Who is responsible for my towbar problems?

• Monday, 4 August 2008
• Thomas Lamblin

Andrew Ditton hitches up his van

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I bought a new Saab three years ago and the dealer had a towbar fitted by a local specialist. I didn't get a caravan until this year and now every time we take the caravan out the fuse which protects the caravan road lights blows. I've been back to the Saab dealer who claims that since he didn't fit the towbar, any responsibility for faults aren't his and the faults may be ones that have happened since the towbar and electrics were fitted. Can you tell me who is responsible?
Adam Sutherland, Manchester

THOMAS SAYS
If the cost of supplying and fitting the towbar was invoiced to you by the Saab dealer then it doesn't matter who he got to actually do the job. He is responsible for the quality of the work and materials used. All traders know this and I'm surprised he is trying this argument. I suspect that your real problem is the time delay between fitting the towbar and finding the fault. Whilst you might say that you haven't used the car for towing, this would be very difficult to prove. Even if you could, can you prove that the fault was there when you collected the car or that it developed within a reasonable time afterwards?

Obviously you have to get this fault fixed and I would advise going to a good auto-electrician. In telling them of the problem, make sure they understand that you suspect something was wrong with the original installation and if they find such a fault you will want a written report to claim the cost back from the dealer. Obviously, if they find that the problem was dirty connections or something similar, which could have occurred since the job was done, you'll be well advised to quietly grin and pay up.

However, if the fault were something like wrong connections I would advise you to get a solicitor to write to the dealer demanding that they pay the bill for identification and rectification of the fault. If they don't respond, or deny the claim, then this would seem to be a straightforward matter to pursue through the Small Claims process.

I frequently mention the Small Claims process in this column and therefore decided to monitor how efficient this is. In the 23 cases I have been aware of over the last nine months not one was contested and so the claimants were awarded what they had claimed for. I suspect that in many cases it is cheaper for those being sued to do nothing and have a judgement made against them than to employ a solicitor to fight the claim. That's the good news. The bad news is that in 17 of the 23 cases the claimants had to take further legal action to recover the money the Courts agreed they were owed.