BMW UK complaints contact?

BMW UK complaints contact?

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eztiger

Original Poster:

836 posts

181 months

Saturday 13th August 2011
quotequote all
I'm having a bit of bother with a dealer and the next step is looking like pinging a list of complaints / demands to the dealer principle - at which point it would be worthwhile cc'ing someone at BMW UK to either (optimistically) get them to intervene or at least let the DP see I'm not going away without a fight.

Can anyone suggest a good contact in BMW UK to pop a letter in the post to?

Not sure how far it will get me, but it's the next thing to try.

Thanks for any help

eztiger

Original Poster:

836 posts

181 months

Saturday 13th August 2011
quotequote all
Sorry - spelling on my part. They do have a DP I had a skin crawling 'welcome to the wonderful world of BMW ownership' letter from him when I bought the car a month ago.

Just looking for a way to light a fire under the issue.

eztiger

Original Poster:

836 posts

181 months

Sunday 14th August 2011
quotequote all
Service has palmed me off to sales (after much chasing) and sales have palmed me off to service (after yet more chasing).

I'm a little tired of having to chase and not getting call backs and updates as promised. I'll follow your advice and hold off on customer services then, until I contact the dealer principle. I've no real interest in going through any lower hierarchy at the moment as it's clear there is no one interested in helping so far.

My last contact was with the sales person who sold me the car a few weeks ago who told me he'd have words with the manager (presumably sales rather than general) and get back to me on friday. Unsurprisingly nothing so I'm afraid my patience has worn thin!

eztiger

Original Poster:

836 posts

181 months

Wednesday 17th August 2011
quotequote all
Letter in the post to the DP.

Though I appreciate the sentiment I'm not exactly sure how I, as a lowly punter, am meant to know what the various levels of hierarchy in an individual dealership should be and who the next person up the chain is. Especially when said dealership decides not to return calls as a matter of routine.

What I do know is that shortly after purchase I received a letter from the dealer principle saying to get in touch should I have issues. Which I'm now doing. If this ruffles feathers at the dealership further down the chain then it's only because they did not address the issue appropriately in the first instance and, frankly, I'm not looking to go for a beer with them and be chums - I just want my issues resolved.

Thanks for the advice so far, as suggested I have held back on contacting BMW UK in the hope the dealer principle will resolve things. I don't actually think BMW UK will have much interest but I merely wanted to use them as some sort of indication to the dealer that I'm not just going to go away if they ignore me.

eztiger

Original Poster:

836 posts

181 months

Friday 19th August 2011
quotequote all
4rephill said:
But you have asked on here and those in the know have guided you as to the best course of action. I'm sure one day you will spot someone else in a similar predicament and it will be you saying to them: "Here's what you need to do, first contact...".
I was contacting the DP anyway, my original query was for a suitable contact address at BMW UK to copy in. Despite being grateful for the advice I've received you'll note that I didn't actually get a reply to that question.

But this is PH so.. smile

4rephill said:
If you get no joy from your letter then your next step should be to arrange a meeting in person with the Dealer Principal to discuss your issues.
Absolutely not. If they're not willing to engage based on the contents of the letter which is a direct result of their service department and sales department individually also failing to engage - I don't see why a face to face talk would (or should) change anything. Nor do I see why I should waste my time chasing the matter, yet again.

I don't mind cutting a bit of slack and I don't mind having to prod a little bit. But I do mind having do that four times and still not getting anything back - there is a limit.

If there is no joy from the DP in response to my letter then I will be going to BMW UK as well as trading standards to clarify my position before taking the matter further. Plenty of options available to me yet.

pattyg has confirmed that in their case BMW UK did indeed light a fire under the dealer which is really what I'm looking for here. Whether that's done before or after the DP gets his chance to have his say is immaterial to me so long as the outcome is the same. But this thread has suggested to give him a chance in isolation.

The car was an entirely private sale to me (i.e not on a PCP or via any sort of business purchase) and so represents a lot of my own money. Whilst my issues are relatively minor in the scheme of things I expect (and I believe the law is behind me) better for my money from a premium marque. It's also too much money for me to be fobbed off and given the run around as a result. I should add that I haven't received any sort of firm yes or no answer in regards to if they will address my issues. Merely buck passing between departments and 'I'll call you back once I've spoken to someone'. I would at least be able to move on, in some fashion, if I'd been given an answer - any answer.