Trade Centre UK

If I could give Trade Auto Centre zero stars, I would. Our experience has been a complete lesson in how not to treat customers. From the moment issues appeared with the vehicle we purchased, the after-sales service has been nothing short of frustrating, dismissive, and deeply unhelpful. First, the customer service is extremely difficult to access. Their phone system appears to be designed to prevent customers from actually speaking to anyone who can help. Calls go through an outbound-style system where you’re left waiting for someone to get back to you, and even when you do manage to speak to someone, the responses are vague, dismissive, or simply pass the problem elsewhere. Be prepared to waste a lot of time repeatedly trying to get through and chasing responses that never come. Second, serious issues with the vehicle emerged shortly after purchase — issues that independent garages have since confirmed should have been obvious if proper checks had been carried out before sale. This raises serious concerns about the standard of inspection and preparation performed on vehicles before they are handed over to customers. When these problems were raised, the response from both Trade Auto Centre and their warranty provider was to avoid accountability rather than resolve the issue. Despite verified reports from garages confirming the faults, the responsibility has been repeatedly pushed around with no meaningful effort to help or resolve the situation. Perhaps most concerning was what we saw when returning to the branch. The place was full of customers with problems of their own, many clearly frustrated and trying to get support from the after-sales department. It quickly became apparent that our experience was not an isolated case. Had we known this beforehand, we would never have purchased a vehicle from them. Buying a car is supposed to come with at least a basic level of trust that the vehicle has been properly checked and that the dealership will support you if something goes wrong. Unfortunately, our experience with Trade Auto Centre has shown the exact opposite. Expect poor communication, long delays, and a complete lack of accountability. If you value your time, money, and peace of mind, I would strongly recommend looking elsewhere.

Avoid Trade Centre UK Where to even start with this absolute circus of a company. They are an utter embarrassment and quite how they’re still trading is one of the mysteries of the universe yet to be unlocked. I purchased a car on the 13th of August and believe me that’s the easy part, everything that follows will leave you questioning your decisions that brought you here. Their apparent 99 point check is clearly completed with the person wearing both a blindfold and earplugs. I had a clutch pedal that had a spring that had failed causing my drive home to consist of pulling the pedal back up every-time I needed to change gear. My handbrake mechanism was also faulty meaning once I had released it the whole unit would shake and move in its bracket. The fun part comes once you wish to rectify these issues, the next few weeks of your life will be spent speaking into the vacuum of space. I arranged for my vehicle to be dropped on the 8th of September before I went on holiday to Greece for a week. I was then spending my holiday ringing an after sales department nearly 100 times! Once I was finally informed what the issues were nearly a week later they took authorisation to order the parts. I’m not sure what continent these were purchased from but they took longer than a full rotation of the sun before they arrived in branch. Once I had returned from my holiday feeling fully unrefreshed due to maxing out my data due to calling over 100 times I was hoping my vehicle was ready. This was not the case at all. I then spent my next two weeks having to pay for taxis to and from work to remain employed so I could pay for the car that these cowboys had willingly sold me. I had to constantly chase for an update which once again is a marathon of patience awaiting for someone to find the ability to answer a phone. However once they do you’d get more use out of a chocolate teapot, it’s just a load of lip service with people who have no clue or care at all about your situation. Don’t worry though, if you can get public transport they may reimburse you, so you have to be inconvenienced and struggle to pick your child up from school otherwise they will leave you to foot the bill £200 in taxis. I then had to go on Saturday after getting no response from the branch on when it would be repaired to voice my frustrations in person. On arrival I asked to speak to a manager in the after sales, these like Santa don’t exist. They have senior advisers who are essentially powerless to help in any way shape or form. I do have sympathy for them due to the fact they are managed and guided by a troop of clowns in their head office. They are left to the wolves, in my three times at the Wednesbury branch I have never seen so many disgruntled customers. I spoke to Malcom whilst very apologetic and understanding couldn’t really offer a solution to the fact they had my vehicle three weeks and managed to move it from one car park space to the other. I told them I wanted my vehicle until they could give me a date in which it was to be repaired, this was three weeks later. I had no choice but to accept, even though at first I was being told I needed a senior engineer to authorise the release of my vehicle as it was unsafe. Obviously this wasn’t an issue when it was being sold to me. I then returned to drop my vehicle on the specified date of the 4th of November and left it there for the day. The parts were in, it was booked in. This must be the end of the rollercoaster of dreadful customer service….surely? No, on arrival to collect my vehicle I was informed they didn’t have time and would try again tomorrow. So I have lost a days annual leave from work because of their incompetence. I was told it was about ramp availability, so apparently a place that has thousands of vehicles has one ramp for the whole site. There were people who had dropped their vehicles in the same day who had been dealt with before mine that had been ignored for nearly two months. The organisation in this place is on par with our government. Absolutely useless from start to finish. So once again I had to leave with my vehicle in the same condition I had purchased it in nearly three months before. I now had another date in which the vehicle was due to be repaired but in good faith I was offered a hire vehicle for the duration of the time it would take. Something magical happened, when they need a hire vehicle because they have so many returns and issues your vehicle is repaired almost instantly. I was informed the same day everything was completed and I could pick my vehicle up at my earliest convenience. Amazing. On collection of my vehicle after marauding through the crowd of frustrated and disappointed customers I took the keys to my car. A joyous moment three months later I had a vehicle that was fit for purpose. Well that’s what I thought. I had to clip the casing around the handbrake in because the person who carried out the repair was incapable of that. Then after two days the clutch pedal spring has completely failed once again and the handbrake is so tight even King Arthur would struggle to pull it from its bracket. Clearly the mechanics have proven themselves to Trade Centre by completing a Lego car designed for ages 3+. In between sitting in the office with their feet up which is where you’ll find them most of the time, they’re bodging repairs and forging 99 point checks. The main thing is at least they’re monitored by the hierarchy, oh no, that’s a quality issue not a company issue according to them. Laughable and embarrassing for a company its size. One final thing don’t ask for a formal complaint form to send on to the head office. Once completed you will receive a response in around 365 working days which will be from the person you have wrote the complaint about at the branch you are raising the issue about. I honestly think at this point it’s one big practical joke or a hidden camera show. All in all do not buy from this company. You would be better off buying a vehicle from a war torn country riddled with shrapnel and bullet holes and it would still be an improvement on theirs. The customer service training was clearly done by someone from a parallel universe where awful is good. I would choose anything, private sale, main dealer or just offer someone cash in a back alley and you’ll have a better experience. Trade Centre UK are the worst car sales company in the UK and will continue to be whilst they are trading. Read the reviews and go elsewhere.