Andrew C

DO NOT TRUST THEM!! Awful service

Long story short, I paid a deposit for a car, which they stated in their wesite "secures the car". Told them exactly what my plans were and they agreed. Agreed and confirmed with multiple people exactly when I was going to collect the car and how I was going to pay, but because I didn't repond to 1 text sent at an inconvenient time, when I went to collect the car they had sold it to someone else and were reluctant to give me my deposit back. The full story... I went here with my sister to buy her her first car, after seeing them on the AA website so I thought that they would be good. How wrong I was. The guy we spoke to seemed really nice, and we paid a £100 deposit (as per their website, £100 APPARENTLY secures the car) and when he asked how I was paying and when we could pick it up, I told him it would hopefully be the following weekend if I could make it, but it would most likely be the weekend after on the Sunday and paying in cash in full. He told me that was completely fine and that I could "leave it there as long as I liked". So we left thinking everything was good, but that's where the problems started. The car needed a couple of things fixing on it and they promised they'd let me know when they were done. They didn't. Then I spoke to the same guy on the phone the following Saturday and told him that I couldn't make it so it would be the weekend after like I forwarned him. He seemed a bit put off by this and offered to deliver it, but I was not in at the time so couldn't do that. He then agreed to hold it for another week and I confimed again that I would be paying in cash when we collect it. The next day, I got a call from someone else from Aim asking if I was still collecting the car that day. I told him exactly the same as the guy previously, that we had agreed I could pick it up the following weekend and that I would pay in cash upon collection. So that was now 2 people I had confirmed and agrewd plans with. Then on the monday I got a text whilst at work from yet another guy saying that he was happy to hold the car until the weekend, but also asking me if I coukd "settle the balance". Nothing else was mentioned. As I said, I was at work so I couldn't respond at the time and forgot about it after work. They made no other attempt to contact me so I just assumed the other 2 people had informed him of my plan. Saturday came and I arrived to find a surprised man at the desk. Turns out, that despite me agreeing to collect it that day with 2 people, they had decided to relist the car and sell it to someone else on the Tuesday. They did not warn me that that would happen if I didn't respond to a text and didn't even have the decency to let me know it had been sold. I guess they hoped that I'd just not turn up. Then to make it worse, when I asked for my deposit back, they apparently couldn't do it there and then but if I left my bank details, they would transfer it in the next couple of days. Several ignored messages and phone calls to them over 3 days and I was told that someone would have to come on Friday to collect it in cash. I have never been so disgusted with how I'd been treated before. Normally I understand mistakes but this was either carelessness and miscommunication, or someone else was interested in the car and a deal was made under the table, either way I would not reccommned these guys to anyone.