Despicable motorhome dealer

[SimonM]

I was contacted by a lady wanting to buy her first motorhome, could I go and give it a good look over to see if it was as described. I was going along with another member. She paid the motorhome dealer a cash deposit on Thursday on the understanding it was going to be checked over for her. she was coming from Porlock and I’m coming up from Exeter to see the dealer in the middle just off the M5

she has just phoned me to say the dealer had phoned her to say they have sold it to someone else today, despite her having paid this deposit.

naturally she’s very upset and I’m upset for her too. I’d be fuming and wanting blood.

clearly this reinforces the need to treat them all as rogues and to be avoided.

 

[Scotia]

I had the very same experience here in Scotland last year at Dicksons of Perth paid the full deposit arranged for the full service and fresh mot and set a date to pick it up. I was then contacted by Christopher Dickson three days later saying it had been sold. I told him yes to us and reminded him about breach of contract, he started to get too cocky for my short fuse so i suggested i would drive up to the showroom as i would prefer to sort this out face to face, he then started rraising his voice shouting i cant sell it twice and put the phone down on me.
I then called Christina to let her know what was happening then called Tom his brother who i had been dealing with in the first place who assured me he would sort it out.
In the meantime Christina had called Dicksons and spoke to Christopher he then gave her verbal abuse on the phone which boiled my urine.
I then googled Christopher Dickson of Perth to see what sort of person i was dealing with, its all there for everyone to make up their own mind if they want to finance that crowd , two seperate court cases check for yourself.

 

[Tim120]

Whilst I do sympathise and understand and given the same situation I also would be fuming and looking for blood.
I had a positive experience under the very same circumstances.
To strike a balance they are not all rouges to be avoided. Just a shame this one was.

 

[Tim120]

I had the very same experience here in Scotland last year at Dicksons of Perth paid the full deposit arranged for the full service and fresh mot and set a date to pick it up. I was then contacted by Christopher Dickson three days later saying it had been sold. I told him yes to us and reminded him about breach of contract, he started to get too cocky for my short fuse so i suggested i would drive up to the showroom as i would prefer to sort this out face to face, he then started rraising his voice shouting i cant sell it twice and put the phone down on me.
I then called Christina to let her know what was happening then called Tom his brother who i had been dealing with in the first place who assured me he would sort it out.
In the meantime Christina had called Dicksons and spoke to Christopher he then gave her verbal abuse on the phone which boiled my urine.
I then googled Christopher Dickson of Perth to see what sort of person i was dealing with, its all there for everyone to make up their own mind if they want to finance that crowd , two seperate court cases check for yourself.

That's awful.
Well done for the name and shame.

 

[SquirrellCook]

Name and shame, but also don’t forget praise too if appropriate.

 

[witzend]

Don't know if it's fair to name them there's always to sides to a story and they won't get to tell theirs

 

[SimonM]

That’s why they’re not named.

 

[Anick1903]

For anyone buying a motorhom/camper van please make sure there is no outstanding finance on the vehicle it only costs approx £15 to do a vehicle check .

 

[Pauljenny]

Name and shame them.

Brownhills asked me for a £2500 card swipe to bring a demonstrator across to Preston from their Newark branch.. as we were planning to look at stock at the many local dealers, that week.
" Just to make sure that you'll be there ", they said.
The Demo was a scruffy , dirty 18 month old... We wanted new.
The test drive was unhappy and we cut it short.
The depot manager informed us that he'd put the money through and that we'd agreed that was to be the deposit, as we'd agreed to buy the van, unseen.

Preston trading Standards got the money back, in 4 days..
We all know what happened to the Brownhills empire after that.

 

[trevskoda]

Never leave a dep on goods as the co could go down and you will be the looser,any good co will bring a demo to you door and maybe leave for a day or two so you can look over and make you mind up,second always offer well below asking price with or with out a warrenty so if it goes wrong you fix,many dealers will go for this if a used van only,remember the vans on you drive so you call the shots,if they cannot or wont strike a deal close the front door,there are others selling out there.

 

[jagmanx]

AGREED NOT Good
BUT they have to make a living
Your friend may not have wanted the motorhome
So from the dealer's perspective..

"A bird in the bush is worth two on the phone!"

Plenty of other dealers and vehicles !

 

[Moped]

There may be plenty of other dealers but there is a new motorhome shortage at the moment as manufacturers are unable to source the components for a complete motorhome build. This includes the base vehicle chassis. That is the issue with just in time production methods. And the furlough schemes that European governments have in place.

Dealers are unable to obtain replacement stock with some saying orders placed earlier in the year may not now be delivered until 2021.

At this time if it’s in the dealers compound once it’s gone it’s gone as they say.

Some of the larger dealers advertise motorhomes for sale on their website but don’t actually have the vehicle in stock. They are simply promoting the manufacturers range.

If you are after a particular make, layout and specification, and you see that a dealer has an example for sale on site act quickly and obtain a contract of sale.

 

[Scotia]

Dicksons are free to defend themselves i have no problem with my post. I sent them links when they were getting slated on other m/h forums after being at court for animal cruelty .

 

[runnach]

For what it’s Worth I was motor trade for 23 years if a customer places a deposit on that vehicle is reserved You don’t sell it to other people even if you offered more money if when a customer inspects And isn’t happy Refund the deposit simple there is absolutely no benefit in pushing a customer into a saleI. They aren’t going to be happy with , They won’t enhance a reputation be never out your hair if they haveThe smallest problem. It saddens me some of the trade are so entrenched in short term views a lot flit from one garage to the next I have little time for them not the way thankfully I was taught cutting my teeth with a family business that treated people properly and with the respect we wanted to be treated ...it ain’t rocket science

 

[mfw]

For what it’s Worth I was motor trade for 23 years if a customer places a deposit on that vehicle is reserved You don’t sell it to other people even if you offered more money if when a customer inspects And isn’t happy Refund the deposit simple there is absolutely no benefit in pushing a customer into a saleI. They aren’t going to be happy with , They won’t enhance a reputation be never out your hair if they haveThe smallest problem. It saddens me some of the trade are so entrenched in short term views a lot flit from one garage to the next I have little time for them not the way thankfully I was taught cutting my teeth with a family business that treated people properly and with the respect we wanted to be treated ...it ain’t rocket science

Small family businesses are worried about getting/keeping a good reputation which is why they seem to be more helpful with issues - and also repeat customers - just my personal view though

 

[izwozral]

Just to flip the coin.

We've had a few dealings with dealers, nothing really bad, more to do with telling you what you want to hear rather than lying, or being met with ignorance of the product they are selling, or couldn't care less about actually selling, or coming across as the archetypal wide boy used car salesman. We walked away.

Our last dealing was with Oaktree Motorhomes of Nottingham. What a complete contrast! Knowledgeable, courteous, accommodating, friendly, fair and honest.

No, it isn't my Dads business or my brothers or anyone I know personally, just telling it as we found it. If there was the ideal model on how to run a business, then Oaktree is that model. Maybe not the cheapest prices on the screen but you can negotiate with them and they will offer you a fair price on a trade in.
Whoever is the owner of Oaktree has certainly taught his staff, from receptionist, to the salesman, to the mechanic, to the cleaner on how to relate with the public in a positive way and it works for them and for the buyer.

And no, it ain't rocket science.

 

[runnach]

Small family businesses are worried about getting/keeping a good reputation which is why they seem to be more helpful with issues - and also repeat customers - just my personal view though

Your absolutely right, customer retention is key, when times are hard they keep you afloat ...we were one of the country’s oldest fiat dealers and were terminated by fiat who saw numbers with a dealer group (DCCook a precarious choice) alas customers wrote to them we buy a Roodhouse car not a Fiat and we converted most to Citroen , young and impressionable it was a valuable lesson

 

[trevskoda]

I worked for a good living breathern dealership in belfast,one day a bomb went of 200 yards away,i was given a hammer and told to smash all old windsheilds in stock,i refused as i pointed out it was a crim to get money from the northern gov dept,later that day a qt word in my ear as how they could get rid of me,a few weeks later we were broken into and they got a fitter to drive slow selling cars into a steel piller and make a claim,i caught them at this to and reported it,weeks later job gone,dont ever talk to me about motor traders or so called clean living people,dick turpin had the desency to were a mask.

 

[runnach]

Just to flip the coin.

We've had a few dealings with dealers, nothing really bad, more to do with telling you what you want to hear rather than lying, or being met with ignorance of the product they are selling, or couldn't care less about actually selling, or coming across as the archetypal wide boy used car salesman. We walked away.

Our last dealing was with Oaktree Motorhomes of Nottingham. What a complete contrast! Knowledgeable, courteous, accommodating, friendly, fair and honest.

No, it isn't my Dads business or my brothers or anyone I know personally, just telling it as we found it. If there was the ideal model on how to run a business, then Oaktree is that model. Maybe not the cheapest prices on the screen but you can negotiate with them and they will offer you a fair price on a trade in.
Whoever is the owner of Oaktree has certainly taught his staff, from receptionist, to the salesman, to the mechanic, to the cleaner on how to relate with the public in a positive way and it works for them and for the buyer.

And no, it ain't rocket science.

Albeit no longer in the industry, music to my ears , too many one trip ponies
What is the lifetime value of a customer,...? Profit albeit perhaps modest on each car/van sale, servicing, referral of friends and family it potentially amounts to thousands.......do the job properly, the financial rewards will take care of themselves

 

[Okta]

Perhaps not naming and shaming is unfair too. There could be other dealers between Exeter and Porlock who are now unfairly under suspicion. Dealer reputations are important to us all and hiding poor performance just encourages more of it. Name them and perhaps they will think twice before doing it to someone else.