Warranty Process / Status (3rd Party)

Warranty Process

Warranty Process

RV Service Centre acts as service & warranty agents for many leading brands of caravan manufacturers, and equipment suppliers - and are happy to do so. Unlike cars/vehicles, often van dealers & manufacturers do not manage the warranty of the appliances/equipment within the van, therefore there are often multiple parties involved in any warranty related issue. 

Start a Claim

ONLINE FORM LINK  (Quickest!)

 

Alternatively email us:

[email protected]

 

Please note:

All warranty work is handled outside of our normal RV Service Centre (private/retail) work processes. We allocate specific resources (admin and  workshop) to warranty related work, and are therefore only able to offer communication, processing and scheduling based upon the availability of these resources. 

As an independent business, we are unable to authorise a claim on your behalf - we require authority from one or more warrantors, and are subject to their warranty processes. Often warranty claims can be quite delayed due to communication with multiple parties, parts supply, and payment. We do not commence any work unless we have full authority,  and all parts available. If your issue is an emergency, we offer to carry out the work privately for you as the owner, and you may then be able to commence a claim directly with the warrantor(s).

 

Communication & Timing

Communication & Timing

  • All of our communication for warranty related work will be done via email and SMS.
  • We do not facilitate phone calls relating to warranty work after initial contact
  • Warranty communication & processing (customer contact, emails, initiation, lodgements, ordering parts etc) are only done on Fridays, with a minimum 2 business day lead time. e.g. if you contact us on Thursday, we will respond the following Friday. (see FAQs)
Updates / Status

Updates / Status

  • If you are requesting an update / check-in about how your warranty claim is going - please email us at: [email protected]
  • You will be advised what Step your claim is up to
1) Owner detects issue

1) Owner detects issue

  • You've noticed some defect or issue with your van, appliance or fitting you believe should be under warranty
2) Log Issue with Us

2) Log Issue with Us

  • Contact RV Service Centre
  • Have a list / specifics of your issue(s)
  • You will need to provide us with:
    • Your full name(s) & contact details
    • Proof of purchase (of van, or specific item) - showing date
    • Vehicle Make/Model
    • Vehicle Registration
    • Make/Model/Serial # of appliance (if appliance related)
  • We will assist in determining which supplier holds the warranty (e.g. van manufacturer, fridge supplier etc).

Please email add required information to:

ONLINE FORM LINK  (Quickest!)

If unable to use the form, you can email us at:

[email protected]

3) Pre-Approval vs Quote

3) Pre-Approval vs Quote

3a) Pre-Approval / Warranty Agent

  • Where we hold a pre-approval for that Warrantor & scope of work - we will commence claim on your behalf.
  • If diagnosis is required, we will book you in for Step 5 - Diganosis Booking.

3b) No Pre-Approval

  • Where we do NOT hold pre-approval - we need to quote the Warrantor: Step 4 - Inspection for Quote is required.
4) Inspection for Quote

4) Inspection for Quote

  • Only required for work that falls outside of pre-approval/warranty agent criteria
  • You will need to bring the van/vehicle to our workshop for inspection and quote
  • You may be advised that Step 5 - Booking for Diagnosis is required
5) Booking for Diagnosis

5) Booking for Diagnosis

  • If your issue requires a diganosis you will need to make a booking for the diagnosis to be carried out. Note: this is not necessarily a fix for the issue - it is just diagnosis.
  • We are normally unable to "make time available" to fix the issue at point of diagnosis (even if we get immediate authority, have parts etc). This is due to workshop scheduling. Unless the job is booked for repair, we only allocate enough time for diagnosis in our workshop schedule. 
  • If you would like to book in to have an item repaired/fixed, prior to receiving an authority from a Warrantor - we can accomodate this as a private job - where you as the owner pay for the work.

5a) Diagnosis Payment

If the issue is NOT covered under pre-approval/warranty agent criteria - you, the owner, will be required to pre-pay a diagnosis fee for this work (see FAQs)

 

6) Lodge Claim

6) Lodge Claim

  • Once we have:
    • received all required documentation from you
    • determined actual issue (e.g. via diagnosis if required)
    • determined appropriate Warrantor (supplier/manufacturer)
  • We will lodge the claim with the Warrantor
    • The claim is lodged once only, electronically (see FAQ)
7) Wait Approval

7) Wait Approval

  • We wait until we get a response from the Warrantor.
  • If we do not get a response, we do NOT continue to follow them up. (See FAQs)
8) Approval

8) Approval

  • Upon receipt of appropriate approval, we will commence ordering required parts.
9) Order Parts

9) Order Parts

  • We order the required parts (once - see FAQs)
  • Often the Warrantor will supply parts for the work (see FAQs)
9) Waiting Parts

9) Waiting Parts

  • We do not action any part of the work until all parts have been received
10) Booking for Work

10) Booking for Work

  • Once all parts and authority have been received, you will be contacted to make a booking for the work to be carried out.
11) Work Carried Out

11) Work Carried Out

  • We will carry out the scope of works authorised by the warrantor
  • NOTE: this may be different to what we have quoted for or what has been requested by the owner

 

12) Payment

12) Payment

12a) Pre Approval

  • If works fall within pre-approval scope / existing agreement with warrantor, vehicle is ok to be released

 

12b) Payment in Full

  • If work does NOT fall within pre-approval scope / existing agreement with Warrantor, the Warrantor must pay for the work IN FULL prior to the release of the vehicle.
  • If the owner requires the vehicle back prior to this payment, the owner may opt to pay for the work directly to RV Service Centre.

 

13) Release

13) Release

  • Once work carried out and paid in full / or agreement in place
  • Vehicle is release back to owner

 

Additional Work

Additional Work

  • At any stage, if you request additional work not originally listed, the process starts from the begining for that additional work.

FAQs

Example Issue - Fridge

Example warranty claim is used in FAQs below

"My fridge cools, but doesn't get cold enough. I bought the van new 8 months ago"

Is it under warranty?

To successfully determine whether something is under warranty, we need the following information:

  • Proof of purchase of that specific appliance/equipment. If its part of the van build, the proof of purchase of the van will suffice.
  • The warranty period for that specific appliance/equipment.  Note, a van may have a longer warranty (e.g. 5 years), but the appliances/equipment in it only have a shorter (e.g. 1 year) warranty.
  • Whether you are the original owner.  (Some warranties do not transfer to second hand sales).

Example: we will require the proof of purchase of your van (or the actual fridge if it has ever been replaced).

Is the fault covered under warranty?

Just because the appliance/equipment is not working, does not mean it is faulty or is necessarily covered under that appliance/equipment’s warranty. Other causes can include:

  • Incorrect usage / operation
  • Faulty installation
  • Damaged caused by owner
  • Operation outside warranty conditions
  • Varying expectations
  • Incompatibility with appliances/equipment subsequently installed

So, until the actual cause of the fault has been diagnosed by our technicians, and we have received all required documents, it is not possible to accurately say that the fault may be covered under warranty.

It is not our decision whether an issue is under warranty. It is our responsibility to provide the relevant evidence to the supplier so they can make that decision.

Example: We diagnose the issue as a problem with the venting at the back of the fridge. This is not something covered by Thetford warranty. This is an issue with the build of van/installation - and therefore the caravan manufacturer’s responsibility (or whoever fitted the fridge). 

Who’s Warranty?

Once we have determined who (if any) warranty is likely responsible, we can then START the warranty claim process. Note - this is done AFTER the diagnosis.

Every supplier has a different warranty process which we need to follow. 

Minimum Charge

We have a minimum charge for any warranty work. This will be included in the quote. 

Diagnosis Cost

In the case above, the fridge supplier will not pay for us for our diagnosis, as it has nothing to do with them. Many caravan manufacturers and equipment suppliers, simply refuse to pay for diagnosis. In such cases, it is unfair to our business to wear the costs of the diagnosis. Therefore, you - the owner - will be required to pay for any such costs involved.

Time Frame to Receive Authority

This varies between suppliers. We commit to lodging the claim in the supplier required format once electronically. We will only action the claim once we have received a response from the supplier. 

Parts

Many suppliers refuse to pay for any parts costs. For parts that are required and authorised, they will send the parts to us. So even if we have the same part available from our stock, we are unable to use it due to this supplier process. Therefore, the work needs to be re-booked once the authorised parts are received in. (Or the parts we have available are paid for at time of work).

Labour

Some suppliers refuse to pay for any labour costs. For any labour that is not covered by the supplier, you will be charged for it.

Ancillary Costs

There can be a difference between what a supplier will pay for a given job, and the time/cost it actually takes. E.g. they may allow 3 hours to replace a fridge. But in your particular van, it requires the door to be removed - which takes a total of 6 hours. If they don’t approve the removal of the door, it is necessary that you pay for those charges.

Storage Costs

Vans/vehicles not collected incur a storage fee.

Why Fridays Only

  • We only process warranty related work on a Friday, with 2 business days notice
  • This means if you notify us of a warranty issue on a Thursday, we will respond Friday the following week.
  • There are a lot of warranty claims
  • Warranty claims take a lot of admin/overhead to process - because every Warrantor has a different process. 
  • Most Warrantors are not able to be contacted readily - e.g. if we leave a message/email for them, we normally don't get a response for 1-2 weeks.
  • There is limited/no benefit in getting daily updates/status. The Warrantor will get back to us in order of THEIR priority (not ours, not yours unfortunately).
  • Many warranty claims are denied by the Warrantor

Why email / SMS only? No phone calls?

  • It is more efficient for us to communicate this way
  • For all warranty related communication we need to have a written/documented trail of all communication.

 

Denied Claims

  • Many warranty claims are denied by the warrantor
  • This has nothing to do with us - we just quote/claim for the work you as the owner are advising us "should" be under warranty
  • If the claim has be denied, we will not take it any further. ie it's not our role to try to convince the Warrantor otherwise - its their decision. 

Modified Work Process / Substitutes

  • Often a Warrantor will advise/instruct us to carry out a repair according to their instructions.
  • This may be different to the way we would prefer/recommend to carry out the work
  • Its on the Warrantor's authority that we carry out the work, so its their choice. 
  • We do not warrant our workmanship in this situation
  • If you have specific requirements, and they are different to the Warrantor, we can offer to do the work privately for you (where you pay for it).

Warranty Extension

  • In most cases, replacing an item / carrying out work under warranty does NOT extend the warranty
  • e.g. if your fridge has a 3 year warranty and is replaced after 2 yr 8 months, it may only have a 4 month warranty on it.
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Location

506 Boundary St
Toowoomba QLD 4350

(Cnr Gardner Ct)


Opening Hours

Mon – Thur: 8.30AM – 4:30PM
Friday: 8.30AM - 2PM
Vehicle Drop-Off from 7am (for confirmed bookings)
 

Sat: By Appointment


 

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