Advice please!

catewithers

Last August, I bought a brand new Aprilia Mojito 50 from a major dealer with cash. As part of the deal, I paid for a rack, top box and the fitting of both items.

The accessories come direct from the factory in Italy, which closes over the summer for holidays. Consequently, the dealer didn't have any in stock and told me that they would call me when they arrived, in approximately a months time.

I didn't hear anything at all. 5 weeks later, I called them to be told that it hadn't arrived because their head office had forgotten to renew the contract with the supplier. I was told that it was being sorted out now and should be arriving in a couple of weeks. Another 3/4 weeks later, still heard nothing, so I called them again to be told that the accessories had arrived and were sitting in their stock room. I made arrangements for them to be fitted and my bike was serviced at the same time, free of charge as per the purchase agreement.

A couple of weeks later, the hinges on the lid of the top box started coming away from the base. I went to the dealer on my way home from work just before Christmas. A very nice man, Gary, came out to have a look and agreed with me that the box was clearly faulty and they would put in a claim with Aprilia to get a new one. We went back into the shop where he took my details and said he would be in touch shortly. I explained what had happened before, that no one had actually called when they'd told me they would, and asked him to make sure he did call me. He assured me he would do so.

He called the next day to tell me that the guy (Les) who could put in this kind of claim was on holiday over the Christmas period and would not be back until the new year. He hadn't left any instructions with anyone else as to how to do this kind of claim and so it would not be possible to proceed until he returned in the new year. I was finishing work for Christmas that day and was not going to be using the bike until new year, so didn't see much point in getting upset about this and asked Gary to make sure that he passed on my details to Les as soon as he returned to work and get him to call me. Gary told me he would put a note in his diary for the 2nd of Jan to remind himself to do this.

That date came and went and I received no call. I called the dealer to speak to Les, who knew nothing about my top box when I spoke to him. He also told me that he wasn't the only one who could put in this kind of claim and said that it was Gary's responsibility. He would get him to call me. Cue another few days of waiting and me calling to speak to Gary who didn't return my calls. The last occasion I called, I asked to speak to a manager, only to be told that Gary is a manager. "That's encouraging," I replied.

Later that day, Gary called me back and he told me that he was having great difficulty with Aprilia as they seemed to have changed the process for this kind of claim. He used to email them, now he can't. I expressed my dissatisfaction that this was dragging on so long. He said that he had a contact in the factory in Italy and he would try to contact him.

He called me back half an hour later to say that the man in Italy said he had processed the claim. Gary also told me that they have a top box in their stock room but they don't know who it's for. It is also slightly different to mine in that it has a painted lid rather than a basic moulded plastic lid. This was nearly 2 weeks ago and he told me he would find out whose that box is and if it wasn't mine, where mine was. I haven't heard from him since and in the meantime the lid on my box has completely come away from the base, rendering it totally useless from a security point of view.

So, in a nutshell, last August I paid for a top box, rack and the fitting of those items. I have been provided with those items, one of which is faulty. It is now February and I still haven't been furnished with a replacement and I'm rapidly running out of patience.

What can I do? What would you do? Any advice gratefully received.

Thanks and sorry this has been so lengthy!!

reheat

Small claims court?

Sorry to be so brief :rolleyes: (friendly leg pull, not nasty sarcasm )