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- Carcraft, Darleston, West Midlands
- ianowen's review
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| Customer service | 1.1/10   |
|---|---|
| Value for Money | 2/10 |
| Overall rating | 2.2/10 |
By ianowen on 31st May 2007
| Town/City | wendsbury |
|---|---|
| Customer service | 0/10 |
| Value for money | 0/10 |
| Overall value | 0/10 |
 ianowen's recommendation | |
None.
Everything.
Below is a copy of what a disgrace car craft are, enjoy the 6 page letter. I recently purchased a car, on finance from Car Craft. As I drove the car home I noticed various faults, and after only two days of owning the car it broke down. I had to use jump leads to restart the car, but the problem did seem okay. However, there were other faults; CD player not working, braking was very noisy, but the worst problem was wheel wobble when the car was driven at 70mph. This was a fault I noticed on the first day but when I checked the vehicle I saw that one of the tyres was not inflated enough. I put air in the tyre hoping this would solve the problem but when I drove the car again on the motorway at 70mph I had exactly the same problem. I contacted Car Craft by telephone and was advised to take the car back to their site at Wednesbury. From my home in Rugby it is at least a one hour car journey to Wednesbury. Due to work commitments I was unable to return the car straight away and in the mean time it broke down again. I had no other choice but to call the AA. However, by the time the AA arrived I had the car going again. I contacted Car Craft and I was assured that my car would be collected by them, from my home and all the problems would be sorted out. They even promised a courtesy car until my own was fixed. I was told the people responsible for collecting my car would telephone when they were on their way, but they did not. However, they did arrive on the day arranged but without proof of who they were and with no paperwork relevant to my car. They could have been anyone. My car was taken back on the Friday. I contacted them by telephone Saturday regarding the courtesy car and I was informed I would have to wait until Monday. I contacted them again on Monday and was told that they would ring me back but no one contacted me from Car Craft. I tried several times to speak to someone about the courtesy car throughout the week but without success. Every time I called I was assured someone would contact me but they never did. I phoned again on Friday and asked to speak to the manager. I was again assured that he would call me back. No call from the Manager. I have made several requests for a manager to contact me by phone to date, but not once has a manager contacted me. On that Friday I was informed I could have the courtesy car, which would be a Vauxhall Astra. I did try to point out that the car I purchased had seven seats and an Astra has only five! I have four children - two of whom are teenagers. As this was the only car available I agreed, but under duress. I was informed I should arrange with my own insurance company to cover me for driving the vehicle and contacted them with the new details. When they realized my car was not valued as high as the courtesy car I was informed I would have to pay extra. I suggested Car Craft arrange for the excess payment to be made by them but they said that wasn't their problem and they would arrange for someone to call me back. No call back! I rang again and again and again, and no car. I had been without my own car for a week when the company in Coventry who were contracted to do the repairs contacted me. They said they couldn't find any faults on the breaks, and the noise I had heard was coming from the roof rack. I suggested they remove it and then re-check the brakes. I have been driving for twenty years and I feel I can confidently diagnose where a noise is coming from. They said they had checked out the other fault though - a noise when the car was turning - which was not a problem I had reported at all. The garage agreed to sort out the problem of the noisy breaks, together with the engine cut out problem, but the issue with the CD player and the wheel wobble I was told I would have to sort out for myself. I immediately contacted Car Craft again and explained what had happened. I was assured a manager would call me back immediately. Guess what? No call back, no manager in sight. Eventually, after 2 weeks, the car was collected from the Coventry workshop on Monday and taken to Car Craft, in Wednesbury, from where I'd first purchased it. They contacted me by phone on Tuesday to tell me my car was all sorted out and I could pick it up anytime. By this time I was extremely frustrated by the very low level of after sales service. I'd had to take time off from job to collect the courtesy car myself and I felt the least they could do was return my car and collect their courtesy car. I was told that they would deliver my car by 9am the next day. I again requested a manager call me back as I wanted confirmation that the problems had been solved and sorted. The manager didn't call me back. And the car wasn't returned either. I rang at 3pm that day to ask where my car was. I was told "If you want your car then you had better come and fetch it." I asked to speak to a manager, but as my previous requests had met with failure I was not surprised when this one did too. Under duress I agreed to collect the car myself. As soon as I saw my car I realised that there were scratches all over it and it now had a dent in the side. When I looked inside the car there were oil prints on the floor. As you can probably imagine I was extremely angry and frustrated by now. I rang customer services and demanded to speak to the manager. Once again there wasn't a manager available. I eventually got someone from the sales department to check out my car and they drew a detailed sketch of the car, marking on it exactly where the scratches and dent were located. The salesman said the car would never have been sold in that state. I wouldn't have bought it in that state either. He agreed to arrange for the car to be polished and the dent removed and said he would contact me the following day. As I didn't receive the call back I contacted Car Craft the next day myself and asked to speak to the manager. As usual, no manager available. When I inquired what was happening about my car I was told it had the scratches and dent when I purchased it. I tried to argue that I would not purchase a car that was covered in scratches but it was obvious that I was being deliberately ignored. The situation got worse. The following day, 18th May, the car stopped working again and my wife was stranded. I arranged for her to be picked up and I recommended she take out everything from the car that belonged to us. I contacted Car Craft at Wednesbury yet again. This time, however the lady I spoke to promised to call me back, and she actually did. She arranged for the car to be collected later that day. I didn't know where my car had been taken to or when it would be returned. I have spoken to the finance company and told them I have made the decision to cancel my direct debit arrangement and for them to arrange for the finance to be settled. They requested I write a letter covering the problems I have had since purchasing the car from Car Craft. It is also my intention to speak to Trading Standards as I feel that under the sale of goods act the car is not fit for the purpose of carrying out the job I purchased it to do; i.e. transport myself and my family safely. I enclose a copy of the letter previously sent to Car Craft after experiencing severe difficulties with my car. The following is what has happened since this letter was delivered and as you will see the problems just seem to go on and on. On receipt of my letter Customer Services at Car Craft contacted me. A lady called Jenny informed me if I chose to I could change the car for a different model. I discussed the issue with my wife, and I told Jenny that was what I wanted to do. I selected a Peugeot 407 Estate car and Jenny arranged for it to be collected from Enfield and taken to Wednesbury for us to view. If the car was suitable we would then discuss the transfer of finances. I received a call from Jenny informing me that car would not be delivered for another four days. In the mean time I still did not have a car. This situation was causing big problems for my wife who has to take our children to two different schools each day and as I often do not arrive home in the evenings until after 8.00pm after school clubs were cancelled. Jenny reassured my wife and I, and then suggested we take back the original car. She said she could confirm that all the work had been carried out and the car was now completely roadworthy. The situation we were in was unacceptable. We had been without our car for so long and after discussing the situation with my wife we decided to go ahead and take the car back. Jenny said she could also arrange for the car to go back to Car Craft in seven days for the body work to be sorted out. I really couldn't believe the situation we were in and even though neither my wife nor I had faith in the car or any promises made by Car Craft we felt under pressure to gain a quick solution. It was arranged that as it was a bank holiday weekend we would have to collect the car ourselves. I knew I wouldn't be able to get to Wednesbury until after the showroom was officially closed due to the large amount of bank holiday traffic, but I was assured that it would not be a problem. Jenny arranged to leave the keys and paperwork for the car with the security personnel. She said she was going to be away for the week, but she assured me she would make sure that everything was in place before leaving. A friend agreed to drive me to Wednesday, but I had to pay for the petrol for his vehicle. When we arrived at the showroom the security personnel knew absolutely nothing about my car. I travelled home again - without my car! The following day I contacted customer services and informed them that if the car had not been delivered to my home in Rugby by the close of business that day then I would not accept it as mine. The car was delivered at 2pm. At 4pm when I returned home from work I took the car out to test drive it. Within 500 yards of driving I could hear a loud knocking sound coming from the back end of the car. I thought the problem was the rear wheel so I removed it and was going to replace it with the spare wheel, but I realised immediately what was causing the noise. The spring was hanging off the car and was wedged against the petrol feed lines. I immediately contacted Car Craft and was informed someone would contact me the next morning to get the car recovered. I waited until 11am before contacting Car Craft myself only to find out that I was never going to get a call from them - their customer service department is not open on Sunday. I just find it hard to believe that a national company can employ so many people who blatantly lie to customers time and time again, and who appear to be encouraged in this by senior members of staff. If I worked in that way I would be dismissed after the first offence. On Sunday 27th May 2007 I was without the car again and I made a decision, based on the way in which my wife and I have been treated by Car Craft. I have sort legal advice and I have decided to return the car. I feel that any outstanding costs should be met by Car Craft for the dreadful way in which it has dealt with the on going issues of repairs, poor customer service and poor after sales service. After everything that has happened I am still waiting for a manager to contact me and the problems just seem to keep going on and on. On Monday 28th May I contacted Car Craft at 4.00pm and spoke with a manager who was amazed at the treatment I had received from customer services. He told me that he thought the best solution would be for me to select a replacement vehicle from the current stock of cars at the site. He said he would contact the customer services manager on my behalf to arrange the transfer of ownership and the alterations on the finance. I selected a car, took the details to the reception and handed them over to a manager, and arranged for him to pass on this information on. I was assured that someone would contact me the following day by 12 noon. On Tuesday, as I had yet again not received the call back, I contacted customer services myself. Not only was I waiting to hear about changing cars, I was still waiting for my car to be collected. I informed them I was not prepared to take the car back and requested the vehicle exchange and re-finance. The alternative was that they keep the car, clear the finance and I would walk away from Car Craft without my car and without a debt. I was assured again by customer services that a manager would call to discuss the saga of the car etc. Later that day the car was finally collected however, no phone call. The following day I contacted Car Craft again and requested information about the work required on the car and had it been completed. They confirmed the spring had popped out, that it had been repaired, that the car was roadworthy and ready for collection. I informed them that I would not be collecting the car and did not want it returned at all. I was told that the arrangement would be: Car Craft take back my car, clear the finance, but I would have to give them £1800 as a cash settlement figure. I refused the offer and said I would prefer to take legal action. I was then informed that as I am the registered keeper of the vehicle and the finance is in my name, that the car would be returned to me forthwith. The car was not returned until the following day and then only after I contacted Car Craft. My intention is to have the car independently checked for road worthiness as I have no faith in the word or work of Car Craft. When the car was delivered I did a test drive, and checked the vehicle over. I found a short, very sharp knife in the rear of the car that had obviously been left by who ever had been working on it. This could have caused serious injuries to one of my children. I immediately contacted Car Craft and asked for a manager to call me back. No call! I originally brought a Vauxhall Vectra from Car Craft in August 2006, but after having the car for just a few months I realised that the car really did not suit my family situation. I contacted Car Craft who agreed to take the car back and allow me to exchange it for a different model - the car I am now returning. They arranged everything for me including a new finance deal. Car Craft repaid Blue Motor Finance £10,000 from the original loan, but I was not informed that I still had finance of £2000 remaining on this loan. This was only bought to light recently when I was investigating how much of the loan was still active. I have ended up still with a loan for the first car, that I no longer own and I thought had been cleared. I originally paid £14,999 for the Vectra and three months later Car Craft gave me only £10,000 back. I expected Car Craft to treat me fairly as the public would and should expect of any national company. After everything that has happened my feelings towards the company are extremely negative. I am disillusioned in the knowledge that so many people employed by Car Craft cheat and lie to the public every day in their efforts to cover up the diabolical way in which the company operates. I will never conduct business with them again and I will discourage every one I know to do the same.
Important, please be aware that:
| Helpful | Unhelpful | Agree | Disagree |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
Total Respect: +3
RonnieS
on 6th Oct 2007
klg
on 9th Jan 2008
traceyd39 on 18th Jan 2008