Suggest Avoiding Brownhills

On Sunday, 13 May 2012 my wife and I visited Brownhills in Newark and paid a deposit of £1,000.00 on a “new” Elddis Aspire 215, which was going to cost £39,995.00 in total.  What a mistake that was!  In anybody’s language this is a “major” purchase.  The vehicle was marked “NEW VEHICLE” on the windscreen in the showroom.  The salesman assured us that the three defects identified at the time of the viewing would be rectified by Friday 18 May 2012 and that the vehicle would be ready for collection on that day.  (Coincidentally this same salesman contacted me by phone very recently to enquire if “we were still looking for a motorhome”!!).  If there was a problem with the delivery he would contact us daily with updates as to the actual delivery date.  The three defects identified at the time of the viewing were:

A very bad chip on the wall behind the TV bracket.

The passenger side bench seat wouldn’t stow properly or at all.

A bathroom cupboard catch was missing.

Also at the time of the viewing we expressed our concern about the bareness of the floor and at this point the salesman made the comment that the missing carpeting "might have been commandeered for another vehicle".  He also added that the bare floor behind the two front seats was “where the service ports are”.

On Monday, 14 May 2012 there had been no word from Brownhills and it was reasonable for us to assume then that delivery was still on for the Friday of that week as it was a “new” vehicle.

On Tuesday, 15 May 2012 and because we hadn’t heard anything at all from Brownhills, despite a promise that we would get “daily” updates I decided to send them a note (which I did via their web site) as follows:

"Following the visit to your premises on Sunday 13^th May when we paid our deposit and our subsequent discussions with you we have concerns that the vehicle might not be 100% complete on collection.  We are also concerned about a comment that was made that the missing carpeting "might have been commandeered for another vehicle".  It makes us wonder what else might have been commandeered.  For the sake of good order can you please confirm that at least the following will be provided: a "GB" plate, bathroom cupboard catch fixed, bench will stow properly, chipped splash back rectified, carpeting fitted, cushions (as shown in your brochure) and a kitchen rack (also as shown in your brochure.”  We became more concerned as time went by.  During the conversation and after looking at the vehicle on the web I noticed that there should have been carpets fitted.  The reply was that “oh if you want carpets they might take a little longer”.

On Wednesday 16 May 2012 we received the following reply:

“Hi, I am the sales manager that authorised the Elddis Aspire deal on Sunday.  I have just returned from two days off myself.  The salesman has expressed your concerns with me and I now have a copy of your e-mail send on Tuesday and will now deal with it.  I will contact you later today with the full workshop report on all the work required to present this vehicle in the condition of your expectations.  The one question I can answer is the matter of “commandeering” a part from one vehicle to another.  We have a very “strict” robbed part paper trail within our company, be it a vehicle being prepared by the sales dept, a warranty part or a retail part paid for by a customer.  We are in an industry by where parts are not always readily available overnight, some parts may take weeks to arrive and in extreme cases parts could take 2 – 3 months to arrive, this is very common with ALL manufacturers in the UK and Europe.

We as a company have “adopted the stance” that if a part is required to maintain the use of the vehicle and that part is not physical for an acceptable period of time, we will remove the part from a stock vehicle to get the customer’s vehicle back to full working order and when the part arrives we will replace the stock vehicle, yes, it is twice the work, however in some cases we have no option.  You will be treated no differently and if (hopefully not) that you are in this situation after you take delivery we will do the same for you.”

By Wednesday 16 May 2012 it was clear that our specific concerns and expectations were not being addressed.  Our main concern was that latent defects might exist in the vehicle and that where there was a gas installation safety was highlighted.

Later that day and as I was getting more worried about the preparedness of the vehicle and what latent defects there might be I decided to drive down to Newark and pay Brownhills a visit and in the afternoon I met with the sales people who introduced me to their "fixer".  Although I was given assurances I remained concerned about the latent defects.  I followed up my visit with an e-mail later that day as follows:

“Hi, thank you for your e-mail and voice mail message... We would like a firm collection date by noon tomorrow... (the 17th)...”

Earlier in the day the salesman had ‘phoned me with various assurances but at that time was not able to give me an estimated delivery date because they had “found more problems”.  At no time have Brownhills been able to assure me that there wouldn’t be any latent defects.  A major concern was that there was no rear view camera or imaging device; a safety hazard.

On Thursday 17 May 2012 it became clear that Brownhills weren’t going to be able to complete the vehicle within a reasonable time frame and it was the sales manager himself who said that it looked as if the deal had been lost and we should “draw a line under it [the deal]”.  There were no assurances given that there wouldn’t be any latent defects.  In a later conversation I confirmed to them that we no longer wished to proceed with the purchase of the vehicle and that we wanted our deposit refunded.  We cancelled the order.  At their request I confirmed this in an e-mail and the reply was that the “wheels would then be put in motion” to get the deposit refunded.  My e-mail was as follows:

“To confirm my telephone request to you this afternoon for a refund of the £1,000.00 deposit that we paid last Sunday for this vehicle.  As you have been unable to provide what we ordered and also that you confirmed today that you couldn't give a date for collection (we were not prepared to wait indefinitely) we feel that in this instance a refund of the deposit is appropriate.  We paid the deposit in good faith on the basis that the few "defects" we found on Sunday would be rectified within one week (you promised this) and that the vehicle would be ready at that same time.  Since then, of course we found many other problems between us and our concern remained that we couldn't obviously identify any latent defects.  To be clear we had concerns about the following: the "newness" of the vehicle (apparently 276 miles on the clock - "been to shows", the matter of “commandeering” a part or parts from one vehicle to another, you said in your e-mail of yesterday that "some parts may take weeks to arrive and in extreme cases parts could take 2 – 3 months to arrive, this is very common with ALL manufacturers in the UK and Europe", our note of Tuesday this week to you that the vehicle might not be 100% complete on collection, a comment that was made that the missing carpeting "might have been commandeered for another vehicle", assurances about a "GB" plate, a bathroom cupboard catch didn't work, a bench wouldn't stow correctly, there was a bad chip out of the splash back behind the TV bracket, the carpeting wasn't fitted and was "shoved in a heap" in one of the cupboards, a lever missing from the kitchen tap, the rear view camera was missing as was the rear view mirror imaging device missing and the general "grubbiness" of a supposedly new vehicle.

Here I am also referring to the Sale of Goods Act 1979 that states inter alia "Where the seller sells goods in the course of a business, there is an implied term that the goods supplied under the contract are of satisfactory quality."

I think we've been very patient but now a refund seems to be the way to get out of this very stressful situation.  I expect you to make this refund before the close of business on Friday 18th May.”

On Friday 18 May 2012 Brownhills then sent me this e-mail: “I have been passed a copy of your recent email in respect of your purchase of the above vehicle and to which you have reserved with a £1000 deposit.  We confirmed the position with regards to the purchase advising that you were aware of the vehicle being one of our stock vans.  The vehicle had been used at shows hence the mileage and also that parts, which I will add are unique to this model, would be ordered for the vehicle.  We appreciate we gave you a date for collection of the motor home which we have in turn had to advise you that it is not possible to meet as we are currently awaiting sometimes direct from Elddis.  They and we are both confident to have all these parts at the beginning of next week with delivery looking good for Wednesday 23 May.  We hope the above goes some way to clarifying the comments in your email of 17 May with regards to the grubbiness of the vehicle, which you were made aware of during the viewing.  We do not accept your cancelation and expect you to honour the contract and collect the vehicle.  As with all deposits taken against vehicles, these are non refundable as clearly highlighted on the order form.  I am aware this may appear harsh but we have committed to honour our side of the agreement and have incurred considerable expense.”

I replied to their e-mail as follows:

“The deposit was paid in good faith that the vehicle would be "new" when collected.  [As to] the vehicle being one of [their] stock vans.  This isn't so because and in addition the vehicle was marked with a sticker on the windscreen that it was a "new vehicle".  With regard to [The vehicle had been used at shows hence the mileage and also that parts, which I will add are unique to this model, would be ordered for the vehicle.]  I said that I didn't really understand this comment because the vehicle would have needed to be complete anyway.  As to a date for collection again this isn't so because at no time have [they] ever given me a date for collection.  [They] seemed to have ignored the comment in my earlier e-mail that Gary also advised that "some parts can take months to get hold of".  The delivery promise of 24^th May wasn't credible because in fact it was themselves who told me yesterday that you "lost the deal" and that we should "perhaps draw a line under it [the deal] and move on."  It was on this advice that I went elsewhere for our motor home.  It's also interesting to me that even now you cannot give a delivery date, instead opting to say that "[it's] looking good".  This (the fact that we knew it wasn’t a new vehicle) isn't the case either - you have even used the word "used" above.  Also when I did the virtual tour on the web I noticed that the carpets were missing; it was at this point that you told me that they "might have been commandeered for another vehicle".  When I asked about the bareness of the floor you told me that "oh they're the service ports". 

I understand your comment about the deposit being non refundable but surely that only applies to a situation where the customer has simply changed his mind.  We really really wanted this vehicle and I even made a point of visiting you on Wednesday this week because of concerns that we had following your 'phone calls about the state of affairs. 

I will not be able to complete the purchase (we've bought one elsewhere) and I will not be collecting the vehicle.  With regard to you saying that you had honoured the agreement I said at the time that “I don't understand this comment either because you haven't honoured your side of the agreement although you might have committed to it.  Your comment about considerable expense is also in my view irrelevant again because the vehicle would have needed to have been completed in any event.

I have found the whole experience very distressing and it wasn't what I expected also after having undergoing major surgery.  This wakeup call was why we decided to spend our life savings on a motor home.  I want my money back."

Finally I'm pursuing my claim against them in the small claims court.

In hindsight when we viewed the vehicle initially Brownhills must have known that there were so many faults with it and that there were many parts missing.  If their “so-called” robust robbed parts system had existed there wouldn’t have been so many problems.  I doubt that such a system is in place although; of course I can’t prove this.