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Topic: Leisure World Group (Catterick Caravans)

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freeatlast

28/11/2018 at 2:07pm
Location: Teesside
Outfit: Mitsubishi ASX4

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When things go well dealers are all smiles and delighted to grab your money. When things go wrong this is what separates the good dealers from the cowboys.

Our tale of woe started when we went to pick up our new Elddis caravan from Tyneside Leisure last December, part of the Leisure World Group. The handover was a disgrace, and the PDI had clearly not been carried out properly. It took 2 months before all this was sorted.

Because of family problems we did not use the caravan until this Easter. Then after just a week's use, things started to go wrong, not the minor stuff one might expect, but serious stuff such as a large plywood surround falling off the ceiling, and the wall mounted microwave cupboard starting to fall off the wall. Two repairs later we set off for 3 weeks in France, and during that time we had all sorts of problems with the build, including the microwave cupboard starting to fall off again, and the roof starting to collapse in.

When we got back we formally rejected the caravan. We could not get to see anyone at Catterick Caravans who could deal with this and ended up giving them a formal letter of rejection stating the reasons why. A week later they got round to ringing us and asking if an Elddis engineer could examine the van. We agreed to this.

After that we heard nothing. I phoned several times and all they would do was take messages. I wrote twice more, still nothing.

In the end I had to get a solicitor onto the job before they would respond. Then it was a badly written, childish letter basically saying the Consumer Rights Act did not apply. My solicitor soon put them right, and they went to their solicitor who realised they hadn't a leg to stand on as the caravan was so bad.

5 months after the rejection letter we got a settlement. The CRA gives the dealer 2 weeks to pay up, however expects the payment to be made as soon as possible. If we were in any doubt as to the quality of this dealer, they finally paid up on the afternoon of the 14th day.

woodman2

28/11/2018 at 2:43pm
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So sorry to hear your tales of horror with this dealership,
I can well understand that you did not post this until the money was received.
I am afraid these tales are all too common on this forum.
As you say "all smiles" until they have your money.
I too am having problems with getting faults rectified on my new caravan, but nothing like you have gone through.
It is so disheartening to save up for a new van and look forward to picking it up and then find problems due to poor build quality and a dealership who does not respond to your concerns.
If more people "name and shame" the manufacturers and dealers then things may change.
It is very unfortunate that the two clubs do nothing to help put pressure on the industry, but prefer not to bite the hand that feeds them.

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marg6

28/11/2018 at 2:48pm
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typical of any dealer, but I do have to ask why if the hand over wasn't up to the job did you accept the caravan? if they cant be bothered to spend the time earning their commission then I sure as hell wont be signing anything until they start doing their job!

tango55

28/11/2018 at 2:55pm
Location: Lichfield
Outfit: Coachman Amara 450

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Makes you laugh when they quote that the Consumer Rights Act didn't apply which in the first instance is an unprofessional approach anyway as you say.
In this case it goes to prove that you sometimes have to fight fire with fire but glad to hear that although you had some serious downfalls with the porr quality caravan build you eventually won your battle and quite right too. They knew damn well that if the case had gone to court they wouldn't have a had a leg to stand but well done and glad you got your well deserved refund. Pity you didn't get any compensation to at least pay for your solicitor's fee.

freeatlast

28/11/2018 at 3:05pm
Location: Teesside
Outfit: Mitsubishi ASX4

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Quote: Originally posted by marg6 on 28/11/2018
typical of any dealer, but I do have to ask why if the hand over wasn't up to the job did you accept the caravan? if they cant be bothered to spend the time earning their commission then I sure as hell wont be signing anything until they start doing their job!

Easy to say that, but it was a cold December afternoon. We first inspected the caravan and the salesperson showed us round (badly). All appeared in order except the alarm box lid which had not been fastened down. The salesperson promised that would be sorted before we took the caravan away. However, nobody at the dealership knew how to use the card machine and blamed my bank. After a long phone call to the bank showed nothing wrong, this time they took advice from elsewhere and found out how to use it. Incredible! Two hours it took to sort this out and it was now dark. By this time we were just glad to hitch up and get away.

Next morning I got chance to look at the van and discovered not only had the alarm box lid not been fastened, they hadn't even connected the alarm battery. The shelving pack was too short, and I discovered it should have been a dealer fit. It took 2 months and 3 shelf packs before that was sorted. It took this length of time and several phone calls to get them to send the CRiS documents off for us.

Only later when we came to use the van did I discover they'd left the Alde heating pump on the purge setting, and not initialised the water pump so the water kept cutting off.

moorlander999

28/11/2018 at 3:19pm
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my friends new Elldis basically fell apart over a period of 6 months...I thought he was joking until I took a look around before it was taken away. for good ..The dealer initially refused to accept that it was not first for purpose and allegedly on the instruction of elIdis carried out numerous defect repairs from trims that had fallen off, leaking awning rails , leaking roof joint. I took a look around before it was dragged away and couldn't believe that the dealer had used double sided foam pads to refit trims...and silicone s Foam blocks to hold the micro wave from falling out ( wedges ) silicone sealant splattered all over waste pipe and toilet fittings to ''sort out the leaks''. It was an absolute shambles and an clear example of a friday afternoon special

the whole process took over 6 month to sort out....

ref handovers...When my wife went to pick up her new car it took so long to sort out the paperwork.....receipts/invoices etc that it was dark by the time to sales lad got his fingers out and walked us out onto the forecourt...So I asked why it wasn't in the ''new car handover area'' located within the showroom...He had the nerve to say that a customers car was already in the area for tomorrow morning and they had strict instructions to keep it dry so the REGULAR customer could check it over !!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I
nearly burst !!!!!!! I reminded him that the cost of my wifes new car ( Look at Range rover Sport prices and then take a deep breath ) So I gave him the ultimatum....Put my wifes very expensive car in the showroom and we would return in the morning or no deal and then started to walk away...He nearly choked and with lots of ifs and buts he agreed...We returned the next morning and were dealt with by the Dealer Principle....very apologetic....asked if there was anything he could do to compensate us for our experience...We ended up with a foldaway tow bar, double electrics , mudfplaps all round, heavy duty rubber mats and load space mat...and a full tank of diesel ....Ker-ching !!!!!

so don't accept pdi/hand overs in the dark. Dont be rushed, its your money after all ...take your time and if there is anything wrong DO NOT ACCEPT Dont accept the usual ;-
''take it away and we will rectify it later when convenient'' etc etc

Post last edited on 28/11/2018 15:33:38

Post last edited on 28/11/2018 15:35:24

freeatlast

28/11/2018 at 3:34pm
Location: Teesside
Outfit: Mitsubishi ASX4

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The handover wasn't done in the dark. The only thing we spotted was the alarm cover.

jsparkes201148

28/11/2018 at 5:19pm
Location: Stockton on Tees
Outfit: Lunar Clubman SB Kia Sorento

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It is the dealers fault, they should inspect the van and ensure everything is working and present. At a handover, without gas, electric and water connections it is impossible to check everything.I hope to change my van in the next few days, I will be testing as much as I can.
I have been lucky buying caravans from Catterick Caravans, no major issues with the vans, floor delam on last two vans repaired under warranty.
There have been changes in Service Reception staff,for the better,
previously some were abrupt, grumpy and unhelpful.

moorlander999

28/11/2018 at 7:06pm
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floor 'de-lam'' on the east two vans????

now that is bad luck. Also a great example of poor workmanship??

jsparkes201148

28/11/2018 at 7:33pm
Location: Stockton on Tees
Outfit: Lunar Clubman SB Kia Sorento

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Floor delam, one was a Bailey, the current one is a Lunar.

iank01

29/11/2018 at 9:35am
Location: Worcestershire
Outfit: Buccaneer Cruiser

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Quote: Originally posted by freeatlast on 28/11/2018

Quote: Originally posted by marg6 on 28/11/2018
typical of any dealer, but I do have to ask why if the hand over wasn't up to the job did you accept the caravan? if they cant be bothered to spend the time earning their commission then I sure as hell wont be signing anything until they start doing their job!

Easy to say that, but it was a cold December afternoon. We first inspected the caravan and the salesperson showed us round (badly). All appeared in order except the alarm box lid which had not been fastened down. The salesperson promised that would be sorted before we took the caravan away. However, nobody at the dealership knew how to use the card machine and blamed my bank. After a long phone call to the bank showed nothing wrong, this time they took advice from elsewhere and found out how to use it. Incredible! Two hours it took to sort this out and it was now dark. By this time we were just glad to hitch up and get away.

Next morning I got chance to look at the van and discovered not only had the alarm box lid not been fastened, they hadn't even connected the alarm battery. The shelving pack was too short, and I discovered it should have been a dealer fit. It took 2 months and 3 shelf packs before that was sorted. It took this length of time and several phone calls to get them to send the CRiS documents off for us.

Only later when we came to use the van did I discover they'd left the Alde heating pump on the purge setting, and not initialised the water pump so the water kept cutting off.

On another caravan forum I know of at least several people who have successful rejected their caravan and that includes us.

freeatlast

29/11/2018 at 11:11am
Location: Teesside
Outfit: Mitsubishi ASX4

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I bet they, and you, didn't have the difficulty that I did over a very straightforward rejection case.

iank01

29/11/2018 at 11:22am
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Quote: Originally posted by freeatlast on 29/11/2018
I bet they, and you, didn't have the difficulty that I did over a very straightforward rejection case.

From your posts, I know what you must have gone through over the past few months. Will a motorhome be any better?

freeatlast

29/11/2018 at 1:15pm
Location: Teesside
Outfit: Mitsubishi ASX4

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Thank you and a good question.

Firstly out of 5 new caravans, only the Trigano survived for 5 years without any problems. All the 4 British ones had major repairs during the first year. One was a write-off after 4 years, and the last was rejected.

The new motorhome is made by the Trigano group in Spain, so that's a positive. Add to that a floor 63mm thick, walls 30mm thick and a roof 56mm thick and clearly its made of stronger stuff, and wood free. It does look a much stronger construction than the flimsy British ones. For example the similar Elddis model to ours is 400kg lighter, and a great deal cheaper. Its built on a Ford chassis and cab with a 5 year warranty. It does reduce the payload, but after caravans I think we can live with a 400kg payload.

However, only time will tell!

jsparkes201148

03/12/2018 at 2:47pm
Location: Stockton on Tees
Outfit: Lunar Clubman SB Kia Sorento

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Just taken a call from the Lunar dealer wher I have traded in my Clubman SB. He told me that the caravan body is coming away from the chassis, at the front, and I shouldn’t have been towing it. We have been to Spain twice with it this year.
He said this should have been spotted during services and it had been like this for a while.
The van has always been serviced by Catterick Caravans.

blueexpo97

03/12/2018 at 6:01pm
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Is it coming away from the chassis or is the caravan body lifting off the floor?

The reason I ask is that’s what happened to our Clubman and there was only one place in the country that would take the repair on.

-------------
XVI yes?

As well is two words!
How does a sage know everything about everything? or does he? or does he just think he does?
Remember, if you buy something you bought it, not brought it.

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