Arnold Clark not repairing vehicle

bazzahcr

Hi everyone,

I purchased a van from Arnold Clark on HP back in January this year, I am a Sole Trader.  It was 2 and 1/2 years old, 59000 miles on clock and still under manufacture warranty, full service history.

The timing belt snapped on 13th June and was still under manufacture warranty when this happened. 4 months later, van is still sat at their garage and has not been repaired. It took them 3 months just to have a look and diagnose the problem. A new engine is required and they still have not said if the cost of repair will be covered under warranty or not. Anytime I phone for any update they say they are still waiting for head office to say if the repair will be covered or not under manufacture warranty. Worse case they say, as I took the extended Autocare warranty, Autocare would cover up to £6000 and I would pay the difference which will probably be £4000. I certainly can't afford this if this is the case.

So 4 months I've been without a van, they have never offered any courtesy vehicle, so I've had to pay to hire a van all this time, and I still have no idea when my van will be repaired and who will pay for it.

I put a complaint into them and they have never responded to it. Not once have they been in touch with me this whole time, always me having to phone them for an update.

I contacted the Motor Ombudsman a few days ago, and I got an automatic reply saying as they are very busy, it will be a minimum of 6 months before an administrator can be appointed!!

I now have no idea what to do or who to turn to for help. Has anyone got any suggestions?

Thank you.

Alderbank

bazzahcr said:

Hi everyone,

I purchased a van from Arnold Clark on HP back in January this year, I am a Sole Trader.  It was 2 and 1/2 years old, 59000 miles on clock and still under manufacture warranty, full service history.

The timing belt snapped on 13th June and was still under manufacture warranty when this happened. 4 months later, van is still sat at their garage and has not been repaired. It took them 3 months just to have a look and diagnose the problem. A new engine is required and they still have not said if the cost of repair will be covered under warranty or not. Anytime I phone for any update they say they are still waiting for head office to say if the repair will be covered or not under manufacture warranty. Worse case they say, as I took the extended Autocare warranty, Autocare would cover up to £6000 and I would pay the difference which will probably be £4000. I certainly can't afford this if this is the case.

So 4 months I've been without a van, they have never offered any courtesy vehicle, so I've had to pay to hire a van all this time, and I still have no idea when my van will be repaired and who will pay for it.

I put a complaint into them and they have never responded to it. Not once have they been in touch with me this whole time, always me having to phone them for an update.

I contacted the Motor Ombudsman a few days ago, and I got an automatic reply saying as they are very busy, it will be a minimum of 6 months before an administrator can be appointed!!

I now have no idea what to do or who to turn to for help. Has anyone got any suggestions?

Thank you.

Welcome to the forum.

Who is the finance house with whom you have a regulated finance agreement?

As a sole trader, you should be able to make a claim under s75 or s75a of the 1974 Consumer Credit Act if AC have still not dealt with your issue after 4 months.

bazzahcr

Hi Alderbank,
The finance is with Northridge Finance in Belfast.  I complained to them also, but the response I keep getting from them is ''We are still awaiting a response/update from Arnold Clark''. 

MEM62

bazzahcr said:

Hi Alderbank,
The finance is with Northridge Finance in Belfast.  I complained to them also, but the response I keep getting from them is ''We are still awaiting a response/update from Arnold Clark''. 

The you need to explain to them that this is unacceptable.  They will continue to fob you off if you do not push them.  

Arunmor

Have you contacted the manufacturer to let them know of the poor service and to check lead times for new engines and if it really needs one?

bazzahcr

Alderbank said:

bazzahcr said:

Hi everyone,

I purchased a van from Arnold Clark on HP back in January this year, I am a Sole Trader.  It was 2 and 1/2 years old, 59000 miles on clock and still under manufacture warranty, full service history.

The timing belt snapped on 13th June and was still under manufacture warranty when this happened. 4 months later, van is still sat at their garage and has not been repaired. It took them 3 months just to have a look and diagnose the problem. A new engine is required and they still have not said if the cost of repair will be covered under warranty or not. Anytime I phone for any update they say they are still waiting for head office to say if the repair will be covered or not under manufacture warranty. Worse case they say, as I took the extended Autocare warranty, Autocare would cover up to £6000 and I would pay the difference which will probably be £4000. I certainly can't afford this if this is the case.

So 4 months I've been without a van, they have never offered any courtesy vehicle, so I've had to pay to hire a van all this time, and I still have no idea when my van will be repaired and who will pay for it.

I put a complaint into them and they have never responded to it. Not once have they been in touch with me this whole time, always me having to phone them for an update.

I contacted the Motor Ombudsman a few days ago, and I got an automatic reply saying as they are very busy, it will be a minimum of 6 months before an administrator can be appointed!!

I now have no idea what to do or who to turn to for help. Has anyone got any suggestions?

Thank you.

Welcome to the forum.

Who is the finance house with whom you have a regulated finance agreement?

As a sole trader, you should be able to make a claim under s75 or s75a of the 1974 Consumer Credit Act if AC have still not dealt with your issue after 4 months.

Hi Alderbank,

The finance is with Northridge Finance in Belfast, I live in Scotland.  I complained to them also, but the response I keep getting from them is ''We are still awaiting a response/update from Arnold Clark''. 

sheramber

Have you contacted the manufacturer to query the reason for the delay ?

flashg67

If it's under manufacturer warranty, why is the 3rd party warranty company getting involved? Speak to the manufacturer customer service dept directly. Sadly, they're not often known as Arnold Shark for nothing...

Mildly_Miffed

If it's under manufacturer warranty, then the delay is with the manufacturer's UK head office in approving the claim.

Arnold Shark are merely the franchise dealer - they don't make the decision. You need to go up the food chain.

Is this a wet-belt Transit? If so, then AIUI there are massive parts supply backlogs.

born_again

bazzahcr said:

Hi everyone,

I purchased a van from Arnold Clark on HP back in January this year, I am a Sole Trader.  It was 2 and 1/2 years old, 59000 miles on clock and still under manufacture warranty, full service history.

The timing belt snapped on 13th June and was still under manufacture warranty when this happened. 4 months later, van is still sat at their garage and has not been repaired. It took them 3 months just to have a look and diagnose the problem. A new engine is required and they still have not said if the cost of repair will be covered under warranty or not. Anytime I phone for any update they say they are still waiting for head office to say if the repair will be covered or not under manufacture warranty. Worse case they say, as I took the extended Autocare warranty, Autocare would cover up to £6000 and I would pay the difference which will probably be £4000. I certainly can't afford this if this is the case.

So 4 months I've been without a van, they have never offered any courtesy vehicle, so I've had to pay to hire a van all this time, and I still have no idea when my van will be repaired and who will pay for it.

I put a complaint into them and they have never responded to it. Not once have they been in touch with me this whole time, always me having to phone them for an update.

I contacted the Motor Ombudsman a few days ago, and I got an automatic reply saying as they are very busy, it will be a minimum of 6 months before an administrator can be appointed!!

I now have no idea what to do or who to turn to for help. Has anyone got any suggestions?

Thank you.

Simple check to see if warranty will cover. Has van  been serviced as per manufactures schedule. If not then by by warranty.

How many miles did you do in that period & which van?

If it requires a new engine, it could well be a long wait.