This posting may cause a fair amount of controversy particularly as it is about the shoddy and unprofesional customer service from the boards sponsor 'Charles Hurst' based in Park Royal, London. I have resorted to naming and shaming the dealer as conventional methods have not been successful.

Back in July I took delivery of a new FL2, although I had initially twice visited Charles Hurst to negotiate a price, they were unable to compete and eventually I bought the car from Rocar Moores in Huddersfied, who sold me the same vehicle for £1,300 less!

A few weeks after receiving the car I noticed that the corner of the right hand rear seat had been caught within the fastenings of the seat frame resulting in the corner of the seat being left with what I can best describe as a 2-3 inch gap. I contacted Land Rover customer service who advised me to make an appointment with my local dealer.

To cut a very very long story short, the episode ended in me visiting the dealer 3 times, the dealer collecting the car 4 times, the dealer ordering in the wrong parts twice, the dealer cancelling the appointments without informing me, the work not being done to the correct standard and the the seat having to be re-upholstered - all in all very frustrating experience that took almost four months.

Throughout this time I was in contact with Claire (Supervisor) at Land Rover Customer Service who was liasing with Wayne (Service Manager) from Charles Hurst. As it was a new car, Land Rover had agreed that some sort of compensation was in order considering the amount of hassle and aggravation I had received. I was offered the 'Land Rover' experience back in September which I gracefully accepted.

It is now December 15, and I have still not seen any sight of the 'Experience'. I am told by Claire at Land Rover Customer Service that Charles Hurst are responsible for this. After many more phone calls to Land Rover I'm told that the problem lies in the accounting system at Charles Hurst and they are unable to offer the Experience. Claire tells me that Wayne at Charles Hurst does not reply to her calls. I was given the option of paying for the Land Rover Experience myself (about £350) and then being re-imbursed by Land Rover in 10 to 12 weeks. I was not prepared to do this as I do not want any more aggravation chasing money owed to me by Land Rover.

So now we have a situation where as Charles Hurst will not keep to their word on what was offered to me.

I hope that one of the directors at Charles Hurst will be reading this forum and take action to quickly resolve this issue. This is the first time I have purchased a Land Rover and the way I currently feel it may well be my last. If I had bought a vehicle from another manufacturer I feel I would have been treated as a valued customer.

Paul Keene

I never heard of CHPR been anything but helpful, did you speak to the dealer general manager James Tayler? Former Mod/Member, with the most post & Chicken George Arch nemesis

npinks wrote:

I never heard of CHPR been anything but helpful, did you speak to the dealer general manager James Tayler?

Mr Keene,

This sounds very uncharacteristic of our service department, and I will draw it to the attention of our Service Manager, Paul King. Wayne is in charge of our Service Reception team, has been with the dealership for many years, and customers generally tell us that his customer service levels are second to none, therefore I am very surprised that we have let you down on this occasion.

Apologies that we were not able to compete with the deal that you were offered elsewhere, however that should no affect the quality of customer care that you should expect from our service team.

Please expect contact from Paul King shortly, and may I apologise in advance on behalf of the dealership.

Regards,

James

PS. Nick, I am but a lowley Sales Manager but thanks for the virtual promotion!

Update - Contact made with Mr Keene within the hour, and Paul King has reliably informed me that the issue will be resolved by close of business.

James

It's s shame all dealers don't have to deal with customer complaints through this forum.
Might be a way to get better treatment by the looks of it....

It's like Watchdog on this site!

Does anyone from Setanta sports customer services read the forum??


Rowy
P.s. Lloyds landrover in Carlisle are great, I've dealt with the sales, service and the parts department top marks all round

Setanta sports  Former Mod/Member, with the most post & Chicken George Arch nemesis

Update - As promised, I understand that the matter has been resolved and the 'Experience' booking has been arranged!

James

Good Outcome

Which car did you choose for the LRE and is it your first one  Former Mod/Member, with the most post & Chicken George Arch nemesis

I can confirm that I had two calls today from Paul King and I am told the situation is being resolved. Land Rover are sending me a voucher in the post for a Land Rover Experience day.

It's a shame however that I had to take drastic measures in order to get a resolution.

This case shows the true power of the Internet, after waiting months for a resolution in the conventional way, I can get a result from the Internet in just a few hours.

Paul Keene

Yeah can you try that with my dealer the next time I have probs?

snappa wrote:

Yeah can you try that with my dealer the next time I have probs?

Problems with T&C , I don't believe it  ______________________
2011 Full Fat RR 4.4 TDV8
2012 FL2 SD4 Auto HSE
2013 Kawasaki Versys 650

Seems all may be resolved in this case, It seems to show the danger for a dealer to get involved in forums OK he may get some noteworthy praise aimed at him but also any apparent errors can be flagged up for all to see '.

But misunderstandings frequently occur with all client /customer relations,so I always judge a firm on how it resolves an issue, rather than if it makes mistakes or not, lets face it we are all human...I certainly seem to make my fair share of errors  At work
At home

"I can't always believe facts I read on the web" - Charles Dickens

winner by default of the tractor vs caravan race

This shows how different people seem to receive different treatment from the same dealer. I see Rowy has said he has had great service from Lloyds in Carlisle. I bought my first Freelander from there and within 24 hours it was being towed back. Many times it was in for things to be fixed and they broke other parts in the process. I would never go anywhere near them again. Now Kentdale in Kendal I found to be excellent.

Yes it is a double-edged sword sponsoring the forum, but until now the only feedback we have received has been positive. Although we try, we do occasionally 'drop the ball', and as you can see we are only too keen to reach a resolution.

What I would say is that if anyone has an issue with the level of service we provide then let me know and I will personally ensure that it is dealt with swiftly and fairly.

James