Approved Dealership status has been awarded to four more caravan and motorhome dealers by the National Caravan Council (NCC), the trade body that runs the Motorhome and Caravan Show at the NEC Birmingham.

This is excellent news for customers, who can now choose from 44 NCC ‘Approved’ caravan and motorhome dealerships in the UK. And more applications are currently being assessed to see if they meet they meet the high customer service standards expected and pass the NCC’s strict assessment criteria.

The latest dealers to win approval are Hill Top Caravans, Simpsons Motor Caravans, Tyne Valley Motorhomes and Venture Caravans Hitchin.  

Venture Caravans in Daventry, Northampton is busy getting exciting 2015 caravans onto its forecourt, from Adria and Bailey of Bristol. It also sells a good selection of older caravans and offers an excellent approved service workshop with well qualified caravan engineers. We have reviewed Adria and Bailey caravans in Practical Caravan magazine and on The Caravan Channel and you can watch a good selection of video caravan reviews here and read our review of the Adria Astella Glam Edition, the Bailey Unicorn Cartegena,  Bailey Unicorn Cordoba and more Bailey caravan reviews and Adria caravan reviews here on our Practical Caravan website. 

Hill Top Caravans is based in Airdrie, North Lanarkshire, and has customers travelling to view the caravans from Glasgow, Aberdeen and Edinburgh. This dealership specialises in buying and selling new and used caravans, and offers its workshop for expert caravan habitation servicing and caravan repairs. Hill Top Caravans sells tow bars and spare parts, too. 

The NCC launched the Approved Dealership Scheme at the Motorhome and Caravan Show at the NEC in 2012 to ensure that caravan buyers are always treated fairly and gain more consumer protection than the minimum required by law. We reported it here. The scheme features an NCC Consumer Code of Practice, setting out the standard expected of caravan sales teams, and this is then monitored and policed by the NCC.

The way in which caravan dealers market their products, how they respond to your requests for information as a customer and how helpful they are during the buying process is all covered. It doesn’t stop there, however. The scheme also demands high standards of assistance when you go to collect the caravan you have ordered, and expects dealers to give you a good handover, so that you understand how everything works in your new caravan, and to look after you in the event of any complaints. 

The idea is that if you buy a new or used caravan from an NCC Approved Dealership, then the dealership will make a conscious and tangible commitment to protect your interests, to operate to best industry practice and maintain high standards. The dealer promises to provide a greater level of consumer protection than is required by law and to deal with you in an open, honest and fair manner. Approved dealers promise to deliver high standards of customer satisfaction.

All the caravan sales businesses that have achieved ‘Approved Dealership’ status are permitted to display the ‘NCC Approved tick’ logo on their websites and sales materials so that you know that they are committed to operating in a fair, open and honest way.

To date the caravan and motorhome dealers and workshops to be granted NCC Approved Dealership status are: Brayford Leisure Caravan Centre Ltd, Broad Lane Leisure Ltd – Alcester, Broad Lane Leisure Ltd – Coventry, Broad Lane Leisure Ltd – Kenilworth, Brownhills Motorhomes Ltd, Campbells Caravans and Motorhomes, Catterick Caravans – Leisure World, Chipping Sodbury Caravans Ltd, Couplands Caravans Ltd, Crossburn Caravans, Davan Caravans Ltd, Don Amott Leisure Kingdom, Dyce Caravans, Ebor Leisure World, Eglinton Caravans, Ennis Caravans Limited, Golden Castle Caravans, Highland Campervans, Hill Top Caravans, Lee Davey Caravans Ltd, Lowdhams Leisureworld, Lowdhams Outdoor Leisure, Lowe and Rhodes Leisure, North East Caravans, Norwich Caravans, Perthshire Caravan Company, Premier Motorhomes, Preston Caravans & Motorhomes, Raymond James Caravans, Roundstone Caravans Ltd, Salop Leisure, Simpsons Motor Caravans, Sussex Caravan Centre, Teesside Caravans, Travelworld Motorhomes, Tyneside Leisure World, United British Caravans Ltd, Venture Caravans Daventry, Venture Caravans Hitchin, Wallace Caravans (Kirkcaldy), Wandahome (Knottingley) Ltd, Wandahome South Cave Ltd and Washington Caravan & Leisure Ltd.

To find out more about the scheme, visit the NCC website here. The scheme has the support of The Camping and Caravanning Club and The Caravan Club and is backed by the caravan and motorhome industry’s major manufacturers.