Unsatisfactory SOR experience review with Gmund Cars Ltd.

[pzero]

Op terrible to hear. Stay legal and use publicly available information to your advantage.

Companies house lists the directors. Including an interesting one that was in post when your car was sold, same director now appears to be a recently elected local councillor. I'd be mentioning that in passing as they will want to help you resolve this amicably.......especially as they are named as a resident on a news report 12 months ago about retail surveys in the naresborough area. I'm guessing they can talk about it over breakfast....

2mins on google by the way..

Good stuff. :thumbs:

 

[997 Coast]

Op terrible to hear. Stay legal and use publicly available information to your advantage.

Companies house lists the directors. Including an interesting one that was in post when your car was sold, same director now appears to be a recently elected local councillor. I'd be mentioning that in passing as they will want to help you resolve this amicably.......especially as they are named as a resident on a news report 12 months ago about retail surveys in the naresborough area. I'm guessing they can talk about it over breakfast....

2mins on google by the way..

Good stuff. :thumbs:

:yeah: simple to locate

 

[crash7]

Can people take time to add comments to Gmund Cars Facebook, Instagram and Twitter posts to spead the message and put the pressure on.

This isn't the first time they've screwed over a customer via SOR.

Their Facebook account lacks a review section facility.

Gmund Cars removed their reviews section when negative feedback appeared, as they have that power to do that as the page owner.

On Instagram they have the power to delete any negative comments, as the post owner. (Instagram Owned by Facebook)

They removed their twitter account because rather couldn't remove the negative responses.

Interesting, we know that Pistonheads also remove any negative chatter from those whom fund them, and Impact Bumpers have also pulled threads, as oppose to not ripping people off and stealing from them it appears that Gmund Cars and Andrew Mearns use the resources available to hide the facts.

Is 911UK the lone bastion of truth when it comes to rouge traders?!

How do the likes of Google reviews, Yelp and Youtube operate?

 

[Molluscturtle]

Interesting, we know that Pistonheads also remove any negative chatter from those whom fund them, and Impact Bumpers have also pulled threads, as oppose to not ripping people off and stealing from them it appears that Gmund Cars and Andrew Mearns use the resources available to hide the facts.

Is 911UK the lone bastion of truth when it comes to rouge traders?!

How do the likes of Google reviews, Yelp and Youtube operate?

Friend of the OP here.

PH are absolutely pathetic on the "name and shame" front, it's very frustrating. I actually posted a comment on a thread about gmund cars and Mearns, who it would appear is a conman and a thief hiding behind a (increasingly dubious) company name got the whole thread removed pronto. However all of what has gone on is provable and documented. It's FACT.

I'm absolutely up for going along to his "open day" and having a quiet word with his visitors.

I don't know if the bloke is burying his head in the sand or just an idiot - this isn't going to go away. If he closes down and opens under another name, well that will get hounded too. I daresay he's already lost more business than the money he has taken, and it will keep happening. It won't stop. He needs to pay back what he has taken.

Information about these goings on would, for example, be golden to the opposition candidates at the council elections where his wife is incumbent. Imagine the embarrassment.

I am at a bit of a loss as to what sort of person can just waltz off with someone's hard earned money like this - after tax etc it would represent years of work, and yet I bet the fellow turns his nose up at car thieves, burglars and the like, when in reality he's just as bad, if not worse. At least if you get your car stolen in the conventional manner you get an Insurance payout.

 

[Desert Dragon]

Here's another lovely Yorkshire man who was frequenting all the forums showing his GT2 and Carrera GT off. Is there something wrong with the water up there? Best mates with Specialist Cars of Malton. How can you be friends with such an animal? You could make a Yorkshire football team up with this lot
:grin:

https://www.yorkpress.co.uk/news/17...r-keith-turner-jailed-for-catalogue-of-abuse/

 

[spongebob squarepants]

Im no accountant but looking at the summary, I'd be worried, assets/liabilities and particularly the negative net worth, id be taking action sooner rather than later.

http://companycheck.co.uk/company/06023490/GMUND-CARS-LIMITED

 

[ddg911]

Im no accountant but looking at the summary, I'd be worried, assets/liabilities and particularly the negative net worth, id be taking action sooner rather than later.

http://companycheck.co.uk/company/06023490/GMUND-CARS-LIMITED

still has a few assets and isnt there a 959 for sale on his site ?

looking at companies house, at the time of this deception / theft Samantha Mearns is a director although now resigned 11/12/2018
https://beta.companieshouse.gov.uk/company/06023490/officers

and this is now the same Councillor Samantha Mearns
https://democracy.harrogate.gov.uk/mgUserInfo.aspx?UID=140
who was appointed from 08/05/2018

and if I was the OP I would contact this Councillor and or the council based on their whistle blowing policy https://www.harrogate.gov.uk/info/20013/your_council/859/whistleblowing_policy to raise your concern at her conduct at the time as a director

 

[spongebob squarepants]

Im no accountant but looking at the summary, I'd be worried, assets/liabilities and particularly the negative net worth, id be taking action sooner rather than later.

http://companycheck.co.uk/company/06023490/GMUND-CARS-LIMITED

still has a few assets and isnt there a 959 for sale on his site ?

looking at companies house, at the time of this deception / theft Samantha Mearns is a director although now resigned 11/12/2018
https://beta.companieshouse.gov.uk/company/06023490/officers

and this is now the same Councillor Samantha Mearns
https://democracy.harrogate.gov.uk/mgUserInfo.aspx?UID=140
who was appointed from 08/05/2018

and if I was the OP I would contact this Councillor and or the council based on their whistle blowing policy https://www.harrogate.gov.uk/info/20013/your_council/859/whistleblowing_policy to raise your concern at her conduct at the time as a director

Scary as that lists both her home address and phone number The wonders of the internet.... ✅

Re the accounts! The company has a net worth of MINUS £231,000. As I said I'm no accountant but that looks to me like a company that is in serious trouble, and not only with cash flow. Look at the date Samantha resigned as Secretary (Dec18) Seriously OP sooner rather than later!

The easiest thing to do is put in a reputable companies name (A well known one on here, for example. I've done that and the net worth was PLUS nearly £2,000,000.

 

[964RS]

Im no accountant but looking at the summary, I'd be worried, assets/liabilities and particularly the negative net worth, id be taking action sooner rather than later.

http://companycheck.co.uk/company/06023490/GMUND-CARS-LIMITED

still has a few assets and isnt there a 959 for sale on his site ?

looking at companies house, at the time of this deception / theft Samantha Mearns is a director although now resigned 11/12/2018
https://beta.companieshouse.gov.uk/company/06023490/officers

and this is now the same Councillor Samantha Mearns
https://democracy.harrogate.gov.uk/mgUserInfo.aspx?UID=140
who was appointed from 08/05/2018

and if I was the OP I would contact this Councillor and or the council based on their whistle blowing policy https://www.harrogate.gov.uk/info/20013/your_council/859/whistleblowing_policy to raise your concern at her conduct at the time as a director

THIS ABOVE

She is a solicitor also so likely the one that advises on threatening all the forums etc too.

She must have been well aware of the financial difficulties of the business last year while a Director though as others had issues then. Definitely report and highlight the business issues to her council and Conservative Party...

Oh and take a loud haler to the Open Day and a make shift platform and stand at the entrance, just off his property and hand out flyers stating FACTS.....

 

[ddg911]

964RS, is this http://www.ddk-online.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=63598 for Gmund Cars as well ?

some shocking tales if that's also the case !

Wed Oct 17, 2018 11:19 pm

OK folks, I'm putting this up here after nearly 3 months of waiting to be paid.

At this stage I'm not going to name and shame, although I have told the dealer in question he's lucky I haven't done so yet.

The dealer in question did a good job of selling my car on commission back in mid July, that is he got a good price which meant a good sum to me and a healthy commission for him. We have a formal contract which said that he would pay me over the agreed sum minus commission and costs within 14 days. I went on holiday until end of July expecting the cash to arrive in my account in late July as agreed.

Alarm bells started ringing when no money was received. So I contacted the dealer. He said there was a problem with the car and he didn't want to give me the proceeds of the sale until that problem was sorted or just in case the customer asked for his money back. The problem was an oil leak. The customer had told him about the leak on 10th July and he'd told me. He'd said he would probably send a truck, bring the car back and see what the issue was. So, having heard nothing else, I had expected the issue to have been sorted by end July. The dealer had done an oil change and turned the sump plate in early July before the car was sold so I expected it to be something to do with that. Turned out it was but had the dealer even tried to look at the car in July?..not at all. So I started to wonder maybe if this was a useful tactic to delay payment to me. I started to press him harder. On 31st July the dealer had someone local to the buyer look at the car and sort the leak...Guess what, leaking from sump plate. So around 7th August dealer concedes that the customer is happy and he will pay me.

The weeks go on. What follows is a long list of broken promises to pay, interspersed with claims that various family members are ill and that generally cashflow is slow. I'm a reasonable guy, I stay patient but make it clear how unhappy I am and that he needs to make the payment to avoid legal action and reputational damage. He finally sends me £5k at the beginning of October. Progress I think..but then he goes quiet again. So I go over and see him (from N.Ireland..and he's in England ). He is ultra apologetic and tells me he's sold a car and will pay me w/c 8th October. Nothing. So again I call and message. Nothing still.

So that's where we are. All here will know the price of a freshly restored '78 SC. Take a few grand off for commission and you know the sum owed here. It's a fair chunk of money.

So, what do I do. Legal action? Name and shame on here? I'd have thought the guy would be so concerned about his reputation that he'd want to avoid any of this. And he does have a good reputation to maintain...

I've thought long and hard about even putting this out on the forums but I've run out of patience. I know the guy at least follows the forums so maybe the threat of name and shame will encourage him to pay me what I'm owed...

If not I think it is in the interests of all Porsche owners to know what kind of guy this is and be able to avoid a similar situation. Mods may disagree of course...

Let me know your thoughts Pls.

Allen.

Mon Oct 22, 2018 9:18 pm

Quite some years ago I bought three cars in an hour from the dealer in question......

356 Speedster - price agreed for car under restoration £40,000 - to be delivered, with restoration completed within three months
911 2.7RS - price agreed £40,000 - being restored as Speedster with delivery in three months
996 C2 - price agreed £36,000 - with wheels changed to Turbo Alloys with new tyres ( as all tyres on the car were bald)

I paid in full for all the cars and the following week the 996 was delivered - the wheels hadn't been changed and it had four bald tyres - basically he had completely ignored the agreement we had made. I took the car to a local tyre specialist who confirmed I would have lost my licence with three points for every bald tyre ( quite aside from the danger the condition presented ) - It took me a month and much pestering for our dealer friend to pay me for the new tyres I had to buy !

The 2.7RS was delivered about three months later with bits of trim hanging off and many obvious issues with it's condition. I had it taken to a reputable specialist who examined it and came up with a list of 42 items they had found wrong with it ! I told our dealer friend that I wanted my money back as the car was not fit for purpose - it took me two months to get my money back.

356 Speedster - after a catalogue of excuses and seven months wait when there was no discernible progress on the car and absolutely no sign of it being delivered, I had to fight for a further two months to get my forty grand back.

Believe me this guy does not give a shite about you !

Bizarrely I was called at the weekend by a chap who had heard from a friend that I was looking to sell one of my non-Porsche cars, we chatted a while about life in general, bikes and cars. The caller told me which cars he had and asked what I had. I mentioned that I had a number of Porsches and completely out of the blue ( absolutely no prompting by myself) said "you've never dealt with (said dealer) have you ? " - I said I had in the distant past - "Why ? "
The caller then went onto tell me how he'd sold a car on SOR through "said dealer" a couple of years ago - and guess what ??? yes he didn't get paid what was due for his car, so he waited when it was promised and the money never arrived, so he asked again and there was another excuse, and another and another, then he said it was promised on numerous occasions and never arrived - so he went to visit "said dealer " and took a friend with him who was "persuasive" and finally five months after the car was sold managed to extract his money from "said dealer"
I thought this was an unbelievable coincidence and pointed him in the direction of this thread so he could read about someone having an identical experience

I repeat - THIS GUY DOES NOT GIVE A shite ABOUT YOU !

I could go on and tell you about my friend who lives in Europe who bought a 911 from "said dealer" over the phone - minor problem when the car was delivered and chassis number checked - it wasn't a 911 - it was a 912 with a 911 engine fitted - see above re sending someone to visit to persuade "said dealer" to return his money ( after the obligatory three months of broken promises ! )

I'm just buying another 911 from a dealer in the South and was on the phone to him this evening, I mentioned this thread and he told me that he "already knew about it, as does almost every dealer in the Porsche related industry " - it seems to be a fairly open secret that "said dealer" behaves in this way on a very regular basis - I reckon the more complacent you are, the further down the queue to be paid you will fall !

Your call as to what approach you take but look back to your first post last week -there doesn't seem that there's been much progress since that time !

 

[jonttt]

Im no accountant but looking at the summary, I'd be worried, assets/liabilities and particularly the negative net worth, id be taking action sooner rather than later.

http://companycheck.co.uk/company/06023490/GMUND-CARS-LIMITED

still has a few assets and isnt there a 959 for sale on his site ?

looking at companies house, at the time of this deception / theft Samantha Mearns is a director although now resigned 11/12/2018
https://beta.companieshouse.gov.uk/company/06023490/officers

and this is now the same Councillor Samantha Mearns
https://democracy.harrogate.gov.uk/mgUserInfo.aspx?UID=140
who was appointed from 08/05/2018

and if I was the OP I would contact this Councillor and or the council based on their whistle blowing policy https://www.harrogate.gov.uk/info/20013/your_council/859/whistleblowing_policy to raise your concern at her conduct at the time as a director

Scary as that lists both her home address and phone number The wonders of the internet.... ✅

Re the accounts! The company has a net worth of MINUS £231,000. As I said I'm no accountant but that looks to me like a company that is in serious trouble, and not only with cash flow. Look at the date Samantha resigned as Secretary (Dec18) Seriously OP sooner rather than later!

The easiest thing to do is put in a reputable companies name (A well known one on here, for example. I've done that and the net worth was PLUS nearly £2,000,000.

Its hard to understand the true position of a small company that hides behind small company accounting requirements ie unaudited and no requirement to publish a P&L, espeically when "stock" is such a large element of the balance sheet ie its easy to manipulate stock values to basically give whatever net posiiton you want (within reason). Valuing cars (which I presume account for most of his stock value) would fall into that catagory. The old addage cash is king, profit is vanity always holds true and unless he is highly geared with 3rd party finance he has no incentive to provide a good balance sheet or P&L which would simply increase his tax liabilities.

From the limited informaiton at companies house the major alarm bell would be the >£300k directors loan :roll: and the fact his wife relinquished her controlling interest (50% shareholding) around the time she took oublic office. This maybe a sign of something to be hidden / be distanced from.

Given she was a controlling party of the business at the time of the reported potential frauds I think the wistle blowing advice above is sound. I would also report to Action Fraud https://www.actionfraud.police.uk/. They are slow but will allocate to a local detective who will contact you. The fact a councellor may be involved may spark their interest (normally they are not interested in contractual civil matter but there may be a criminal angle here)

Given the OP has to be selfish about this ie look after his own interests first I would right to Gmund and his wife as a reposnbile party at the time of the events documenting your concerns and confirming that you have reported the matter both to the police and to the local council given the public office involement of one of the responsbile parties ;-) ie the OP's agenda has to be to get his money back.

 

[chicb]

I may be a bit thick, but if the car is still on his website, get a friend (not from the same town as yourself as he may suspect something)) to arrange a viewing. Go with him & take the car back. Suspect the police won't care as its a civil matter

 

[jonttt]

Cars been sold = the issue, still on website as click bait :wink:

 

[997 Coast]

Car showing as insured.

 

[Molluscturtle]

Good post from Jontt there. Good advice too. :thumbs: :judge: