Emergency Caravan Accommodation Service

CaravanProblems

On 5 December 2013 my house was flooded. The insurance company arranged for a caravan outside my home and I took occupation on 21 December. There were problems.

The Managing Director of Emergency Caravan Accommodation Service (ECAS) told me I would have to arrange my own electricity connection even though it was his responsibility to do so! The insurance company had the same problem with other caravans supplied by the same company.

When I took occupation, the first thing I noticed was a water leak that was duly reported to ECAS. A gas engineer was dispatched. I told the gas engineer that when I took occupation the gas was not switched on and that I had problems lighting the boiler as the gas line was full of air.

The gas engineer then informed me that ECAS must have failed to carry out a Gas Tightness Check, since a prerequisite to doing the test was to bleed the system before checking for gas leaks. A Gas Tightness Check is required by law. The gas engineer offered to do the Gas Tightness Check and promptly found two gas leaks! He was then duty bound to report ECAS to the Health & Safety Executive (HSE) which he did within hours.

I received a letter from the HSE asking me to explain what had happened as they wished to avoid the same happening again. I told the HSE that I was not responsible for the gas installation as this had been arranged via the insurance company. The HSE determined that ECAS has Gas Safe registered engineers and it seems, on that basis, they took no further action despite the fact that ECAS had a legal duty to perform a gas tightness check.

When the caravan was supplied there was only one gas bottle and no means to attach a second bottle. The caravan also had no central heating. Given this was the middle of winter, any caravanner would know that a second gas bottle was an absolute necessity, especially as this caravan was outside my house and not at a caravan park with a ready supply of gas bottles.

The Managing Director's solution to this problem was for me to use the built-in electric heaters. But there were just two such heaters in the caravan (250w each) certainly insufficient to heat a 21 foot static caravan. He also suggested that it was better for me to heat the caravan with electricity because of my disability. So, I had to go out to the shop by taxi and buy an electric heater.

Being disabled, I requested a ramp for the caravan. I can only describe it as a 'Heath Robinson' affair built by the managing director of the company. Upon completing the ramp, the managing director's battery was flat because he had left his interior light on!

The platform at the top of the ramp appeared to be made from very old oil-soaked chipboard that was treacherous when wet, so the Managing Director had to return to replace it. Upon completion, his vehicle would not start again and he could not understand why. I looked at the vehicle - he had left the exterior lights on this time!

The ramp was a safety hazard, although built from caravan decking, the top platform was not properly supported and the balustrade was hand-built with 3/4" square timber that would have simply broken with the slightest touch.

I took occupation of my house again on 17 May. I told ECAS that it would be ready for collection from 18 May and they said they would collect that week. They did not. Instead they rang up saying that the only day they could collect that week was Friday 23 May but that it was illegal to travel after 1 pm on a Friday before a Bank Holiday. I am informed by an HGV driver and a Police Traffic Officer that this is nonsense and told ECAS the same.

The caravan was collected today. Again, the Managing Director had travelled from Wales to North Lincolnshire. Of course, he did not even have the courtesy to knock on my door. He simply made his preparations and took the caravan away.

JJ_Egan

You complain to the insurance company in writing .