Please can anybody offer advice please ,purchased a caravan from Scotland with a new damp report done by a large company in Scotland,There were no damp issues and was sent a copy of this,I did a Cris check also came back ok.This was a private sale and the owner of the caravan delivered it..We always have a habitation check done every year on our caravans and thought if any problems it would be gas,electric etc,But our service guy started by doing a damp check which is included in the habitation check and that is were he stopped and said this caravan as got a damp problem.I have had a consultant and he as done a 19 page report also confirming damp issues.We purchased the caravan in July 2021 and the seller mentioned he had moved ,after months of trying to find him I have ended up paying to find his address, never asked him his address originally because there was no problem with damp supposedly and Cris check was good.I have sent him a copy of the 19 page report and a quote for damp repairs,this was signed for on the 21st December 2021 can anybody advise what to do next especially if he doesn’t reply.
It`s quite possible the seller had no knowledge of any damp, which was confirmed by an independant report. I would imagine (note:- I`m not legally qualified) that the onus would be upon you to prove the caravan was damp at the point of purchase and any dampness had not occurred since you took delivery. Should you be able to prove this, I would expect you would need to seek recompense from the company that produced the original damp report as the seller hasn`t knowingly misrepresented his caravan.
A very difficult situation if it was a private sale, as you are not covered by the same legal protections as you would have been if you had bought from a dealer. If you don't also live in Scotland there may also (possibly) be further complications if Scotland has different laws to where you live.
If you have written proof that the caravan was mis-described, wording such as "damp-free" or such like, it may be worth contacting a solicitor, but if you don't have any such written proof you would be wasting your time and further money, because it would simply be a case of "buyer-beware".
If you can and do take it further though, be prepared for a long and drawn out legal battle. Even if you "win" the case against the seller you still may not get anywhere as they could say that they have spent the money you paid, which could well be true, and they don't have any savings, which could also be true. He may have needed the money from the sale to pay off previous debts.
I wish you good luck, and sincerely hope you can reach a suitable and satisfactory conclusion.
Hi thankyou for your reply.I have printed off all the text from when I first enquired about the caravan that is when he sent me a copy of the damp report he had done that day .In the early days I spoke and have written to the caravan company and all they come back with is I was not the customer.I think that my next move if he doesn’t respond is the small claims court .The annoying thing is with a damp report a cris check and also he took us on a video tour of the van I feel even if we had gone to view we still would have purchased it.Its a very frustrating situation.
IMHO you will not have much luck with any claim as it was a private sale and this is now nearly 6 months later. You will need to prove in a small claims court that the damp existed there from day one of the delivery which may be impossible to prove taking into account over 5 months has passed even if the seller stated damp free in their advert.
Unfortunately your choices are limited to throwing odd money away in a court case or spending the money doing the repair. Case of buyer beware.
Sorry to hear of your problems.
You say that you have received a damp report from "A large company".
How did you receive this? Paper or digital?
If the report was received as a digital image then the sceptic in me would contact the company who produced it and request to see the original copy from their records to ensure that nothing had been "tampered" with (so easy with photoshop etc).
Of course it could be claimed that the damp occured after the report was produced.
I traded in a caravan, Bailey, which I said had not damp. The dealer took me into the shower and point out damp, had to drop my asking price. The thing is when buying you have to know what to look for. Sorry for your problems but I think "once bitten twice shy" as the saying goes.
Quote: Originally posted by Mecgc on 30/12/2021
Hi thankyou for your reply.I have printed off all the text from when I first enquired about the caravan that is when he sent me a copy of the damp report he had done that day .In the early days I spoke and have written to the caravan company and all they come back with is I was not the customer.I think that my next move if he doesn’t respond is the small claims court .The annoying thing is with a damp report a cris check and also he took us on a video tour of the van I feel even if we had gone to view we still would have purchased it.Its a very frustrating situation.
Yes I agree, very frustrating. You haven't put your location on your posts so I don't know how far away you are from the seller, but you will almost certainly have to go to the seller's location in order to make your claim. Personally I don't think much of the small claims court as I have had a bad experience of them in the past. I took someone through it and they simply didn't turn up. I "won" the case by default and they were ordered to pay me what they owed, which they simply ignored. I had to spend more money taking them to court again for non-payment and again they didn't turn up. I "won" again and my costs got added on to the amount they were then ordered to pay. Again they ignored the order. This all took months and I ended up giving up because I found out that this person made a habit of doing this and he knew all the tricks.
Unfortunately the small claims court can't/don't enforce payment if it is not forthcoming. You have to do that yourself via bailiffs or whatever, adding even more to the cost, which you may still never recover.
As others have correctly said, you also have the fact that 6 months has elapsed between your purchase and the bad report. It could, and probably would be argued that the damp hadn't been there when you bought it, and it would be down to you to prove that it was.
Hi the damp report is a paper copy and was done 6 days before we purchased the caravan and the consultant that did the 19 page report was done on 2nd Sept, it’s finding his address that’s took the time,regards Marlene
There is a scenario where there was no misrepresentation, no lies, and everything was at least technically above board. If the van had not been subject to any rain for some time, and/or had been dry stored (under cover, be it a barn or a tarp or fitted cover etc.), then the original damp report could well have been true and accurate in that no damp was found at that time, much like an MOT on a car, it's a snapshot view at that particular moment in time, it's not necessarily capable of detecting if faults have existed before or will develop after that moment in time! Damp often doesn't show any early signs apart from a meter reading, if van kept dry, any early damp can dry out and show no signs on a damp meter test, it's not until damp is well established and rot has started to set in that it typically becomes visible and/or the structure starts to fail as in soggy panels etc., that's why meter testing is so vital and vans stored under cover/or inspected after extended dry spells always have a question mark hanging over them re damp.
If your damp report contradicted the vendors one IMMEDIATELY after purchase, you'd have a much stronger case, as much as any case against a private seller can be considered 'strong', there really is not a lot in law to protect you once you have agreed a private sale and taken delivery, it really is buyer beware! If it's merely a damp reading, the water ingress (assuming it's not condensation from poorly ventilated storage) could have started after you took delivery, if on the other hand there is extensive rot, then you may have a better argument that the damp existed before you bought the van and 5 months under your ownership is not long enough for that damage to have developed.
This is probably the classic example of not being able to preempt the findings of any court should you wish to resort to legal action, there are too many ifs and buts for us to guide you in that area, and to the best of my knowledge, none of us are legal experts anyway, it always comes down to the court ruling at the end of the case, and that is a gamble as it's usually decided on points of law as much as anything else, the moral rights and wrongs sometimes slipping out of consideration.
You're in an unenviable situation, that we all hope never to find ourselves in, from the scenario you have presented, I feel the most likely outcome is that you will have to foot the bill for repair, any other course of action is far from assured success, and may simply add to the cost of an unfortunate purchase and subsequent repair.
I would presume that being a private sale, it was below dealer price for same model, therefore any repair costs can be offset against what you would have paid from a dealer, in that light it is not such a loss, and indeed may even be a break even situation if van of high enough value.
Quote: Originally posted by Mecgc on 30/12/2021
Hi thankyou for your reply ,I wish it had have been below dealer price it was £9,000 for a 2008 van , Hard lesson to learn.
No comfort whatsoever I'm sure, but one of the perils of a private purchase! A purchase from a dealer offers no greater assurance of quality, but at least the law is on your side to seek recompense in the case of faults, even if it takes the path of protracted legal wranglings, you are at least not fighting both seller AND law!
2008 van, £9000 paid, OK, not sure of your quotes for rectifying the problem, but I'd be considering the benefits of 'investing' in repair or selling on as an honest 'in need of repair' and taking the hit as a hard lesson in life. Solicitors love to gobble YOUR money in pursuit of a case, so that could easily be the best way to make the greatest loss from this sad situation!
Quote: Originally posted by Mecgc on 30/12/2021
Hi thankyou for your reply ,I wish it had have been below dealer price it was £9,000 for a 2008 van , Hard lesson to learn.
Ouch! That is a lot to lose, or at least it would be for me. Taking the seller to court now would be a big gamble that may or may not come off. That is why I suggested contacting a solicitor. Unfortunately under British law it is perfectly possible to "win" and still not get any recompense. You can throw loads of money at it and get nothing back, as happened to me.
In my opinion you have a choice. Either you take it to court and risk possibly losing even more money, or put it down to experience and spend the money on repairs. Unfortunately that is a decision only you can make. All the best whatever you choose to do.
One thing that occurs to me is that you might send a copy of the initial damp report to the company that carried out the survey, to ask if this is the report they wrote.
It could be that the report was doctored. If so, I think the company would tell you this despite data protection rules.
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Thankyou for your reply ,I rang the caravan company short time after purchase and they admitted they had done the damp test but wouldn’t speak to me because I wasn’t the customer.
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Topic: Used caravans
