Beware this Company - Wild horizon

Jeffrey Cumpsty

Guest
Earlier in January I responded to an eBay listing for a motorhome for Sale. The company was Wild Horizon also known as McRent. The owner Ricky Gibbs and I entered into discussions about me purchasing an ex-rental 7 berth motorhome.

I was all set to take a train down to Waltham Abbey, near London to collect the motor home, when it transpired that "someone" in the office took a deposit on the same motorhome.

A few weeks later Ricky had another motorhome available for sale. Apparently he was selling up to 30 motorhomes that he had rented out previously. Although this new one was £1500 more expensive than the previous one was offered the price was still attractive, and the photos looked good so I gave a deposit and made arrangements to collect it last Saturday. This time I decided to take the whole family down to collect the vehicle just in case there was anything wrong and we decided not to complete the purchase.

10 minutes before we were due to leave home on the 4 hours journey to London, I decided that I really should complete an HPI check. The check returned with outstanding finance on the vehicle. I immediately called Ricky who admitted to the finance, and said that it was unusual for someone to complete an HPI check. He normally sells the motorhome and then pays off the balance which on this particular motor home was about £17,000.

I asked if I could pay the finance off directly, as he was unable to do it prior to the sale. We agreed, and when I looked up the finance company noticed that they were closed on Saturdays. Another phone call and he suggested the option that I pay the finance off midweek and then collect the motorhome. Great idea, if I did that and he then decided to cancel the sale. So, I made arrangements to go down on Friday (tomorrow).

Earlier this week I questioned Ricky on a few facts. I asked why he never informed me of the finance in advance; I know if I was a seller and I neglected this information I would be nothing but apologetic. Also the motorhome is declared SORN, and I asked him why he had a motorhome off the road if he was paying a loan on it as if it were me I would want it to be paying for itself.

Ricky's response was "I dont think we should continue with the sale". Now he has my deposit, and is not answering my calls. Fortunately I paid the deposit on Credit Card so will contact my provider for assistance, but it should not have come to an end like this.

Has anyone has actually purchased a motorhome or even rented one, successfully from Ricky Gibbs and McRent/Wild Horizon?

He may be very genuine with a good reputation as he claims...but my opinion is that I nearly fell foul to a very expensive scam.

Pity I am still without a 7 berth motorhome though.
 
Its a shame. He (might) be generally ok.

I just know that if someone started asking me questions, even if I was getting a bit annoyed, I would put up with it if I stood to sell a £30,000 motorhome. And even more so if I know I "accidentally" neglected to mention that there was a £17,000 lien on the vehicle.

If anything I would be very apologetic, and understanding.
 
In response he is a business, and is VAT registered. I have checked the VAT registration number(GB183544591) (which he was reluctant to give to me, but i managed to get by calling the office, and it is valid and registered to WildHorizon)

I paid the deposit by Credit card, over the phone.

That is precisely what happened; the advertised one was not available but a near identical (more expensive) one was. Although as I paid by credit card I do not see what he had to gain, apart from putting the price up by £1500.

We will see if I have been subject to a scam. I will be on the phone to my credit card provider tonight, and speaking to trading standards.
 
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WE had a post similar to this earlier this week on the 16th same company I wonder?

buying-motorhome-outstanding-finance
 
Andys said:
WE had a post similar to this earlier this week on the 16th same company I wonder?

buying-motorhome-outstanding-finance
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That earlier post was me :)

I did it under an "assumed" name because I didn't want him it linking back to me directly that I was posting about it as I still had hopes of completing the deal.
 
I beleive McRent is the limited company (Number: 08803921). Wild Horizon is a trading name. The company name is Goodmans Motorhomes (Number: 06389925) but is presently dormant. I am guessing that in 2013 he opted to join a franchise business, McRent which is originally German (I think)
 
I have bought several vehicles via eBay, including my current Hymer, but before any money has changed hands I always do an HPI check, with cars I'm spending less than £1k with the Hymer quite a bit more. I have never put a deposit down, if someone wants my business and can't trust me to do a deal without a deposit how can I trust them.
Before I bought my Hymer I won a newer model, a HPI check revealed it was a CAT D, I contacted the seller who denied any knowledge, but I got a bad vibe about the deal and pulled out. A week later the van sold via eBay to a dealer, who then listed it on eBay for less than they paid for it, the van was from Norfolk.
A few months later whilst driving through a village just outside Salisbury I saw the same van on a garage forecourt up for sale, so I think I dodged a bullet there.
My point is if your not sure about a deal walk away, there will be other chances and never part with any money until you've done a HPI check.
 
I rented off ScenicGetaway (Romford) 2007, 2008. They mentioned at the time it was part of Ricky's group Wildhorizon. Since then, they may have split or may still be linked, I don't know.

In any case ScenicGetaway were quite legit. They are still going. Had two good value rentals and couldn't really fault them. Many of these hire companies have connections; least of all they will pass business between them as it is often better for a client to pick up and drop off in another location.

Who knows if they would do the odd shady sales deal though? All I can say is Wild Horizon have been going a fair time so it is not a scam operation overall, they have done a fair amount of legit business over a fair number of years.
 
as david stated on a early post ,if paid by card you should be safe and hope you got a invoice plus as he broke of the contract/deal he must return dep in full,contact trading standards.
 
Jeffrey Cumpsty said:
Earlier in January I responded to an eBay listing for a motorhome for Sale. The company was Wild Horizon also known as McRent. The owner Ricky Gibbs and I entered into discussions about me purchasing an ex-rental 7 berth motorhome.

I was all set to take a train down to Waltham Abbey, near London to collect the motor home, when it transpired that "someone" in the office took a deposit on the same motorhome.

A few weeks later Ricky had another motorhome available for sale. Apparently he was selling up to 30 motorhomes that he had rented out previously. Although this new one was £1500 more expensive than the previous one was offered the price was still attractive, and the photos looked good so I gave a deposit and made arrangements to collect it last Saturday. This time I decided to take the whole family down to collect the vehicle just in case there was anything wrong and we decided not to complete the purchase.

10 minutes before we were due to leave home on the 4 hours journey to London, I decided that I really should complete an HPI check. The check returned with outstanding finance on the vehicle. I immediately called Ricky who admitted to the finance, and said that it was unusual for someone to complete an HPI check. He normally sells the motorhome and then pays off the balance which on this particular motor home was about £17,000.

I asked if I could pay the finance off directly, as he was unable to do it prior to the sale. We agreed, and when I looked up the finance company noticed that they were closed on Saturdays. Another phone call and he suggested the option that I pay the finance off midweek and then collect the motorhome. Great idea, if I did that and he then decided to cancel the sale. So, I made arrangements to go down on Friday (tomorrow).

Earlier this week I questioned Ricky on a few facts. I asked why he never informed me of the finance in advance; I know if I was a seller and I neglected this information I would be nothing but apologetic. Also the motorhome is declared SORN, and I asked him why he had a motorhome off the road if he was paying a loan on it as if it were me I would want it to be paying for itself.

Ricky's response was "I dont think we should continue with the sale". Now he has my deposit, and is not answering my calls. Fortunately I paid the deposit on Credit Card so will contact my provider for assistance, but it should not have come to an end like this.

Has anyone has actually purchased a motorhome or even rented one, successfully from Ricky Gibbs and McRent/Wild Horizon?

He may be very genuine with a good reputation as he claims...but my opinion is that I nearly fell foul to a very expensive scam.

Pity I am still without a 7 berth motorhome though.
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As soon as I new there was finance on the camper he was selling it would have rang alarm bells , is it not illegal to sell a vehicle that still has finance owing on it , I would steer clear of him and report him to trading standards , he also said that people don't normally do HPI checks , it's the first thing I do , he was just hoping you didn't .
 
Credit Card company said "No problem". The transaction will be frozen within 48 hours and refunded within 7 days.

Now calling around for prices on a brand new 707 :) Much to my wife's dismay.
 
This site is full of eccentric millionaires, will someone please adopt me?
 
Sort of. That was the first on I was going to buy. He advertised it for £30999, but accepted £28,000 and then sold it to someone else before he took a deposit.

Then there was a near identical one that was £29,500, for which he took my deposit and then decided not to sell it to me.

I can get a brand new one with the lux pack, drivers pack, and therm pack for under £45k.
 
Jeff
Try harder with the dealer, I got nearly 7k off a new 695 two years ago. Word of warning though, the build quality on new Roller Team stuff can be a bit iffy. Also make sure you have a helpfull proactive dealer who is willing to help you out when you hit problems, these are hard to find in my experience. Good luck with the purchase. Tompa.
 
A couple of things, Roller team are ultimately part of the CI group, dare I suggest not as well finished as the German offerings?

If you are really after a Roller team happy to assist I have a friend who is main agent and I am sure a favourable price could be negotiated.

In terms of finance outstanding, there could be an innocent reason.

Most dealers take advantage of stocking plans, Typically if a franchised dealer they will have so many days to sell a vehicle interest free, then will pay interest for a further 90 days then have to buy the vehicle, (Hence great discounts on vehicles becoming fully paid. a cash flow thing)

It could well be the vehicle is on a stocking plan, it is or was industry practice the encumberance was paid off on receipt of customer funds.

If the finance is in the name of the dealer, that tells me he actually has financial credibility. I have just set up a funding facility for our company and it has been a nightmare the FCA are quite demanding etc before awarding consumer credit licences.

So there could be a logical explanation to all this not necessarily a sophisticated scam.

Channa
 
Jeffrey Cumpsty said:
Credit Card company said "No problem". The transaction will be frozen within 48 hours and refunded within 7 days.

Now calling around for prices on a brand new 707 :) Much to my wife's dismay.
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Glad that you posted the whole story. It's difficult when you fall in love with something.
 
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