Pentagon Lincoln sold me a Faulty Car and refused to refund until The Motor Ombudsman intervened

furac40

Hi,

I want to quickly detail my experience after purchasing a faulty second-hand car from Pentagon Motor Group.

I am writing the timeline of events so hopefully, this will help future customers and know what to expect.

Car price: £9.9k

Car mileage: 22k

Purchase: cash with debit card

The vehicle was sold to me faulty by Pentagon Motor Group Lincoln on the 12th of June 2021. I’ve repeatedly asked for a refund however the dealership refused my request. The car’s engine stalls and cuts off when reversing.

13 June 2021 - I reported the fault to the dealership the next day after purchase but have been told I will not receive a refund and gestured to “go away”. I confronted the manager about consumer rights and the fact that goods can be returned in 30 days if faulty but his exact wording was “this is not the law. The law does not apply for cars”. My exact wording was “You sold me a faulty car that is not fit for purpose and I request a full refund”. The manager’s reply was “I probably did but you will not get a refund, you can contact a solicitor which will contact our solicitor”. At the end of the conversation, I’ve asked him for an official letter stating that I have visited the branch and asked for an official refund. The manager (his name is Tony) giggled and said, “I will not give you that”.

The same day I have emailed and complained to Pentagon's customer.care@pentagon-group.co.uk.

14 June 2021 - Pentagon's general manager (Mark Dickinson) called to discuss the issue. I have reiterated the issue I had with the car (intermittent engine stalling and cutting off when reversing) and branch manager’s (Tony) attitude. I’ve made him aware that the vehicle is not of satisfactory quality and I want to be refunded in full. Pentagon’s general manager stated that the car must be inspected by themselves before making a decision.

During the conversation, I’ve also asked what Pentagon is going to do with the fact that the branch manager (Tony) purposely lied to me (about Consumer Rights) when he stated “This is not the law. The law does not apply for cars”. I wanted to know how is Pentagon Lincoln going to future protect customers from being offended, lied to and rejected to be provided proof of complaint. Mark’s reply was this was a “misunderstanding” and Pentagon is not willing to discuss this with me as there are internal procedures to follow. After I insisted that they do not do enough to protect the customer, Mark’s reply was monotone and like read from a typical sales book “the on-duty manager was not trained” → this is a lie, the branch manager is a fully trained salesperson and it was obvious he was experienced with this kind of claims.

15 June 2021 - Pentagon inspected the car. Pentagon’s general manager phoned and said the car was OK and the “fault memory” was empty. He stated that the vehicle is of satisfactory quality and as such a refund will not be provided. He also stated that the problem was me, not knowing how to use the “start-stop button” → I am fully aware of the functionality of the start-stop button.

17 June 2021 - Car engine continued to choke and cut off when reversing and check engine light came on whilst driving.

18 June 2021 - I've emailed Pentagon the check engine light picture and asked again for a refund. Pentagon inspected the car for the second time and found the issue was P0172 fault code (System too rich) which makes the engine “choke up”. In order to correct the issue, Pentagon changed one component which was not of satisfactory quality and was not delivering a correct fuel to air ratio. Pentagon also stated the component is related to the engine's original issue, stalling and cutting off when reversing.

5 July 2021 - I received an official letter from Pentagon Lincoln. The letter states that the car was repaired and the matter considered closed, effectively admitting the car was faulty when sold and rejecting my claim for a refund.

6 July 2021 - I have complained to TMO and directly to Vauxhall.

The reply from Vauxhall was: "We are unable to help you as the dealer you bought your vehicle from is not a Vauxhall dealership but a Renault dealership therefore we cannot deal with them as we only deal with Vauxhall dealerships" → Pentagon has multiple car dealerships in Lincoln, including Vauxhall, Renault, Peugeot, so be very aware when purchasing a car as I believe Pentagon knows this and is selling faulty cars at 'sister' dealerships to avoid discussions with the car manufacturer directly.

29 Oct 2021 - TMO asked for evidence from both myself and Pentagon. I have supplied mine immediately.

1 Nov 2021 - Pentagon phoned and agree to refund. The car was returned to Pentagon and the purchase refund (£9.9k) was received a few days later.

During the conversation, I've requested Pentagon to cover for factors that had a direct consequence of refusal to refund such as insurance cancellation (£100) and loss of time and inconvenience (£600). Pentagon refused to pay for both.

In my emails, I've also asked Pentagon to state if any actions have been taken against the branch manager (Tony) for purposely lying to me and breaching the statutory rights. Just like other Pentagon managers previously asked (Mark and Kathryne), I did not receive a reply.

 

17 Nov 2021 - I have checked what Pentagon has done with the car and found out it was advertised on Autotrader at an increased price of £14k.

Unfortunately, I do not believe Pentagon is willing to change, and I am convinced this practice of lying and stalling until a regulatory body is involved, has been previously used, and most likely continue to be used on other customers.

Dazed_and_C0nfused

1 Nov 2021 - Pentagon phoned and agree to refund. The car was returned to Pentagon and the purchase refund (£9.9k) was received a few days later.

I suspect most people would consider that a satisfactory outcome.

A lot of hassle yes and you will no doubt not be returning as a customer but the vehicle is four and a half months older and you received the full purchase price back.

Out of interest what was the mileage when it was returned.

Merlin139

furac40 said:

Hi,

1 Nov 2021 - Pentagon phoned and agree to refund. The car was returned to Pentagon and the purchase refund (£9.9k) was received a few days later.

Pentagon Motor Group Lincoln sold me a Faulty Car and are refusing to refund

Sorry, Have to question the title of the thread when you received a refund on 1st Nov 2021.

Why are you now bringing this up when the last entry on your timeline was 17th Nov 2021 car up for sale again at 14K?

Do you think you deserve more? If so take them to small claims court.

furac40

Out of interest what was the mileage when it was returned.

The car had 25k miles when returned. I've done 3k miles with it.

Why are you now bringing this up when the last entry on your timeline was 17th Nov 2021 car up for sale again at 14K?

Do you think you deserve more? If so take them to small claims court.

I just want to make people aware of Pentagon's practice and hopefully inform other customers if in the same situation.

user1977

furac40 said:

I just want to make people aware of Pentagon's practice and hopefully inform other customers if in the same situation.

In which case you're on the wrong board:

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/categories/praise-vent-warnings

cx6

I know I should know but what is TMO (Tenant Management Organisation? Television Match Official?) - it is good practice to explain abbreviations

pinkshoes

furac40 said:

Out of interest what was the mileage when it was returned.

The car had 25k miles when returned. I've done 3k miles with it.

You did 3000 miles and still got a full refund?!?!??!?!?!

Yes they were difficult to deal with, but ultimately they (eventually) refunded without deducting for usage. 

Money_Grabber13579

cx6 said:

I know I should know but what is TMO (Tenant Management Organisation? Television Match Official?) - it is good practice to explain abbreviations

I was wondering why The Met Office were going to be interested… but then I thought it might be something like the motor ombudsman? 

theonlywayisup

cx6 said:

I know I should know but what is TMO (Tenant Management Organisation? Television Match Official?) - it is good practice to explain abbreviations

It is a Six Nations weekend and therefore has only one meaning  

400ixl

I assume TMO is https://www.themotorombudsman.org/

giraffe69

If you had driven 3000 miles before you received your full refund then the company had made no charge for the mileage and it would be common to deduct 45p per mile(although likely a bit less than that if you negotiated) so around £1400 for your inconvenience which seems like a good result. none of that, of course, excuses the poor conduct by the manager in the first place.