ...........I am sorry you have had such a bad experience in relation to the aftersales provided at Kirkcaldy. Earlier today I was contacted and made aware of the pump issue by Kirkcaldy and to say I was furious would be an understatement............ I will personally be investigating first thing tomorrow morning as to why we are unable to resolve such elementary issues speedily and to your satisfaction........I find this situation wholly unacceptable and please be assured that I will deal with the matter. In the meantime please accept my apology and I know we have a long way to go before your faith is restored in us............... At Kirkcaldy we place a high importance on aftersales although your experience seems to be the exception rather than the norm.........."
I've abbreviated the email somewhat, but you'll no doubt get the gist of the gravity Mr. Sempey places on the matter of resolving issues without recourse to public postings. He's not unduly concerned that I posted here (other than the fact that things should have gone this far) which as you'll see is an honest appraisal of my concerns with the build quality of Sterling caravans and service from my dealer, and understands that my reply was in response to Janbo25's requests for opinions as to the quality of the product in question; namely Europa caravans. He's concerned that issues should be resolved quickly, not over a protracted period, and without fuss, and that his company should retain, or regain, its good name.
Anyway, I spoke with Mr. Sempey today by telephone and we've agreed that I should use the caravan as it is for the weekend and see if the lowered pump pressure (to stop the water surging) also cures the pump noise. I really hope it does, as we're on the verge of selling the caravan as we've lost all confidence in it, and our much needed weekends away are becoming a bit less enjoyable. The thought of our August fortnight in the south with caravan problems so far away from home does not bear thinking about. I'm slightly concerned for the long term health of the pump which was left running continuously for possibly 5 or 6 hours without water being connected. If you think about it, if you run the pump for 30 second bursts a dozen times in a normal a day that works out at around six minutes a day, so my pump has done 50 days work in one continuous run! No wonder it was hot!
We discussed the other issues with the caravan and I take on board his comments that some of the troubles could be laid at the feet of the manufacturer. (faulty/ badly adjusted sliding/hinged doors, screws missing from components, weak clips on the fire front which falls off during travel, the fridge which failed to operate properly due to circuit board problems, water pipes directly above gas dropout vents which freeze easily where an extra foot of piping would re-route them...... and such like), but as Mr. Sempey correctly pointed out, these are issues which the dealer should identify and address, where possible, as they arise.
We have our fingers crossed that the pump is as quiet as a moose and all is well this coming weekend, and we can, at last, use the shower!!! If not Mr. Sempey assures me that the pump will be changed.
What a shame that such trivial matters should sour the relationship between dealer and customer and necessitate the MD of the company having to intervene. I somehow think he'll not be one to fob off customers with excuses.
If the owner of the Europa who was at Glenmore in April and who I spoke to regarding his/my water pump is reading this please get in touch. I think he drove either a Kia 4x4 or a Mondeo, and has an Aberdeen area accent.
21st June
We had a rethink and decided to see if the problem had been resolved, after all, selling up would mean a loss, and decided on a weekend away…………
An update after a weekend away in sunny Perthshire; the reduced pump pressure has partially reduced the water surging, though it is still there and we've still to be careful when using hot water and every use means wiping up around the sink or handbasin. I've video filmed the thing in operation lest the dealer still maintains that it's useable in it's present state and thinks twice about the offer to replace the pump.
The reduced pressure means that pressure to the shower is also down and the water spray barely reaches me when in the shower, and I've to use the thing in my hand. I'm not brave enough to try the shower in hot mode in case it 'coughs' and goes too hot, and used it mildly warm just in case. Luckily the weather was warm enough to make a cool shower preferable anyway.
Pump noise is still there, to the extent that the owner of a 'van two spaces away mentioned it to me this morning. Of the three one year old and two 2009 vans on the site neither has any sort of pump noise to match ours, and one 1992 van has one which is nigh on silent. The reason I know is because I checked after the lad spoke to me this morning. None were Sterlings, but were mixed Eldiss, Rangers, Lunar, Bucanneer, Avondale and a Swift or two, and I didn't ask which pumps were fitted, but did ask to hear them in action. Consensus of opinion was that ours was noisy, and that the owners wouldn't have them in their vans. Nor would they have endured the problems we've had.
Our pump now has an occasional noise which sounds like a dry bearing, but that might just be me being paranoid. AND we've now got squeeky brakes!
As I said in an earlier post................ Sterling? Rubbish
22nd June
I've had an email from the Cookstown Caravans MD and will meet up with him tomorrow (Tuesday) in Kirkcaldy when he comes across from Ireland. Hopefully he'll resolve the outstanding issues.
We'll have to consider if we're really at ease with the caravan or if we should just sell up and that'll be the end of our caravanning. We love the time away with friends, the company we meet at sites, the scenery and the peace and quiet, but we've both accepted that it's a lot less fun when things have gone the way they have.
Perhaps that was because we had high expectations from spending money on a new 'van which meant no worrying about things going wrong, or if things did go wrong we could rely on the experts to sort it out quickly.
After our weekend away we were just glad to be home and parked up with no further problems, which is not how things used to be. I'm worrying already that the squeeky brakes are a result of the problems we had with them early on, and if I could strip them and check them myself I'd be happier (I have an engineering background and service vehicles at work) but there's the warranty to think about. To consider going abroad with the caravan is now out of the question, and the autumn trip to Ireland is cancelled for us, friends will go but we'll get B&B and fly across instead.
I regret ever going into the dealership and seeing the Europa, and I reckon if we'd still had our old Ace Airstream we'd be happier today, and a lot better off! We can have a few good holidays with what we sell the caravan for.
24th June
Meeting with the MD from Cookstown/Kirkcaldy Caravans yesterday may have eased our minds a bit, as he's offered to have the pump on our Sterling Europa 460 changed for a less noisy and more efficient SureFlo pump, which he assures me will solve the problems we're having. Why this was not done when we complained originally and it was found that we still had the problem (after the dealer had two attempts to rectify it) was discussed; "New caravans, like any other item, may have teething troubles and issues and it's not those issues but how we deal with them that's important" he said, and he intends to deal with it to our satisfaction. That's proper dealer service as far as I'm concerned, and he seems genuine in his desire to see the matter resolved and if the workshops do as he intends we may have the problems solved.
The squeeky brakes will also be checked; dust from the friction material in the drums is the likely cause he reckons, this possibly caused by the previous braking problems we had is what I reckon.
We're still undecided as to our next move as regards the caravan, but we'll give the dealer and the manufacturer the benefit of the doubt and after they do their bit we'll have a weekend away and see what the outcome is.
What an awfy stooshie though over such a small issue!
5th July
From my last post you'll no doubt have read between the lines and see I was hopeful of a conclusion to the affair which resolved the issues to the satisfaction of all concerned.
As arranged I delivered the 'van on Saturday, the 26th, and was called by 'phone on the 29th and told that the van was ready for collection. Full of hope I drove along to arrange to collect the Europa to find the pump had been indeed replaced, but not as Mr Sempey suggested by another less noisy model, but by the same model, and that the brakes hadn't been checked as the engineer hadn't been told to do them. I saw the job card handed to the engineer and it stated only "Replace Pump"; no mention of a different type or any mention of the brakes.
I suggested to the manager at Kirkcaldy Caravans that internal communications could be improved, although I was maybe less polite than that, and he said he'd get the engineer to do the brakes there and then and I could come back later and collect it.
So I rearranged things and returned to collect the van and brought it back home. The surging water issue was sorted, though the pump was as noisy as the original one, although I've not yet checked the pressure in the shower. The brakes have been checked over and seem fine on the two mile run back home.
I've been offered a refund of the service fee by Mr Sempey, MD of Cookstown Caravans, which is not and never was the issue in my case; we just wanted the problems sorted out.
As I can't sort the still noisy pump out myself because of the warranty from Sterling it looked as if I was stuck with the thing as it is.
We were by now fairly pee'd off with the caravan, the dealer and caravanning in general, and we're still thinking about selling up and joining the ranks of the package holiday crowds, but if we sell it we'll lose too much, and anyway if we did buy another caravan what would we buy and from whom?
Another Swift range 'van? Another 'van from Kirkcaldy Caravans? No fear!
So, I sent another email to Mr Sempey in Ireland and he replied post haste to advise that an engineer would call next day to fit a different pump, as he had instructed the staff at Kirkcaldy to do in the first place. Workshop manager and engineer Chris called as arranged and quickly fitted a new pump which pumps water with adequate, steady pressure, and no undue noise!
What was all the difficulty? A simple issue simply resolved by someone who knew his job and did what was required with good customer relations, honesty and civility. Pity the management didn't take these simple steps early on in the affair; like a year ago.
Cookstown's MD Malcolm Sempey and Kirkcaldy Workshop manager Chris will have an uphill struggle turning around the reputation Kirkcaldy now have, too late for two friends I know who have bought, or are buying elsewhere (30 plus miles away), rather than on their doorstep.
August 13th 2009
So, this is an update on all of that, previously posted elsewhere but brought together here in one piece, and you’ll be thinking all is now well with the Sterling?........
I dropped in to Kirkcaldy Caravans collect a couple of rubber suckers for work three weeks ago and was handed a refund of the service fee by the manager. There was no apology of course, which would have been worth more to us than money, but I suppose he, like us, thought all was now well.
We planned a week in the Scottish Borders and another in Dumfries and Galloway. To begin with all seemed well and we thought that we could relax and get back into enjoying the caravan, but……the bloody pump nonsense began again!
On day two it began rattling the pipe work and sounded like a Spandau machine gun when using the hand basin, spitting the water out with some considerable force. The shower on the other hand failed to supply adequate pressure which meant soaping ‘the parts’ with one hand and holding the shower rose over one’s head with the other. The noise got worse than ever over a couple of days, then by day five the taps failed to work properly, needing a joogle on and off to start the pump. We spent the last two days using the kettle and a plastic Jerry can of water in the van instead, and came home a day early as we are so p*ssed off with the caravan. Excuse my French, but I'm really disgusted with the whole affair.
We are back from a holiday with the caravan, a holiday which might well have made our minds up about caravan manufacturers and dealers.
I intended at this point to write to the manufacturers, to Cookstown Caravans (owners of Kirkcaldy Caravans) and to Trading Standards.
As far as I’m concerned Swift had supplied a caravan with a water system which is useless at best, irritating and possibly dangerous, and Cookstown/Kirkcaldy Caravans have failed to rectify what is a bit more than “teething troubles”. Surely these issues should have been spotted at the pre delivery inspection?
I quote Mr. Sempey from June 24th “"New caravans, like any other item, may have teething troubles and issues and it's not those issues but how we deal with them that's important"
As I said in my email to Mr Sempey,
“You’ve failed to deal with them, and I've run out of patience. The problem has been there from June of 2008 when we paid cash for the caravan, repaired the other teething troubles ourselves and put up with the trips back and forth to Kirkcaldy, listened to the excuses, were fobbed off with assurances that all would be well……..need I go on?”
I’d urge anyone thinking of buying any of the Swift Group caravans to check the water system, and ask if the “issues” concerning the pumps have been resolved, and would advise them to avoid Kirkcaldy Caravans.
I wish we had.
14th August 2009
So, by now I’m of a mind to throw in the towel, burn my bridges and whatever other term comes to mind, and publish and be damned, thinking that things can’t get much worse ‘twixt the dealer/manufacturer and myself, so I sent a copy of ALL of the above to Mr. Sempey from Cookstown with the covering letter thus;
“Mr Sempey,
Further to our last discussion please read the following (above attachment). I intend to post this on the Message Board of the UK Campsite website and other caravan related sites on the Internet as a warning to other potential Sterling/Kirkcaldy Caravans customers, and to discuss the situation with the local Trading Standards office here in Kirkcaldy. I've had enough.
I feel it only fair to bring this to your attention, as you have been decent enough to try to resolve the problems, but it seems it is either a design fault with the system which really should have been handled by Kirkcaldy by referring the problem back to Sterling, or it is a matter of a failure by Kirkcaldy to effect a lasting repair.
The text will perhaps remind you of the issue, and all I ask is that you put yourself in our shoes, from June of 2008 when we bought the caravan. We saved hard to buy the Europa, and paid cash, hard earned money which could have been better spent elsewhere. I don't really think that we've had value for that money. Do you?”
And by return that day got this;
“Mr Drummond,
I have sent a copy of this email to Swift. You state that on day two the problems started did the pump work ok up until then? I am currently seeking advice and will come back to you at the beginning of the week.”
That set my mind at rest that something would at last be done, so I stopped hassling the dealers at this point, and refrained from any further postings to be fair to Cookstown caravans and their Kirkcaldy branch as they seemed to be trying, albeit belatedly, to sort things out. I had spoken to a chap who worked at Trading Standards and got some advice, though he suggested I contact the dealers again and see what their latest plan was.
I had a telephone ‘chat’ to Swift’s Customer Service Department, which didn’t go well, and was told that in their opinion there was not an issue with their water system. There certainly was with mine though, so I made a few suggestions as to possible causes and was told, again TOLD, that they would “produce and action plan” and get back in touch with Kirkcaldy Caravans to sort the matter out.
Not the best Customer Service I’ve ever spoken to; one who fail to listen to the customer….
Chris from Kirkcaldy Caravans called and said that parts were en route, and he’d be along to fit whatever they sent.
21st August
Chris called and said he’d be along in the morning and true to his word he was at the door and fitted the parts Swift sent; another pump, same as the others, and an anti surge chamber and all that made no difference.
The fact that there was also no non-return valve fitted in the inlet spigot on the caravan was discovered though, which may not have helped the situation, but the system still rattled and dropped pressure and was as noisy as ever. We were glad this time though, for even Chris said it was an unacceptable noise level, and he’d never seen the surging as bad before, so that confirmed it was not just us being picky.
Away he went, having done as Swift suggested and tried a few ideas of his own, and said he’d get back in touch once he’d taken some more advice from the manufacturers.
Malcolm Sempey emailed me later that day and sent this;
“Hi Mr Drummond
I had a good long chat with Swift technical today but was unable to speak to Chris as I was in meetings most of today. When I speak with Chris I want him to check the inlet. The problem is air getting in the system prior to the pump. I will be out of the office now until Monday and will speak with you on my return
Regards
Malcolm”
My email to Malcolm Sempey;
Good evening Mr Sempey,
Chris was here today and did as Swift suggested and changed the pump and fitted a surge regulator as supplied by them, and initially thought the problem was solved, but when the hot water came on line and a quantity of water had been run through the system the problems began as before. He tried a few different things and did a lot of checks, one of them being a check of the inlet system and especially the caravan mounted part of the inlet pipe spigot, which he found had not been fitted with a one way valve and which was allowing the water to run back from the pump which in turn meant that the pump would run to top up the system. This is perhaps why the pump was running on occasion when no tap was in use.
Chris saw the lack of pressure when the taps were opened, then how the pump would eventually start and bring the pressure up, but with a longer delay than he thought correct, and how the pump would run on for a longer period than expected.
The pump then began pulsing, as I'd described from the time we first asked Kirkcaldy to check the system. The new pump was certainly quieter until the pulsing started, and Chris was surprised at the loudness, even given the fact that the rain was very heavy and drumming on the roof, and the initial drop in pressure when the taps were activated followed by an eventual increase in pressure and temperature. This is how the system was on day two of our holiday, and the noise and pulsing only got worse as time went on which is why we eventually switched the system off altogether and reverted to a kettle and water carrier.
With the original pump as fitted from new this effect was much magnified, having the pressure vessel which though in theory should have been a benefit was making the pressure fluctuation and pulsing much more pronounced.
Chris will be contacting you with an update in any case, but he thinks Swift's technical man will need to look at the problem and said the van may need to be taken away for their attention. It's absence from the garden will be noticed by the other caravanners in the village, all of whom are watching the affair with interest to see what the eventual outcome will be.
We'll wait and see what progress is made now that Swift seem a little more interested in curing the problem, or perhaps averting the bad press they may find they will receive, which will perhaps concern them more.
I'm glad that someone has at last seen and heard what we've been putting up with as I suspect that we were being looked on as being 'difficult' customers with little to complain about.
It's now 14 months since we bought the Europa and it's been used for less than 28 nights away, which works out at one weekend a month. We'd have been cheaper doing bed and breakfast at The Hilton at £400 a night!
Still, it'll be fixed this time...................or will it?
24th August
Kirkcaldy Caravans called and said Chris would come back and try some other ideas, like bypassing the circuit board as he wondered if it was perhaps a drop in current causing the pump to surge. We discussed the system and all the changes and agreed that it was very unlikely to be a pump issue as by now we’d tried five pumps, or indeed an inlet issue, and I said I wondered if the drain valve or the one way valve at the water storage tank could be the cause, and as the valve is only held open or closed by spring pressure as opposed to being a screw down type, the chattering could be the valve lifting as the water by passed. These, along with the actual water heater tank itself, were the only items we’d not changed.
So, Chris made the trip out to the caravan at the house and tried another ‘cure’, having had a long discussion with the manufacturers and with Truma (water heater tank suppliers) during his own free time. This time they suggested taking all the pipe work between barrel and pump off, and replacing it, but that didn’t work either.
He rang me at work and said that it might be best if he just handed the problems back to Swift, as they were the ones calling the shots, and I asked if a change of drain valve and one way valve might work. He said he’d try that and call me back.
I got a call within an hour or so saying he thinks the problem may be solved, having changed the last remaining parts over, parts not mentioned by Swift or Truma; the drain valve and one way valve.
I’ll try the thing tonight, and have my fingers and toes firmly crossed that the problem is solved, THIS time.
25th August
No, all my finger crossing was to no avail; still the same noisy pump. Chris returned and spent another hour going over all the bits suggested by Swift, like all of the pipework between barrel and tank, and after all that he declared that the pump was noisier than he’s heard on any other caravan with this type of system. Removing filters made no difference, adding an anti surge fitting made it worse in that it magnified the noise. He’s stumped, but I guess that’s the problem at Swift too. Chris called me from the dealership when he got back and over the phone let me hear how quiet another similar van system was. I asked him how much quieter it was at his end and he said “Fifty times quieter”.
He’d get in touch with Swift again.
Ho hum.
31st August
Well, we’re back to the original system as it was from the factory, described by one of the Kirkcaldy Caravan staff as at the time of my first complaint as “Fine” as ”they all do that”.
From hearing other very similar caravan systems and according to the engineer we know they don’t all do that.
When on cold only it was a little quieter than before, but whenever the hot system was used it’s as bad as ever.
Chris replaced all the system as it was from the factory, and I think it’ll be in their hands now.
When I checked in to speak to Kirkcaldy about the case the manager said that he would speaking to the manufacturers and would pass to them a log of time spent trying to sort the problem. I assume that either Kirkcaldy or Swift will foot the bill for the time spent; I certainly won’t!
I’m assured that Swift will be in touch soon…………………….
I told the manager that we have a few days away planned in October, having abandoned all thought of our September long weekend away with friends, and said that we would wait until Swift got in touch before using the caravan beforehand in case they needed to view the Europa at short notice.
8th September
That’s a week gone and no word from anyone, so I took a run along to see what the situation was. My email to Cookstown Caravans explains;
“Good afternoon Mr Sempey,
I dropped in to Kirkcaldy today to see what progress has been made with regard to the Europa water system problem, having heard nothing for a week from Kirkcaldy, Swift or you. No-one was there who could answer my request, Steven and Chris being off on holiday and Andrew not in today, and it seems that there's no record of any dealings with the Europa on your computer system since May of this year, so the office could not give me any indication of what the situation is.
When I last spoke to Stephen he said he'd passed to Swift a log of the issues and work carried out by Chris in an attempt to sort out the water system noise and surging, and I get the impression that as far as he is concerned it's no longer his problem. It was his problem more than a year ago as it is Kirkcaldy we bought the caravan from and his inability, or unwillingness, to take our complaint seriously has led to this situation.
I assume Chris will have spoken to you and I'm sure he will have explained what has been done and what the outcome has been.
Being a caravan dealer is a bit more than selling caravans and taking money, but that's not a lesson Kirkcaldy has learned in this case.
I'm anxious that this issue does not get put on the back burner, as I fear that Swift have either run out of ideas or interest in my problem. I say 'my problem' but in truth I'm still of the opinion that it is Kirkcaldy's problem.
I'm trying to be patient but that's another month of weekends gone and we're left here at home while friends were away on our planned holiday rather than lose what we paid. Better they get free break than waste more money.
We have a trip away in October booked, which is known to Kirkcaldy, and although I did say that if it means not getting away until then and that we would wait as long as the job is done, I'm anxious that anything Swift intend to do is done and the caravan is back to us in time.
We didn't buy the Europa to sit in the garden, nor in Kirkcaldy's yard, as you'll no doubt understand, and I'm so angry about it all that I was ready to hook the 'van up this weekend and leave it chained across the gates with a notice pinned to it warning others of the problem we're having, but reason set in. For now.
We both work and don't get every weekend off to get away, and when we do get time we want to be using the 'van.
I'd be grateful for communication from Swift or yourself at the earliest opportunity to let me know how we now proceed”
That evening I also emailed a Mr Andrew Spacey who is the Technical Director for Swift;
“Mr Spacey,
Despite repeated attempts by Cookstown/Kirkcaldy Caravans and Swift our 2008 Europa is still suffering water system problems, and as Technical Director you may or may not be aware of the situation. I hope the following will clarify things a little from our perspective. I must apologise for the rather long email saga, but as you read it will probably become clear exactly why I've kept this log and what I intend to do with it should the need arise……………”
I sent him the whole text, just in case he was unaware of the situation.
That night I also I emailed this to the Caravan Club, hoping that they could perhaps suggest how best to proceed, given that they purport to be there to support their members;
“We're having some 'difficulties' with our 2008 Sterling Europa caravan, and I wondered if the Club would be interested in hearing the saga, which has dragged on since we bought the caravan new in the summer of 2008? I'm at my wits end as to what to do, and in desperation turn to the Club for advice.”
9th September
I had attached the whole story to the email to Mr Spacey of Swift and thought that his input would perhaps throw up and idea and I was a wee bit surprised at the ‘throw away’ tone of his reply. But perhaps he just hadn’t read the whole story…………….
“Can I please suggest that the best course of action is for you contact our Customer Services department and speak to one of our representatives on 01482 875740 who will be able to assist in getting resolution to your outstanding issues.”
A lunchtime check on my email gave up an automated reply from the Caravan Club, explaining that “Depending on the nature of the enquiry we will endeavour to respond to you within 3 – 5* working days, however enquiries of a technical nature can take between 7 and 10 days”
And in the evening I received this from Mr Sempey at Cookstown Caravans;
“Good evening Mr Drummond
I'm just back from the caravan show in Hull where I had a meeting with Swift and your caravan was discussed. Stephen cc myself a copy of the report to Swift and asked me to look after it before he left on holiday. I will not be able to see if Stephen has a reply to his email until tomorrow but when I was taking with Swift they have suggested one of their technicals look at it asap. I will be in touch with Swift tomorrow and let you know the outcome. It may be Friday before I come back to you as I am in meetings tomorrow morning and will not be able to speak with Swift until the afternoon.”
10th September, Thursday
I wish I had known the caravan show was on at Hull, as I’d have hooked our Europa up and dragged it down and made sure every punter going through the gates knew exactly what they could be in for buying a caravan! Still, we’ve a few other caravan shows coming up …………..
We’re twiddling our thumbs now, with another sunny weekend in prospect and little chance of getting away. If Swift/Kirkcaldy/Cookstown would give us an idea when/if they wanted the Europa we could plan ahead and maybe get away, noisy pump and all, but the lack of communication (unless ‘prodded’) and any decision to fix a date leaves us without an option to do so.
I’ll see what Mr Sempey’s email brings on Friday, and if there’s no movement on the issue I’ll be taking action over the weekend to bring this to a head.
The Europa will be taken to Kirkcaldy with the posters I’ve already prepared for this eventuality stuck to the side of it. I suspect that one of the local newspapers will get a photo of the ‘show’, and someone at Kirkcaldy Caravans will need a BIG pair of bolt cutters to get into work in the morning, and that any potential customers and every passer by will know exactly what I think of the lot of them.
11th September, Friday
A late email from Mr Sempey arrived, sent at 18:58hrs, and read thus;
“Spoke to Swift reference our report it is currently with the design team who will speak directly to me once they have assessed the situation. I will be in touch once I have had the conversation. Chris will be back on monday also so I will also speak with him
Malcolm “
14th September, Monday
No word arrived over the weekend, no surprise, so I thought as the report was to be marked as ‘Urgent’, according to the Kirkcaldy manager, and given that the problem had been discussed at the Hull show by his boss Mr Sempey, maybe there would be some progress by late Monday afternoon. I checked my emails at 4.00pm, and as there was nothing from Swift, Cookstown or Kirkcaldy I thought I’d give them a ring when I got home.
Chris from Kirkcaldy Caravans’ workshop beat me to it, and called me just before 4.30 pm. The fact that nothing had been done or decided upon was a surprise to him and he said he would take a decision himself and order in the parts to do a complete changeover of the system if necessary, and would let Mr Sempey know. I mentioned to him that I intended to chain the Europa to the gates and get the press in to photograph the whole thing if we didn’t get some action soon and asked if he might pass this on to his boss. I suspect he thought I was joking.
He called back a few minutes later, and said that he had spoken to and been given permission from Mr Sempey to go ahead and do a changeover with new parts. Malcolm Sempey had been in touch with Swift in between calls and found that the report sent by Chris at Kirkcaldy had not been read, and that they had not yet done anything about it. This despite the supposed discussion with Swift at the Hull show (email of 9th) and the statement from the email of the 11th wherein Mr Sempey said that “our report it is currently with the design team”
I suspect someone is bullshi**ing, either Swift or Mr Sempey, and that I’m the one being bullshi**ed, if that’s a word.
I said I was happy to have Chris do what he thought it needed, but that if the shower cubicle unit was to come out I did not want the caravan back. Swift could keep it and refund our money or supply another unaltered van. We bought a new van to avoid leaks from those sort of areas the and given the build procedure of Europa whereby this unit, like the kitchen and wardrobes, were fitted before the walls went up partly for ease of construction but partly to ensure a good barrier against water ingress and damage from leaks from the shower, there was no way the unit would seal again properly. Chris said he would only go as far as the kitchen anyway, after that it was up to Swift to haul out the shower if that was their intention. We hope it won’t come to that, but Swift and Kirkcaldy/Cookstown will be told in no uncertain terms how I feel if it does.
I think the caravan is to go into Kirkcaldy’s workshops on Tuesday next, which will be the 22nd. I say ‘think’ as Chris has to be sure the parts are here first.
Strangely enough, around ten to five a call came in from Carol at Swift Customer Care, a misnomer if there ever was; a “courtesy call, just to see if my problem had been sorted out”
I asked if this was in response to a telephone call from the dealership about my Europa, and was told that it was not, but that it was a follow up call as instructed from Mr Spacey, in response to my email to him on the 9th. Seems I hadn’t called them as he had suggested!
I mentioned the fact that a report had been sent from Kirkcaldy and was on someone’s desk as Malcolm Sempey had said, and was told that there was no report on anyone’s desk. I assume the representative has complete control over all the incoming mail, or perhaps it’s just a crystal ball? It’s obvious she’s done the same customer relations course as the previous Customer Care representative I spoke to, as she had the same ‘assertive’ attitude. ‘Snippy’ we call it in Fife.
After I’d been ‘talked at’ for a minute or two I mentioned the fact that I would post this saga on every Internet caravan related website I could find if that was what was needed to get something done, and I’ll bet she shrugged her shoulders!
I asked her to be aware that I would be recording all calls twixt me and Swift in future, and was told that that was OK by her as she was doing so anyway. I thought this to be illegal unless both parties are aware of the fact before the conversation starts, but seems that it is not, as long as the recoding is used in the proper manner, and for the right purposes. I suspect their reason is to have a record in case of litigation, which is why I’ll be recording things!
The Caravan Club have been very quiet on the subject, despite the fact that I emailed them to ask for advice and assistance, this on the 8th.
Oh, I have had a couple of messages from them; regarding membership cards and some trivia about members and their pets, but no word in reply regarding my problems with the Europa. They do have a Technical advice and Legal help line but maybe I need to buy advice, as everything else the Club does seems to involve money. That’s another Club I’ll not be a member of next year anyway, so I might drop them a line advising them why I’ll be an ex-CC member. Maybe they are afraid to upset the manufacturers in case they don’t get a new model for their road tests, or it might just be that they don’t really want to get involved.
I called a reporter tonight and left a message on his answering machine giving him the gist of the story and asking if he’s like a ‘scoop’ with photos of the caravan chained to the railings at Kirkcaldy!
I’m printing off a copy of this tonight to take to Trading Standards, who will hopefully at least read through it and give me some assistance or advice. I may as well do a load of copies and if I get half a chance I can hand them out at the gate of Kirkcaldy Caravans to let their customers know what to expect, and what they’ll get from Swift if they have problems.
I don’t care if they fix the problem; as far as I’m concerned this should never have happened. I’ve had one word of apology, from the Kirkcaldy manager, given without any eye contact, and probably only because he’d been told to.
We rearranged our two week holiday to stay nearer home in case we had any problems with the Europa, which was just as well as it turned out. We recently cancelled breaks with friends which were arranged months before, and have been unable to use the Europa when we’ve had the chance to get away in case the caravan was needed back into workshops at Swift’s request to do the repair. One phone call to let us know either way would have helped.
And after all that Swift try to talk down to me, making me feel that this is all my fault.
Tuesday 15th September
At this point, given the attitude and confusion from the Swift Group, I decided it was time to get in touch with Trading Standards on an official basis, and spoke to Neil Fair from Kingdom House in Glenrothes. He asked that I email him the saga so far, which I did today at 11am.
Thus far (Wednesday 16th September) I’ve had no reply, but assume that they will be looking into the technicalities of the case.
Chris from Kirkcaldy Caravans called just after noon and said that he’d spoken to Malcolm Sempey again this morning and that Malcolm had said that whatever Swift Customer care said yesterday they did have a report, having personally spoken to Alistair Larder (I may have picked up this name incorrectly, so I apologise if I have) regarding the affair and had sent a report on the 10th September. Also, he said that Swift had been in touch with him (Mr Sempey) and said that yesterday’s courtesy call to me was just that, and that Swift was unaware that I’d spoken to anyone at Cookstown or Kirkcaldy yesterday.
Chris will go ahead and do the changeover of pipework and tank on Tuesday for certain, which is why he called, but said he’d only go as far as the shower unit, thereafter it would be down to Swift. Swift in turn said that this would be “sometime in November or December” and that it would need to be returned to the factory in Yorkshire. I reiterated that I did not want a caravan in which the shower unit had been dismantled and rebuilt, even if the factory was doing the job. What would we do as regards warranty in five or six years time if we find a leak? By then Swift will have washed their hands of it, or be out of business.
So, if it is the case that the Europa does go back to Swift in Yorkshire that’ll be another two months where we’ll not be able to use the caravan, and as our Christmas and New Year bookings are arranged that’ll be yet another thing to cancel.
Let’s hope Chris can sort it out and we’ll not be in that situation, but to make sure that Cookstown knew what I felt about it I called Malcolm Sempey and at 2pm and told him. He assures me that if the caravan did need to be taken away it would be sooner than that, and would be a treated as a priority.
And he said that Swift were “not the worst manufacturer out there’’ but that they had a “backlog of ‘return to factory repairs’” which comes as no surprise to me!
I told him what I indended to do irrespective of whether the repairs were carried out this coming week or not, as I won't go behind his back or be underhand, and he agrees that I've been 'up front' about everything. I will also send a copy of the above text to Kirkcaldy Caravans so that they can have the opportunity to contest any statement I've made, and they have the option to reply here should they so choose.
If we could afford to go and buy another caravan Swift could keep the Europa, though selling it right now would mean we’ll be around £4000 out of pocket judging by the offer we had, and that was as a trade in against a new van.
Four thousand quid for less than 28 nights use in the15 months we’ve had it works out at £142 a night!
I reckon that if between them Cookstown/Kirkcaldy Caravans and Swift did the decent thing they’d find a new old stock caravan to replace the one we’ve got as long as it’s not a Swift built item, they could then sort it out at their leisure and resell it. After all, it’s done very little work and is ‘as new’, apart from a dodgy water system!
In my opinion this was a problem which should have been addressed by Kirkcaldy Caravans way back in the autumn of 2008, while the caravan was still ‘new’. It may well be Swift’s faults that are cropping up, but I paid Kirkcaldy for the caravan, and they accepted the profit on the sale so it should be they who sorted it out then, not all this time down the line.
Swift’s attitude seems to be that my problem is not a priority. Well they are wrong, as they’ll find out soon enough.
Post last edited on 16/09/2009 23:50:45
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There's nae pooches in a shroud, so spend it before the Government does it for you!
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Topic: Sterling Europa from Kirkcaldy Caravans
Our Stirling Europa 460 was bought from new and lasted just 4 years. It had to be written off with damp down both sides, and that was after a major repair for damp in the first year. Swift - they could not have cared less. 
