DO NOT BUY FROM XS Automotive, Westland Green,SG11 2AH
I am literally speechless with the following, but I will just list the facts and hope they assist anyone else researching purchasing from
XS Automotive, Cherry Grove ,Westland Green, Little Hadham, SG11 2AH
I placed a review on
https://www.carbuyingadvisor.co.uk/car-dealer-reviews/xs-automotive-ltd
This site only had one prior review from over a year ago and that was a negative one ! I placed my review; also a negative one a few days ago. So that makes 2 reviews in over a year, both highly negative. In the last week there have been several glowing reviews.
Seems unlikely, but ok lets roll with it.
One of the reviews is from CarlWoods1989 as follows:
"A pleasant experience
Brought my car from XS through recommendation from a friend of mine. Couldn't be happier. It's a pleasure to buy and view a vehicle from these guys. And a refreshing escape from the usual car dealers. I highly recommend. My car is perfect and better than described.By Carlwoods1989 9 days ago"
The salesman I dealt with at XS Automotive also happened to also be called Carl Woods, as does the email address used and the banking account details I used to transfer the funds.
What are the odds on that, I need a lottery ticket !
Actually Carl Woods is also a director of the company and so is Gary Woods whom I also dealt with when Carl was abroad.
https://suite.endole.co.uk/insight/company/09161270-xs-automotive-limited
So on to Autotrader, which has many glowing reviews. Where I placed a similiar review
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/dealers/hertfordshire/ware/xs-automotive-ltd-598791#reviews
"Worst car purchase experience ever
By CHRIS A 1 Day ago
Chased for weeks to get a copy of the invoice, but no warranty info was ever included. The transmission drops into limp home every drive and I also get engine timing fault at times. The dealer was unhelpful and didn't feel that the Sales of Goods Act doesn't apply to them (hint it does). A measure of a trader is how they deal with problems, and ultimately they do not stand behind their vehicles. This is hands down the absolutely worst experience I have ever had in the 20+ cars bought over 30 years! Looking to dispose of this car if it cannot be sensibly fixed and currently investigating options redress.
Reply from XS Automotive Ltd
1 Day ago
Hi Chris, Further to you recent review we have been unable to verify your purchase through us. We noticed that you also have not been able to verify your purchase with XS,This is visible at the top of your review where it clearly says "purchased not verified" This tells us that this can only be a malicious review from perhaps another local dealer or you are mistaken as to which company your reviewing. All of our verified purchased reviews from various different customers proves that we take pride in all vehicles we sell and ensure that we provide the ultimate customer service levels. Kind Regards"
I am even more speechless now! They deny selling me the vehicle, despite me having an email trail with them, despite me having Carl Woods banking information and using it to transfer funds, despite me contacting them from my phone on their listed contact numbers and despite me holding paperwork from the transport company that collected the vehicle from Little Hadham, SG11 2AH to my home address!
They state in their reply that the review clearly says "purchased not verified" as if that proves I didn't buy it from them. This is incorrect as according to Autotraders own site, is that for a purchase to be treated as verified the garage has to invite you to place a review. Clearly that isn't going to happen. The downside is that Autotraders default viewing sequence is by 'Most Relevant', not 'Most Recent' so you would have to click the 'Most Recent' option from the dropdown box.
https://trade.autotrader.co.uk/wp-c...r_Dealer-Reviews-Best-Practice-Guide_2018.pdf
"Best practice on gaining positive reviews
There's a couple of different ways you can pro-actively seek
positive reviews.
You can
invite your customers to leave a review when they have
purchased a vehicle from you – these reviews will be displayed as
'purchase verified' reviews.
To send an invite to your customer, all you need to do is find the
vehicle they have purchased in Portal. From here, click the request
a review button and enter the customer's information – remember
you must have permission from the customer to do this.
The best time to send your customers an invite to leave a review
is between 24 and 72 hours after completing the transaction. It is
not considered best practice for your customers to leave reviews
whilst at the dealership.
In addition to the above, another option is to generate 'nonverified
reviews' from people who may not have purchased a
vehicle from you. If you feel you've offered a great experience,
encourage them to leave a review directly through Auto Trader.
You may even want to follow it up with an email that includes a link
to your reviews page on Auto Trader. Promote it where you can!"
What do I do if I get a negative review?
Well, the first thing is, don't panic.
Negative reviews aren't the end
of the world, they actually help build trust and credibility – 68% of
consumers trust reviews more when they see a mixture of good
and bad scores and are looking to see how retailers react to
bad reviews*.
This I fully agree with as I've said problems occur, but its how a trader looks to resolve them that is most telling. Even if every glowing review was fully accurate; which IMHO is dubious based on my own experience, if the vehicle never had an issue, then the dealer experience wasn't fully tested. I find it hard to imagine that literally every vehicle sold by a trader is perfection itself.
Ultimately I now doubt the veracity of the review sites themselves as there is no mechanism to prove your review, nothing to stop the reviews being drowned out, or even get the review visible.
XS Automotive failed to respond my email asking for a resolution according to the Consumer Rights Act 2015, so the next stop is logging a complaint with the Ombudsman and other review sites.
I may even throw up a web page.