Carcraft absolute nightmare, need advice **resolved by REP**

[Laura452]

I purchased a car on the 29.09.2012 from Carcraft in Lakeside,

and also opted for a 5 year warranty at an additional £1999.

 

Finance was set up for me with Creation Finances and I took the car away the same day.

 

On further reading I was unsatisfied with the APR percentage and decided that I would withdraw from the finance within my 14 day cooling off period.

 

I also sent a letter to Carcraft on the 4th October 2012 stating that I wished to cancel the warranty as I was within my 30 day grace period.

 

I phoned creation after I received a bank loan for the vehicle value and stated that I wished to settle the figure there and then.

 

They informed me that the settlement figure was £9500,

the warranty amount was still showing as outstanding, despite having cancelled it.

 

I explained that I did not want the warranty, nor did I have the money to pay for that and I was not going to pay for something I had cancelled.

 

They informed me that I would have to take this matter to Carcraft, which I did.

 

After many hours of arguments with Carcraft and on the advice of Creation themselves,

they told me it would be in everyone's interests for the agreement to be cancelled to enable me to pay the full amount to Carcraft directly,

and for carcraft to refund the finance company.

 

On the 08.10.12 I visited Carcraft with my mother and spoke to the finance manager,

I relayed the information I was given by Creation to him and stated that the agreement should be cancelled as I have the funds to pay for the goods there and then.

 

The finance manager agreed to this and I paid via debit card £7045 plus the £500 I paid previously in deposit.

 

He stated he would cancel the agreement and the issue would now be resolved.

 

On the 17.10.12 I received a letter from Creation Finance to say that I would receive a £30 fine for cancelling the direct debit as there was still an outstanding balance to be paid.

 

I phoned them immediately and explained the situation,

they informed me that Carcraft have not refunded them any money whatsoever and the agreement is still open in my name

and I have 11 days to reopen the direct debitt, otherwise the account would fall into arrears.

 

Furthermore, I told them that I had already paid the full value to Carcraft and they had explained to me they would refund the amount and close the agreement.

This has not been done.

 

I phoned Carcraft today and spoke to the finance manager,

who lied to me and said that the funds had been refunded and his accounts department had already dealt with this.

He then stated that no funds had been returned and creation would get their money back by making a short fall payment in a future agreement to get their money back.

 

I told him that this was not true and that they had not made any efforts to refund the money and that my credit history is at risk due to their misconduct.

 

To date, I am unable to get Carcraft to pay the finance company and have spent hours on the phone to both companies,

playing piggy in the middle in an effort to get this problem solved.

 

Creation finances are being more than helpful but Carcraft seem to be intent on not returning the money,

despite being paid twice for the car, once by me and once by the finance company.

 

Carcraft keep putting the phone down on me, lying, delaying processes and I can see this getting me in to a lot of stressful times trying to sort this out.

 

Is there anyone out there who has a rough idea of where I stand legally on this matter

as I would like to issue a solicitors letter staying that if this is not resolved then

I wish to take them to court.

 

I am very apprehensive as to what affect this is going to have on my personal credit history

and do not wish to have this damage my credibility as I have never had an issue with credit history in the past.

 

I am so disgusted at Carcraft and just want this issue solved.

 

Thank you.

[leonmassey]

Request a tri partite meeting with car craft and creation at car crafts offices. I had the same problem years ago with car craft. As soon as i requested the meeting (by email and copying both parties in) Carcraft paid the money the same day and the matter was resolved. I vowed that day to never deal with car craft again. At the time they sold me a cut n shut

[dx100uk]

hi laura

 

i think we should be able to resolve this

 

we have carcraft onboard here

 

i'll alerth them to the thread

 

though it might not be seen till monday

 

linzi is normally very good

 

dx

[Laura452]

Request a tri partite meeting with car craft and creation at car crafts offices. I had the same problem years ago with car craft. As soon as i requested the meeting (by email and copying both parties in) Carcraft paid the money the same day and the matter was resolved. I vowed that day to never deal with car craft again. At the time they sold me a cut n shut

 

That is what creation suggested, the only trouble I am having is that I work 60 hours a week in London and cannot necessarily get there soon enough, the only dates I am available is on the weekend and this will bring me very close to the time period in which the direct debit starts. Creation did say that first thing Monday they would be phoning carcraft, a supervisor assured me that he would try and get this sorted as a matter of urgency. It's just such a weight on my mind and carcraft have been nothing short of absolute swindling jokers since I first set foot in their show room. I'm kicking myself for even going there in the first place.

 

I am fully prepared to pay the money and take them to court if necessary, the way in which they operate is disgusting, I'm surprised they are still allowed to conduct business in this manner.

 

Thanks for the advice.

[Laura452]

hi laura

 

i think we should be able to resolve this

 

we have carcraft onboard here

 

i'll alerth them to the thread

 

though it might not be seen till monday

 

linzi is normally very good

 

dx

 

That would be excellent, I'm so stressed out with this. And I honestly cannot find a good word to say about them or my experience.

 

Thank you very much.

[dx100uk]

as a side issue, i'd question ever buying a warranty.

 

typically your statutory rights under SOGA etc cover you.

 

and £2k blimey!!

[Laura452]

as a side issue, i'd question ever buying a warranty.

 

typically your statutory rights under SOGA etc cover you.

 

and £2k blimey!!

 

You are absolutely right, they are worthless.

 

I am so terribly annoyed by this that I have had the car a few weeks and have already done a deal to part exchange with a reputable company.

 

I only found out about the agreement and lack of payment from carcraft because when the dealer did a HPI check, there was outstanding finance.

 

If I had not been made aware of this I would have been walking around thinking all was solved, whilst simultaneously damaging my credit and falling into arrears.

 

Due to lack of payment by carcraft, I can't take my new car away until all is cleared, so this is having a knock on affect in all areas.

 

Thanks so much for your help.

[Guest Carcraft Customer Service Manager]

Hi LauraI am really sorry to hear about the above and that it has taken some time to resolve. I believe that you have had a voicemail left on your phone today and you have also spoken to Chris in Customer Services and he has given you the information required? If i can help you further, please don't hesitate to let me know.Many thanksLinzi

[Laura452]

Hi LauraI am really sorry to hear about the above and that it has taken some time to resolve. I believe that you have had a voicemail left on your phone today and you have also spoken to Chris in Customer Services and he has given you the information required? If i can help you further, please don't hesitate to let me know.Many thanksLinzi

 

 

Hi Linzi,

 

I did receive a call from Chris and it doesn't quite solve the problem. He stated that a payment was made on the 4th of October to Creation. I paid Carcraft on the 8th for the full amount. I have been in contact with a man named Ross who is a supervisor at Creation this afternoon who has stated that there has been no payment made. He did state that there was an adjustment made to the account for approximately £5000, which makes no sense. Ross telephoned me to say that he is being passed from department to department trying to speak to someone who oversees this area of the finances.

 

The agreement is still open and has not been closed. Every time I speak to someone at Lakeside or Carcraft there is conflicting information. The person who calls himself Shabs said that he would talk to his accounts department today and would get this sorted in the next 24 hours. Unfortunately, he has proven not to follow up his words with actions, therefore I do not fully trust his ability at resolving this.

 

I did pass on the reference number to Ross and this doesn't seemed to have shed any light on the matter either.

 

Kind regards,

 

Laura.

[Guest Carcraft Customer Service Manager]

Hi LauraAre you free for me to give you a quick call?ThanksLinzi

[Laura452]

Hi LauraAre you free for me to give you a quick call?ThanksLinzi

 

Hey Linzi

 

Thanks ever so much. This issue has now been solved and creation have confirmed that the agreement has been paid and closed.

 

Your customer service was great and I hope there are others that can learn from you.

 

Many thanks to Linzi and the forum.

 

Laura.

[dx100uk]

hey great result.

 

thank linzi

 

dx

[Guest Carcraft Customer Service Manager]

Hi Laura/DXThanks for the feedback - always appreciated, especially under the circumstances.Laura, if you need anything in the future, please don't hesitate to contact Head Office customer services on 0800 923 9495 - they will be happy to help you - as will I if you need my assistance again.Many ThanksLinzi

[Conniff]

It happens time after time that promises are made and then never kept. All we customers want from companies is the truth, if there is a cockup, say so but don't promise you will ring back to fob the customer off and then not ring back. If you make a promise, keep it even if it's to say 'sorry, I haven't sorted it yet'.

 

It's not that hard.

 

Congratualtions Laura.

[Laura452]

I agree with you 100% if I had been told by Carcraft that there was a delay and treated like a respectable customer by the staff at lakeside then I may have given them the benefit of the doubt. But the attitude I got from them was shocking (and just to be clear I do NOT include Linzi in this statement, because she was great example of professionalism). His attitude was "well if you feel like that then go and speak to head office, go to trading standards, do what you want" apparently I had been unreasonable in ONLY giving them 2 weeks to simply refund a payment, and just a few lies on top for extra measure.

 

It's such a shame that those individuals at lakeside cannot take a leaf out of Linzi's book because if I had been able to contact her sooner this may have been resolved before I had to threaten them with legal action.

 

As for anyone else who encounters problems like this just be so damn persistent and they will be sick to death of hearing from you in the end. I probably spent £40 on phone calls.