I was intrigued to why Hymer Lowdhams stipulated that they will only service UK vans so I have asked Hymer. The upshot is that they were correct and only UK specification Eribas can be serviced and have warranty work carried out by UK Hymer dealers.
Its just something else to factor in if you are buying new or less than 6 year old from abroad or if you are buying second hand in the UK and it is not UK spec..

My Email:

Hi, please can you advise, I live in the UK, If I buy an Eriba touring in mainland Europe will I be able to have my van serviced and warranty work carried out by a UK Hymer dealer with a non UK specification van? Thanks.

Hymers Email reply

we refer to your request dated 23.02.2015 and thank you for purchasing a HYMER vehicle.

Regarding your request we have to tell you that is is very important that the vehicles have a UK specifications. Otherwise, the HYMER dealers in the UK are not allowed to make the checks which are needed for the vehicle.

So, unfortunately it is not possible to have the service work carried out in the UK.

We want to apologize for all inconvenience caused.


Mit freundlichen Grüßen / yours sincerely / sincères salutations / distinti saluti

i.A. Carina Wohnhaas

I'm having the statement below from Hymer confirmed as I don't believe this to be factual.
David

In that case if you have a non UK Eriba and have had it serviced by an Eriba dealer here in the UK what are the implications? If they have taken your money you must have some rights!

Quote: Agger wrote in post #3

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In that case if you have a non UK Eriba and have had it serviced by an Eriba dealer here in the UK what are the implications? If they have taken your money you must have some rights!

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Interesting stuff John, technically I suppose that makes me the owner of a "grey import" presumably also although over 6 years old also not serviceable by a hymer dealership...............good job there are lots of mobile service agents who are independent.

Quote: hob wrote in post #5

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Interesting stuff John, technically I suppose that makes me the owner of a "grey import" presumably also although over 6 years old also not serviceable by a hymer dealership...............good job there are lots of mobile service agents who are independent.

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I've received an update from Jean at Jandi regarding their view and practice over this subject.:

Hi David,

Lowdham and Lechlade (no longer with us) always refused to service any non-uk compliant models. Feedback from customers at the time suggested Lechlade simply told them the 'van shouldn't have been in the country in the first place! Lowdham, on the other hand, said they couldn't service it as doing so would involve their breaking U.K. law.

Some years ago (probably around 2004), Hymer suggested we should do the same as, besides being against the law, it was one way of discouraging grey imports as the number of grey imports which come into the U.K. could eventually result in a total lack of authorised dealers in the U.K.. Basically: for any dealership to be really viable, it needs sales. Knowing that grey imports do affect us, we had given this a lot of thought - even then - but we were not convinced that we were breaking the law by servicing them and said so. To our knowledge (and we could be wrong, but don't think so), while we know it's illegal for us to sell a non-compliant caravan, even a secondhand model, we have never found anything which says we cannot service them. While it is illegal for any U.K. dealer to sell a grey import (something often ignored south of Carlisle), it is not illegal for a U.K. citizen to buy one abroad and bring it back with them. This being the case, we reckon someone must have a duty of care to service these grey imports, for the safety of the inhabitants. We explained this to Hymer at the time and Sandy added that, in the absence of any law (known to us) forbidding servicing, he had a duty of care as Hymer dealer and as a Gas Safe registered engineer. At that time Hymer said they honestly did not know if it was illegal for a U.K. dealer to work on grey imports but that, if a U.K. dealer insisted it was illegal, they were in no position to even suggest that the dealer should break the law.

So, the debate has been around for years and, believe me, we understand dealers who will refuse to service grey imports. Strictly speaking, when someone leaves the U.K. without a caravan, nips across the channel and returns with one, they should declare that they are importing a caravan and U.K. V.A.T. should be paid on the caravan. If they have already paid V.A.T. in the country where they bought it (and we've heard a few stories about special discounts for U.K. citizens which suggest some may be avoiding this), they ask HMRC for a certificate confirming they have paid V.A.T. in the U.K. and, on sending this certificate to the dealer who sold them the 'van, they would receive a refund of the foreign V.A.T. paid. There are, no doubt, people out there who would decide to go ahead and accept paying the V.A.T. when they bring the caravan into the U.K. but I think it would reduce the number of grey imports coming in. Anyone who went through the correct process in order to bring in the foreign caravan would then find themselves with a more expensive foreign import which Lowdham would still refuse to service and I reckon a few instances of this would go a long way to reducing the number of grey imports.

The need for caravans to be M.O.T.'d and registered in the U.K., as in other parts of Europe, has been discussed for years. While realising that this extra expense would do nothing to increase caravan sales, besides putting dangerous caravans off the road, this would stop grey imports or, at least, it would require the caravans to be altered to comply with U.K. law. The extra hassle and expense resulting from this would probably virtually stop grey imports entering the U.K. completely.

To sum up, you'll see that we agree with you but good luck to Lowdham and hope it works :-).

Jean.

Zitat

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it would require the caravans to be altered to comply with U.K. law. The extra hassle and expense resulting from this would probably virtually stop grey imports entering the U.K. completely.

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Interesting stuff David the only thing I found that needed altering to comply with UK law was to swap the fog and reversing lights to the correct sides of the van rear.....................can you ask please if there is anything else?

VAT? you can lower the rate on your new van by taking a holiday abroad, then when you import it, the van has been "used" so incurs a lower rate! This can often be "discussed" if you declare it, many don't and get away with it

Hmm the question really is will Hymer in Germany honour warranty work on a grey import.....

This is interesting, from the UK Trading Standards, (especially the bit about "you can assume !) Don't know how relevant it is to this current subject ? Q.I've heard that under European Union (EU) law I'm allowed a two year minimum guarantee on goods. Is that correct?
A.EU Directive 1999/44/EC states that all European Union member states must allow consumers to make a claim for faulty or misdescribed goods under their consumer rights for a minimum of two years. English law already allows you to make a claim for up to six years from the date you bought the goods and for up to five years in Scotland. Therefore if you buy any goods from any other EU member state, you can assume that you can make a claim for faulty or misdescribed goods for at least two years after. See the 'Buying goods - your rights' leaflet for more information.

Does this mean a claim against the Retailer or the Manufacturer ?

It is all very interesting as us older members will remember, we were "sold" the idea of Europe on being able to get what you want from the cheapest country, however many hurdles have been put up since and this looks to be another.

I still feel if you book a foreign van in for a service at a main dealer then you should be able to expect it has the manufacturers approval and therefore carry warranty rights