I used Blade in Swindon for the first time back in 2018 - I went in to trade in a Ducati for a Street Triple RX they had in their second hand fleet; I don't recall the initial Sales guy I dealt with but when going through the particulars a more senior member (Steve iirc - long since left) suggested that a new 765 RS on PCP would actually make more sense.... he then took over the deal. From start to finish he was utterly brilliant, clearly knew the Triumph brand in and out, and happily sent me on a test ride of the R version, as they assessed my trade-in. It was a done deal and less than a week later I rode away on a brand new 765 RS - one that had already been registered but the sale had fallen through. With that bike, over the next 3 years, I only dealt with the Service department - an oil leak in the first year, and the usual services; the guys were all top notch and Nathan especially was a lovely guy to deal with (I'm guessing he too departed the business). At the end of my PCP I opted to trade up to a second hand Speed Triple RS (the older one), found it on their website and fell in love - I emailed about it, and dealt with Perry this time and agreed a deal, I think we may have also chatted as I had the valuation on my PCP trade in etc... Like an excited Spring lamb I was jumping with joy at the prospect of my new steed, and promptly set about returning my 765 RS to standard trim (keeping all the extras I had installed) - then began a week of emails to Perry for updates along the lines of "when can I collect my bike"; only to get a gut punch in return: "when the owner gets their new bike....". Turns out they had advertised, and sold, a bike they didn't even own yet! I presumed this was some new pandemic mad way of doing business, but then pondered over things that would change during my wait - the milage would go up, the condition might get worse.... and all that without the price I agreed upon changing! I gave it a good month iirc, as I really did love the bike, but Perry become more and more elusive - emails and calls started to go unanswered, and in a bit of a huff, I rode to the dealership to see if I could actually speak to him... I'd also eyed up the newer 765 RS they had and had decided to swap to that instead. When I met Perry he was such a lovely bloke, but seemed to be the sole Salesman for Triumph! Whereas back in 2018 they had a good 3 or 4 milling around, so it clearly became evident why he was so hard to reach - we agreed a deal and I paid a £2,000 deposit and left - picking the bike up in a weeks time. My upgrade went smooth enough, though the paperwork process didn't half drag on - but again I noted just how rushed of his feet Perry was; I also noticed that none of the old Service guys seemed to be around any longer. I rode away on my 'new to me' upgrade happy as Larry - amazed with the slight engine tune this version clearly had. A few months later imagine my surprise when a letter from Black Horse arrives asking me for over £5,500 to settle the PCP on my old bike! I call Black Horse to tell them about the error and that I had traded the bike in months ago - only they have no record of this, nor of the finance being settled by Blade! I call Blade and ask for Perry - not available, so I explain my problem, and I was promised a call back.... nothing! With this looming debt and an impossible Blade to deal with (I believe I also cc'd the head of Motorcycle Sales), I resorted to my Father-In-Law's tactic of 'going straight to the CEO' - something I loath to do, but often the only way to get a resolution. A quick Google showed Heritage Automotive own Blade - so a bit more digging and I had the email addresses of a few possible CEO types; so fired off my issue chapter and verse. I think it was the next day I either had an emailoor call from Heritage, and they set the ball in motion, within 2 hours I had confirmation on email the finance was settled and an 'clerical error' had caused the issue... I called Black Horse to be sure and there was no more debt owed (phew!). In the coming months of new bike bliss, I eventually worked out I had no V5 for the bike - so I emailed the top dogs in Blade (leaving Heritage out this time) and they apologised and got that sorted too. Last year I went back to Blade as my new 765 RS couldn't scratch an itch I had - I heard Perry had moved on, and there seemed to be two Salesmen in Triumph this time. But on this occasion I had come to see a second hand S1000R - a great chap from the Indian section sorted the test ride and eventual sale, even going so far as to have the bike prepped and ready to collect (with a fresh Mot) that day! I also chatted with a South African (judging by his accent) salesman who chatted whilst the paperwork was being sorted, and again was a credit to Blade. I had a few issues with the BMW - namely the second key had gone walkies, and after a couple of weeks chasing it on email, they ordered me a new one - but then BMW dragged that out for over a month! Blade is a bit of a sad story for me - it's like the bikers hub that George White used to be, but seems to really lack a fully staffed Sales team - considering this group is the best (in terms of bike choices) in Swindon, you would think/hope they'd want to excel and be as faultless as possible - but it just feels like they're on waves; sometimes good, to excellent, then crashing down to ****. I really hope Heritage pour some much needed love and funding into the group, as it would be a shame to lose them, and the decent folks who still work there.
As an aside to all this tale of woe, if you tick the box for Legal Expenses Cover on your insurance policy, don’t be afraid to get them involved with all of this sort of shite….. That’s why you pay for this service…
Does this offer protection outside of an accident? I’m fairly certain my policy does not cover beyond this, and an accident normally needs to have 2 or more vehicles involved unless something has changed in recent years. Then there is always the issue surrounding your policy renewal increasing in cost.
It’s great that your bank stepped in due to your Credit card t & c’s. As I understand it, if you’ve incurred a loss through no fault of your own and need to send a Solicitor’s letter, if you have paid the Legal Cover Policy, they should act on your behalf. The insurance company would have to confirm and each case is individual but it is surprising what is covered. Just the same with household insurance Legal cover. It is surprising what these policies cover. Some friends of ours had a dispute over a Will payment as they were executors and it all got very nasty. Nothing to do with the household/ house but as they had legal cover all of their costs in fighting the erroneous claims was covered under the household legal section of their policy. Glad you’ve not had to resort to this but it’s worth looking into if anyone gets put in this position I feel.
As they say always good to have more than one string to your bow. On this occasion the bank was the path of least resistance. I like to think that everyones input on this thread will go somewhere towards building confidence in others who could end up in similar situation to me fighting a dealer.
Holy cow, I've just read this. Got to say timboo, that if I had a hat, I'd gladly tip to you. Well done for digging your heels in and getting it sorted. Well impressed that you stayed the course.
I thought I would have been the last person Blade would wish to email autogenerated or not. By all accounts another classic on their part. See the attached I see they have had further glowing reviews since mine.
