Barclaywoodmotorco 4 Posted June 4, 2017 Morning Gents Feels like blackmail to me , few times this year i have been receiving the old recorded letter soon as they come you know what they are. First one customer threatens me with the small claims court because his local mechanic is trying to get some cash out of him for a service etc. One yesterday trhottle body on a vw golf diesel is full of carbon so the customer wants £400 for a new one. I gave him a warranty with A1 aprroved and they told him to jog on. If I do not pay up he is taking me to trading standards small claim court etc. This is more and more common these days. Whats best to do get them back fix and move on ?? Your feedback would be great. Regards NIc Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BHM 994 Posted June 4, 2017 (edited) At lot of this depends upon how long they've had the cars. Assuming that they're recent sales then I'd remind you of your right to see for yourself that a fault exists. If they've already had work executed or are refusing to let you inspect the car then they're on their own. Also, remember that customers aren't entitled to new for old replacements - if cleaning doesn't sort the Golf throttle body you may choose to use secondhand parts or ask them for a contribution to the new part. I used to get one or two complaints every year who I'd brush off, however it's now every month & they always expect the earth even on old bangers. To be honest I normally take a hard line & tell them to go to Trading Standards/Small Claims Court/Solicitor/Police/Watchdog (or whatever rubbish they're spouting) and it normally stops them dead in their tracks. Last month's complaint was a man who'd submitted his car for MOT because he'd owned it for just over 11 months. He alleged his car (a 10yr old CRV that last year I'd serviced & put on 4 tyres and discs & pads all round) had failed the MOT miserably on brakes, tyres, suspension & the Honda dealer wanted over £1000 to put right. If I didn't send him the money he's report me to TS - I told him I didn't believe him & to report me, to which I got the usual whining & his scrubber wife shouting in the background. After the call I checked the MOT database, 0 advisory & 1 failure - a droplink! That's customers for you. Edited June 4, 2017 by BHM 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Tom 164 Posted June 4, 2017 As above really let them take it all the way, 99% of the time they don't. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
betginge 73 Posted June 4, 2017 The one thing I hate about this industry is the customers 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
andymc1973 199 Posted June 4, 2017 the only issue is they now blast you online Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BHM 994 Posted June 4, 2017 (edited) True, but it only bothers you if you look for it online. I'm not at all interested in the opinions & rantings of the general public hence I'm not on Facebook, Twitter etc. They can write what they like about me & as there's a population of about 63 million in the UK my attitude is if a few are put off so what? Yours sincerely, Mr. Miserable 1 hour ago, tradex said: PS it won't be a throttle body on a diesel Golf...they don't have one! Good point which I should of though of Therefore if the customer is trying to claim for something the car doesn't have perhaps they're yet another chancer extracting the urine. Edited June 4, 2017 by BHM Spelling mistake Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
have a word with the wife 299 Posted June 4, 2017 Nip it in the bud is what i do, as in, your sales invoice . A clearly worded sales invoice could stop all this or certainly slow it down, words like [1] " whom to contact first in any instance" [you], [2] " i understand i am purchasing a used product that may have faults consistent with its age" [ its not new]. [3] "i have inspected the vehicle ".[ok, wont show a faulty gearbox for example, but does stop them saying tyres are low in 3 months time ]. Gotta remember these people speak / google other people before contacting you, and are mostly poorly advised, and theyre told to contact you, where they let off both barrels, a carefully worded sales invoice that doesnt withdraw their rights goes a long long way Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
grant8064 219 Posted June 4, 2017 5 hours ago, tradex said: I've said before, the cheaper the car the cheaper the customer, but the higher the expectations. This. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Scooby who 41 Posted June 4, 2017 If I'm in the wrong and a problem does exist I fix it, move on and forget it. If they are being unreasonable and the car is fine I let them know. If I'm threatened with court I wait for the solicitors letter which doesnt always arrive. If it does, I usually ignore the first solicitors letter, and nearly always the second too. That may be the end of it or I may get correspondence informing me to nominate a solicitor that a court hearing is coming my way. Next I write back to the solicitor and usually try and drag the whole thing out as much as I possibly can. Often not replying for up to a week, asking for clarification on stuff, etc etc. Knowing each letter their solicitor is sending me is costing them money, time and patience. My letters are costing me the price of paper, ink, envelope, and a stamp. Solicitors love this themselves as they're making a fortune, I usually go into all sorts of legal terminology and try wording the letter as they would. I might then organise for my independant motor engineer ( who has also studied law) to go assess the car. As I know the car is ok and he's fair, but not biased, they usually listen to him. If not then solicitor will usally ask for a copy of his report. Again I submit this but drag it out as much as possible. Often times It ends up in a bottle of smoke, It will however cost me 150.00 cash to my engineer and the price of some stationary. It may have cost them 4 times that in solicitor fees and the are no better off. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
trade vet 703 Posted June 4, 2017 3 hours ago, have a word with the wife said: Nip it in the bud is what i do, as in, your sales invoice . A clearly worded sales invoice could stop all this or certainly slow it down, words like [1] " whom to contact first in any instance" [you], [2] " i understand i am purchasing a used product that may have faults consistent with its age" [ its not new]. [3] "i have inspected the vehicle ".[ok, wont show a faulty gearbox for example, but does stop them saying tyres are low in 3 months time ]. Gotta remember these people speak / google other people before contacting you, and are mostly poorly advised, and theyre told to contact you, where they let off both barrels, a carefully worded sales invoice that doesnt withdraw their rights goes a long long way 3 hours ago, have a word with the wife said: Nip it in the bud is what i do, as in, your sales invoice . A clearly worded sales invoice could stop all this or certainly slow it down, words like [1] " whom to contact first in any instance" [you], [2] " i understand i am purchasing a used product that may have faults consistent with its age" [ its not new]. [3] "i have inspected the vehicle ".[ok, wont show a faulty gearbox for example, but does stop them saying tyres are low in 3 months time ]. Gotta remember these people speak / google other people before contacting you, and are mostly poorly advised, and theyre told to contact you, where they let off both barrels, a carefully worded sales invoice that doesnt withdraw their rights goes a long long way Great wording ! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Barclaywoodmotorco 4 Posted June 6, 2017 Thank you for your comments will use some of these tactics Regards Nic Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
