My best mates gone to Iraq for 6 months so I am looking after his wife and 6 kids. Just before he went they bought a new Peugeot 807 and have had problems from day one. Unfortunately as he is now away it seems to be me who has to deal with the idiots at the local dealer.
The problems are the remote central locking works when it feels like it, the steering rack is knackered and needs replacing, full carpet mats were ordered with the car and have failed to appear and my freind has not recieved his cashback deal from them.
The garage have now upset my mates wife to the point that she will not go anywhere near the dealers without bursting into tears. I have spoken to them on the phone and after explaining why I am having to deal with these problems they have turned round and told me to get stuffed as they will only deal with my freind or his wife.
I am going to pop into the dealers tomorrow and will probably end up giving someone a good hiding but what is the law regarding this. Can I legally deal with the ongoing problems on my freinds behalf, do I need written permission from him( not a problem )or does his wife have to go in to the dealers in tears only to be told another bunch of lies.
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Under the data protection act I suppose they would be unable to disclose any information about the deal etc. but I don't see why they can't deal with you, if your mate's wife has given permission then they don't have any legal recourse as far as I know.
Maybe a word with the local paper who could run a story about an evil local dealer's adding stress to the life of a woman who's husband has gone to safeguard a country?
Blue
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Oh dear you have my sympathies. Suggest you go to dealer with his wife, a camera and a tape recorder and tell them that you have already tried to sort this amicably, will they co=operate or will you have to provide evidence to local newspaper, BBC Watchdog etc and Peugeot UK as to just what sort of an outfit they are. Be prepared to cause a scene in the showroom so that any potential new customers are also scared off. And get some friends to go along as well, a few minutes after you, posing as potential customers so they can then call out in loud voices - oh dear if that's how you treated that poor couple, there is no way I will buy from you.
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Dont see why you cant represent your mate in sorting this problem out! Personally I wouldn't bother going down to the dealer for a face to face, it sounds like relations have already broken down. Why not insist to speak to the dealer principale over the phone or as it's a new car perhaps you can take it up with Peugeot UK?
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I recommend that you go to 'What Car' magazine and ask them to intercede. They run articles for this kind of thing. It's an outstanding case.
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Which? Consumer magazines also a good one to help fight your corner.
Isn't there some law like the Sales of Goods Act that allows you to return goods that aren't in a satisfactory condition??? Honest John may bay able to answer that one!
Good Luck
Fill what's empty, empty what's full and scratch where it itches!
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Sale of Goods Act allows the purchaser to return the goods if not of satisfactory quality, but the point is that Marcos is not himself the purchaser.
The dealer is being utterly pathetic. A written power of attorney in relation to the car may be worthwhile, not so much in terms of forcing the dealer's hand longer term, but to avoid the short term additional stress on top of the undoubted difficuly situation the wife finds herself in with her husband in Iraq.
I would go, with the wife, to a solicitor and see what arrangements they recommend. The cost is likely to be in the (very) low three figures and not recoverable, but worth it as it would give you the power to sue in your friend's name and force them to take notice, if it came to that.
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.......wife and 6 kids??? Never mind the car....
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Put on a pinstripe suit and say you're representing your client.
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Well done you Marcos!
What a nightmare though!
My advice is to try Peugeot HQ\and try to embarrass them into action.
Also (perhaps first) you could try getting a motoring journalist involved. Like him or not, Mike Rutherford
(TalkSport 1089am) has a motoring show and does often take up issues like these. He has a vast array of contacts in the industry and he may well feel able to assist in some way if only to give you a senior contact within Peugeot and a promise to assist further if you get nowhere. My experience of Watchdog and the like is that they're bombarded with requests for help so you've much less chance of getting a result there especially as it's a on-off as opposed to, say, a problem affecting a large number of people.
Finally, the local rag may also be of some help although probably NOT if the company concerned happens to place regular large adverts with them.
Good luck with this and keep us posted.
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Not being a company car owner myself I can't be 100% certain, but surely a company car driver deals directly with the dealership over problems when the owner is his company or a lease company.
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If the central locking shares any bits with the Citroen C3, a simple software upgrade could solve the problem. My dealer refers to it as a "download". My cashback on the C3 was worked into the sale price so I didn't have to wait, but I believe the dealer did while the slothful PSA admin did their stuff.
You probably need to talk calmly to the dealer principal armed with a letter from Mrs Best Mate and see if you can't get some sense out of them.
Good luck.
Hawkeye
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Stranger in a strange land
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How about that, Marcos? Thumping the dealer will help nobody. In Manchester we have the Manchester Evening News, which would delight in running a front page spread in a case like this. You must have a local equivalent.
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Marcos,
Hope I am not to late in offering this advice - by the sound of the dealer reaction you need to change tactics a wee bit before you go for thier throats!
1) WRITE to them - recorded delivery - with a detailed record of what you know of these problems - state that you are acting on behalf of the car owner in the interests of his wife, at his request...keep it absolutely unemotional.
2) Keep a record of time and date of any phone conversations you may have with them and make a written record of the name of the person you talked to .....tell them that you are doing this.
3)Check your, and your friends, household and car insurance policies to see if you have free legal advice - many do.
4) Have a detailed discussion with the wife and get the facts as clear as possible - being left with 6 kids for 6 months can be a very emotional experience.
Well done for helping your mate and his family!
Matt35
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Our pathetic renault dealer only seemed to take notice when the renault hq became involved . So its always worth complaining to their hq if the dealership wont act.
Polite but firm is always the best way because the dealer cant then turn around and accuse you of threatening behaviour.
If the car is still under manufactures warranty then why dont you take it to another dealership and get them to look at it, you dont have to get the work done at the dealership nearest your home.
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