Marquis Motorhomes: Ten Tales of Woe
or
How Much Longer Can This Go On?
or
How Much Business Do They Want To Lose?
Introduction by Barry and Margaret Williamson
November 2019
A rainy day on Greece's Pelion Peninsula gives us an opportunity to bring
together ten very distressing and shameful accounts of continuing malpractice
by Marquis Motorhomes. What all the stories have in common is Marquis's
complete failure to remedy faults that have become immediately apparent to the
very unhappy and disappointed customer. Equally reprehensible is their totally
inadequate complaints procedure, which brings no redress, no satisfaction and
no resolution of any kind. Indeed, customers feel rejected, ignored and
insulted.
People have resorted to writing long letters and emails, involving the NCC (National
Caravan Council), protesting at the gates of a Marquis Branch, involving the
press, involving the BBC and seeking publicity through this and other websites
(notably Motorhome
Fun). Do the motorhoming magazines (notably the MMM and the on-line Caravan
Times) get involved in any of this? Of course not they need the dealers' and
the manufacturers' advertising revenue.
All this follow our own harrowing experiences with Marquis in July 2014, which are
fully reported on
this website.
Liz in October 2019
I really enjoyed reading your blog about your travels.
I am just entering a dispute with Marquis and with the same guy Alan Doherty. I
am terrified as I used my life savings to buy a new camper and AD seems like a
sales snake, already they have tried to put blame on me [I must have driven
over a pot hole in the rain and I have ulterior motives], they even blamed Autosleeper
and said they used the wrong glue in the factory. They are now members of the
NCC so we are gathering the emails to send to them. Sorry sounding off on you
both but 60k is a lot of money to pay for a dud .
Alan Jones in April 2019
We are at Ionion Beach and have used your website for a few years. Thank you
for sharing your information and helping us and so many others.
We have just been reading about Marquis Motorhomes. They are verging on being
criminal. We bought an Elddis which was supposedly Grade 3 insulated. It wasn't
so we demanded a refund under trade descriptions legislation. We got back all
but about £2.5k as they were running a VAT fiddle. Because we had not paid
using a credit card we couldn't sue under legislation. They are rogues from
start to finish. Mike Crouch the MD knew he would get away with this and didn't
give an inch. The hassle of court action was not worth the stress and he relied
on that we think.
Thanks for sharing your experiences.
Victoria and Malcolm in August 2018
We have been motorhome owners since 2005. During that period of time we have
owned two new and one secondhand vehicle.
On the 12th of July 2018, we purchased a new motorhome from Marquis Leisure in
Tewkesbury. We traded in our much loved 2011 Autotrail EKS highline for exactly
the same make and model from Marquis. This was an ex-demonstration model, with
163 miles on the clock. We felt that we knew the make and model well, having
spent up to 9 months of each year in our previous motorhome. We made it clear to
Marquis at the time of purchase that we intended to travel to Poland in the
motorhome in September 2018.
Our purchase date was 12th of July, on that date we were sent to their workshop
to deal with three faults that we had identified. Three repairs were carried
out, however the workmanship was so poor that a replacement shelf was cut 4 mm
too short and fell out as we drove away. The two other faults were equally
badly dealt with.
On the 19th of July, having spent one night away in the motorhome, we had
discovered a total of 27 separate faults in the vehicle, some minor and some
major. Included in the major faults are: a hole in the underside driver's side
of the overhead cab, about the size of a golf ball, which initially presented
as a blister, but on touching went straight through the cab. In addition, there
is a spongy bathroom floor which is unsealed, allowing water straight through,
and the rear indicators are flashing, regardless of the engine transmission.
There is also a loose cable, and I have found Internet footage of the same
cable in the same make and model on fire.
We informed Marquis, of all the faults that we had found, by telephone on the
morning of the 19th of July; they stated that they could not reasonably examine
the vehicle at that time as they were busy. A further conversation, also by telephone,
only gave us a possible repair date of the 7th of August. We explained that
water ingress was a real possibility with the hole on the underside of the cab.
They then offered us a repair date of the 28th of July.
On the 26th of July we rejected the vehicle, listing all of the individual
faults, by email. A recorded delivery letter followed on the 28th of July.
Marquis requested that we present the vehicle for their examination and we did
so on the 28th of July. At this time we made a video record of all the faults,
in the presence of and with the consent of a member of their staff. We have
video and/or photographic evidence of all the faults. Within one day Marquis
replied stating they had examined the vehicle and found no faults, refusing to
accept our rejection.
They went so far as to say that the most major fault, the hole in the overhead
cab, was a matter for our insurance company. We responded that to make an
insurance claim for damage we had not committed was to commit insurance fraud.
We have always believed that this fault is an inherent fault in the manufacture
of the vehicle. We have no faith in their ability to repair the faults in the
vehicle. We have consistently refused to allow them to repair, stating that
their repairs of minor faults was so badly done as to destroy our faith in
their ability to repair major faults. At this stage we have consistently asked
for a refund of our monies spent and return of our old vehicle, quoting the
2015 consumer rights act at all times. We have even offered to pay for a dry
rot repair they state they have conducted on our old vehicle, that they will
not let us examine. They have offered to repair all the faults, including the
overhead cab, even whilst denying the faults exist; they state this is a gesture
of good will, but only if we accept the vehicle.
They constantly offer repair and today stated they will start to charge us
storage if we don't come to collect the vehicle, quoting their own terms and
conditions stating that the consumer rights act does not apply because the
vehicle was an ex-demonstration vehicle and reduced in price.
We paid a total of £53,895 for the vehicle, £28,000 was part exchange for our
old vehicle. At the time of purchase they told us that they had to change the
value of our part exchange on the paperwork to bring it in line with a book
price for VAT purposes. They changed it to £25,615 and assured us when asked
that this was normal practice, asking us to sign the sales order and sales
invoice. We did so, however the sales order and sales invoice both reflect
prices of £51,510 and £50,895 respectively. To date they have not sold our old
vehicle, and state that they have agreed not to do so.
Regardless of the above we have quoted the amount that we thought we paid
namely £53,895 in our correspondence with Marquis over the last month without
any correction from them. We even insured the vehicle for that amount; it is
only now when they say the vehicle was discounted that they disagree on the
amount paid. It appears that we have been victims of an underhand sales
technique.
I have had legal help from a contract law specialist who is a neighbour to
write all our letters and emails so far and I'm happy for you to view all the
communication paperwork from us to Marquis and the responses from them to date.
They have stated they will not sell our original vehicle, which I am tempted to
re-insure as I currently regard the contract with them for the new vehicle as
at an end.
We have no official legal help, as we had no finance or credit cards on the
vehicle. We are understandably devastated and feeling quite lost at the moment.
We have contacted the ombudsman, but Marquis are not members. We are currently
exploring the possibility that we may have legal cover included in our home
insurance, but this will take time, and in the meantime we need help from
somebody who understands both our position and the position perhaps being taken
by Marquis and what steps we should consider next. Any help or advice that you
can give us we will treat in absolute confidence; we would be so grateful to
have someone independent but knowledgeable take an overview of our current
position.
They are now threatening storage charges at £25 daily and state they will not
allow an independent inspection unless we remove the vehicle we have rejected.
Later
Please don't add our story yet; we think that on Tuesday they are going to
refuse to take back the motorhome after independent inspection, so we are
planning to drive it to the car park closest to them and protest our treatment,
slowly publishing their replies. We intend to film ourselves daily asking them
to accept the rejected vehicle, stating that it is within the 30 days and not
fit for purpose. BBC radio 4 are going to run a piece. I just wanted you to
have it in case we need you to run it alongside our protest.
In addition, the NCC state that they do not deal with consumer rights issues.
Later still Victoria and Malcolm reached some kind of settlement which, we
assume, cancelled the sale and made a refund. However, they were subject to a Marquis
Gagging Order similar to one imposed on us (see below). They took it seriously
whereas we ignored it.
From the Non-Disclosure Agreement that was a condition of our own refund from
Marquis Claire in April 2018
Hi, just read your dealings with Marquis.
I have created a web-site (http://www.Marquis-leisure.co.uk/)
to explain the problems with Marquis and created another one for Autotrail (http://www.auto-trail-tow.co.uk/).
We expect to be pushed down the same route as yourselves.
Richard in November 2017
I found your story about your fight with Marquis while looking for the name of
Marquis's customer care manager. We bought a new Elddis Majestic from the
Ipswich branch of Marquis in June this year. There have been a long list of
faults with the vehicle and six months down the line and with our motorhome
back at Ipswich for its seventh repair we are in the process of making a
complaint, but after reading your story we are concerned about approaching Alan
Doherty and may just complain to Elddis and Black Horse Finance; the branch manager
at Ipswich already has our complaint.
Did you actually sign the gagging order to get your money back?
Juliet in November 2017
I love your website and reading about your travels and advice! I came across
it as I too am battling with Marquis. We bought a brand new motorhome in March
2017 and have had no end of problems with it; this us led to have correspondence
with Alan Doherty who we have found to be unhelpful. Currently in the process
of trying to reject the vehicle. Thank you for writing about your experiences.
It has helped to see how Marquis treat people.
David in September 2017
I am currently in dispute with Marquis Motorhomes, Birtley, Durham over a
declined warranty claim after the awning collapsed on my Marquis Majestic 185
motorhome.
I contacted Marquis to explain that the shoulder joint on one of the awning
legs had snapped, causing the awning to collapse; a claim was submitted and
declined by Elddis, the motorhome manufacturer. I had had several issues
regarding warranty work prior to this so emailed the manager, Adam Webb, to see
if he could help.
He rang me with the usual generic company apologies and got a member of his
staff to arrange for me to take my motorhome to their premises so "we
could all take a look at it" (his words) and sort out the problems with
it. A meeting was arranged for 10.30am on 11th July, but when I arrived at
10.25 he was just about to leave the premises. I explained why I was there and
he agreed to take a look at the awning but "I'd have to be quick"
(his words again). The story gets worse but I have a copy of my official
complaints letter and the many emails that have followed. The main points are
that Mr Webb says he resubmitted the claim "over the phone" after our
meeting but refuses to send me a copy of their warranty procedure which says
this is their policy, or how they sent the photos over a landline, and he also
said that he resubmitted it a third time but will not show me any proof, ie
emails, official reports etc.
Alan Doherty also got involved but neither he nor Adam Webb will answer my
questions. All in all they've repeatedly fobbed me off and my case is now with
the NCC Independent Resolution Service. Marquis are without a doubt the worst
people I've ever dealt with regarding after sales service.
The more things people read about this ridiculous company the better!
Since I wrote to you I've had a letter from the NCC resolution dispute service
informing me that they cannot take my case as it involves "a warranty
matter". Personally I would think most disputes with the likes of Marquis would
be about warranty issues so maybe I was just wasting my time with the NCC. Do
you know of anybody else who's had dealings with the NCC; are they just
protecting their members' interests and not really bothered about customers
rights?
I explained that my complaint was about the fact that both Adam Webb and Alan
Doherty refused to answer my questions, or provide proof of warranty claims
being submitted. I suggested that Webb and Doherty's behaviour was surely
against the NCC code of conduct and I'm waiting to see if they respond.
I also forward a few of the many emails where Adam Webb has refused to respond
to my requests, and from Alan Doherty promising to but not bothering - use them
however you want.
David's official letter of complaint was given to Marquis's Adam Webb on 4th
August 2017. It runs to 2,385 words. It lists and outlines by date the many
emails and telephone calls that he exchanged with Marquis in the period from 3rd
of May to 4th of August 2017, all to little avail. The letter is reproduced on this website (link
***),
Lee in July 2017
As reported in the Blackpool Gazette on 3 July 2017
http://www.blackpoolgazette.co.uk/news/man-s-camper-van-protest-goes-viral-1-8629311
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A man has seen his protest against a Preston business go viral.
Facebook posts about Lee Owens' efforts to force Marquis Motorhomes to take
back the camper van he bought have attracted hundreds of comments and been
shared more than 900 times.
He has been camped outside the firm's Preston branch on Chain Caul Way since
Friday, in a bid to draw attention to his plight.
The 34-year-old has said he is unhappy with the service he has received since
buying the Swift Escape Lifestyle motorhome for £46,000 11 months ago.
While Marquis declined to comment on the situation, which saw police called out
on Friday, the Post understands the company has said it will carry out the
repairs he initially requested. However Mr Owens, from Oldham, now says he is 'rejecting' the van and wants his
money back. He has been invited to follow Marquis' official complaints
procedure.
After posting online listing his grievances - which include a leaking water
pump, a faulty gas cooker and peeling and cracked veneers - he said he was
contacted by the manufacturer which said it had not yet received a warranty
claim from the dealer.
He said: "It was last in the dealership here eight weeks ago. I'm obviously quite annoyed, to say the least. My issue now is I want to reject the van and get a full refund."
He said he plans to take his protest to other branches run by the company if he
does not get his money back.
"I'm in it for the long haul," he said. "If I say I'm doing
something, I'm doing it. I will not be moved."
Meanwhile, Lancashire Police confirmed it was called to Chain Caul Way at
around 10.05am on Friday to reports a camper van was blocking access to a cafe
and driver test centre. Officers visited and said the van was moved by 11.15am and there were 'no
issues', a force spokeswoman said.
Mr Owens has since parked the van - adorned with a banner alleging it is
'falling to bits' - on the opposite side of the street.
Margaret Williamson in February 2017
This is a letter Margaret wrote to the editor of Caravan Times, an online
magazine, after he removed her comment on their article about Marquis staff
being trained.
"Dear Eddie
Why 'do-not-reply' to your email? Can't you cope with having your arbitrary decisions
questioned? Why is it you can write to my personal email address, but give me
no right of reply to yours? Instead I have to search to locate a place inside a
box from within which I am given the privilege of addressing you.
There was a time when I wrote for the MMM magazine on motorhoming topics,
including the very popular 'A to Z of Full-time Motorhoming'. That magazine was
under the same pressure that you are from dealers and advertisers, who do not
want customers to share real-life experiences of dealing with them. I don't
suppose you could or will specify exactly which words or phrases were
defamatory in my summary of what happened to me and my husband at the hands of Marquis.
What I wrote is exactly what happened, and you've just been told to take it
down, rather than enabling editing.
In your rush to please Marquis, you don't seem to know that something is not
libellous unless it can be shown that it is not true: it follows that accusing
me of libel is itself a libel.
You need to seriously consider whether you are serving your readers well by
shielding them from the realities of exploitation by manufacturers, dealers and
repair shops. Why not be among the first to speak truth to power? Follow the
example of German and French motorhome magazines, which carry out their own
research and thorough tests of vehicles and services, all with transparent
honesty.
I am also amazed that you ban links to what you call personal websites, which
are tremendous sources of unvarnished truth. The internet is, by definition,
nothing more than a space within which to make links, taking people to many
different sources of information and not just those controlled by commercial
interests. My popular website is in no way 'commercial' and I will be putting a
copy of this correspondence onto it.
By the way, who is the 'we' in your email you and Marquis or just you, using
the royal 'we'?
Ken in February 2016
Yes it's all been a nightmare. Please add my complaint to your website. Yes
I've had many exchanges with the head office After Sales Manager, Alan Doherty,
who I have found to be arrogant and the least helpful person I have ever come
across.
I just hope my story can help others stay away from these rogues.
My nightmare began when I bought a new Autosleeper El Duo from them on 6th June
last year, 2015.
The first weekend we had it the 12-volt system failed. Back to Marquis Ipswich.
They said that they had fixed it. Next time we used it on a trip to Wales the
12-volt system failed again as well as numerous other faults: broken habitation
door, CO2 detector leaking battery, broken skylight runner. Took it back to Marquis.
They sent it back to Autosleeper. They said it was all fixed again. It failed
again and they then said that it was my fault because I had not turned off the
isolation switch, which they had not told me to do.
Since I bought it the motorhome has been back to them 12 times and I have not
had it more than for a 2 week stretch before it goes wrong again. Other faults
have been heater not working, engine battery failure twice.
I've requested a refund or replacement three times and each time they have
refused saying they will fix the presenting fault. The After Sales Manager
(Paul Brown) is arrogant and rude. He now refuses to respond to my emails
because I got annoyed with him. Who wouldn't?
I wish I'd never gone near Marquis and parted with my hard earned £50k. Please,
no one else be as silly as I was buying a motorhome from them.
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