Autobiography
Member Since: 19 Jun 2012
Location: Londres
Posts: 339

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I'm Free: Never compromise on your morals | |
I've now reached the end of a 6 month battle with LRFS (Blackhorse Finance) over the 'satisfactory quality' of my Range Rover Sport. My vehicle was constantly in and out of dealerships with quality issues ranging from broken seat bases to rattles to brake squeal. Few of the issues were major but the whole process resulted in over 100 days off the road, multiple failed repairs and shoddy service all round. Whilst I acknowledge some warranty repairs may be needed, an £80k car from new should be fault free.
Blackhorse failed to accept it was a problem to have this amount of time off the road and their 'Satisfactory Quality Dispute' Team try and stamp out complaints with all kinds of tactics including being very aggressive and rude. They assure you their 'compensation' guidelines are in line with the Financial Ombudsman Service which is completely untrue.
Not wanting to let things go, I referred to the Financial Ombudsman Service which is free for consumers but chargeable to the complained business @ £500+ for each and every referral. FYI, Blackhorse are the most complained about business to the service with the vast majority of complaints upheld.
Anyway, I finally got to a conclusion with the help of service which was a godsend. The vehicle has gone, my deposit has been refunded and all of my loss of use has been paid back, all with interest.
The reason I'm sharing this is because I've learnt that it is absolutely not okay to have faults on a new vehicle of this cost. Don't give up and refer if in doubt as is your legal right. The FOS appear very pro consumer and will offer a fair and unbiased view. Blackhorse are not interested in resolving complaints, all they want to do is fob you off with measly compensation. FYI, I was offered settlement of a few hundred pounds from Blackhorse initially which translated into a package of tens of thousands when the FOS got involved. Frankly, Blackhorse have entirely damaged the Land Rover brand in my view as their chosen finance provider. They couldn't give two hoots about me as a customer so off I go...
Don't settle for second best...the cars are frankly too expensive to accept poor quality.
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Sat May 27 2017 8:07am |
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fkarim
Member Since: 14 Apr 2012
Location: London
Posts: 2216

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Well done I agree, totally unacceptable to have too many issues with a car of that price. I still like mine, hardly anything else offers the overall package that suits me so well. However, the lack of quality control from the factory, number of niggles that had to be sorted, things wearing out at such a young age/low mileage, combined with the incompetence of the dealer network has got me thinking whether I would want to stay with LR after this RRS number 3 The first 2 were bought used and either didn't have quality issues or my expectations weren't that high given the price. Perhaps it was because they were mature models (last of the pre-facelift L320 and last of the L320) with all issues ironed out.
Life's too short and busy. Next time even I may be tempted to get out of my comfort zone and willing to compromise on the things I like about these cars in favour of maintaining my sanity, saving time, possibly money too and not having to juggle work/personal stuff with dealer visits.
Yes, what's the replacement? Current: Volvo XC90 T8 Inscription Pro PHEV with some optionals on top
Gone: MY16 RRS2 3.0 SDV6 Autobiography Dynamic, Carpathian Grey & Santorini Black Sliding Pano/Ebony & Ivory 2 Tone
Gone: MY13 RRS 3.0 SDV6 HSE Black Edition, Orkney Grey/Ivory
Gone: MY09 RRS 2.7 TDV6 HSE, Santorini Black/Almond
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Sat May 27 2017 9:01am |
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