Carshop to avoid

Stevefromdonny

Hi, I am a new contributor here, and I recently had a dealing with this place in Doncaster (also branches in Northampton, Cardiff, Swindon etc). I thought I'd share it here so everyone else can avoid the place and be warned if you choose to go there.

To save me typing everything again, I will copy the letter I recently sent their head office. I didn't send it to the Doncaster branch because I have lost all faith in their staff and wouldn't trust them to deal with the issues.

9th February 2014


Postage: Recorded Delivery, signed for.


Dear Sir/Madam,
I am writing to express my dissatisfaction with the service I recently received at your Doncaster Carshop. I will list the reasons below, followed by a list of requests. My reason for writing to the head office is that I have lost faith in the dealership I dealt with and the staff there, and judging by online reviews, dealing with staff in the dealership verbally is not a reliable way of resolving complaints. The car in question is a Citroen DS4, registration *******.


My list of issues is as follows:

1. The car has no service book. The service book delivered with the car had a stamp at 11746 miles, but the car had only done 10600 by the time it was delivered to me. The place that allegedly stamped the book denied all knowledge of it ever having been in for service. They sold the car to start with when new but that is all. Even the Manheim Defleet document in the glove box stated the above mileages, why did nobody spot this until I came to collect the car? The lady who was dealing with my collection (******) threw the erroneous service book in the bin. I was told by ****
   ***** in the collections area that she would try to source a service book, but I have had nothing yet. I had the car serviced by the dealership for free by way of recompense for the lack of service book. This was volunteered by the staff there and I was grateful for this.

Lack of a service book and full history will de-value the car when I come to sell it, so I will be financially worse off because of this. Also, all your cars are sold on the assumption that they have full service history, which this car now doesn't, so in effect it was not as described.

1. Your staff were extremely reluctant to rectify a problem with the car which manifested itself as soon as I drove out of the gate (in the form of the ESP and service lights). After driving away 3 times that evening, your operations manager, ******, agreed to have the car booked in at Citroen to fix the problem. There were no courtesy cars available to us and they refused to let me have my old car back temporarily, so one of the staff drove us home. I was told they would be in touch with a courtesy car the next day, but I couldn't afford to wait for this as I needed it the next afternoon, so I phoned up the next morning. I do wonder if anyone would have actually tried to contact me to arrange this, as it took several phone calls.
   I got my new car after 4 days, and the problem turned out to be a split air pipe, which cannot have just created itself as I drove out of the gate. One of your staff drove the car from Cardiff, so he must have known about the fault and just hoped the customer would not be bothered, or would automatically take it to Citroen.
   The way my complaint was handled by the dealership was terrible. I felt like I was inconveniencing them by bringing the car back! They were very reluctant to take it back. Perhaps I was inconveniencing them, but I was the customer, and a customer should never be made to feel like this (I work in retail management myself). I had just spent a lot of money (and financially stretched myself) to buy the car, and was within my rights to expect it to be in good working order when I picked it up. My experience is, however, consistent with your online reviews, and I feel that your company has a long way to go in improving aftersales care. There was a point at which myself and my partner wished we had never bothered with the car and gone elsewhere. My partner is 6 months pregnant and does not need this stress. We were considering cancelling everything, the deciding factor was that the dealership had my old car and they had probably already sent it or booked it in to auction. They effectively had us over a barrel.
2. The GardX pack that was in the car is missing components, including the tyre guard, bird dropping remover and microfibre cloth. One of the bottles that I did get (glass guard) has also leaked, causing the whole pack to smell very strongly of solvent. I also have no GardX certificate, only the windscreen sticker.
3. The whole way the finance was arranged was secretive and in my opinion, unfair. We went into the business specialist office thinking the finance would be around 8%, and for the next hour this is what we assumed, but then when the final documents were printed for me to sign it turned out to be 16%! Also, the business specialist neglected to tell us all of the charges involved with the finance. At the last minute he loaded on a £300 “arrangement fee”, part of it spread and part of it on the last payment. This fee should have been explained to us as part of the standard information before we entered into the business specialist office, preferably at the point when we expressed an interest in finance. A key facts document would be ideal. At the point that we were told of this arrangement fee, we felt under pressure to sign since we would otherwise have wasted an hour of the business specialists time. Due to the way it was sold and the ultimate cost of it, when I then signed the agreement I had every intention of seeking alternative finance and withdrawing from it, which I have since done.
4. I asked in branch when I picked the car up, what I needed to do to cancel the VAP (vehicle asset protecion) insurance I had taken out, and was told to write a short letter to do this. I did so, and handed the letter to ****. What happened to it then, I don't know, but I am still missing my £299 refund which, according to the terms and conditions, I am entitled to within 30 days of purchase (27th January) by cancelling the agreement at the dealership.
5. Given the issues I have had with the purchase of the car, I no longer wish to have anything to do with the dealership in question, so I have cancelled the direct debit for the service plan I purchased, and wish to withdraw from this agreement. At the time of writing (9th Feb) it is less than 2 weeks from the date of purchase so I am entitled to withdraw from this agreement without penalty under its terms and conditions.

I appreciate I have presented you with a variety of complaints in this letter, but I do want the following issues sorted:

1. I need a service book for the car, whether new or original to the car, complete with a stamp for the free service conducted in branch at 10600 miles. Some discount on the car would also be a nice gesture, since even if a new book is sourced, it won't have an original dealer delivery stamp in it and the car would not have been worth what I paid for it, nor will it be worth as much when I come to sell it.
2. I need the £299 refund for the VAP policy, as per the letter I wrote in branch and handed to **** - I have found cheaper elsewhere and no longer need the level of cover specified (which was vastly in excess of what I needed anyway), due to no longer having finance against the car. Also, since this was purchased on the finance agreement, some contribution to the interest (at 11.4% APR over 5 years as per my new finance agreement) would be appreciated.
3. I would like a GardX certificate and a replacement aftercare kit. If these cannot be obtained, I would like my money back, £288, plus interest as above, as at the moment I do not have the full equipment to look after the GardX coating, and would be unable to utilise any guarantee they provide.

Please send a reply in writing, and my refund for the VAP policy within 14 days. Thankyou for your time.


Yours Sincerely,

I don't think I've been unreasonable in my requests. The staff treated us with utter contempt as soon as we went back into the showroom with a problem (5 mins after we left).

When I had the courtesy car, I found a couple of interesting things. One was a pocket sales prompter, full of little nuggets of high pressure sales techniques. I might type it out or post an image of it here if I find time. Perhaps it might go viral! Another interesting thing was a previous customers' details on a rental agreement that had been left in the car with the handbook! They just seem completely sales orientated and totally unable to deal with complaints. Nobody wanted to take ownership of my problem.

I will keep this thread updated as I recieve replies from Carshop head office. I'm a massive fan of MSE by the way, excellent work being done here.:T

Netwizard

Sounds like a typical car supermarket! Once they have your money, they don't give a **** what happens afterwards!

The car has probably never been serviced. I know you said they had it back to be serviced, but did they actually do it (and not just stamp the book?!)

The GardX treatment isn't worth £20 let alone £288. You can buy the kits and do it yourself for a few quid.

The service plans are not worth the paper they are written on. Everything is checks like "check horn" "check windscreen wipers" etc. All they actually do is a very very expensive oil and filter change! £40 max. Not worth the crazy prices they charge!

Its a shame you have gone through this but 10 seconds on google tell you everything you need to know about places like this. First result on google was this: http://www.trustpilot.co.uk/review/www.carshop.co.uk

Stevefromdonny

Thanks Netwizard. I have read reviews since my purchase. Worth mentioning, I'm very happy with the car now I have it. My issue is with their poor CS and the little things that I need sorting.

I know the GardX is overpriced now I've researched it, but now I have it, I want to keep it up and be able to claim on any warranty OR have my money back. Otherwise really it was money wasted! I should have recieved a certificate and some warranty paperwork with it, AND a full pack to maintain it. As said above, I have none of those things.

The service plan was a con. 3 years at £10 a month for TWO services. When the service interval is 1 year. Not right that. And at £180 a service, about on par with a main dealer major service! And the Carshop service will be nowhere near that. DD cancelled so they aren't getting any money there.

And I know the car had probably never been serviced. I did get a service certificate from the Carshop but no book stamp - I don't have a book remember? This is the main issue here.

Netwizard

Sounds like a right muckup!

Hope you get everything sorted. I agree you should stick to your guns and harass them until you get what you paid for!

timbotambo

I bought a car from there, they were total sh*t.

Overfilled the car with oil, nearly causing a massive amount of damage. Luckily I spotted in time.

A very badly repaired chip immediately caused a full crack (within 2d of purchase) eminating directly from the chip and they refused to repair.

Had to chase many many times for the promised spare key.

Car was also very dirty, despite promise to clean.

Good price tho, so pays yer money takes yer choice

Stevefromdonny

Its been 3 weeks since I sent that letter. On friday I sent an email to their published email address, [EMAIL="quality@carshop.co.uk"]quality@carshop.co.uk[/EMAIL] and had a response within a couple of hours. Here are the exchanges:

On Friday, 28 February 2014, "I" wrote:
Hi, I recently wrote a letter of complaint to your head office in Northampton regarding the purchase of a Citroen DS4, reg *******, from the Doncaster Carshop, requesting a response within 14 days.

I note that you received this letter (sent recorded signed for) on the 11th of February, but it has now been nearly 3 weeks and I have had no response yet. I am writing to inquire whether anyone has dealt with my letter yet.

If I hear nothing back before the 7th of March I will be taking legal and trading standards advice/action on the matters I outlined in the letter.

Thankyou

They replied:

Dear Mr Craft,

I apologise that you have not received a response I will look into this Monday upon my return to the business.


Can you please provide me with a contact number for yourself and I will call you Monday to discuss.


Kind regards,
<ONE OF THE PEOPLE I NAMED IN MY ORIGINAL LETTER!>

Customer experience manager
Car shop Doncaster

Needless to say I'm deeply dissatisfied with this response, as it seems even their central email address leads directly to Doncaster carshop to one of the people who made me false promises before, when I'm trying to deal with their registered office in Northampton!

I replied on Monday Morning:

Hi, in my letter I did say that I wanted correspondence to be in writing so that I have written evidence of all communications, as so far all verbal promises have been unfulfilled. I will accept a phone call to discuss the case but any resolutions must be in writing either by email or post. My number is ***** ******.


Regards

What should I do now? I didn't recieve a phone call yesterday. It's now 3 weeks since they recieved my letter and I have threatened legal/TS action. I've never had to take anything this far before, but I have a feeling this may end up getting ugly. Everything I am doing is falling on deaf ears and I'm growing ever more frustrated by their lack of response.

I want to send another letter threatening court action or similar, can I do this? Should I/do I have to get a solicitor involved?

Car_Complaints

If you gave them 14 days to respond and had no contact on day 14 then send letter two, dont wait, show them you mean business, just write another letter giving them 10days or court proceedings will begin without further notice

I would be more inclined to do a company search on

Registered Office: Ravens Way, Crow Lane Industrial Estate, Northampton, NN3 9UD Registered No: 5331512 VAT Registration No: 684 0225 42

Cost you a couple of quid
Find out who the MD is and write to them directly.

Stevefromdonny

I've already found out who the MD is via LinkedIn.

I've drafter a letter:

Ref: Citroen DS4, **** ***



NOTICE OF INTENT TO PURSUE LEGAL ACTION


Dear Sir/Madam,


On the 11th February your Northampton office received a letter from myself making a number of requests, including a response within two weeks. I have proof of your reciept of this letter.


Unfortunately it has now been 3 weeks and I have had no response. I sent an email on Friday 28th February to your published aftersales email address (quality@carshop.co.uk) which was somehow picked up by **** ***** in Doncaster Carshop. She replied promising a phone call on Monday 3rd March, but no phone call was received. Once again, my faith in the staff in Doncaster has reached a new low, hence my wish to deal with the head office.


I shall give your company a further period of time to provide some satisfactory response in writing that you are attempting to resolve my issues.


If I receive no reply by 14th March, I will be taking the matter to the small claims court to recover money I am owed.




Yours Sincerely






****** *****

Opinions?


I have written to Citroen UK requesting information on the value of the car without a service book so I can put a value on this if they reply, not just "some recompense".


Thanks!

albionrovers

Why do people insist on using 'myself/yourself'. Is it supposed to sound more important? What's wrong with 'me/you'?

Anyone else?

Stevefromdonny

"You received a letter from me"

"You received a letter from myself"

...... thinks for a bit ......

"myself" sounds more formal.

Car_Complaints

Also add

In addition, I will look to you for all my costs and legal expenses incurred.

Mention your rights under SOGA too and how they are in breach of these and keep the pressure up, if they do not respond don't back down, that is what they are hoping for at the minute.