I wrote, back in October, about my poor experiences with Evans Halshaw Vauxhall in Leeds, and I’ve recently had another one, but finally I’ve also got a positive outcome.
My alternator broke, completely, at 6AM one morning driving back from Durham. When I bought the car, I was told it came with breakdown cover which I thought was with the RAC, so I called them, to find they had no record of me or my car. Same result with the AA. So I had to sign up to the RAC at a cost of £130, who came out and got me to a local garage, Fred Henderson Ltd (who were great, by the way!) My car was repaired before lunch time, but it cost me a further £275. As I was assured by the Evans Halshaw salesman that the warranty allowed such claims, I dutifully collected a full invoice with a detailed description of the work done.
I then contacted Evans Halshaw and was told that these kind of claims are not allowed, but that they’d contact the warranty company to “see what they could do.” Some weeks later, I got a definitive “no” response. I requested contact details for the warranty company, but never received a response.
Last week, I got frustrated and sent an email to both the branch manager in Leeds, and to Trevor Finn, the Chief Executive of Pendragon PLC, the company that own Evans Halshaw. I received two very different responses.
The branch manager called me to say that the policies are in place for a reason and that I should have read my documentation properly. As I told him on the phone, that’s all well and good, but when you’re 90 miles away from your warranty documentation in a broken down car in -4 degree cold, at 6am, three hours before Evans Halshaw open, you can’t be expected to follow policies.
Luckily, I was also called by Ian McCandlish, Pendragon PLC’s Divisional Managing Director of Group Finance and Insurance – the man in charge of the warranty division. Ian took a far more sensible and customer friendly approach to dealing with my complaint. Firstly, he read my email – which I’m not convinced the branch manager really did. Secondly, he set the policies aside and dealt with the problem using his own logic and a bit of empathy. Ian explained that there are policies in place, but that the priority is clearly the customer and sometimes you have to think outside of the box when dealing with it.
It’s a real shame I had to take the steps I did, to get the service I should have received in the first place, but Ian has now offered to reimburse the full cost of repair, plus the RAC sign up cost as a good faith gesture, for which I am very appreciative. His attitude may well be enough to convince me to at least consider using Evans Halshaw again in the future.
Another sad case of getting in a bit of a tizzy because you didn’t read your warranty paperwork. If you have no paperwork then you have no warranty, always keep it in the car as you never ever break down near home.
I’m unconvinced that’s a good idea, but each to their own I guess. I never keep any paperwork in my car, nor anything of value, as I’m not willing to risk losing it if someone breaks in.
Plus, having looked at the paper work after the fact, I would have been no better off, as they require that you call Evans Halshaw in advance to arrange a suitable garage. The RAC took me to the *only* garage within a suitable distance, and Evans Halshaw don’t even open until two hours after I got to the garage.
Additionally, I asked specifically when I bought the car, can I claim on warranty *after* work has been done by a third party. I was told yes. That’s the crux of the issue for me.
There’s two sides to everything, and sure I could have just taken this on the chin, but in my opinion, the warranty policies are not fit for purpose. People don’t drive their cars within a ten mile radius of Evans Halshaw garages, between the hours of 9am and 5pm, Monday through Friday.
Thanks for sharing your experience Dan – I’m currently considering buying a car from Evans Halshaw and your comments about the warranty were very helpful.
Hi!
Well done!!
I purchased a runabout & informed them of 2 seperate problems within 10 days.
Iv a 30 day guarantee, which they say will only cover £500 worth of work.
The cost of repairs stands at 4 x that amount.
No where on the guarantee does it state limitations – apparently it ‘on large posters around the showroom’!
I’d like to contact Ian McCandlish myself.,,, would you be so kind as to forward his email contact details to me?
As a Newbie, I’m always looking on-line for articles that can assist me get additional ahead.