A camping one -To be so angry with Charlies and Vango

[MagicKingdomDizzy]

This post is a bit of a mixture.... Part rant, part warning (think twice before using these companies!) and part WWYD?

6 weeks ago DH and I purchased a brand new tent, a Vango Langley 600xl. We purchased it from the online camping store Charlies and it cost £350.

We went camping last week, and 4 days into the holiday there was some wind.

At wind speeds of 12mph both storm straps snapped from the ceiling.

Then that night stronger winds came about 30mph. Because we no longer had storm straps the tent was moving all over, despite my husband (who is a very experienced camper) adjusting gut ropes and trying to stabilise the tent.

3 guy ropes then snapped off and afterwards 3 tent poles split down the middle. The tent collapsed on top of us (including my 2 children) at 2am in the morning.

As soon as we could, we packed up the tent and came home early losing 2 days of our holiday.

I contacted Charlies when we returned and sent the pictures. They are saying we are not entitled to a refund or replacement as we purchased the tent more than 30 days ago. Also, they have told me that Vango's warranty doesn't include weather damage (despite this tent being described as 'durable and able to stand strong winds).

I am disgusted by both of them. We were sold an inferior product that was not fit for purpose) unless they expected us to camp indoors?!). It lasted 4 days!

So that's my rant.

My warning is to not purchase ANYTHING from Charlies.co.uk as they will not help if anything goes wrong. Also think twice about purchasing a Vango tent, as the quality is bad and their warranty is dubious to say the least.

Finally WWYD in this situation? We are down £350 and neither company want to take responsibility for a tent purchased 60 days ago, lasted 4 days, and collapsed.

We have already put in a claim with our credit card, but I'm not sure if they will refund us.

Sorry, but I don't think anything but a steel poled tent would be expected to stand up to those winds. We've camped over the last 3 weeks and in 20 years of camping I've not known weather like it.

Three weeks back we were in big storms on the East Coast of Scotland. It took DH, DD and I to hold the tent down for over an hour and we'd double guyed it all round. In the morning only us and a steel poled tent next to us were left standing. All the rest had broken and collapsed. The lady at the campsite said that before we got there there'd been a storm and all the air tents went first.

Then, back home, we decided to do another few days down south. We were camping in those wind warnings last Saturday. DH came out of work on emergency annual leave very early Saturday morning to help us pack up but by that time we'd broken almost every pole of our tent and a shock cord. It's covered in rips. We've repaired it but I think it's had it. And that's a pretty new £500 tent that has stood up to everything before.

It's gutting, but tents aren't built for those extremes unless you get one specifically designed for strong winds. I have part sympathy with you because we invested over £1000 in a vango air tent last year and haven't used it since because it is shit - especially the quality. I think you're being a bit unfair expecting it to withstand those winds, though.

So sorry to hear of your tent OP.

On the Vango website www.vango.co.uk/gb/tents/1006-langley-600xl.html#da-moreinfo
It says 'Patented Vango TBS®II Tension Band System ensures tent performs in adverse conditions, especially in strong, changeable winds. '
The Sale of Goods Act 1979 requires goods to be as described, of satisfactory quality and fit for purpose.
It has failed in not that strong winds and therefore failed under the Sale of goods act I reckon under all 3 sections. You only need to show something fails under one for a refund.
Don't accept a repair from them or you'll have lost your rights to a refund under the act of I remember correctly.
Good luck!

It says 'Patented Vango TBS®II Tension Band System ensures tent performs in adverse conditions, especially in strong, changeable winds

I suppose you could argue that they haven't defined 'strong, changeable winds' with a wind strength,

PurpleCrazyHorse that's helpful - the Outwell Vermont XL is the one we are considering if we continue camping. The only other tent left standing next to us was one of those and the lady who owned it said it withstood everything. She did say it was big and heavy and not that easy to pitch, though. But I think if we are going to get summers like the last few weeks it's our only choice. Our vango air tent I don't think would have lasted 5 mins. Our one that has performed pretty well right up until the ridiculous winds was a Hi gear Kalihari Elite (go outdoors) but it's fibreglass poles and I think they will always eventually go under enough strain.

That's interesting musicposy about the air tents. I was thinking of getting one when I upgrade from my current tent in a couple of years as I had read that they performed much better in strong winds, as in the airbeams simply bend whereas a pole would break. Might have to have a rethink!!

It's gutting, but tents aren't built for those extremes unless you get one specifically designed for strong winds.

But the advertising bumph for the tent says about it standing up in strong winds. So it’s reasonable for OP to assume it will stand up in strong winds. If it doesn’t (and I get your point about steel poles not fibreglass) then they need to stop making false claims.

VivaLeBeaver

But the advertising bumph for the tent says about it standing up in strong winds. So it’s reasonable for OP to assume it will stand up in strong winds. If it doesn’t (and I get your point about steel poles not fibreglass) then they need to stop making false claims.

I agree! We based our decision to buy the tent in part because of the description.

Sorry that made no sense! We based our decision to buy the tent on a few things, but it was in part due to the description (which is supposed to be accurate).

Piglet89

Thank you for your post!

Steel poled tents, double guyed, really are the only thing that will withstand storm force; be that outwell or Vango; airbeams are okish; if the wind doesn’t change direction and they’re well guyed.

Sorry I missed that about the description. I agree that if they claim that, they should stand by that.

Our Vango airbeam ripped in a corner the first time we put it up (correctly, according to instructions). The retailer sent it back to vango but it took 3 weeks and they patched it. I thought it was a pretty poor show to spend over £1000 on a tent and then have to have a patched one. But the whole tent is pretty shit, tbh, so I didn't have the energy to care. I'd never buy a Vango again. It looked great when up in the showroom and had good features, but living with it (heavy, hard to put up despite being an air tent, shoddy fabric, zips that constantly snagged) I felt I paid a lot of money for a name.

I think manufacturers make claims way beyond reality, having seen what happens to almost every tent in strong wind recently. However, I guess if they're not willing to stand by the claim they shouldn't make it.

We had a van go tent for nearly ten years and it has been in all weather. Pretty strong winds where we thought we would take off. We only changed it recently as upgraded to an air tent. I won’t have been pretty fucking annoyed if it fell down after the first use. Hope they sort it for you.

Oooo I was in Go Outdoors yesterday and was looking to buy a Vango tent. I really liked it as my DH would have been able to stand up in it and it's the perfect height to attach to the back of the van but I won't be bothering now! Thanks OP! Sounds like I've dodged a bullet!

I've had exactly the same problem with a Vango casa 7 tent I bought it from go outdoors and I'm now in my 3rd tent in 4 weeks. First one had snapped elastic in the poles when I took it out the bag and the second on did exactly what yours has done I took videos I also had to pack up and go home with the kids this was yesterday. I've emailed Vango the videos and told them what happened and been to go outdoors this morning and got another one. I hope you get sorted out

Perch you weren't at Little Meadow were you? I loved that site.

No help to the OP now, but we always went to places with tent displays before we bought. Winfield's of Hull is my guilty pleasure! (We had family in Hull). Go Outdoors have good displays too. You can always shop around online after you have seen it.

gladimnotcampinginthisweather - we were at water mouth cove, about 4 years ago. I never once complained of the weight of our steel poled tent after that night!! Little Meadow looks amazing. North Devon coast is my happy place in England (pesky forrriner here). When I win the lottery I'm buying a cottage in Ilfracombe the next day.

Our last tent was a steel poled Vango, which we sold when we retired from camping, but I don't think they make them any more. The replacement looked much less sturdy.
Little Meadow is worth a visit Perch.

I bought a brand new Vango tent and was really disappointed in the quality for the price. I specifically wanted a Vango to support a Scottish company but it didn't last even a first pitch in completely clement weather (unlike my Tesco tent which I had for 5 years, used at least once a month and was made in Poland). The Vango pegs are flimsy and the poles are totally rubbish. BY the 5th or 6th time I pitched the main pole had split. My tent poles are mostly duct tape now. Also one of the seams leaked from day one. Never again with Vango - seriously disappointed

I spoke to a member of staff in a camping shop yesterday and he said they are getting a lot of tents returned at the moment.
He thinks manufacturers are trying to keep costs down and are compromising on quality.

@A1girlracer21 we just got a vango casa 7 so that’s worrying to hear.
We did have some windy weather on our recent trip but nothing too bad. We were also a bit disappointed with the quality - seems very flimsy and lightweight.
We previously had an outwell airbeam which felt much more substantial but after only 4/5 years has given up, had air leaks and dripped/leaked very badly.
Fingers crossed our vango lasts us a good few years.

Somewhere on the specification will be maximum wind speed that it's guaranteed to, if the gusts exceeded it then no refund will be due. Unfortunately tall family tents and winds are not compatible - for windy conditions you need low to the ground and double braced with storm guys (I have a mountaineering tent guaranteed to 100mph). If there's no maximum wind speed then try using the Sale of Goods Act as it was not fit for purpose

I hope you're casa 7 lasts you well I'm hoping I'm just having a run of bad luck and this 3rd one will be lucky I'm going to set it up in the garden and hope this one has no problems. My last Vango tent lasted me 10 years but I've heard they've moved their manufacturers from Scotland to China and that's why the quality isn't as good 😔 I think it's just luck of the draw