Lucy P

Awful awful company

What an awful experience, avoid like the plague!!!! Their website states ‘we are committed to providing first class customer service to all our customers’ - well this could not be further from the truth, and after reading plenty of other 1 star reviews I see I am not the only one to be treated disgustingly by this company. I called on the 8th February and asked to book to see a car on the 9th February & put a holding deposit down (as I had been let down by other garages before). AT NO POINT was I told by the person I dealt with, Richard Walker (who seemed nice enough, it is the managers who should be the ones ashamed of themselves) that the deposit was only refundable if I viewed the car. I had a think that night & realised the car wasn’t right for me so I called as soon as they opened on the 9th to cancel my appointment & request my refund back. Bearing in mind the car hadn’t even been off sale for a full day! The person I spoke to said ‘do you not know about the policy, where you have to come to the garage to get your deposit back’, I said I had not been told this or I would not have put it down. The man went to speak to a manager (I sadly did not get his name) and I was told I could have my deposit back as I was not clearly communicated to. I then had this same manager call me a few days later to ask if any other cars suited me, I informed him no and asked about my deposit. He said that he would sort it as ‘a manager needed to ring me before it could be released’. …fast forward 2 weeks and I have no refund, so I call on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday to ask after it (I have the phone records to prove this). Every person I spoke to promised to call back, including Clive Pick one of the sales managers, who sounded like he couldn’t care less and was extremely dismissive on the phone. Shock, Clive did not call back. I then see on the website to email Steve Stenning about complaints & so I do this, explaining that I was getting stressed by the broken promises and having to call daily and getting no where. Meanwhile, we’re told my Nannan has days to live so I spend every day after at her hospice. I get a call while I am there from Steve, who is apologetic and says that he will look into it right away. I made him aware I was at my Nan’s hospice and that this situation was causing me more unnecessary stress, and he again apologised and promised he would call me back the next morning. Guess what? No call back!! I then call the garage again (after this whole thing had been going on for over a month) and I get transferred to Richard Frost (general manager), I explain that I am disgusted by the lack of care and lies and he then tells me that the director has said that I cannot have my refund back and he cannot over rule his manager! I asked when I was going to be told this, if I hadn’t called? He agreed with me that there was no proof of me being told about the refund policy, as I was not sent the terms and conditions in black or white (nor told about them) and it was Richard Walkers word against mine! If I had been told on the phone call where I cancelled my appointment I could only get my deposit by visiting the garage (rather than get told I could have my deposit back), I would have just made the journey, even though I am not local. But instead I was told I could have it back, messed around for over a month, caused a great deal of stress and then told that actually I can’t have it back! The customer service at this place is absolutely abysmal, I wouldn’t bother emailing Steve your complaint as he will do nothing about it (apart from promise things then break the promise). No one actually takes any responsibility. I would recommend always paying for deposits with a credit card, oh and don’t give them your money in the first place! Plenty of other garages who have actual decent people working at them, unlike this place, where it seems they’re nice to you while you’re paying them, but as soon as things go wrong they don’t want to know. If I could give 0 stars I would.