Faulty Lunar quasar 462 caravan.USE YOUR RIGHTS
Hello
This is to let you know that the out come of a legal battle that has taken 18months to win.
on 12th march 2010 i purchased a brand new lunar quasar 462 ,along with an awning and al ko wheel lock from (sorry details removed by moderator as contravenes forum rules) Caravans. As soon as i got the new caravan home on the day of delivery , it became clear that there were problems with it, the water heater did not work on electric, the windows were all badly scratched, the rear panel was cracked on the top n/s corner, entrance door warped and let in water, water in n/s bedbox from floor vent, water in rear light, roof above door bowed so it held rain water, which as soon as you went to enter or leave the caravan .grab handles on front panel not secured to main body, and worst dangerous electrics.
there were over twenty major faults ,i contacted ............................ Caravans who said they were very busy and that they would ring me and arrange for the caravan to come in and any work would be put right under warranty.
................... Caravans never rang so after 2 weeks i rang and eventually they gave me a date which was 6 weeks from when i purchased the caravan.
when i arrived on the day the workshop foreman tried to belittle every problem i pointed out, and the usual comments, they all do that and so on.
i left the caravan for 2 days and when i returned to pick up the caravan they had bent the door frame to match the bowed door, made the electrics dangerous and would not do anything about any of the other faults.
i took the caravan home and contacted Lunar caravans, i tried to explain the difficulty i was having with a brand new caravan of theirs and the problem with the dealer so far. i was told that Lunar do not deal with or speak to the public, and that all problems should be dealt with by...................... caravans. i then took legal advice and had a survey on the caravan which showed even more faults.
18 months down the line i won my case and recieved the full amount paid for caravan and accessories, plus approx £1000 in interest.
don,t let the dealers and manufacturors rip you off,i used my household insurance to sue,my costs alone were approx £6000,which were paid by .............................. in the end.
Be prepared for a dispute to take time,don,t give up,also get an assessor to make a report on the caravans condition,i used County Assessors of Timperly . Cheshire.well worth the cost and very professional courteous people.
There is alot more detail to this story, the running around ,the stress of dealing with people who could not care less that you bought a new caravan from them, and the unbelievable arrogance of the manufacturer.
I have now bought a Bessacarr 765 motorhome and look forward to getting away once again.
kind regards Ken.
Congratulations Ken.
Hopefully this will have been recorded in your local newspapers too.
Just a shame Lunar themselves didn't bite the bullet and try and help. There have been cases on here where a duff caravan has been taken back to the manufacturers workshops, Swift and Bailey I recall, to remedy the original poor build. I'n just sorry it took 18 months to succeed.
Whilst we all know the Contract of purchase is with the Dealer this in itself does not preclude the Manufacturer stepping in to offer help.
Sorry Lunar Nil Points from me!
Hello Dustydog.
Lunar were the worst manufacturer I have had the misfortune to have deal with,they held up the dispute( according to my solicitor) ,by arguing over who was going to pay me back my purchase price.
Both companies do not deserve our business,and I would never deal with either of them ,nor all the caravan friends I spoke to about this case.
By the way,I must also give praise to the caravan clubs legal advice line,they pointed me in the right direction and helped with any queries I had.
Kind regards Ken
Well done Ken, it is a great shame that both manufacturer and retailer both let you down so badly but I am very glad your persistance won through in the end. I've never had quite such as extreme situation as you, but my experience of buying new caravans hasn't been great either. The last time we bought a new van, one of the big UK based makes, the dealer played the "your trade in isn't in the condition I expected" scam on the day we were supposed to take delivery. Because I wasn't expecting it and because we had waited 4 months for a factory order I very foolishly accepted what the dealer said and anted up some more money. Since then I've heard similar stories from friends so realise this isn't too uncommon an experience, so I now realise what I should have done was to have immediately taken legal advice.To add insult to injury the new van was full of faults too...
Congratulations Ken, it's good to know that the individual can win.
Your experience would make a good article for the magazine (advertising department allowing)
Well done Ken. We had a similar problem with Lunar and the dealer. Luckily I took my time and found all the faults before I handed over any money and rejected the caravan there and then. The faults I found were also belittled by the dealer but like you I stood my ground and Lunar eventually did replace the van for a new one. 10 months on and the van has been back at the dealers more than on any site! and the faults keep coming, as for Lunar I will never ever buy another caravan from them or this dealer.
Enjoy you new motorhome.
Scooby
Isn't there a case for allowing the name of the dealer as well as the manufacturer? The OP won his legal battle so the evidence is now incontrovertible.
I can understand the forum's position in the case of unsubstantiated allegations but this is merely reporting the results of a legal case, ie the proven facts. It's long been a cornerstone of the British legal system that justice must not only be done, it must be seen to be done.
It's also in the public interest to name the dealer and manufacturer - even if it's not in their interest.
It is possible the case may go appeal, and undue publicity could predujice the case.
It is possible the case may go appeal, and undue publicity could predujice the case.
Appeals are always held after the original case, at which evidence given is a matter of public record (with a handful of exceptions) - the appeals process never requires facts to be suppressed because appeals can go up several levels and take many decades to resolve.
In the OP's case he has had the money and costs so an appeal is now extremely unlikely.
Isn't there a case for allowing the name of the dealer as well as the manufacturer? The OP won his legal battle so the evidence is now incontrovertible.
I can understand the forum's position in the case of unsubstantiated allegations but this is merely reporting the results of a legal case, ie the proven facts. It's long been a cornerstone of the British legal system that justice must not only be done, it must be seen to be done.
It's also in the public interest to name the dealer and manufacturer - even if it's not in their interest.
I'll take advice from Haymarket and let you know
It's good to hear that your persistence paid off Ken - but what an awful story about a shoddily made caravan! It must have been very stressful - but worth it in the end!