Who is qualified to say the work has been done right Forums

grumpyman

As some will be aware I had a slight accident with the roof of my Trigano Tribute. I collected the vehicle back from the repairers some 3 weeks ago.At the time they asked me to sign a satisfaction note stating the work had been carried out to my satisfaction. I refused to sign stating I wanted more time to examine and use the vehicle.I have since returned the vehicle for a urgent leak from one sky light and have found a small number of other items which require further attention.
Since the heavy rain I have found a total of three leaks and the vehicle is booked in for next week.
I contacted Caravan Guard and explained to them that I did not consider that I had the experience or knowledge to sign any document to say work had been carried out to my satisfaction and that would it not be more professional if one of their Engineers examined the vehicle to say the work had been carried out to a satisfactory standard.
Their reply was that they do not have Engineers examine the work and if anything went wrong in the future it was for me to take it back to the repairers.
When I suggested I was still not happy signing any such document the repairer stated he could not be paid without this.My personal view is that obviously if I am finding leaks appearing after 3 weeks and in one place where they have already had a second chance then they may have not done the work properly but back to the start I am not qualified to dispute this.

olley · Campsite DB Admin

Hi Gumpy I would contact one of the clubs CC, CCC or the MCC, they should be able to point you in the direction of a suitably qualified person.

Olley

Geo

Hi Grumpy,
You in my opinion are the best qualified, the acid test for any repair is the customers acceptance,after all even if a so called expert had viewed the finished article and signed it off as OK then a week later it let in water, who is to blame and what difference would it have made to the finished job,absolutely none, what you have already done is about as good as it gets
You were very lucky to have been let out with your van having refused to sign the satisfaction note,
It is normal trade practice, no signature no car,simple.
The repairer cannot get paid until he submits the note with his invoice.
It is normal Insurance practise no note no payment.
Normal car repairs don't have the waterproofing problems that M/Hs have
you are going to have to work with the repairer on this, ask for a written
guarantee of his work and materials stating the period covered,
If you are happy with that sign his note
Geo

grumpyman

Geo
Thanks for your reply and I tend to agree with you. The problem is where I have pointed out what I consider faults I have been met with what I term typical trade answers which I find difficult to dispute. I am aware that no Engineer has even consulted over what was required to be done or prices with the repairers and they have passed comment on this.I personally am not happy with the paint finish on the roof or the sealing but I am given answers for this which may even be correct. Now if a qualified person looked at the paintwork and sealant and stated that is not a good job or in his opinion the work is ok no problem. I know one thing the bill is going to be large. ie bringing in a Coach builder to remove and refit the interior, no they didn't.
I am more than happy that if any Engineer examined the work he would be asking some serious questions once he saw the bill. Insurance company not interested, but they haven't had the bill yet.

Geo

grumpyman

One answer given when I asked why the roof aroud the edges was a slightly different colour was that in Italy the van is sprayed in one go by machines before the conversion and also we will never get the exact colour as used in Italy.

Geo

Standard Bull**** answer im afraid, colours are not hard to match and a fade out tecnique is used when its not possible, your eye should not be drawn to the repair, if it is the repair has failed!!! andif required the whole roof shoud have been painted
the sealant apperance should be neat and most importantly leakproof
its not hard to get it right Rolling Eyes

Geo

grumpyman

They had the Van for 3 months and 2 weeks all the parts took a total of 6 weeks to be delivered. Then they had the nerve to suggest that i did not realise what a big job this was.Anyway we will see how much more sealant they spread around the roof. Thanks for your help

MandyandDave · Moderator

That is unacceptable.. suppose for an instance that the paint finish was the door of your car with a different colour around the edges .. Shocked

The fact that it's on the roof and not easily seen, is no excuse for a poor colour match.

And yes YOU are the only one who can sign off a satisfaction note, ..only when you're happy.

Dave Smile