Beware of West Sussex Caravans
We recently had to sell our beloved campervan because, having retired, we needed something more economical. We looked in the Club magazine and found a Company closer to us than the rest so we phoned them. We gave a full and frank description of our van and the guy we spoke to (I believe his name was Matthew) said he really wanted it and offered us £2000 in cash. We phoned a few days later as he had promised to ring us back with a collection date and had not done so. At that point we asked again about the money and he said that £2000 was there on his desk, in an envelope with out name on it.
On the day of collection an arrogant young man turned up (definately not the person we spoke to on the phone) and promptly offered us £500 for it saying there was a lot of work to be done. There wasn't, as it had been checked by our local, reputable, garage, a few weeks before and we had just spent £5000 on the chasis and bodywork because at that time we hoped we may not have to sell it. It also had a full 7 months mot. He knew nothing of the quote and said he had no money, it would have to be a bank transfer. After a long discussion, he finally, reluctantly, agreed to £1000, saying it would probably cost him his job and he had a young baby to support. He did not turn up until 8 pm so the opportunity to phone the person who was presumably his boss whilst he was there did not arise and we agreed to settle as we could not afford to tax and insure the van and do the same for the vehicle we were due to purchase.
We invited him into the house to fill in the necessary DVLA paperwork and for him to do the bank transfer. He did the transfer and I logged onto my band account whilst the paperwork was being completed. The paperwork took considerably longer than it should as initially he had no idea what information he needed to provide us with. By the time the transaction was completed the transfer had still not arrived in our bank and we had to run down the front path to stop him driving away. He made another attempt and this was successful and we posted the paperwork to the DVLA the same evening
The following day we got a phone call from "Matthew" asking why we weren't happy. So I told him. He offered us a further £250 consolation which we accepted but this by no means met the shortfall of £750 of the original quote.
Just to add insult to injury, yesterday we got a letter from the DVLA saying they not received any notification of purchase from West Sussex Caravans and we were still the registered keepers. Luckily we managed to get it sorted out but this is yet another indication of the unreliability of this Company.
I dont complain lightly but I really do feel people should be made aware of this Company and their unprofessional practices.