Arnold Clark - OH MY GOD!

[Rebellion]

Reading someone else's post about Arnold Clark putting sh*t backboxes on an SRi reminded me of a recent run-in with them:

Before I found the Siggy I now own, I was scouring car supermarkets for one with the right combination of spec/colour/price, and found what looked like a good example at Car Giant (formerly Great Trade Centre) in NW London. Nice price, very clean and tidy, 55k....went up to the sales counter to find out what paperwork it came with, and they told me straight off that it didn't come with any service history. That put me right off - 55k and no oil changes? No thanks.

Went home, but kept thinking about that car. The front pads/disks were very new, so looked like someone was maintaining it properly...what if it had indeed been serviced but the paperwork lost, rather than just never serviced? If I could get evidence of that, I could try and buy the car at the never-serviced price, and then recreate the service history by asking whomever serviced it to perhaps give me a printout of what work they'd done on it.

I'd already kept a note of the reg and chassis number, and noted it'd been sold new by Arnold Clark - maybe they'd serviced it at some time...?

Went to their website, got the tel number for their central Customer Services dept (i.e. not at any particular dealer location), phoned them and explained that I'd seen a car at a London dealer, minus service history, could they please check and see if they'd ever serviced it. I knew they weren't obligated to help, but as I was in London and they don't operate any further south than the midlands, helping me buy the car from Car Giant wasn't exactly taking money out of their pocket - they were too far away from me anyway. This is how the conversation went:

Arnold Clark: [shouting] "IF YOU HAVEN'T BOUGHT THE CAR THEN WHO SERVICED IT IS NOTHING TO DO WITH YOU. WE WOULDN'T TELL YOU ANYTHING EVEN IF WE COULD IT'S CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION!!".

Me: "That's not quite true, if the car came with service history then I'd have the information in my hand anyway - so you wouldn't be giving me any details that aren't usually available to view when you consider buying a car anyway, I'm not asking for details of the previous owner or how he paid, just whether you ever serviced it".

Arnold Clark: [shouting] "WHY SHOULD WE HELP YOU BUY A CAR FROM SOMEWHERE ELSE WE'RE NOT TELLING YOU ANYTHING!!"

Me: "Is that what has upset you - that I'm buying a car from another garage?"

Arnold Clark: [shouting] "I'VE TOLD YOU ALREADY WE'RE NOT HELPING YOU!!! I'M TERMINATING THIS CONVERSATION!!!" She hangs up.

Affronted, I ring back, and get through to some one else: "Hi, I was just speaking to one of your colleagues and..."

Arnold Clark: [interrupting and shouting] "SHE'S ALREADY TOLD YOU WE'RE NOT HELPING YOU!!! I'M TERMINATING THIS CONVERSATION!!!" Hangs up.

Annoyed now, I phone back, intending to complain. Call is answered, before I get a chance to say a single word: "WE'RE NOT HELPING YOU!!!" Hangs up.




How a company can continue to operate whilst employing such retards is beyond me, it really is.

[Gsi3.2]

hmm... don't let drinky see this thread. the words 'arnold clark' get him started..

[thegoldenbullet]

you should report them to the bald fella off the bbc to sort out! Dom i think his name is!

[Drinky]

hmm... don't let drinky see this thread. the words 'arnold clark' get him started..

I am saying nothing !!!!!!!!!

[Marc 100]

Agreed it doesn't sound good at all but there is a data protection issue here.

A few years ago I bought SWMBO a Toyota RAV4 with a fully stamped up service book but none of the invoices to back it up and detail the work carried out. I called the main dealer and tried to confirm the services and get copy invoices etc, they had it all on their computer but couldn't oblige because of "data protection".

Ultimately I contacted the previous owner and he sent me all the paperwork which he'd kept - top man.

[Rebellion]

Agreed it doesn't sound good at all but there is a data protection issue here.

A few years ago I bought SWMBO a Toyota RAV4 with a fully stamped up service book but none of the invoices to back it up and detail the work carried out. I called the dealer and tried to confirm the services and get copy invoices etc, they had it all on their computer but couldn't oblige because of "data protection".

Ultimately I contacted the previous owner and he sent me all the paperwork which he'd kept - top man.

There are no data protection issues if you're after details of the car and when it had it's oil changed - the Data Protection Act protects people, not cars.

[john_k_sri]

Reminds me of when I lived 'Dahn Sarf' and a main Ford Dealer in SW London area had as a slogan 'Nice people to do business with'. Lots of people who had dealings with them changed the slogan to read 'Nice business to do people with' LOL. IIRC they were called Currie Motors.

[dv8]

wired... my old pug 406, brought second hand, had a few stamps missing from the book, i rang Pug in preston, they told me everything i need to know. as i wanted to know if thew cambelt has been done.
they stated, they cannot give me anything about the owners but they would tell me milage it was serviced what was done the lot... over the phone...
they helped me a load... even when the brake fluid was done..
now my wifes bmw, they only ever keep the data on the pc, as they seem to forget to stamp it every service. so how would you find the info out?

one rule for one...

why is customer service so poor in the motor (stealers) industry, unless your buying a car!

[Rebellion]

Let's all write a class-action-style letter to Arnold himself, telling him we think the way he lets his people do business is rubbish, and that if he wants specific details of each of our reasons/complaints we're happy to let him have them. That'll turn his hair white. Sh*t - it already is!

[satbeychap]

data protection is always thrown at you to get you to back down. it only applies to personably identifiable data though so they have no legal reason not to give it to you.
try and get up the tree to complain to someone!