Brian Kirby Posted June 6, 2009 Share Posted June 6, 2009 BGD - 2009-06-04 12:52 AM This may help a lot of people: Common Law of Contract Performance under English law: If you have a genuine reason not to be happy with the work from any supplier of goods or services, simply don't pay, or pay what you honestly feel is a reasoble proportion only. (One way of doing this is to pay by cheque, and then if unhappy once you've checked the MH over back at home, cancel the cheque/send them another for the reduced amount with a covering letter). If the supplier whines, invite them to take out a case in the County Court for the balance of their invoice; then a Judge will decide what was a reasonable fee for the degree of Performance (or non-Performance) under the contract between you. And send/get everything in writing of course...... Great fun! Bruce is right, but proceed with caution! There are a few problems that need to be safeguarded before charging straight off as he suggests. First and most obvious is that it may not be immediately obvious when you collect your vehicle that work has not been done, or not done correctly. You may only discover what is missing after your return home, at which point you will be convinced the work is absent/faulty, and the dealer that all is OK. Before you get to stopping cheques, therefore - which the banks generally do not like - and even if you write as suggested with a replacement cheque for a lower sum, you should contact the seller, tell them they have omitted work, and be prepared to return the vehicle to them, to allow them to satisfy themselves that what you say is true and have the opportunity to rectify the defect/s. If the seller agrees and you take the van back, and he then rectifies his work, you are entitled to get back your costs in returning the van. How/whether you pursue that is for you, but if a part refund cannot be agreed, and a discount against future work is not available, go elsewhere next time if you can.If you cannot agree with the seller that the work is defective, or if he won't agree to look again at what he has done, then a stopped cheque followed by a letter stating why you are dissatisfied, and that you tried to give him the opportunity to rectify - which he rejected - with a reduced payment might be in order. However, stopping a cheque and replacing it with another for a lower sum, merely on the basis that you alone claim defective work, might not look so good if the matter did come to court. It is also possible the seller might issue small claims court proceedings against you for debt which, if you failed to pay/enter a convincing defence, would result in a judgement against you. That would eventually find its way onto your credit rating, with unwanted consequences.If you do find yourself in a position where you feel the need to adopt this kind of strategy I think it might be wise to consult Trading Standards about how far, and how fast, you should go unless you are very confident of your grasp of the legalities. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Silkie Posted June 6, 2009 Share Posted June 6, 2009 The few people who apparently "support" Brownhills with their comments usually praise either the deal they got when buying their van or are fairly frequent buyers. However they miss the general point.Nobody disputes that the sales side of Brownhills is competitive the problem is the service side which is overpriced and the attitude of the new senior management which stinks. They couldn't have timed the "new rules" better, with the recession just starting and generally new motorhome sales on a steep decline, to ensure that they did everything in their power to ensure an uncertain future. I want them to survive if only to keep the rest of the trade competitive but the senior management will have to come to terms with the fact, that now it is a buyers market and will be for a long time to come, if they are to stand any chance at all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Tracker Posted June 6, 2009 Share Posted June 6, 2009 I recently emailed Tom Bell the CEO of Brownhills in good faith to try and get him to comment on here and put his side of the story following a previous thread that was a lot more defamatory than this thread (so much so that the thread ended up being pulled by the moderators). Mr Bell was quite rude and offensive to me in his reply at that time and he refused to even look at the Forum, so he said, adding that he was far too busy helping genuine customers to even consider commenting on any Forum - even in general terms regarding his company's attitude towards customer care. He reckoned that I was just a trouble maker not interested in the truth, which was ironic really as all I tried to do was to get a balancing viewpoint and maybe help one or two very aggrieved Brownhills customers obtain the service to which they were entitled. Mr Bell's attitude, right from the top, seemed to say it all and I was so alarmed by his attitude that I decided to never even consider buying a van or any other product from any company with which he was associated. I have yet to see any evidence to make me want to change my mind. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Silkie Posted June 6, 2009 Share Posted June 6, 2009 From the above comment you can see the "boss of bosses" is in complete denial. Still if he is only interested in his genuine customers and this keeps him busy, he will soon have a lot more time on his hands I think! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rolandrat Posted June 7, 2009 Share Posted June 7, 2009 Don't bosses in denial run Bentleys? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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