1 reviews | Active since Oct 2016
At Bloomsbury, the customer comes last
<p>Three Saturdays ago, I went to Bloomsbury in Paarden Island to look at a 2014 KTM 1190R that they had advertised. The bike was standing out in front of the showroom with a R155 000 pricetag. At that stage, the bike was fitted with a GPS mount and a luggage plate and they had the Garmin GPS and luggage inside the showroom. I told the salesman that I would pay the asking price, but that the extras then had to be included, the reason being that I could buy a brand new bike from KTM two shops down the road for R 25 000 more so they had to offer something extra on the 2014 bike. </p> <p>When I arrived at Bloomsbury the following Friday - a date agreed between myself and Bloomsbury for collection - I found that GPS mount had been removed and disconnected and the luggage plate, which was bolted on, had also been removed. The GPS mount was an after-market fitting made specifically for motorcycles, so it was part of the bike, not of the GPS. To make matters worse, there was no fuel in the bike, it was connected to a battery charger and the licencing had not been done. But the greatest shock was the new price tag of R 159 400, 01! I now had to pay R 4 400 more for a bike that was at that stage worth less than the R155 000 advertised price because of the fittings having been removed. The extra cost was for "service and delivery" (R 1 864, 04 plus VAT), "on the road costs" (R 964, 91 plus VAT) and "numer plates" (R 219, 30 plus VAT). Well, the bike wasn't delivered to me, I had someone drive me to Paarden Island to collect it. The bike wasn't ready to go "on the road" - its tank was empty and the battery was flat. And they hadn't had number plates made!</p> <p>When I asked them what they were going to do with the fittings and extras that they had removed, I was told that they were going to fit it to the next KTM that came in - no doubt to use it as false advertising again!</p> <p>I was very upset, but the young salesman couldn't make any decisions without consulting with the owner. There I was, at 15:00 on a Friday afternoon without transport, and I had to be back in Villiersdorp at 18:00 for my next appointment. Bloomsbury's owner wasn't there to discuss my concerns, so I took the bike to go home.</p> <p>On Saturday morning, the bike wouldn't start. I charged the battery overnight and it started the following morning, but by evening it was flat again. They sold me the bike with a broken battery.</p> <p>The next week we phoned and e-mailed Bloomsbury at least 20 times, but were only able to speak with the young, inexperienced salesman. The staff weren't allowed to give out the owners cell number and he was never in. We posted reviews on Facebook and Hellopeter, upon which we had brief reaction from the owner, accusing my wife from "blatantly lying", being the "type of person who has buyer's remorse and then takes it out on the dealer", and other personal remarks. At one stage he told us, via the salesman, that he wouldn't give us a new battery if we didn't take our posts off facebook and hellopeter and even threatened legal action. </p> <p>Eventually the salesman drove through to Villersdorp to deliver a new battery and the papers needed to licence the bike. It was now my responsibility to licence the bike and get a number plate, even though I paid Bloomsbury to do it. We made offers to Bloomsbury to settle the dispute, but they are not responding. </p> <p>I would like the following to be resolved:</p> <p>- Supply me with the extras that I said had to be included for the selling price</p> <p>- Refund me for the extra R4 400 added to the listing price, for which I received nothing in return</p> <p>- Apologise for the exceptionally poor actions of the owner who, in stead of coming to his salesman's aid in order to ensure that the customer was satisfied, rather chose to villify and insult the customer.</p> <p>I will never buy anything from Bloomsbury again, and will most certainly advise anyone I meet to stay far away from them. </p> <p> </p> <p> </p>
1. The KTM we were advertising was on sale for R154 995, which is a competitive price considering the condition, year and mileage of our bike, not to mention the aftermarket extras that WAS included in the price, Wings exhaust system worth R11 000, Carbon fiber side covers worth R6500 and a light cover worth R600. It was stated very clearly that the GPS bracket that was part of the GPS unit and the Luggage Rack that is part of the Top Bag configuration is NOT sold with the bike and will be removed, as the only extras sold with the bike was the aftermarket exhaust, side covers and light cover. There was no confusion to this and any other person would be transacting on the same basis. So nobody was unfairly treated or received bad service.
2. The bike was not ridden and as a result of this batteries tend to lose charge, the battery was placed on charge for that exact reason, we were only aware that the battery is in fact on its last once Mr. Du Plooy informed us of the problem. It is our policy to only do License and Registration once everything is approved and we receive a release note from the clients bank, the procedure can take a few days, especially if delivery is received on a Friday afternoon, only after licensing is done can number plates be made for the bike, the bike was still licensed and the client was informed that everything regarding the paperwork will be sorted the coming week. The Client was offered petrol as we at Bloomsbury supply complementary fuel with every sale and vehicle that leaves our showroom floor, the KTM was empty as we did not have the time to fill the tank, but a reserve of fuel is kept on the premises for this exact reason, the client dismissed our offer and left with the bike.
3. The price (R155 000) is for the bike alone and dealership fees are added onto that price, all dealerships has these fees and we are no different to any other dealership in this country and I am sure in the world. The day the client decided to purchase the bike the fees were added to the Offer To Purchase and presented to him, ( so this was not as stated “the greatest shock”) he was made aware of the additional costs and paid a deposit knowingly and insuring the bike will be kept for him until the needed documents and approval was received. The fees does not include delivery of the vehicle, but arrangements could have been made with the client if he wished the vehicle to be delivered to him.
4. When we were asked if we are going to sell the extras ( Tank Bag, Top Bag and GPS with bracket) on Gumtree our response was that we usually get KTM’s in stock and will decide what to do with the extras as we deem fit as we don’t know what the future holds. These are our items not advertised with the bike never were never have!
5. The client was told that if he is unhappy with the deal he does not have to take the bike and the deposit would have happily been refunded in full no problem. If the client had to get back to Villiersdorp and he decided not to take the bike a plan would have been made to send our driver to take him home. We value our clients and only taking our bike to ‘get home’ is not a viable option and one nobody would take.
6. We drove through to Villiersdorp to deliver the new battery as that was a real concern and the client needed to use the bike for the weekend. This is not something we have to do its service. The documents were taken with so that the licensing and number plates could be done, as we can only do it in Villiersdorp were the client lives. On arriving in Villiersdorp we found that the department closed at 12:00 that day because of internal administration so the licensing had to wait till Monday. I explained this to the client and made it clear to him that we will come back on Monday to do this in which he said he would do it himself. He was told to send the invoices to us so we can refund him on any expenses he would have received.
When the client was presented with the offer to purchase with the dealership fees etc. with a total figure, his comment was, “You said the bike was R155 000 but at this price I want the extra’s included” this done in the office with other staff present. In that statement alone he acknowledges that he was aware the extras were not included.
We are sorry that the customer felt he was at the end of some conspiracy to do him in but that was not the case. Unfortunately the customer did not get what he wanted for free and has left him disgruntled which is upsetting for us as we never made any representation to receiving anything extra other than what was stated above. This in itself is far sufficient and actually makes his purchase an extremely viable one. We are a honorable dealership that has integrity. If one looks at our years in business and our reputation it speaks for itself.
We have no intention of getting into a back and forth from here on but feel it’s vital all facts are on the table. We are regretful there were expectations that were never made by us but that the customer felt he deserved. We will learn from this experience. Thank you for the opportunity to tell our side.
Bloomsbury
1. The KTM we were advertising was on sale for R154 995, which is a competitive price considering the condition, year and mileage of our bike, not to mention the aftermarket extras that WAS included in the price, Wings exhaust system worth R11 000, Carbon fiber side covers worth R6500 and a light cover worth R600. It was stated very clearly that the GPS bracket that was part of the GPS unit and the Luggage Rack that is part of the Top Bag configuration is NOT sold with the bike and will be removed, as the only extras sold with the bike was the aftermarket exhaust, side covers and light cover. There was no confusion to this and any other person would be transacting on the same basis. So nobody was unfairly treated or received bad service.
2. The bike was not ridden and as a result of this batteries tend to lose charge, the battery was placed on charge for that exact reason, we were only aware that the battery is in fact on its last once Mr. Du Plooy informed us of the problem. It is our policy to only do License and Registration once everything is approved and we receive a release note from the clients bank, the procedure can take a few days, especially if delivery is received on a Friday afternoon, only after licensing is done can number plates be made for the bike, the bike was still licensed and the client was informed that everything regarding the paperwork will be sorted the coming week. The Client was offered petrol as we at Bloomsbury supply complementary fuel with every sale and vehicle that leaves our showroom floor, the KTM was empty as we did not have the time to fill the tank, but a reserve of fuel is kept on the premises for this exact reason, the client dismissed our offer and left with the bike.
3. The price (R155 000) is for the bike alone and dealership fees are added onto that price, all dealerships has these fees and we are no different to any other dealership in this country and I am sure in the world. The day the client decided to purchase the bike the fees were added to the Offer To Purchase and presented to him, ( so this was not as stated “the greatest shock”) he was made aware of the additional costs and paid a deposit knowingly and insuring the bike will be kept for him until the needed documents and approval was received. The fees does not include delivery of the vehicle, but arrangements could have been made with the client if he wished the vehicle to be delivered to him.
4. When we were asked if we are going to sell the extras ( Tank Bag, Top Bag and GPS with bracket) on Gumtree our response was that we usually get KTM’s in stock and will decide what to do with the extras as we deem fit as we don’t know what the future holds. These are our items not advertised with the bike never were never have!
5. The client was told that if he is unhappy with the deal he does not have to take the bike and the deposit would have happily been refunded in full no problem. If the client had to get back to Villiersdorp and he decided not to take the bike a plan would have been made to send our driver to take him home. We value our clients and only taking our bike to ‘get home’ is not a viable option and one nobody would take.
6. We drove through to Villiersdorp to deliver the new battery as that was a real concern and the client needed to use the bike for the weekend. This is not something we have to do its service. The documents were taken with so that the licensing and number plates could be done, as we can only do it in Villiersdorp were the client lives. On arriving in Villiersdorp we found that the department closed at 12:00 that day because of internal administration so the licensing had to wait till Monday. I explained this to the client and made it clear to him that we will come back on Monday to do this in which he said he would do it himself. He was told to send the invoices to us so we can refund him on any expenses he would have received.
When the client was presented with the offer to purchase with the dealership fees etc. with a total figure, his comment was, “You said the bike was R155 000 but at this price I want the extra’s included” this done in the office with other staff present. In that statement alone he acknowledges that he was aware the extras were not included.
We are sorry that the customer felt he was at the end of some conspiracy to do him in but that was not the case. Unfortunately the customer did not get what he wanted for free and has left him disgruntled which is upsetting for us as we never made any representation to receiving anything extra other than what was stated above. This in itself is far sufficient and actually makes his purchase an extremely viable one. We are a honorable dealership that has integrity. If one looks at our years in business and our reputation it speaks for itself.
We have no intention of getting into a back and forth from here on but feel it’s vital all facts are on the table. We are regretful there were expectations that were never made by us but that the customer felt he deserved. We will learn from this experience. Thank you for the opportunity to tell our side.
Bloomsbury