The washroom/toilet door on our Eldiss Avante 646 has been causing us problems for some time now.The whole thing has dropped about 1/2 an inch meaning that it won't close unless it's "lifted" into the frame, something our 3 children have difficulty managing. We had our annual service carried out by an Eldiss dealer local to our seasonal pitch in Brean, Somerset. I pointed out the door and they said they could make a warranty claim and get it replaced, it would take 4-6 weeks. This was in early February. After many phone calls and visits to the dealer, a door turned up in late April, it was the wrong one. The dealer was told to return it and the correct door would be sent by return. After several more calls and visits to the dealer over the following 4 or 5 weeks we were still no nearer to getting the correct door, and the one we've got is becoming more and more difficult to open and close. In desperation, I looked up the email address of Eldiss's managing director and politely asked if he could intervene and get us our new door.about a week later I received a letter from the customer service department , basically giving me a ticking off for bothering the MD but assuring me that my issue was being delt with,the correct door was being sent to the dealer and they had been instructed to fit it as soon as they got it. 3 more weeks have now passed and still no door, so yesterday I visited the dealer again, the service manager rang Eldiss whilst i was there and was told that there was no spare door of that type in stock and that they were no longer being made. We therefore , have a 2 year old caravan that we cannot get spare parts for!! The dealer is continuing to try and get a new door and they have been as helpful as they can be all through this sorry episode, but I'm disgusted by the attitude shown by Eldiss to their customers, from the MD down.anyone have any thoughts on what to do next?
Shocking really, I bet they don't tell you this when you are looking to buy a new one. I know its old fashioned but send a letter to the MD, for some reason you often get a better response from a paper letter than you do emails.
Don't know what you can do about it though if they no longer make the part, unless you can source one from a 2nd hand parts dealer or may be a stockist somewhere has an old one but you shouldn't really need to do this. I would argue with them that the door is not usable and if under warranty surely it is their problem to rectify this.
Thanks for the replies.Yes I was thinking about writing a letter to the MD as a follow up to my earlier email, but he didn't seem unduly concerned last time, couldn't even bother to acknowledge it, just passed it on to the customer service department who told me that I shouldn't have bothered him but gone through them, that's what they're for! What annoys me is the way these companies are prepared to just treat their customers with such contempt and just spin them any old rubbish when you go back with a problem. Eldiss seem to be so focused on selling their new construction method that it seems that anyone with a caravan made the "old" way no longer concerns them. Something to bear in mind for the future perhaps. The dealer has told me that they hope to find a door from another source, but I'm not holding my breath. I thought manufacturers were compelled to retain a stock of spares for a certain number of years after changing models, but it seems not and we have an obsolete 2 year old caravan!
I would write to the MD again (send by recorded delivery) and politely ask for further intervention. If no response, I'd write once again and clearly indicate that a copy has gone to Watchdog etc. I'm sure there's an obligation to manufacturers to be able to provide parts for a minimum period of time, so the excuse of the doors availability is disgraceful.
On a side note, I had need to contact Bailey a year or so ago and I decided to contact their MD direct only because of the 'odd' nature of my enquiry. He couldn't have been more helpful and supplied some 'bespoke' ventilation panels for our van.
So, if Bailey can do it, Elddis should be able to pull their finger out too.
I was talking to somebody at another dealership the other day and they said the same thing, that Bailey's spares, and customer service had improved enormously lately and they often ordered parts one day and received them the next and they are not Bailey dealers. They went on to say that they weren't surprised at Eldiss's attitude and yes, they are Eldiss dealers! Thanks for the advice, think I will sit down tomorrow and revive the lost art of letter writing.
On the thread where someone had a problem with their Bailey, someone else suggested contacting the company via their face book page as this is public and give them some bad publicity, so I am stealing that suggestion as it seems to me to be a good idea.
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Topic: Not happy with Eldiss
