Campervan fault Marquis Motorhomes **They paid up under threat of legal action**

[TheoD]

Advice needed please. We bought a 2012 campervan from Marquis at Dinnington on June 24th.  
It's been back 4 times for various problems. Other things I've sorted myself. In total it's been with them 23 days. It's has a problem with the heating and hot water which they were told about on 4th August. It went back on 24th of August until 
4th September, they sorted something else but not the heating as they couldn't find anything wrong with it. 
The fault is still there and I want to know where I can go from here. I've had the boiler problem assessed by an independent engineer and it's probably( but not definitely) a fault on the PCB. He spoke to Truma 3 times and they said if it's not the PCB then the van or the boiler alone should be taken to them to be looked at. They can't fit me in until the end of October.
Marquis are willing to have the van back again but they've said it's not possible to do anything to any sort of timescale. As they've already had the van back once do I have to use them again for"repair". Can I legally use another repairer and claim the costs back from them. All the advice on line referring to the consumer act just talks about a total refund. 
Thanks for reading
Any advice is appreciated.

[TheoD]

Thanks for the swift reply.

The van cost £32,000 so I don't really want to risk rejecting it just in case.

I've been listing defects for weeks and most are sorted now, either by myself or Marquis. Some were quite minor and I was able to do them myself.

I had an independent engineer out yesterday and I've sent his findings to Marquis.

I'm just not prepared now for it to trundle on indefinitely.its fixable but with Marquis in charge it's when, I've been told by their service manager that it's not reasonable of me to expect preferential treatment and to queue jump.

I'm going to go with your latter advice as I feel that this is what I was hoping to hear

 

If you are prepared to keep the motorhome then an alternative route could be to have the defects assessed and the cost of repairs evaluated and then give Marquis a deadline of two weeks to sort them out after which you should have sorted out yourself – presumably in a much quicker timescale – and then sue them for the cost of repairs. That would be far less than £10,000, I expect – and so would be on the small claims track and there will be no risk of costs if you lost the case – which would be extremely unlikely.

 

Many thanks

[TheoD]

I will do that.

Can I ask something else? 

In your opinion have Marquis been allowed their one chance to repair? We took it to them, they had it 9 days but said they couldn't find anything wrong with the heater/ boiler, it was working when we collected it, but it has been working intermittently all along.

What if the repair fails later are Marquis off the hook then. 

I'm just getting very confused but you've pointed me in the right direction now thanks again

[TheoD]

Sorry for causing problems. I've taken over dealing with this from my wife who's been ill. So this is my ID .

Thanks again

[TheoD]

Will do.

mywife's account can be closed if it helps.

[TheoD]

Update

The engineer who's been looking at the van was unable to borrow a circuit board to do a temporary swap to test. His and Truma's recommendation was that I take the van to them as the fault it was displaying was something they'd not come across before.

I rang Truma Friday morning and it was going to be the end of October before I could get an appointment. Then the engineer said that they'd had a cancellation that morning and if I got down to them immediately (a 40 mins journey for me) they'd look at it.

They rang me late Friday afternoon and to cut to the point they may have fixed it, it's still on test there today, they'll let me know the outcome later.

If it's not the circuit board which they've changed then it's another problem with the solar system on the van which is nothing to do with them.

I've kept Marquis involved by email and phone. But because I've acted without giving them another chance to deal with the fault will I still have any claim or not ? 

Thanks 

[TheoD]

Marquis were already given a chance to repair and returned it to me saying nothing was wrong with it but they hadn't done any investigations.

So do I no longer have a claim? The assessment by the manufacturers is being done and they may or may not be repairing it at the same time.

Thanks

[TheoD]

I think that I've perhaps not properly explained what's happened so far.
I hope this helps.

We informed Marquis of the fault with the boiler on August 4th
It was taken to them on August 24th and we collected the van on September 4th. Marquis couldn't find anything wrong with it and hadn't done any further investigations.
We rang them again on September 14th to tell them it still wasn't working.
They hadn't got back to me on the 16th so I informed them by email that I wasn't prepared for the situation to continue indefinitely and that I had booked and engineer to look at it and that when I had a report and or fix I would forward it to them with the invoice so that they could reimburse me.
They replied by saying any warranty work has to be carried out"in house" but as a gesture of goodwill they were willing to reimburse up to £150 provided the unit was fixed and I supplied a VAT invoice.
The engineer we had couldn't repair it, he spoke to the manufacturers and they both advised that the unit went back to them for investigation and repair.I paid him and sent them a copy of the invoice.
Marquis were willing to look at it again but couldn't say when that would be.i said that I wasn't willing to accept this.
I spoke to the after sales manager on Friday and emailed him to keep him up to date.
I hope this explains better exactly where we are at with this.
Truma have told me now that they repaired the boiler but I won't know until tomorrow what the report says or how much the bill is, but it will be a big one I'm sure!

Many thanks

[TheoD]

Eddie Ruddy, he works at the Dinnington branch.

You'veprobably heard of Alan Docherty he's the After Sales guy for the group, his reputation goes before him I think

[TheoD]

I think the whole industry needs shaking up.. Such large amounts of money are taken and appalling service is given in so many cases

[TheoD]

Yes you're right . Thanks. I'll post tomorrow when I know the damage

 

[TheoD]

We collected the van from Truma yesterday. They have replaced the circuit board in the boiler, given it an extensive test and the total cost is £421. Less than were were fearing.

Of course I've had to pay. Can I now try my hand and forward the bill to Marquis? 

Should I carry on talking to the After Sales manager or try to go to the Branch Manager?

Many thanks

[TheoD]

Reply from Marquis... I've googled Globalim and it looks like they are an insurance company, first I've heard of them. I'd probably accept the £421. But surely my claim is against Marquis not the insurance whoever they are.

 

Quote

 

Good afternoon Mr Desnos

 

I have discussed your case, we have contacted Global on your behalf to see if the cost as per your attachment can be claimed back. They have agreed to refund you but you will have to send the invoice direct to them to claim the £421.42. Please send the invoice to  <[email protected]> on your e mail state that Jackie Ord has discussed the case on the 23/9 any problems let me know. We cannot do this for you it has to be between the customer and Global Mr Desnos.

 

During the course of our conversation you made the decision to take the van yourself to Truma, the offer was always there in relation to bringing the van back, at some point we would have probably taken the van to truma regardless. The warranty is a back to base and we do not offer fuel compensation so on this occasion we will not be refunding you the £80.00. In relation to the mobile technician again we cannot refund as all works have to be undertaken back at base.

 

You mention about the waste water pipe, off course we will rectify this at your convenience, please give one of my girls on the front desk a call to get this booked in.

 

With reference to the mileage issue, I have discussed this today and one of my colleagues will be in touch to discuss further.

 

I hope this helps

 

Kind regards

 

 

I was offered Asset protection insurance at a cost of £443 which i declined, Global are the company on the paperwork I was given that day.

[TheoD]

The insurance we were offered was "GAP" insurance.. They called it Asset protection. We didn't take it out. It was not an extended warranty

 

I am sending a letter of claim now. Emailing it and sending by "signed for" in the morning. I'll give them 14 days as you suggested.

Many thanks

 

[TheoD]

Don't understand how I can claim against a company I haven't got a policy with?

Also the van was faulty when they sold it so so how can they say that any work has to be done under their warranty.

 

I forget to say thanks! 

[TheoD]

No I've not sent it. I'll hang fire until you advise me again.

I understand everything you've said about Marquis, you've expressed my feelings exactly. I've been on forums, review sites and been blocked from posting on their Facebook site.

I know that my claim is against them alone. I have no connection with Global insurance whatever, they provide GAP insurance/Asset protection which Marquis sells to customers, that's as much as I know about them. I kept the paperwork with the offer of insurance that I was given.

This last reply from them has made me quite angry actually as I feel as if they are taking us for fools.

 

Thanks again for your help.l'll wait for your further advice before I do anything else.

[TheoD]

Eddie Ruddy the After sales manager

[TheoD]

Sounds good to me.

I'll l get it off to them in the morning. 

I have kept them informed. I told them before I took it to Truma that I wasn't prepared to allow it to drag on any longer so I would get it repaired myself and send them the invoice so that they could reimburse me. 

I told them earlier today that my claim was with them and not an insurance company that I don't have a policy with.I also said that I'm not obliged to have a repair done "in house" under warranty as the van was faulty when they sold it and they'd had the chance to repair it. But I'll happily say it again as in your letter.

I'll update you when I get  response.

 

Thanks again

[TheoD]

[TheoD]

Am I doing the right thing in emailing and then posting the letter using "signed for" delivery? And should I tell him I'm following the email with the letter? Thanks

[TheoD]

Thanks

[TheoD]

Good morning

I've attached the reply I've received from Marquis in response to my letter of claim.I would like to add a few things that I consider important.

I first reported the heater fault on August 3rd. That was the 42 day since purchase, but Marquis had had the van for 12 days so the clock stops as I understand it so it was the 30th day which means that the fault was present when it was sold.

They had had one chance to repair and failed to investigate any further.

I think the cost that they are refusing to pay are more than reasonable. An offer of a tank of diesel world have settled part of it.

 

And they are definitely not getting a copy of my bank statement

 

Although I am sure that I'm not obliged to use the Warranty provided I've been reading my Warranty document and it says it's administered by "A1 guarantee ltd "and they are who I should ring to make a claim.The email address to make a complaint is a "global ins" email.

i find it very confusing as in the front of the schedule it says

"This guarantee is a non-insured product, any obligation to repair your motorhome will be our sole responsibility. Should we cease to trade, then this product will no longer be valid"

 

Quote

Good Afternoon Mr Desnos

 

 We have reviewed your case and I am happy to refund you the direct the costs received from Truma totalling £421.00, this can be paid directly in to your account. We would require a copy of your bank statement to include address, sort code/account number.

 

 In relation to the additional costs as mentioned we did not authorise the independent mobile engineer this was undertaken directly by you, the offer to return the van was always there and with this in mind the terms of the global warranty were ignored. With regards to the visit to Truma this was also undertaken without authority from the global warranty agreement.

 

 The fuel costs are not covered within the terms of the warranty and are strictly a back to base warranty with no provision for the costs incurred for travel.

 

 As the vendor of the vehicle, we have certain legal obligations to you in particular under the consumer rights Act 2015, you are also under a legal obligation to take all reasonable steps to minimise amy costs or expenditure for which you intend to hold us responsible.

 

The vehicle was supplied to you with the benefit of a warranty which is being administered by Global. We respectfully suggested that the first such reasonable step would have been to arrange for the problem with your vehicle to be investigated and a claim submitted to the warranty company as previously suggested by Marquis South Yorkshire. Having declined to so you cannot seek to recover this costs.

 

 Please confirm your bank details and a copy of your bank statement so that I can duly process the payments agreed. Also a copy of your driver’s licence for proof to process money.

 

 Yours sincerely

 

 

 

[TheoD]

Thanks for that. I'll keep you informed

[TheoD]

Latest repy from Marquis from the Dinnington branch general manager

 

Dear Mr Desnos

 

Autocruise Alto WA12CYH

 

I am sorry that you have had cause for complaint. Please accept my sincere apologies for any inconvenience caused in this matter.

 

I have carefully considered your complaint and propose the below.

 

In full and final settlement of all issues concerning the above mentioned vehicle that have been brought to the attention of, and discussed with Eddie Ruddy, I hereby agree to refund the amount of £120:

 

The offer is made on the basis of no admission of liability and in full and final settlement of all issues that have been raised since purchase. I would also like to make it clear that this is a one off gesture of goodwill and any future travel or outside contractor work will not be covered by Marquis South Yorkshire.

 

If you have not already done so can you please supply your bank details to Eddie Ruddy who will arrange for the transfer to be made on Monday upon his return to the office.

 

I trust our response and offer fully resolves your complaint and we wish you many happy travels in your Autocruise Alto.

 

Your Sincerely

 

[TheoD]

This covers everything we'd asked for. Could you advise how we should word the email to accept payment. Many thanks