Marquis Motorhomes: 107 Opinions on the World Wide Web
Here, in about 13,500 words, are the
results of a random walk we took around the World Wide Web in February 2017, gathering 107 opinions from people who had used the services of Marquis Motorhomes. None of
the comments are favourable, but not as a result of us being selective. It is just that none of the comments are
favourable! This is raw data and we have done no editing.
It is truly amazing that this company is still in business!
The sources include Facebook, The Marquis Website and the forums of Out and
About Live, Motorhome Facts, but mainly the sadly mis-named (in this case)
Motorhome Fun.
Barry and Margaret Williamson
Estonia
October 2017
First, a story of Marquis Motorhomes Misery from Ken who wrote directly to this website:
Thank you for emailing me. Yes its all been a nightmare. Please add my
complaint to your website.
Yes I've had many exchanges with the head office After Sales Manager, Alan
Doherty, who I have found to be arrogant and the least helpful person I have
ever come across.
I just hope my story can help others stay away from these rogues.
I have read some of the comments on the website about Marquis motorhomes. My
nightmare began when I bought a new Autosleeper El Duo from them on 6th June
last year, 2015.
The first weekend we had it the 12volt system failed. Back to Marquis Ipswich.
They said that they had fixed it. Next time we used it on a trip to Wales the
12 volt system failed again as well as numerous other faults: broken habitation
door, CO2 detector leaking battery, broken skylight runner. Took it back to
Maquis. They sent it back to Autosleeper. They said it was al fixed again. It
failed again and they then said that it was my fault because I had not turned
off the isolation switch, which they had not told me to do.
Since I bought it the motorhome has been back to them 12 times and I have not
had it more that for a 2 week stretch before it goes wrong again. Other faults
have been heater not working, engine battery failure twice.
I've requested a refund of replacement three times and each time they have
refused saying they will fix the presenting fault. The After Sales Manager (Paul Brown) is arrogant and rude. He now
refuses to respond to my emails because I got annoyed with him. Who wouldn't.
I wish I'd never gone near Marquis and parted with my hard earned £50k. Please
no one else be as silly as I was buying a motorhome from them.
Facebook
Shantelle
Button — If I was Able to give them a -* review I
would pay all that money for a Caravan when they charge £400 for a service and
then the electrics don't work after that they say you have to take it back to
them to have it fixed when you are already on holiday and painful for electric
you can now no longer use!! Didn't fix anything on the list of things that are
wrong when it goes in for a service would definatly not reccomend this comany
to anyone looking for a caravan poor after care and over priced for a
service!!!
Facebook
Hannah Lake — My parents bought a motor home and have
had problems with the cooker, they have taken it back 4 times to try and get
this fixed and it's obviously still not done as there was a fire in the van
this weekend which started from the hob. Luckily everyone in the van at the
time were unharmed but OMG what an absolute mess, how dare they put lives at
risk?! It could have been so much worse but it left us all shaken up
Facebook
Chris
Brailsford — Took my caravan in for an insurance
quote 2nd week of August I'm still waiting for it and it's nearly November.
Phoned them on numerous occasions keep getting fobbed off they said waiting for
elddis to get back to them. Spoke to elddis they don't even deal with vans over
7 years old! Wotf is going on they need a kick up the rear.
Marquis
Website Reference for Alan Doherty!
Marquis Motorhomes 2 June 2010
Our Aftersales Manager, Alan Doherty is celebrating 30 years of service
with the Marquis Group today.
Alan joined the group back on 2nd June 1980 as a valeter at the Hampshire
branch and has since worked his way up through the Service Centre to
Foreman and subsequently became Marquis Group Aftersales Manager in 2003.
Alan is now the main point of contact for all Aftersales enquiries and
deals with any issues that cannot be dealt with by our nine branches.
...
Alan will be enjoying the celebrations today by taking lunch with our MD
Mike Crouch and a presentation took place this morning with gifts & cakes
to mark the momentous occasion.
Congratulations Alan & thank you for your hard work!
Motorhome Fun
Within our family we have 2
Bessacarr motorhomes and as motorhomes go they are great vehicles. The Fiat
reversing judder issue does detract from an otherwise excellent vehicle but
hopefully this well known problem will soon have a solution.
However, I wish we stumbled across this
website before parting with sizable sums of money to Marquis motorhomes! I have
read the comments made by other users and feel the need to echo these concerns.
As sales facilities go, Marquis provide
acceptable service but when the transaction goes beyond the sales team it all
goes horribly wrong. As a 58 plate vehicle, it went into Marquis Cheively in
November 2008 and was returned in April 2009. They were given a list of defects
and would you believe that after a 5 month repair, less than half were
completed and worse still, the vehicle was returned unsafe.
Calls to Bessacarr Customer Care have
suggested that Marquis have not charged Swift (Bessacarr) for the PDI and
therefore Swift suggest it was not performed. This would explain the list of
repairs needed, many of which should have been identified at PDI.
It is fair to say that our gripe is with
Marquis Aftersales and mostly their so called Aftercare Manager. How many
people would pay £50,000 plus for a car and accept a 5 month repair. How many
would accept repairs where safety covers are left off 240volt heaters risking
serious injury or death!
If you are thinking of buying a motorhome then
be warned, Marquis boldly claim that they NEVER give refunds. A good company
would say they do but NEVER HAVE TO! There are other Motorhome suppliers out
there and just maybe they value you as a customer and your life!
Motorhome Fun
I have posted a thread on the site before reporting how we have waited 7 weeks
for a shower tray to be replaced before we paid the balance on our first second
hand motorhome. the dealer yes it's Marquis. The Tray was on factory back
order, fair enough, but in my view should never have been presented for sale
like it. I have been left in the dark throughout the whole waiting time, I have
had to ring the salesman everytime for a progress update, his anwser evertime
is Oh you saved me a phone call,customer care & communication seems non
existent i am appaulled at their attitude so far, I'm sure this is because I
wouldn't take the van as he offered until the jobs were complete.
I rang last Friday after waitng to hear from
the salesman for a week desite him promising a call which never happened to let
me know when the shower tray was going to fitted, after being told he was in
the yard but he will get back to you, which of course he didn't, i eventually
rang and insisted I wait for him to be fetched, he replied yes Mr ****** it's
nearly finished If I wanted to collect on 30th April I could but vehicle would
be taxed from 1st April (something I told him I didn't want to do from the
begining) failing that the earliest he could do was 7th May, Thats 10 weeks
after leaving a deposit, absolutly disgusting service.
I am going to check the vehicle again
Wednesday & pay the final cheque but only if it meets my satisfaction, now
reading CUSTOMERS thread i'm worried, I feel angry, and I don't, because of the
salesmans negative take it or leave it attitude really want to deal with
Marquis again, & thats before I pick the motorhome up.
The last 8 weeks now have been pure hell after
having so much of my savings tied up in the deal, they took my caravan in part
X at the begining of March meaning they ended up with a 40% deposit leaving me
with nothing I haver never felt so cheated. This has all been due to very poor
communication from dealer to customer. A letter of complaint will be heading
their way believe me.
From a livid customer
Motorhome Fun
Hi reference marquis motorhomes i had the same proplems with them this time
last year once they have had your money you will wait months to get your
repairs done only if you do all the chasing customer service is a waste of time
the good news is collins/lowdhams of padworth was bought out last week by webbs
motorhomes of warminster a family run setup good quiltey motorhomes and good
stocked shop.
Motorhome Fun
It would appear that this is a national service level and not isolated to the
Cheively branch. Having spoken to a few other disgruntled customers I would
conclude that the problem is down to their Head Office staff who seem to set
the service levels. We have spoken to a Alan Doherty (Aftercare Manager) who I
have to say is more interested in his own ego than in rectifying the problems
that HIS STAFF caused.
My advise would be that you avoid Marquis like
Swine Flu, if you really do have to purchase from them then remember, if you
have a problem with a new car and it needed a 8 week repair on delivery the
manufacturer would replace your car with a new car. After 5 months all Marquis
say is that they have a policy of NOT refunding.
IF you really do have to buy from Marquis then
I would suggest that you fully inspect the vehicle, inspect the paperwork,
drive the vehicle and preferably for a few hours. Don't part with a penny
before you ahve physically seen the vehicle and its specification. Don't be
fobbed off with having to leave a deposit, there are plenty of other dealers
out there and one should have the vehicle you want in stock.
ONCE YOU PART WITH YOUR CASH THEY HAVE YOU
HOOKED and trust me, thats where any customer service ENDS! Aftercare is a
joke! Service quality is a joke.
In closing I would say this, as a General
Manager withing a major car dealer group, I would sack Mr Doherty if I heard
him talk to one of my customers the way he feels he can speak to Marquis
customers.
As for the new management at Collins Caravans,
I have noticed the change and I think if they have a degree of customer care
skills, they will have a very sucessfull operation and I wish them all the
best!
Motorhome Fun
IF you really do have to buy
from Marquis then I would suggest that you fully inspect the vehicle, inspect
the paperwork, drive the vehicle and preferably for a few hours. Don't part
with a penny before you ahve physically seen the vehicle and its specification.
Don't be fobbed off with having to leave a deposit, there are plenty of other
dealers out there and one should have the vehicle you want in stock.
ONCE YOU PART WITH YOUR CASH THEY HAVE YOU
HOOKED and trust me, thats where any customer service ENDS! Aftercare is a
joke! Service quality is a joke.
[/quote]
And there lies the answer. Easy enough to get
caught up in the exitement of buying a new motorhome and naturally you want
nothing more than to take possesion and hit the road, but there must always be
the obligation on the part of the buyer to fully inspect and be satisfied that
everything is in good working order before any money is paid over and that van
leaves the forecourt.
The majority of motorhomes bought will prove
to be trouble free and 'fit for use', but with price tags running into the tens
of thousands that van really has to be spot on before we commit ourselves to
taking ownership.
Motorhome Fun
Dead right, we bought a van that
had been used as a demonstrator, small problems, nightmare to solve. Sales reps
will tell you that they are part of the Autosleeper group, so faults and
repairs fixed quickly. Don't you believe it. Communication from both was C!!!.
And they could tell a straight story, if their lives depended on it.
Motorhome Fun
ought one from them never again.
Motorhome Fun
I have a twin camera fitted by Marquis in Tewkesbury on a new van 20 months
ago. Unfortunately, I have a failure in one of the cables .... (checked by
swapping out etc).
Note: two cameras = 2 cables but will discuss
just one of them.
The cable has a 3.5mm Jack socket to the rear
of the van which the camera lead/s (fitted with a 3.5mm Plug) plug into. The
cable then has some form of filter moulded on it before passes through the van
etc to a 4 din mini where it enters a block along with the cable from the other
camera, before emerging as a single cable to the clip on screen fitted to the
mirror.
Marquis as per usual have been poor with their
service declaring its over a year old and the warranty has run out and you need
an entire new setup ...... this just for a cable fault!!!.
My question is does anyone have a similar
setup (2013 van) and do they know where they bought it from, as Marquis don't
know where they got it from even though the likelihood is the manufacturer
probably offers 2 year warranty as many do. I have searched and searched but
with no success.
AS an aside they we equally unhelpful when the
electric step motor failed and the step would not come out and wanted a min of
£36 +vat to look at it to see it it was warranty claim. I got a motor from H
Bowers for 28.75 +vat (see my post Thule V10 Step) and fitted it myself (even
checking the aligment of the gears before fitting) in 22 mins!!!
This are just two instances of a very poor
service from Marquis since I bought the vehicle, so I'd never give them the
pleasure of selling me a van again.
Motorhome Fun
Have emailed Marquis and they have replied saying they cannot do anything. So
now its off to see what my position is .... Need to contact small claims court
or something like that - not sure who as it is a first for me!
Motorhome Fun
My experiences with Marquis Tewkesbury have all been less than successful, even
when trying to buy a new motorhome from them. When I called in to discuss a
prospective purchase all the more senior salesmen were unavailable, so the
receptionist said I could have a chat with the "numpty", who turned
out to be an apprentice salesperson and knew nothing about the van I was
interested in. What a strange way to describe your own staff.
Motorhome Fun
I find Marquis a waste of time. I had a set of windscreen blinds supplied and
fitted by them (around £800.00) when I came to use them the first time found
they had been fitted wrongly. I was away so emailed them twice, no reply in the
end on the phone, kicked up sh.t big style. they put it right, just about.
Workmanship was cr.p. Came to habitation check after first year of ownership,
thought in warranty will take it to them for check. Told me £60 per hour, takes
3 hours, thought okay.....Total bill......£220 oh yea plus VAT. I will be after
a brand new one in four years time, Marquis......no chance.
Motorhome Fun
Part of the problem,which will be eliminated tomorrow is that the MH had
batteries of unknown age and quality. The solar panels fitted previously kept
the batteries fully charged. We have had the MH only since June and clearly
this is our first winter and the first time the MH has remained unused for
about 2 months now.The solar
system did perform really well but there are/were so many system unknowns and
erroneous advice from Marquis,
Motorhome Fun
Had a look at the 201, I thought Marquis were taking the piss though with my
trade in van as they wanted me to sign for the 201 without giving me an agreed
trade in price. The 201 is really nice and I thought well made, but the table
was far too large for the Van and the shower curtain a complete waste of time
and weight! The coach work I particularly liked and the solid construction of
the plastic shell.
Motorhome Fun
We bought our van second hand from Marquis (not a brand they normally deal in,
but it was a trade-in and at an excellent price) and although there was nothing
specific wrong, I certainly wouldn't be in a rush to buy from them again. We
haven't had a reason to use the warranty, but as we took it somewhere else for
a hab check and somewhere else for engine service, I'm not convinced they'd
honour it anyway.
Motorhome Fun
We went for the Majestic 105 The reason we went for the dealer special rather
than the Elddis Accordo version were all the extras, most of which we probably
would have retro fitted anyway at a greater cost.
The main thing was the uprated engine to
150BHP. Nothing is any problem to it.
We did have some minor niggles from new like
locker catches not catching through being fitted incorrectly and a piece of
split wood due to screws being screwed in without pilot holes. Other things
were a falt in the drivers seat cover and various screws being over tightened
so that they didn't hold so that the bed box hinges were permanently loose. The
Elddis fitters must have had an off day and quality control must have been on
strike.
It took me 6 months to get Marquis to try and
sort things out. Once again the Marquis fitters did not impress me and I was
having to push them all the time.
I am just glad that they were only minor
faults and having said all that we now love the van.
Motorhome Fun
Yes it is absolutely great now it is sorted and to put it into perspective I
have heard of all sorts of much worse faults on much more expensive vans than
ours.
Having said that I have found a much more
local Peugeot dealer and Elddis approved service centre to do any future
servicing.
For one thing it is a lot cheaper than Marquis
and the second thing is that I would not trust Marquis technicians again.
Motorhome Fun
Hi David and Barbara
In July we bought a 2013 majestic 175 from
marquis. It had done just under 3,00 miles. It was 40th anniversary edition
with extras.
We found marquis after sales poor and wouldn't
buy from them again. There were a few niggles but then at August bank holiday
weekend the big Heki leaked badly causing staining to ceiling. Long story short
- we had to have new ceiling panels and replaced heki. They told us they would
fix all other niggles at same time But they didn't. They had the MH for 4 weeks
and only did the ceiling and heki. They never return phone calls we had to keep
chasing them. They have now said they will do the other little jobs if we care
to make a date to take it to them.
Having said all that we love the MH. We love
the huge fridge and freezer, the layout, big end bathroom. We have had caravans
since 1985 and decided to change to a MH - very pleased with our Majestic.
Looking forward to travelling around in France in it as well as this country.
Motorhome Fun
Marquis were difficult to deal with re a px and getting a final price for a
trade in, and were insisting on all sorts of tests other dealers had never
asked for. They also had an unhelpful attitude towards some conversions I
wanted and that put me off them.
had things been different with marquis I would
have bought the 201 as its the best specced for a long range off grid jaunt,
and junked the table and shower screen immediately and replaced them with
something lighter and better and freed up loads of space in the lounge with a
simple removable table.
Motorhome Fun
Tried to buy a Hymer from their Preston branch but the salesman was far too
pushy for my taste, very much felt like he was on commision only so I walked
away
Motorhome Fun
We went to them in Sept, said they would call us on the Monday. Still waiting
to hear from them.
Motorhome Fun
I got my van from Marquis a couple of years ago. They fixed the failed step
under warranty without any problems but were so utterly hopeless at providing
the missing carpets that I simply gave up and had some made. It was cheaper
than going back to them.
Motorhome Fun
We used Marquis Ipswich for after sales warranty work, which was good. We then
used them for a habitation check, and they blew up the leisure battery!!
Motorhome Fun
I bought a skirt rail off the Preston/Riversway branch 4 mts in length two
workshops and none would either cut or lend me an hacksaw for a minute, service
none told me they didn't have one, my fridge broke first thing they asked what
make of MH when it was something they didn't sell said it would be 3 months
before they could look at it , standard Thetford fridge, won't be going again.
Pete
Motorhome Fun
They must be very different from the Southampton (Lower Upham) branch then.
Wouldn't trust that branch to fix or even sell
me a wheelbarrow.
Motorhome Fun
Don't bother with Marquis!
Motorhome Fun
Hi has anyone had dealings with Marquis? I bought an Autosleeper van conversion
from them last year with a "full warranty" and am now being told a
leaking door seal is excluded, I can not find seals in the excluded section.
Has anyone else had a problem with them? I found the company very difficult to
deal with even when it came to paying, but the staff are all very good, so I am
not sure about the company at all. Any help would be welcome.
Motorhome Fun
we brought our first brand new van from Marquis, and the problems getting them
to honour warranty work, within weeks of purchase put us off buying new again.
In the end we sold the swift on at under a year old and 3000 miles with faults
still there to a couple who were legal proffessionals and they took over
dealing with Swift and Marquis
I would never recomend them to anyone as a
business. Some decent staff members, but the management are awful
Motorhome Fun
Bought one van from them NEVER again:Angry:
Motorhome Fun
We
bought a new swift kontiki 669 got fobbed of on late deilivery extras were not
fitted as promised they left tools and screws laying in one of the beds put
scratches on the front bumper. Every time I went back their attitude got worse
our bathroom door kept opening whilst driving they wanted to fit a plastic
bracket on the outside I just laughed at them and told them they must be joking
the whole experience was one of the worst we have been through I sorted the
problems myself and vowed never to return they have no respect for their
customers and know nothing about customer service just want your money you
don't survive in this economic climate treating customers this way :Angry:
Motorhome Fun
After buying my first van from Marquis
at Lower Upham (Southampton) I wouldn't buy a wheelbarrow from them.
IMO Untrustworthy, deceitful, unprofessional
and dishonourable.
Motorhome Fun
This is or second van from MARQUIS and even though they have done the warranty
work each time we have had out back there has been some aspect of the work that
hasn't been done, for example I told them about a sink top lifting in
September, they wanted to see it so travelled to them so they could inspect out
themselves, I had already sent them pictures, they found damp behind cooker so
told us that this would have to be done even though it had passed a hab test by
themselves, 6 months earlier.
They said whole kitchen needed taking out and
rebourded, fact its they just boarded behind kitchen whet you can see and didn't
do the sink and they lied to us that we hasn't even reported the sink tip so we
have to wait again for that to be ordered from swift.I reminded him that I had
sent him pictures of the sink to which he looked blank and said they he would
order the sink top for us, after about half an hour he came back into waiting
room and apologised to us and said he remembered now but had forgotten to write
it on the work sheet at the time
we have had a lot of dealings with MARQUIS
over the last three years we have owned this van over numerous branches but I
have found the staff to be pleasant in our dealings with them but the
workmanship leaves a lot to be desired.
Motorhome Fun
My dealings with Marquis was the absolute pits, dealing with the so called CEO
will be a complete waste of time as well. For me to explain my experience would
take to long but all I can say is my solicitor sorted them out with one phone
call. I would NEVER EVER think of doing a deal with them no matter what. Most
third party warranties aren't worth the paper they are printed on. I would like
to know how you define abuse where a door seal is concerned, is it based on the
amount of times that you open and close the door?
Motorhome Fun
I have had a few dealing with Marquis Plymouth and have to say they were
excellent :thumb Bar for one idiot) 
No names but I went to have a repair done to
the hab door at A/S Broadway last March on our way home.
It was Friday 13, the Service Manager was on
hols and the "front of house" Manager was probably the rudest man
:Angry:I have ever come across in the M/H world. He refused to answer my
questions, and when I inspected the door I found a screw a bit loose. When I
asked him to have it tightened, he slammed the door. found a fitter who did it
in 2 seconds and stormed off to his office.
I wrote to their Customer Services and had an
apology and he was removed to a back office as this wasn't the first time he
had acted this way.
Sadly there will always be people in all walks
off life who are incompetant and rude
Motorhome Fun
We then bought an Autocruise Startrail from Marquis Northampton and it was a
nightmare from the start. We only had it a couple weeks before the 12 volt
electrics failed. The problems we encountered are all on the forum, which was
very helpful (especially Jim) in sorting everything out and eventually - after
they had the motorhome for 13 weeks ! - we received it back and traded it in a
few months later for a new Bentley Oulton!!
Motorhome Fun
We have had our Autocruise Oakmont for a year, it has been back to Marquis 5
times for varous reasons ranging from them having fitted the towbar too low,
the step stopped working the habitation door doesnt fit and an ongoing issue
with the shower door which having been identified as a problem when we ordered
the MH in October 2011 marquis have apparently received 3 new doors from Swift
all of them being wrong.
Motorhome went back to marquis again this week
to have its first year habitation service, new shower door fitted and hab door
adjusted and once again we have been told that the shower door received is stil
the wrong one and that the hab door cannot be adjusted and a new one will need
to be ordered (why they didnt admit this when we first reported the fault with
the door i dont know)
I feel like we are being fobbed off all the
time and have finally run out of patience, just not sure what to do. :shout:
Motorhome Fun
Now THERE is a surprise... Jeez, Is there a WORSE company out there for
customer care ?
They make eBay customer service look great !!!
:Angry
Motorhome Fun
Hi, sorry to hear you are having problems with Marquis, we look at buying a
motorhome from them but they talked themselves out of a sale didn`t like the
attitude or set-up.
Personally if I was you I would just leave the
motorhome and the keys with them, better if you park it across their gate and
keep the keys stating when it`s fixed I`ll come and pick it up.
This "We have your money and couldn`t
care less attitude" from dealers is nothing less than disgraceful. the
majority of them have the Morals of Alley Cats.
Motorhome Fun
I'm afraid that you are in for a very tough uphill struggle with Marquis. I
hope you have the patience of a saint, the strength of a bull elephant and the
courage of a lion.
Marquis has a terrible reputation for
aftersales and will lie and procrastinate for ever rather than give you the
service to which you are justly entitled to.
There are 2 very unhappy customers on the
'other side' going through a much worse experience than you and have been for
over a year.
I had just a mild :Sad: experience with their
Southampton (Lower Upham) branch which was enough to put me off for life.
One incident says it all....water ingress from
a window frame......"no problem sir we have a spare at another
branch". ...."we didn't have a replacement after all but we have
resealed it". No they didn't, they plastered black gunk round it and
painted (!) the silver frame black, which all peeled off within a fortnight.
You have my deepest sympathy.
Motorhome Fun
Yep same motorhome, and i stand by my original post, i love my motorhome, it is
the service from Marquis i am fed up with, what started as niggles being sorted
out have turned into ongoing issues. letter written and sent to director today,
will await outcome.
Motorhome Fun
Popped into Marquis Motorhomes to buy a rear number plate, had my V5 and my
photocard driving license at the ready..
Asked the girl in reception if they made
plates, to which she replied, yes, but you need your V5 and your PASSPORT .. I
said, why, I have my driving license, why a passport ?
Off she went to see the boss, so I followed
and popped my head into his office.. yes he said, you need a passport AND your
MOT and insurance ..
Again, I asked why .. but no amount of asking
for an explanation produced a sensible answer.. finally I said FINE .. thanks
for your help .. not.. 
So, off I went to Halfrauds, and they asked
for the V5 and photo ID.. so I asked about the fiasco at Marquis .. the girl
said that was a load of nonsense, the online form they fill in has all the
vehicle details, keeper, MOT and insurance, so all they need is a photo ID
(driving license is best ) with your address..
So what was all that about at Marquis ??
Motorhome Fun
All that has happened
here is Marquis have made a mistake, and lets face it they are very very good at making mistakes.
Motorhome Fun
Yes don't be put
off by Marquis, they seem to be consumate time wasters when it comes to buying
second hand vans or trade ins.
Motorhome Fun
Bought our motorhome last November, 3 year warranty, mentioned to the company
that it seemed to have a slight list towards the passenger side but nothing
major, they eventually suggested, after being told umpteen times to bring it in
but then never looking at it, to take it to our local garage and get them to
look at it and provide a quote for warranty, it actually turned out to be a
weak spring which they said was no big issue and can be replaced further down
the line.
This however has opened a huge can of worms!!
On looking for the spring issue, the garage
has discovered holes beneath the wheel arch on both sides which he has said
will be an MOT failure and it shouldn't have passed last year!!? 2 weeks later
our MOT has failed and now we are sat with an unusable van 
Marquis has requested a quote for the repair
as they initially said "well if we have missed it then we should be held
partly responsible", my garage said they were unable to provide quote as
they have realised the job is too big for them to do, marquis has insisted on
an estimate to get the ball rolling with a potential claim through the warranty
company (which I don't think it will cover) and requested that the garage over
estimate it to cover all costs.
This has come in at £2800!!!!!!!!
Now marquis are jumping up and down and said
they have to discuss with directors and we just have to wait, as they now are
saying that it's the MOT company problem (which they sorted) and trying to bounce
it back to us. We know that the MOT company cannot be held responsible as there
is only a three month window to claim.
Motorhome Fun
With the amount you paid for it I personally would be hounding Marquis for
money back.
How long did they have it in stock?
Has vehicle been submerged due to flooding?
(Lots have)
Motorhome Fun
So today I went to my local dealers (Marquis) just having a look around, the
strangest thing happened, I wasn't approached by a single salesperson, didn't
even see a salesperson. Is this normal??
Motorhome Fun
The one and only time we went to our local Marquis, I'm convinced they took one
look at our battered old car, and decided we wouldn't be able to afford
anything. They never stepped out of the office! Needless to say we've never
been back!
Motorhome Fun
In a nutshell, no Ruth but Marquis (De Sade)
had a large number of 'sales executives'
at the NEC so the chances are the 'A'Team were on leave post NEC . In my
opinion you were lucky, but then I am a bitter and twisted former Marquis dupe/
customer/sucker/mark/gullible git/ enter
terminology of choice here.
Motorhome Fun
I have wandered around Marquis Tewkesbury three times now without seeing a
salesman once........
Went to their open day on Friday to see the
new Benimars they had said would be there. They were not there so it was a
wasted journey (we were looking for motorhomes with a garage and they didn't
have a single one on show), but we did get one of their goody bags, which was
nice. However, apart from a pencil, a pen and a pad, all that was in there was
a tax disc holder. This years must have! (not).
Motorhome Fun
Our only experience of Marquis was at the NEC Show & one salesman knew the
basics about the product but another didn't even know that Benimar are part of
the Trigano group (again like Chausson) even though that was the opening
sentence in the brochures on their stand!
Motorhome Fun
Marquis were difficult to deal with re a px and getting a final price
and had an unhelpful attitude towards some conversions I needed and that put me
off them.
I have put a deposit on a T132 instead, but
had things been different with marquis I would have bought the 201 as its the
best specced for a long range off grid jaunt, and junked the table and shower
screen immediately and replaced them with something ligher and better and freed
up loads of space in the lounge with a simple removable table
Motorhome Fun
Hi Mousy, we got our van from Marquis. Tried them first, just for an idea of
price, and after several phone calls to them they promised to ring back several
times but never did. gave up on them then.
Motorhome Fun
Shame on Marquis for the lack of consideration and attention to their
customers, hopefully they might happen on this, or one of us who knows them can
let them know how bad they look
Motorhome Fun
We bought our 1st motorhome a Swift Sundance from Marquis 7 years ago and they
were fairly helpfull in sorting out the many problems we had, although they
never did sort out the electrical problems.However we had a habitation service
and damp check done by them when the van was 2 years old and six weeks later we
decided to exchange it for a Rapido. The Rapido dealer checked for damp and
found extensive damp in the rear and in the front of the luton, although this
was remedied under warranty I would not trust them again for any service work
Motorhome Fun
Thanks to everyone for your replies. I have emailed Marquis and am waiting for
a reply. When this is resolved I will let everyone know how it went. I am
thinking of reporting them to trading standards, or even paying for the repair
then suing in the small claims court
Motorhome Fun
The manager told my wife that he thought we may have damaged it ourselves. The
camper had to go to a local garage for a minor bump and they sorted it out FOC 
I now take the camper to them for service and
have told Marquis they will not get 1 more penny out of me
Out and About Motorhome
Matters
Has anybody any experience of
dealing with this company?? I have now been waiting for some action 6 days
after having correctly submitted a claim, following 5 telephone calls each time
an average of 20minutes on hold, lots of promises to phone back in 10 minutes
which actually happened at 5.30pm the following day. A patient local garage to
me is now waiting for somebody to come and inspect the problem on the
motorhome. My Auto-Sleeper Windsor was bought from Marquis in Preston in April
2010, has done 6.000miles since then, has had all the correct
habitation/service etc carried out,so no reason to not get job sorted, why do
they make life so difficult?? It needs a replacement control unit(the one
inside the wardrobe) also a replacement pump to the Thetford toilet, Preston is
quite a lot of gallons of diesal away from Penrith in Cumbria, although Marquis
Service Preston does not seem too interested. Anybody any suggestions or does
anybody know the CEO of Auto Marq?????
Out and About Motorhome Matters
hi..
i two have bought 5 used vans from marquis Poole
in the past ive now got a
auto trail cheyenne,on a mercedes sprinter chassis. its developed a
fault,and i cant get it started,so cant take it to them they have told me they cant recover it,as
they have now way of doing so if i get
it recovered i have to pay for it.the problem started a month back,it would
start,then cut out and would take ages to start.once i finally got it going it
was ok. but if i left it for a day it did the same thing.
now it wont start at all. i cant use it or move it with out incurring costs. its only done less than 1,000miles since i
got it back in September 2012 its
covered by the automarq,but they don't seem interested to try and sort it... does any one know MR crouches contact
number ive tried before to call him
but hes never at the head office
does anyone know what else i can do ???
Out and About Motorhome Matters
Have to agree Marquis Preston have taken a leaf out of Brownfools book,
at the middle of November last year I took my van into them for some minor body
work to be carried out, went to collect it a week later and when inspecting the
work it had originally gone in for I noticed more damage on the offside panel,
when I pointed this out to the manager he said he was unaware of this and it
looked like someone driving a blue car must have run into it on the car park
and ripped the chrome trim off, found this hard to believe as the traces of
blue paint remaining on the damaged panel are an exact match to the paint on
the workshop door pillars, it looked to me as if some dip stick had tried to
reverse it into the workshop and clipped the concrete door pillar then cleared
off hoping no one would notice, the workshop manager agreed to repair damage
FOC but would have to order the chrome trim and would give me a ring as soon as
it was in stock, a month later I was still waiting for the phone call so I rang
him only to be told that the part had not arrived yet and as it's coming up to
Christmas he was not hopeful of it arriving until the week after christmas, 2
weeks after Christmas I rang him again, part has still not arrived but will
give me a ring as soon as it does, it's now 26th March and I am still waiting
for a phone call, going away for a few days over Easter but will go in and stir
the sh one t up when I get back.
Out and About Motorhome Matters
That one firm I would not touch again witha barge pole.
We bought our first new M/home of them, once we
had signed the Cheque they were not interested in anything after that. We had 2
problems both took 6 months to fix. One of the problems they told me they had
no evidence of me ever telling them about the problem, yet they were the ones
that diagnosed the issue. The only way I got the work done under warrenty was
to tell them that I would go to the factory and get the parts.
A friend had similar problems, between several of my friends and myself we
could write a book about them.
Out and About Motorhome Matters
A friend of mine had problems, well lots of them, and eventually got so fed up
with the response from Marquis that he detailed the whole sorry story and sent
it to the MD plus a copy to the Marquis branch involved and stated that should
they allow the situation to continue without resolve then he intended to
publish the E-mail contents on all of the motorhome forums to which he
belonged.
He was of course concerned with his own situation, but would not want others to
suffer through ignorance of life in certain quarters.
The problems were then resolved, one hopes because the MD was unaware of the
situation and not because of the effects of bad publicity. After all one lost
sale could amount to a large amount of profit being lost.
No idea what the Auto Marq warranty covers or who is responsible.
Out and About Motorhome Matters
None of this adverse publicity about this company surprises me one bit.
Out and About Motorhome Matters
Suprised no one has mentioned Sale of Goods act or Trading Standards
yet.........I would be thumping someones desk pretty hard by now..........
Out and About Motorhome Matters
s this man Mike Crouch the same person that was high up in the ranks and worked
for the company SEA and traded out of Worcester or somewhere near there.
If so then I would not have very much confidence
in him he is a wast of time when I had a problem with my motorhome A SEA Sharky
he tried to deny every problem that I had and tried to backtrack on everything
that I asked him and had to go to court for almost five years,
I finally won but it may have been sorted much sooner if he had told the truth
in the beginning.
I would love to meet him and tell him just what
I think of him the two faced git.
If he is not the same person responsible for my
demise then I apologize
Out and About Motorhome Matters
So sorry to hear of others with
marquis problems, I thought it was just me.
We have been waiting 11 months for the Upham
(Hampshire) branch to repair faults on our van, some on there from new. As
someone said once they have the money they really don't care.
As a last resort we tried the rejection route and they said they would make it
as difficult and expensive for us as they could. The law needs changing, these
people have made our life hell since we bought the van. We also have had
damage. I have no confidence they will ever repair it!!
Best of luck to you all and your problems get
resolved!
Out and About Motorhome Matters
The whole customer service ethos and staff attitudes in general seem to
have changed for the worse at Marquis over the years and they have, in my
estimation, gone from a company that I knew and trusted for fairness and
efforts to keep customers happy, to a company that I would no longer feel happy
dealing with - so we have not in recent years as, in my view, they now reside
in the lower ranks along with a couple of other firms who are also generally
well known on this forum for attitude problems and poor customer service.
Out and About Motorhome Matters
Until retiring I owned a distribution company covering the whole of South East
England for international companies so was well used to dealing with hundreds
of suppliers and customers alike. Without doubt Marquis is the worst company I
have ever had to deal with.
Out and About Motorhome Matters
have
a majestic 135 picked it up new in march. Problems we had so far have been
incorrect front table fitted. New correct one supplied 6 months later.seat
bases in rear that make the bed up have rubbed through on the metal slides
.bases have just gone in today for repair, been waiting since june to get them
sorted. Instrument cluster warning lightsfor air bag and door ajar glow dim,
new cluster fitted by Peugeot cured that. Auto watch alarm supplied with van
was constantly going off was in marquis for 6 weeks they couldn't sort it .
Sorted it my self found bonnet trigger switch was touching under side of soft
sound proofing under bonnet. So when bonnet was shut switch wasnt releasing
when sound proofing was squashed. We charge leisure battery ever 2 weeks. And
van battery .
Out and About Motorhome Matters
Ps forgot to mention fresh water gauge didnt read
correctly found it had not been calibrated at pdi. Adjusted it my self by the
grub srew on the printed ciruit working spot on now. Also found waste water
pipe from shower was nit connected to drain on shower tray. All in all
between elddis and marquis they have built and supplied an over priced poorly
built motor home and been none to helpful to fix it , guess which manufacturer
and supplier I won't be buying from again .
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Out and About Motorhome Matters
I know we have had a lot of rain in
recent weeks/months, so I have been checking the van with a proper damp meter.
even though a dehydrator has been in frequent
use in the van, yesterdays weekly check showed up to 30 percent in the same
area as had been twice "fixed" by Marquis. Most recent return from
the fixer was mid november.
having fallen out with them , I decide to
investigate myself today.
I checked behind the Fridge, by removing the
upper vent.
reading just inside the vent below the opening
was 30 percent, and above a lot lower.
I have today replaced the vent and resealed
around the aperature, and the blowere heater is now opsitioned to attempt
drying out once again.
I donthave any faith that the dealer checked
properly, on either occasion, hence my own investigation
Hopefully I have now foundand fixed the
offending leak.
Out and About Motorhome Matters
Hi folks, having had damp problems, allegedly fixed by marquis before
purchase, and second attempt this year by them again sadly disputed under
warranty(long sad tale), I have now and for last 2 weeks put a dehydrator in
the van permanently running. Each day checked how much water in tank, and
nearly always the little tank was close to full. It holds about 1 litre.
today, I have plumbed in a short hose and run it
down into and through the fresh water tank to drain away continually. This is
because when the little tank is full, the dehydrator stops and waits for it to
be emptied.
all cupboards etc are left open in the van, and
soft furnishings are stored in house
I hope that this will help prevent any further
problems..
according to marquis, the wet was getting in
through the cable entry through the floor front nearside just behind front
wheel. And possibly through the nearside locker fixings.
they say that it has all been resealed in
relevant places..
I hope they have repaired it properly this time.
Out and About Motorhome Matters
Thank you for the info. More
or less go past their repair centre so will call in. Actually bought the van
from Marquis but not that outlet. Not very happy with them in the past but
hopefully new staff now
Out and About Motorhome Matters
Marquis sort it out ..... you`ll be lucky ......lol .....I hope for your sake
they are nothing like the branch
near me. It`ll come out worse than it went in.
Out and About Motorhome Matters
above sounds about right. Any time now this thread will be pulled. The truth
hurts
OA
Hi, as a matter of interest, the much vaunted 3 year warranty offer on vans
from Marquis, are fine in first year, but fall to 1000 pounds in second year,
and 500 pounds limit in 3rd year..
Out and About Motorhome Matters
my cobra alarm is rubbish, fitted when new by a
marquis sub contarctor, alarm reverses often, the ulta sonic is poor would
not get one again wish i had paid extra and used vanbiz and not listened to
marquis salesman at time of purchase. This was 5 years ago so may have
improved.
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| Out and About Motorhome Matters
If Marquis had dumped cheap and nasty tyres on me I would be
straight on the phone or email to their head office to complain politely but
loudly, not forgetting to mention the forum!
http://www.marquisleisure.co.uk/about-marquis/contact-us
I have bough several vans from various Marquis
branches over the years but we had a bad experience, funnily enough also with
the Ipswich branch, a couple of years ago when we agreed a stonking deal at a
show.
Fortunately, knowing what an issue alleged damp
can be, I agreed that they would damp check our van before delivery and of
course they found it had 'extensive' damp that was going to cost over £3000 to
put right. Funny that because the two other dealers that checked the van found
it to be exceptionally dry - even on wet days.
That and the attitude of the then branch staff
plus the lack of interest in resolving the deal by head office decided us to
cancel the deal and we have not been back.
Having heard of other dis-satisfied customers
leads me to believe that Marquis is now run by accountants who see only the
theoretical bottom line and take no account of the power of advertising and
referrals from satisfied customers.
So don't stand for being ripped off - get after
them for the decent set of tyres that you are entitled to, and do please let us
all know how you get on!
Out and About Motorhome Matters
I'm thinking of getting in touch with BBC Watchdog or Don't Get Don get Dom
programs to see if they can assist in any way?? Even though the programs are
not being aired at the moment they may be filming for the next series.
I can't expect another dealer to clean up the
dirt that marquis have left and marquis say Swift will not repair the roof
lining or bathroom door so perhaps another dealer can't help. There are still a
couple of issues still not done that should be under guarantee though!!
It may have to be court but against Swift or the
marquis?
Out and About Motorhome Matters
Bought a pre- reg. van Bessacarr E495 last July and have had nothing but
problems with it from the start. The day we collected a light fitting was
missing in the bathroom, interior mirror not fitted and other little jobs not
done. We took the van and have used it three times in the year each holiday cut
short due to something going wrong. The dealer has had it back lots of times,
all documented, and has failed to fix the faults, some of which were on the van
when we purchased it others seem to crop up as we use it. They have damaged the
van, small dents in the bodywork and a dent on the inside of habitation door,
also broke the nearside mirror glass but didn't admit to it until I pointed it
out when collecting the van.
The "manager" said he would sort it all out so we gave him a list and
then never heard back from him. Left it a couple of weeks and took a letter in
saying a week to reply and a month to fix or we reject it. They phoned and said
bring it in on 16th of June for THREE DAYS!!! and we will fix it all. Three
days past heard nothing, 7 days later get an update, "the part we ordered
for the fire didn't fix it so will order another part that will be here
tomorrow". They have just phoned today, 7 days too late to say the van is fixed
but are disputing the damage at this late stage. Now they have gone past the
deadline, what do we do?? Anyone been through this? I hope no one else has to,
it's realy taken the edge off the new van and put me off motor-homing
altogether!
Out and About Motorhome Matters
Colin sorry to hear that the problems are still ongoing. If you haven't already
now is the time to start a paper trail, with a letter, could be e-mail, to the
managing director at Marquis.
Lay out what your problems are, what the workshop has claimed to do and hasn't
especially the tracker evidence. Give that person a reasonable time to
reply,10-14 days, with the promise of small claims court action, not a threat,
if he one doesn't reply. Similarly time to physically solve the issues to your
satisfaction. Finally if no agreement can be reached follow through on your
promise.
Out and About Motorhome Matters
Just phoned Swift to see where I stood with warranty and the lady was
quite concerned about what has been going on. She went on to tell that marquis
have put in a warranty claim in for the habitation door, very naughty marquis,
it is not faulty it is DAMAGED. Now I do want the motorhome fixed but I am an
honest person and think that he who damages should pay not everyone else
through Swifts loss of profits!!
Swift want me to send all documentation to them
to see if they can help, but unless they get a proper engineer down here I
don't see how they can.
Oh I did ask and marquis IS an approved dealer for Swift!
Just checked my emails and there is one from
marquis this morning saying habitation door on order, but surly they new that
when they told me they weren't going to repair it.
Thank you AliB, why could't I find that, must
admit I've been looking for a head office phone number but marquis at Upham
tell me they are the head office?
Out and About Motorhome Matters
marquis said they wont change PSU because if they send it back and it
isn't faulty Sargent will charge them for the unit. Sargent & Swift say
that is not true, they don't pay for the unit but don't get their labour for
fitting it. So marquis arguing over a £15 labour bill against nearly £43k of
motorhome? Sargent are brilliant, I said I could fit it and he said they would
post it direct to me but I think with all the other problems I shouldn't get
involved.
"manager" from marquis calls me to say my van is ready for
collection, I say is it repaired, he said yes, but earlier you told me you have
ordered a door? so it's not ready is it? He then went on to say that if I
wanted everything done before I take it back it would be another 2 months, of
coarse that's nothing compared to what we have waited already. He said the van
was repaired enough for us to use, even with the non existent electrical fault,
and wasn't going to keep it there on his forecourt and said he would drive it
over and put it on our drive!!
Swift tell me they haven't got involved yet but for some reason things are
starting to move. it may be @colin0456 but he says not and what I am writing on
the social media is slander, I told him I am just telly my true story, if it's
slanderous then get your legal team to contact me!!
Out and About Motorhome Matters
He said it does not matter what I do you will never be happy. He is probably
correct, we have lost our enthusiasm for the van and our enthusiasm for
motor-homing, they have caused that, I said you are about 9 months too late
trying to fix it to make us happy. We will be satisfied with a complete repair
but will we ever be happy with that van, only time will tell. It's really not
the vans fault the faults are not that major just their inability to fix minor
problems. It leaves a sour taste, I hope it will go off.
Still we haven't got the van back yet!!!
Out and About Motorhome Matters
No I have not asked, they said they would keep me informed of the progress and
it would go for body repairs on the 28th. I do know on the 28th it was driven
to Bishops Walthem and then over to Middle Wallop, presumably to have the body
work done. It returned to Upham on 30th where it remains. I was told that even
if the door had not been replaced, hadn't been delivered, I would have to
remove the van from their premises as they would not "store" it for
me.I had a letter saying the van was fully functional but that I had"
declined the opportunity to collect the van in preference to allowing us to
store your motorhome on your behalf"
I was away on holiday, without a motorhome, when
this letter came, the holiday already booked because we didn't think they could
repair it in time. Also in the letter it states I will have to sign to say
everything's okay before we have time to test it!
The letter to the MD brought another letter,
whilst away, from the "group aftercare manager" that was the man who
said they weren't going to repair the damage even though we had an email from
them saying they would!!!!
He say's that the "request to receive a
full refund is wholly disproportionate to the issues raised and therefore
declined" I written again to the MD to ask how many months/years would we
have to wait for repairs before a refund would be appropriate.
It's such a long story and I'm going to learn
how to do a blog, I just feel it's important to let people know not to make the
same mistake that we have made.
Out and About Motorhome Matters
Hi Chris, thank you very much for your concern, it is now getting me down, very
much, and starting to get angry and that knotted feeling but not really
affecting my sleep, I do stay up late.
I would never ever do a deal with marquis over
anything, I would rather scrap the van, if they were the last dealer on earth
they will never get my, my family, friends or work colleges business ever.
Out and About Motorhome Matters
That would be for Marquis to start legal action, and if Colin has a good
paper and email trail then what's he got to lose. Why haven't they started
proceedings already, are they afraid they will lose. Trading Standards have
given their verdict. My solicitor gives the first half hour free, I'd think
about going there next.
Out and About Motorhome Matters
I do agree though, that life is too short.....and marquis seems to be
making it shorter for Colin. Just another point pepe, if colin had started to
do these simple jobs....how would it affect the warranty on the van if they
became aware that he had done work on it
Out and About Motorhome Matters
We went to collect our van on Monday; I said I would like to check it over
before signing for it so we were taken into the van by one of the managers.
Now, before I go on, I have been told that I
only post negative comments on here so I must say how absolutely delighted we
are that marquis has given us 3/4 of a tank of fuel, a first service and a
habitation check, also they have repaired all the dents that have mysteriously
appeared in the van as compensation for the 12 months of not been able to
repair the van. Oh, and also a FREE valet!!!!! Wonderful!!
So, we went into the van, I turned right and
stood by the bathroom door and the manager stood in the entrance and said
"have a look around, any problems come back in to me" I said I hope
there aren't any problems, I then went to open the bathroom door and he said,
"Ah, we have a problem with that, Swift will not pay for the door to be
replaced as the seal has been left 'puckered up' and has gone out of shape,” I
said yes it has been like it from when we first saw the van at the show, so I
said the van isn't fully repaired then? I asked him to go and we will go
through our list. I next went to the rear window where they had fitted a new
seal, there was still the rubber from the old seal stuck on the window, not
cleaned off… what will this do to the new seal? Will it seal correctly?
I next went to one of the other windows, which also had a new seal this was the
same. Then went to the crack we have in the over cab bed liner, I couldn't see
the crack (oh, and by this time I was videoing everything) so I rubbed my thumb
over the edge of liner and a piece of silicon, or something like it, fell off
to reveal the crack that they had tried to hide. I then noticed that the rear
window blind and fly screen were still dirty with fingerprints from their, I
can't say engineers or repair people, men from a previous repair which we had
listed to be cleaned. This was after our FREE valet which we are so grateful for.
I asked for the other "manager" to come and have a look and he said
"it's only a minor problem and I'll get my valet team up to clean it off
now" I refused, I think we have wasted enough time with this inept
company. He couldn't seem to understand why we were annoyed after having waited
12 months, and it's still not fixed or even cleaned after their working on it.
I do blame Swift though, not because of the
faults with the van but because this is their face to the public, their dealer
network, I know nothing will happen because I'm sure marquis sell a lot of vans
for Swift.
I was also told that Swift will not replace the
over cab bed roof liner for such a small crack and he said it won't crack any
more than it has. I suppose I should leave it and if it gets worse out of
guarantee I can pay for this repair myself, that'l be good. Trying to attach
picture of crack, and I admit it is small but where will it go from there,
don't think silicon will help Ha Ha!!
Out and About Motorhome Matters
Hi,we bought two motor homes from Spinney,they are simply excellent
before,during &after the sale,very honestl & helpfull in every way. We
didn't buy our third van from them because we wanted a Continental Adria Coral,
wish we had as the third dealership was terrible.we also looked at
Autosleepers,excellent we think but from our experience we wouldn't go within a
mile of Marquis side of business.
Finally, a long, long story from: Motorhome Facts
Ok ... to all you 'NON' believers ... I will name them ! I tried to cover this by saying I would mention them via an e.mail privately but some are not happy with this and want this so here goes .....
I really don't want to as this will only open a can of worms for people who have, I am sure, a good experience of our branch & others within the dealership.
However, this thread is about OUR own experience and to people who don't think we are telling the truth I will give just some of the examples of the incompetent's & rudeness off this dealership ! But after having several private PM,s mentioning the same company / other branches & being treated the same or worse, I am now willing to name if not shame.
The company is Marquis and the branch is Tewkesbury. Our salesman was Jonathan & the Manager is Justin.
To start with everything was great, very friendly atmosphere, so unlike Brownhills who we found very pushy, we chose to place the order through them last September.
Obviously once we left we had a few extra questions to ask once we had time to think. So we phoned up about, 1. Cruise ... 2. Upholstery ... 3. Factory Tow bar. This was over several weeks not all at once ... it culminated in the tow bar question. Jonathan clearly stated it was not possible to change the order ( he thought !! ) but when I nudged him that I had spoken to Swift .. he said ' OH ! Ok ' Left it with him to confirm order .. gave him my e.mail as well ... 1 week later still no reply. We wanted the tow bar so what do we do to confirm. Left a message for him to confirm ... still no answer.
Ok ... we popped up to the show at the NEC, came across Alan Buckwell from Marquis ( MD !! ) asked & did NOT complain why no answer ... told us he would sort it out. It took a week or so because of the show but he eventualy left a message on our phone to say all was done. This was NOT anyone from my branch by the way.
Left it til mid November then had a question about finance. Phoned Chris Archer from the finance department & explained our question ... told us he would get back ... didn't! Waited over the wkend ... still no phone call ... left a message on his answer phone ... still no reply. So started a thread on here about the problem and through advice from you contacted Mike Crouch via e.mail. Things happened & appologies came in thick n fast from everywhere !
Now, left any contact til Friday 4th Jan ( and some say we pestered them !!! ) phoned Justin at Tewkesbury ... asked re delivery date. Said he would phone back Monday, didn't ... we phoned Tuesday. Told they would let us know a date as soon as they knew.
Contacted Swift ( can't fault their customer service ... excellent ! ) asked myself re date, told a few days later from Kath Powell our delivery date. She then confirmed a few days later when the home was on the lorry. Still no contact from dealer. Left a few days so they had time to realise they had it, take into account it is only a small branch !!! Eventualy we phoned them and were then told " Oh! you M/Home is in" !!!!
Phew ... comin up for air !
Organised an appointment to sort finance out ( this had not been done yet ... not due to us ! ) & agreed a date of Monday 4th Feb at 10.am. Nicky my wife took the morning off work so we left Hereford in good time to be at Tewkesbury for 09.45 ( approx 50 min journey )
After sitting listening to Justins snowboard exploits, house flooding problems etc we put some points we had written down we wanted carried out / checked ( alarm changes, bike rack change etc etc ) things generally that could have been done over the phone. Now came the crunch ... Justin explained he was NOT FSA trained, Jonathan was off & Steve Riggs who is the finance manager had not turned up !!!! He phoned Steve who was stuck in traffic ( ??????????? )... this was at 10.45 & said he will be an hour or so. As we had to be back in Hereford for 13.00 we left at 11.00 no further knowing if we could get finance or not ! Take into account we had agreed a finance appointment with Justin for 10 am !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Sorry to go on .. you lot asked for it !
After several days and no call ... I phoned the branch ... still no answer. Now about the 10th Feb, due to pick up M/Home 03 March .... little worried so contacted Steve at his office. Things started to move but heard nothing for a few days so phoned him again ... no answer ... so left a message to call us. Didn't ! Phoned again then asked by Steve to supply 3 mnth Bank statements. This I did via special next day delivery & asked him to let me know as soon as he took delivery. Checked at 14.00 next day via Royal Mail & item had been delivered that morning ... so ... phoned Steve ... apologetic he had not phoned but said he had rx'ed them & will fax to Bank of Scotland & send back same day ... this he did.
Ok, weekend went by .... Monday ... Tuesday .... Wednesday .... Thursday ...call in the afternoon to be told they have LOST our bank statements faxed over to the bank ( MMM ID Fraud now to worry about ! ) .... reason for delay ...... and as copies were taken by the branch they will re send. !!! ( NO I AM NOT MAKING THIS UP !!! ) Phoned by Bank of Scotland about 16.25 to be offered the finance ... monthly payments were higher than expected but Ok. Steve phoned at 17.25 to tell us news ... told him about higher payments and he told us as we had been accepted by B of Scot ... he fired it a Lloyds Bank & they have the payments we originally agreed at point of sale!!!!
So ... left it til Wednesday 27th til we contacted Tewkesbury & asked to come over & sign docs ready for collection of M/Home Monday ... this I did but whilst looking at M/Home on site it was apparent all the wiring was open around the dash. The electrical guy ( Martyn ) was there so spoke to him & he said it was just finishing off the alarm. So left happy all was ready for collection Monday.
Nicky had by the way, booked Monday of WITHOUT pay as she had no holidays left.
Took my son to football Saturday morning, arrived home about 11.45 to meet Nicky on our doorstep looking ashen white. As her Grandad is unwell I feared the worse but then was told ... "we can't pick up on Monday ... management light come on" !
As I own a Benelli TRE sportsbike, the weather was dry, I decided to 'pop' over to Tewkesbury to find out face to face the problem ( Don't like sorting thing out via tel ) so asked Jonathan to a private conversation to clear the air as my 'complaint' last year re the tow bar appeared to have soared the salesman / customer relationship. We both had points, the air was cleared & was told they had only had the problem when they moved the home Saturday morning for cleaning. He assured me it will go to Fiat Gloucester 1st thing Monday, probably a 're-boot' and back by 11. Left feeling confident air was cleared & things all Ok.
Monday heard nothing so being a little excited phoned up early at 10.30 ... to be told by Justin .... '' No chance of M/Home .... going in as we speak'' ! I mentioned '1st thing NOT being midday ... told he knew nothing about it as he had been in Sweden Thurs / Fri at a funeral '' !!
Plot thickens ... I decided to phone Fiat direct to find out the problem ... was then told by their sevice dept the M/Home had been booked in LAST WEEK for Monday AFTERNOON. I then phoned Justin who assured me he would get back in the next 10 mins .... 3 hrs later & at 17.25 he phoned to say '' Only just been able to get hold of Fiat, on the diagnostic machine now & will phone you by 10 am tomorrow''! ( Tues ) I can pick up the phone at ANY time and get through ... strange it takes him 3 hrs !
10.30 came ... so at 11.00 decided to phone Peter at Fiat who explained the M/Home came in on Monday around 13.00 into there compound to be processed Tuesday afternoon to find out the problem. He also mentioned Dave ( workshop Manager ) was currently 'Booking' home in. Nicky then phoned Justin to ask what / why no call at 10.am to be met by a load of lies ... she stopped him mid flow to explain we had been onto Fiat and had been told the above ... the line went VERY quiet !!! Told us he would phone back in 15 mins.
Now being really peaved off I decided to phone the main Marquis HQ at Southampton to speak to Alan Doherty direct. Spoke to Sharron Fernns ( PA to GM ) who tried his line but '' sorry ... it's busy ... I will get him to phone you ASAP though'' ! By the way .. we had sent an e.mail to Mike Crouch earlier to ask to phone us ASAP.
Now .... some 3 or 4 hrs later ( NOT 15 mins ) Justin phoned me to say Fiat will have an answer Thursday afternoon ( this being Tuesday ) in his words '' It is NOT something we have done'' ! ( meaning fitment of alarm etc ) of what he was really pleased. He said it was a wiring loom fault, the whole loom has to replaced & he will let us Know Thursday afternoon when it will be able to be done. This is on a Brand new £50,000.00 M/Home we were expected to take delivery of !
I NOW hit the bloody roof ( having stayed calm and polite and rational over the past few months ! ) and lost it with Justin demanding to know when the hell we could eventualy have the M/Home ? I also explained we have holidays booked with the home etc but all to no avail. The 15 min conversation ended in him saying '' Well Mr Shaw ... where can we go from here'' ? When I asked 'What do you mean ' his reply .... ''I am prepared on this occasion to cancel the order & refund your deposit'' ! Totally gobsmacked my relpy .... ' Fine .. do it ' .... phone slammed down by me !
Ok ... I am near the end of the thread now ..... it ended with Nicky being upset ... me VERY angry over our treatment ... & hopefully our deposit back yesterday.
I really am sorry to have put such a long somewhat boring explanation of our experience with buying a M/Home .. all the above is 100% true ( I am not on here 'making this up for attention' as someone has mentioned ! ) I work 12 1/2 hr night shifts & have stayed up to write this ... I am very tired due to work & past few days disappointments but am determined to get across to some very harsh commented people on here that we have NEVER been pushy, have tried our best to let things sort themselves out but in the end it was just not going to happen.
The relationship between Marquis Tewkesbury & us had all but gone, there was no way we wanted the M/Home now so in a way ... they answered our prayers by offering our deposit back. We are almost certain if we had asked to cancel ourselves ( something Justin was obviously pushing for ) then we would not have had our deposit returned . Also very surprised a branch manager had the authority to cancel an order so quickly ... me thinks Mr Doherty may be lurking in this story somewhere !
To sum this all up ... if the above is our fault ...what the heck! We have purchased 2 new caravans & 3 new cars over the past 5 or 6 yrs and NEVER been treated this way! We have had a terrible experience ... we started this thread for general advice to ask what to do next & in the end things took there own journey. On deep reflection we are now glad this happened, had we taken delivery & needed to go back with a problem ... despite what Justin / Jonathan said re '' no hard feelings held to any customers '' we are sure there would have been ... and judging by some PM's from other readers exactly the same has happened to them at OTHER Marquis branches.
We are not a stupid couple, very sensible in fact ! We are well aware things go wrong with vehicles, but if they had told the truth instead of telling 'white - lies ' and been up front & honest, whilst being severely disappointed of having to have to wait, we would have done! Problem was in the end the lies, the other things in the past & generally very bad comms has made us happy this has ended the way it did.
As for the new BMW .( Sorry KevWright re your comment, we are comfortably off .. not rich ... so didn't need to cancel anything in ''order to order the M/Home'' in your words ! LOL !! ) .. wife has an 06 1 series ... decided to swap for a 3 series tourer as this will be our new 'Holiday Home' .... taking Nicky, Ben, Poppy ( our black Lab ) & myself away on hols .............. TaTa
Please remember ... this is OUR story of treatment by Marquis Motorhomes ... we are sure they have very many happy customers. Also please take note ... this is NOT a personnel dig at Jonathan / Justin or Marquis ... I am more than capable of sorting problems face to face .. this is here so I hope they / Marquis may take note ... make the effort to change and reap the obvious rewards. I am a little concerned that they do have the MMM award for good customer dealership 2008 .... mind boggles !!! LOL !!!
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