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virgin cars....complaints

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hi,
i'm currently buying a car from virgin cars. when I first called, the internet site and the first lady I spoke to said it was "in stock". we had arranged to go to manchester to pick one up, but she told us it was in stock in Sheffield.

When I rang to pay the deposit and confirm the details, we were told it was not in stock, despite the web site and first advisor saying it was, and that it would be up to a 14 day wait. This would have been OK. My partner is due to give birth in mid august and this was mid June. we were told it is normally a lot less than 2 weeks.
after a week and half, we had had no call asking for the balance of payment (we have taken the money out of a high interest account to pay for it and so are losing interest too). I was told the invoice hadn't arrived from their supplier so it was going to be delayed. She's note it as a request to chase the invoice.
Another week, no call. I called again....still no invoice. I asked to make a complaint ansd was told that I couldnt complain to anyone as no one took complaints!!! NICE. after 5 minutes of arguing about complaints I finally got her to get someone from customer complaints to call me.

When called back, I was told that as I'd signed the contract, there was nothing I could do. The contract states it could be 30 days delayed if no fault of Virgin cars. she had listened to previous calls and I had been informed of the 14 day wait. (she failed to lidten to the call where I was told it was in stock).

I have been given 2 different collection dates, i have still not had anyone asking for the balance, meaning they still havn't got the invoice, meaning the 14 days (or 7-10 days as I've now being assured) hasn't kicked in yet.

I want to complain to a senior person! But again i'm told there is no one else to complain to.

firstly, does Mr Branson own Virgin cars???
whats his address???
how do I find out other directors addresses???

It is now almost a month since I ordered a car that was supposedly in stock, and there is no sign of it anywhere.
My partner is now 36 weeks pregnant. she could give birth any day. We have a car seat but no car!

I have read through the smallprint and the only reference to 30 days is that virgin can either cancel my order itself or substitute a different car if its more than 30 days late. I DONT WANT THAT.
It also says that the delivery date can be changed due to circumstances outside of its control.

I am massively dissapointted with Virgin Cars. I want to know what you think I should do next????
I want to complain big time!
Anything I write is based on my opinion only. Before acting upon any advice from anyone on a forum further professional advice should be sought.

Comments

  • bazza1603
    bazza1603 Posts: 591 Forumite
    Hi,

    Ask if they have another car you can use until yours turns up. (Worth a try)

    I ordered a car online with the TSB. Hell of a saving, but the delay just got bigger and bigger.

    I wish you luck with the car and the little one!

    Best regards

    Barry
  • Raggie
    Raggie Posts: 616 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 500 Posts Combo Breaker
    call trading standards to check if Distance selling regulations apply in this case. I think it does as Virgin Cars are Internet based.

    If so then a delay of 30 days (as you have so far) means you can cancel, and charge them interest on monies they have held (deposit).

    Then phone your local dealers, ask them about stock levels, garanteed delivery etc.. then tell them how much you will pay (same price or less than Virgin).. and wait for one to snap your hand off.. it worked for us a couple of years back when Jam Jar did the same to us. Local dealer bit my hand off for pound notes, and stock out the door.. two days after first calling him.

    as to your other questions.. no idea???
    The only place where success comes before work is the dictionary…
  • garysletters
    garysletters Posts: 193 Forumite
    thanks for the replies so far.
    The problem with cancelling our order is that the offer was so good, no dealer can get near it. We have tried!!!

    I'll try to ask for a car in the meantime, but doubt i'll get anywhere as the woman from complaints was very much asserting that it was no fault of theirs and the contract allows for such delays. (She said it was a delay between Citroen and the dealer that supplies virgin, caused by an information breakdown, so nothing to do with virgin. I tried saying that I had given all requested info, and so it must be Virgins fault, but they just passed the buck. I didn't think my car was going to be hand made to my requirements, especially as it was "in stock" when I ordered!!!) LOL
    Anything I write is based on my opinion only. Before acting upon any advice from anyone on a forum further professional advice should be sought.
  • Raggie
    Raggie Posts: 616 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 500 Posts Combo Breaker
    ok you may have tried this but

    http://www.whatcar.co.uk/target_price.asp

    they will marry you with dealers with card to sell..

    always assuming Virgin have not done a better deal than that.
    The only place where success comes before work is the dictionary…
  • santana-mx3
    santana-mx3 Posts: 415 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture Combo Breaker
    We bought a car from Virgin Cars last year. We weren't sure if we were ever going to get it though because it kept getting delayed. In the meantime we were paying interest on a loan (from elsewhere) that we didn't need yet. We were also concerned about our p/ex since the mileage would be much higher than originally declared.

    They were not very good at communication - they usually ignored emails, and when phoning them (it's an 0870 number) we had to hold on for ages and generally couldn't get any help when we were answered (they were pleasant enough - they just couldn't help). And customer services didn't work Saturdays (when 0870 numbers don't generate as much revenue - funny that). In general, we were not informed when the waiting time was increased (only once did they tell us although several dates were missed). After 4 months they told us there was a problem obtaining all models from that manufacturer (and they took them off their website so new buyers couldn't order them).

    We eventually did get the car. We were suddenly told that it was ready (just when we had almost given up and sent the loan money off to savings!). When the car arrived, we were pleased to find that it was a newer model than we had ordered (since they took so long and the model had changed) and as promised it was a UK model from a UK main dealer.

    Our initially quoted 2-6wk delivery had eventually turned out to be 5 months!

    It was not a stress-free experience but this was the only big name online seller who could offer the price they did. There were cheaper online sellers who I hadn't heard of and who wouldn't take a deposit by credit card (which I found a bit worrying).

    Since budget is a big issue for me, I would buy from them again if they were still so much (ie. thousands) cheaper than the competition ..... provided I was not in any sort of hurry.

    One other thing, once you have your car, if you ever have to phone them with a problem (on their 0870 number) they put you through to the AA (which would have been a free call if dialled direct). Also, you don't get the original owner benefits (breakdown cover etc.) which would normally come with the car from the dealer though you do obviously get your warranty.
  • big_ste
    big_ste Posts: 82 Forumite
    I used showroom4cars last year and they are in the same group as virgin and dc cook group same call centre same terms and conditions (virgin is not owned by branston).
    had a terrible experience a 4-6week lead time quickly turned to 8 month and then after that there was still no idea when the car was comming. not all there fault but was a lot down to the manufacturer. Absolutley a sham to deal with and eventuallly got credit card refund on deposit.
    for a cheap place for cars look at moneysupermarket.com as they have a new car finder service and also the cheapest uk broker is a company called carfile https://www.carfile.net. Have a look you may get lucky.
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