Campervan company left leisure vehicle users at “great risk”
A campervan conversion company from Caerphilly in South Wales, with a portfolio of famous clients including Guy Ritchie and Madonna, has been left with a fine of £2,500 after a customer was left at “great risk” over failure to oversee essential safety measures during the refurbishment of a campervan.
Dayne Bartlett, 46, and Robert Kerr, 49, of campervan conversion company, Touch of Class Upholstery, both appeared before Newport Magistrates’ Court on Friday charged with producing an unsafe product.
The case was brought to the attention of the court on behalf of trading standards for Caerphilly County Borough Council under the General Product Safety Regulations. Co-owner of the company, Bartlett, and Kerr, a sub-contract gas engineer, who both stood unrepresented in court, pleaded not guilty to the offence.
The customer in question, Michael Broad, initially paid for the refurbishment to the interior of his campervan in December 2013, paying £7,000 for work to be carried out, involving the installation of a gas cooker, bed and seat belts.
Following noticing an electrical wire hanging out of the television, and when shelves began falling down on his first overnight trip in the vehicle amongst a number of other problems, trading standards subsequently found that there were as many as seven “at risk” threats, including issues with the gas insulation owing to an insecure gas cylinder.
Upon providing evidence to the court, Broad explained: “I was quite upset and I went on to complain to trading standards.The gas safety engineer then carried out an inspection and put a do not use sticker on the cooker.
“The motor inspector said that the seatbelts for the bed should have been bolted to the floor rather than screwed onto plywood.
“It failed its MOT test as a result,” he continued.
Expert vehicle examiner, Gareth Rees, carried out an examination of the camper van, and added: “The seatbelt was poorly secured with a self-tapping bolt and it hadn’t been fitted onto the metal structure of the vehicle.
“The user was put at great risk. It was unsafe and dangerous.”
When questioned, Bartlett remained adamant that Kerr was a fully qualified professional. He said: “We’ve pimped Madonna’s ride and worked with Guy Ritchie. We’re not a fly by night company.
“He [Kerr] was on a code of practice course and as long as he’s qualified, that’s all I can give the customer.”
When summing up the case, magistrates chairman Robert Evans explained: “The seatbelt anchorage was insecure and dangerous.
“The installations were unsafe for use.”
Bartlett was fined £900 and also had to pay costs to the sum of £1,950.85, along with a victim surcharge of £45. Kerr was fined the lesser penalty of £450 and had to pay costs of £975, along with a victim surcharge of £45.
What do you think of this fine? Do you think Touch of Class Upholstery got off lightly considering the risk their work presented?
