With a new caravan costing an average of £13,000, you can expect it to be free of damage and in perfect working order. The seal should not come unstuck from the doorframe, the fridge ought to work, the corner steadies shouldn’t jam and so on.
If your caravan is serviced, you should be charged only for work that has been agreed, and the result should meet recognised standards. The law is on your side when it comes to getting what
you pay for, but few of us complain when we don’t.
There is much more to effective complaining than shouting at some customer service rep. To get results, you’ll need skills in communication, organisation and negotiation.
Be prepared
First know where you stand legally (see panel on facing page). If an item is simply not working, it may be judged unfit for its purpose. But if it does not work as well as you’d thought it would, the rule of ‘let the buyer beware’ comes into play. In such cases, you should have satisfied yourself that the item was suitable before buying it.
Your homework includes studying the warranty. Sift through all the legalese to find the ‘exclusions’ section. If
the problem you’ve had with the product is not specifically excluded, then it is reasonable to assume that warranty covers it; this is true even if the company made a mistake when writing the warranty.
Remember that a warranty is in addition to your statutory legal rights, and no amount of small print can take them away from you. Also keep in mind that a warranty is itself a contract, and if you want its protection you’ll have to comply with its terms. Much of the text may be open to interpretation; many manufacturers, to their credit, will extend the terms as
a goodwill gesture.
Before arriving at a dealership to complain, you must be certain whether your complaint involves exercising your legal rights or is covered by your warranty. The dealer will take quite a different approach for each. The fact is dealers do not usually make as much money out of warranty work as they do for normal repairs.
In the case of an unsatisfactory repair, ask the trade body or manufacturer what the rules are for such work. Investigate any arbitration schemes that exist. Check the matter from a variety of angles. For example, a defective part may have affected other buyers of the product. If you belong to a caravanners’ club, ask whether it knows of similar cases and how they turned out. Companies may try to hush up this sort of thing, and will have told dealers how to handle it.
Be brief
If your caravan is riddled with little faults, you may be tempted to list them all to make your complaint appear more serious. The rule here is: don’t. You’ll overwhelm the recipient of your complaint with detail or his patience will simply wear thin after the first page. Instead, group the problems under headings, such
as ‘various water system faults’ or ‘several external damage points’. You can always expand on this later if asked. Your complaint
must be clear and use as few words as possible.
As a rule of thumb, avoid listing more than three or four main items in one letter or discussion. Make sure that anything you say or write requires a specific response. Avoid writing long phrases or speaking without
a pause for minutes at a time. Decide the best way to summarise the complaint before making
it. For example, “I wish to complain about the unacceptable state of my caravan when I collected it” is likely to get more immediate attention than “Here is a list of the 75 faults I have found on this caravan.”
Even service-desk receptionists or customer-service personnel are human, so try not to bore them with endless facts. Just get to the point – and quickly. Practise with friends and ask how they would react to your complaint.
Be polite
I once arbitrated a dispute between a dealer and a caravan owner. The dealer told me: “I would have more sympathy with your client had he not opened negotiations by heaving a brick though my showroom window.”
You will damage your case if you are rude or loud, or lose your temper. Don’t make any aggressive gestures, such as banging the table. Speak up clearly, but don’t shout. You may feel you want the whole workshop to know how serious you are, but they don’t.
In writing, an illegible, illiterate seven-page rant or an abusive tone does you no credit. Moreover, do not use lots of capital letters; people hate that. Don’t include thinly veiled threats to ‘take
the matter over your head’ and never close a letter with ’Yours disgustedly’.
What you should do is find out the name and position of the right person to contact and write to him. Even if the addressee doesn’t answer your letter himself, it is more polite to specify a person than an entire department.
Ensure that you write or speak in measured tones. This doesn’t mean you should be apologetic. But there is no point in unnecessarily antagonising someone from whom you are seeking help.
Be firm
You need to know how you expect the company to resolve the matter. Don’t ask “What are you going to do about
it?” Instead, suggest specific measures.
Ask questions and be prepared to listen to the answers. But respond firmly if the responses do not satisfy you and make it clear that you are not going to be put
off easily. A company representative may be paid to minimise the effect of complaints that cost money to rectify, so be determined. You need to drive home the point that your complaint is justified and that it cannot be ignored.
Be reasonable
Your demands must be seen to be fair and reasonable to encourage
a reply. If the wardrobe is too small, don’t expect the caravan to be redesigned. Let’s say, however, that the brochure for a four-berth calls the van ‘suitable for four adults’, but two of the beds are too small for grown-ups. Then you may have
a case – but only if there is a good reason why you did not see the van before buying it.
Be prepared to give a little if you can to permit a ‘win-win’ situation. One option could be to offer to
take the case to an independent arbitrator. Also, if you ask for compensation, remember what this actually means: it compensates you for a specific and measurable loss, such as a holiday you’ve paid for but cannot take because of the fault.
A dispute over how well a repair or service job has been done may need clarification and compromise. So try to generate goodwill by the manner of your complaint.
Be organised
The key here is excellent record keeping. Put complaints in writing, even if you also make a personal visit. Make immediate notes of any face-to-face meetings or phone calls with names, dates, times and quotes of what was said by both sides. Take photographs of damage or defects. If matters cannot be resolved and you take legal steps, you’ll need this file covering everything that has happened.
Be persistent
It may take several letters or visits to make any progress. If a letter goes unanswered after two weeks, write another; if you have to, send a third by recorded delivery
after four weeks. You have to
give the seller a chance to solve the problem. Try telephoning
the customer service department, which may suddenly bring your letter to the top of the pile.
If your letters go unanswered
or are dismissed with unhelpful responses, write to the managing director, by name, asking that he assign someone to resolve your complaint properly. Attach copies of previous correspondence.
You have recourse if all of the above fails: get help from your caravanners’ club, MP, Trading Standards office, consumer advice centre or legal assistance system provided by your insurer. The final stop is court, where you will help your case if you can show that you’ve tried everything else. That is, unless the case is settled on the steps to the courthouse entrance.
Be patient
The hardest part of complaining is the time it takes to get
a solution. Persistence is not rewarded by return of post. The people who will handle your case have other work to do. Some large organisations may take weeks to reply to the simplest of letters; good business practice suggests at least an acknowledgement within 14 days.
Be grateful
Many complaints are resolved satisfactorily to both parties.
In that case, say thank you.
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