Damp in E495 2008 (1 Viewer)

[Ann&MikeMancs]

Hi can anyone help PLEASE
We've had our 'van JUST 12 months this August.....and guess what?.... We've had the habitational check done,2 weeks after getting back from Ireland (& now 2 weeks outside its warranty) and we've been told it's 'riddled' with damp, discovered mainly coming from behind the fridge.
The service man has said that he estimates it will be a four figure sum to repair it......We've (now) heard that this was a common fault and lots of vans were recalled! Does anyone know if we have a leg to stand on? - with regard it getting the repair done for free by the dealer? We think our saving grace may be that when we've looked at the paperwork from the pre-delivery check, the dealer has not ticked that they did a damp check....we particularly asked for this and were assured by the mechanic that it would be done...but we weren't given any paperwork of a detailed damp report. We were first time buyers and put our faith in the dealer. Any ideas what to do next? the van cost £30000+

'Gutted' Manchester!!!

 

[sdc77]

Riddled with damp indicates an awful lot of damp.. can you confirm how much or get a second opinion. .. (surely if ot eas riddled ypud have suspected it) how well do you know the service man etc. ..
What a terrible situation to be in .. I hope you get it sorted.

 

[Ann&MikeMancs]

Hi only known the guy briefly as only had van 13 months. Those were his words! Although r the riddled but seems to be concentrated around the fridge area from the floor and going up the wall. Mike had a look from underneath and he said visibly it looked ok till he touched it & it was spongy and he suspected he could put his finger through the wood. (He was a joiner by trade & knows damp wood) There's been a smell when we 1st bought 'her' but only me could smell it!!! It was put down to s 'doggy' smell from previous owners.
We are at our wits end to know what to do next,as we can't afford and in our opinion shouldn't have to fork out good money for something we think was there when we bought her!! Thanks for your post.
Kind regards
Ann

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[hilldweller]

Any ideas what to do next? the van cost £30000+
'Gutted' Manchester!!!

You fight tooth and nail. You may have just discovered this but it did not happen overnight and an expensive item like a MH has an implied long service life. Your first, and only, legal port of call is with the dealer. A nice friendly request that it is fixed is called for, then if no result go for the jugular. Your local council is the first cheap option.

 

[chaser]

Sorry to hear your woes but following on from a thread from yesterday, that's why dealers vans are dearer than private, because they should be standing behind it , have you got any sort of warranty with it.
Edit sorry read your post again re warranty, two weeks out shouldn't make much odds as it hasn't developed in the last fortnight.

 

[hilldweller]

Edit sorry read your post again re warranty, two weeks out shouldn't make much odds as it hasn't developed in the last fortnight.

Could make a huge difference to the dealer who will probably have taken out a fixed term policy on it. Insurance companies are not known for their generosity.

However it does not alter his legal rights, 12 months is not long to be faced with this damage.

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[scotjimland]

I really feel sorry for you.. that is heartbreaking...

Agree with Brian.. get it back to the dealer.. warranty expired or not.. you are covered under the Sale of Goods Act..
Tell him that it is not fit for purpose.. ... you want it repaired or a full refund.. don't be fobbed off by excuses or if they say the warranty has expired..

If you get nowhere then make an appointment with your local CAB

 

[Ann&MikeMancs]

Hi Folks
Hope I'm posting this in the right place to give you all an update on our 'plight' regarding the damp issue in our van - which by the way - was 85% - under the fridge. When we contacted the dealer they said they would look at going halves with us on the repair. We contacted Trading Standards and they gave us a case ref number & have told us what we should do...to contact the dealer and give them every opportunity to rectify the problem. We took it back to the dealer, a week last Thursday from Manchester to Carmarthenshire. (With me driving our car to come back in!) We were told 'leave it with us & we will keep you updated every step of the way' As of today we have heard NOWT!! The dealer is suppose to hand it back to us next Fri 23th. By the way, on further investigations we have found out that damp in this van is a manufacturing fault and that Swift did a recall.
I will keep you posted how we get on.
But it does pose the question...Do we keep her knowing that more damp (pardon the pun) could arise in the future???