Substandard service & defective product.

Avoid MidlandBM at all costs and I would advise against using 1stChoice.

I purchased a grab handle for my car (£45 instead of £100 new). When it arrived it was well below acceptable standards. The button for the boot release was missing and the mounts had disintegrated. This should never have passed MidlandBM’s quality control and is quite contrary to their claimed “We carefully reclaim only the best serviceable parts”. Initially I emailed MidlandBM and was advised to send it back for a refund. I did exactly that. When I called a few weeks later to query why I had not yet received my refund I was told that they had received the handle in the post and had to ‘talk to accounts’. This set the tone for the next three months. Every time I called I was informed that they would ‘speak to accounts’.

I contacted 1stchoice and lodged a complaint expecting them to be a little more compliant. However the issue now was that, after three months of telling me they had the part back in the mail, MidlandBM were now claiming they never received it! Unfortunately I did not think I would need my proof of postage after being advised that they had received it and even if I did it would be of no use– the three month period where claims can be made to Royal Mail had elapsed. I was surprised to find that 1stchoice took the side of their supplier and offered no solution to this issue.

Ultimately I was sent a part that I should never have been charged for. Why was this sent to me in the first place?

I was fobbed off for three months with “I’ll need to speak to accounts”. This shows MidlandBM’s attitude to their customers.

I was deceived either by being told they had received the part or that they now have not. Customers are there to be ripped off.

1stchoice have shown that they are more willing to protect their suppliers than adequately deal with customer complaints.

Due to the incompetence of MidlandBM I am left out of pocket and will need to purchase a handle of an acceptable standard elsewhere. If I get the replacement for the same price (£45) that will mean I have essentially paid £90 for a part I could have got new for £100.

From other reviews it seems to me that this summarises MidlandBM’s business model. Send out substandard products to customers, get them to send them back for a refund, deny receipt of the items and not provide a refund. An interesting way to make money from c**p. As long as 1stChoice get their commission they don’t care.

See below links to photos of the item that passed their ‘quality control’ and was sent out to me. I also have the emails from them agreeing that these were the items sent out and agreeing to a refund.

Item posted back end of August 2012
Email chasing refund 17/10/2012 (no response)
Email chasing refund 31/10/2012 (no response)
Phone call 01/11/2012 (part arrived but would have to speak to accounts)
Phone call 25/11/2012 (part arrived but would have to speak to accounts)
Phone call 30/11/2012 (part arrived but would have to speak to accounts)
Phone call 04/12/2012 (No part arrived and no refund!)