Peugeot Hatfield - Disgusting Service by Management

They call it a misunderstanding, I call it a hustle, what would you call it, make up your own mind.

On the 10th of June 2019, I went into the Peugeot showroom at Hatfield, Centurion. Looking for a car for my daughter.

I was approached by a salesman, and I told him that my budget was R300,000, he then took me into the workshop and showed me a 2008 SUV GT - LINE 1,2 THP 81 KW EAT6 car that was being prepared for the showroom floor.

The salesman told me that there was a special on that particular car and that I could have it on the road for under R300,000. I told him, that I would have to bring my daughter in to see the car first.

On the 27th of June, I took my daughter to look at this same car, and was told by the same salesman, after he had confirmed it with the Sales Manager, that we could have this same car for R290,000, on the road.

The salesman asked the Sales Manager for the keys so that the car could be started in the showroom, and proceeded to take us through all of its features. My daughter and I then went for a coffee to talk about the car, away from the salesroom.

Within an hour, we went back to the showroom and told the salesman that we were prepared to buy the car for cash, if he would allow us to put a 10% deposit hold on the car until we got the money together.

The salesman went to the same Sales Manager, who had confirmed the original offer, for permission to put down a deposit. It was then revealed that the Sales Manager was now asking that we pay R320,000 for the car, at this point we walked away.

The Sales Manager’s behaviour was quite frankly disgusting.

Not only has he hustled us, as we had come in three times to view this car, but when he then changed his offer, he sent out the salesman to speak with us instead of talking with us himself, putting the salesman in the firing line of the disagreement, even when we went to him directly he refused to apologise or to even get off his chair to speak with us.

This is unacceptable.

The dealer should honour their agreement. We had been in to see the car three times, each time the offer on that exact car (mentioned above) was confirmed by the sales manager.

For him to then blame the salesperson for making an incorrect deal (which came about as a result of a formal complaint that we had made to Peugeot Complaints Team), is wrong, completely wrong. As a manager, he has final authority and should be aware of the sales team that he manages, not pass off blame due to his bad management.

The Sales Manager had given the car keys to the salesperson, and he had confirmed the price of the car three times; if he was unsure of the deal he was offering then he should have come to check and to talk with us directly, not put his own team in the front line of his arrogance.

I have always been an advocate of Peugeot and have had many Peugeot cars in my time, and I have NEVER, EVER, been treated so badly by a Peugeot dealership. I am completely disgusted by how this Sales Manager has handled our business.

The original offer of R290,000 for the 2008 SUV GT - LINE 1,2 THP 81 KW EAT6, on the road, should be honoured. This is very bad customer service, and the Sales Manager should be seriously dealt with for the way he has handled not only the customer, but also his sales team.