Way back in 1990 I had dealings with Marquis. I bought a 3 year old motorhome, I needed a towbar fitted to tow a small trailer. We negotiated a deal to have the tower fitted before delivery. At the time the towbar appeared to be a ridiculous price, but we agreed I'd get the towbar at half price. Anyway, the towbar was fitted and I collected the van a few days later. The following weekend we were going away to try it out, I needed to take the trailer, we got everything prepared, the last job put the trailer on the back. This is where it fell apart, I hitched the trailer on then went to plug in the light plug and theres no socket to plug it into. When I contacted Marquis they "said you asked for a towbar to be supplied and fitted, you never mentioned anything about a lights electrical socket" By the way the towbar bracket cost me around £400, it was a small steel bracket that bolted between the rear chassis cross beam and the bumper, I think it was about 8 inches long and was a piece of 6mm steel bent into a "U" shape withe a stiffener in the middle. Theres no way it should have cost £400, especially as the was supposed to be half price. They would put on the electrics socket if I would pay an extortionate price, I slammed the phone down in disgust and did it myself.  I've never gone back to Marquis for anything since. Afterwards I heard of several other people that had been ripped off by Marquis. I thought as it was such a long time ago they might have changed their ways, clearly this is not the case.

Why am I not surprised....large organisation only interested in profit. Customer care way down the list !

We went to the Camervan and Motorhome show at Stratford on Avon, We had enough to put 2/3 of the price down on a motor camper.  We went and spoke with people camping in the field next to the showground to seek advice on what to look for, best dealers etc. Told em where we lived and they said stay away from Marquis and one on Teesside. That unsettled us, so in the end we bought a panel van and hired a local company to convert it for us.

£600 Labour on 2 front struts...yeah ok, Just get a Mobile Mechanic out, do it in about 40mins a side. Nothing technical, very very simple job on Ducato (Non AClass)

They are a dreadful dealership, my experience was ok right up until they took my money!! Highlight was them getting paid by Adria for warranty work that they never actually did, despite having my van for well over a month - found that out after contacting Adria directly. Totally abysmal.

I had no idea who owns Marquis - thank you for pointing it out, and for you excellent video. However can’t say I am surprised by the poor service you experienced.  Whilst I’ve always had excellent service from their Newbury branch, I can’t say the same for the Exeter one. I’ve lost count of the times I’ve gone in there, ready and willing to buy a new motorhome - and been completely blanked by the sales staff. The last time I had my daughter with me. We had been off for a walk,  and thus dressed in rather scruffy - though clean - gear. They totally blanked us. We waited in the shop for service for some time, despite the sales team chatting all together at the counter.  I eventually went up and asked for help regarding the motorhomes from them   - they looked me up and down - then one detached themselves from the group - and walked straight past me to greet someone who had just entered the shop. I’d like to say that was a one off event, but unfortunately it’s not. I’ve now reached the conclusion that you need to dress up to go there, to appear worthy to be served. Needless to say I bought my motorhome elsewhere.

On that subject, I did buy one once from a different local dealer. It was my first motorhome and was secondhand. It turned out to have numerous faults - second gear faulty, exhaust fumes leaking into the cab when driving, and some very dodgy brakes. I rang them the following day listing all the problems, and followed that up in an email. I returned it the day after. (Big mistake - should have had an independent inspection first for evidence before returning it). They took it for a test drive - and said it was my driving (yet I’d hired a 25 footer immediately before and had no problems with that!). It took 5 weeks before my money was refunded, and then only because Trading Standards got involved because of the exhaust fumes.

Your advice about collecting evidence is therefore spot on. It’s essential.

KIA tried the same tactics when our nearly 7 year old Sorrento broke down which was still under the 7 year warranty. A KIA dealership carried out he wrong service 3 years before the Jan 2024 service and did not change the oil. In Jan 2024 local dealer stated car needed minor last service under warranty but we stated we wanted a major so the car would have an oil change KIA only changes the oil every 2 years to save THEM money.
Just 18 miles after collecting the car the engine started making load metallic noises. KIA UK fought to nit repair the car stating we missed an inspection / minor service during COVID lock down. Our car was at this other dealership soon after lock down was over (where we bought the car from) for a recall but they didn't do the minor service. This dealership then did the minor service the next year instead of the major. I spotted this when I requested all the service sheets and NOT KIA UK or the dealership who most probably hid it. Until we threatened to take KIA UK to court KIA refused to help. We also emailed head of KIA UK with all the information. KIA eventually had the engine rebuilt at their cost but it took over 6 months so NEVER give in if you have a case. KIA Sorrento diesel has known oil pump failure and that is what failed in our car at just over 80,000 miles. Never buying another KIA vehicle and neither are several other people we told about our experience.

I visited Marquis stand at the NEC in 2018 and I have to say that their sales people were the most unprofessional, when we showed a serious interest in one of their vans the guy was very off hand and stated ‘ come and see me the end of the show and we can talk finances I told him it would be a cash buy and he looked at me as though I was mad. I know that he wanted the commission on the finance and I told him so and then he said ‘ can’t sell you it for cash I have 5 vans and they will go via finance’ I was told him I will get my own built and we did, 2 fingers to him. I saved around £30k in the process 👍🏻👍🏻

They're trying to rip you off by adding the 'motorhome tax'. It's a ducato with a body attached and any decent garage can work on your suspension.

Lovely job. My kind of guy. I once had a dispute over a £3 nikon camera strap. After numerous e mails etc the guy on the phone said I was mentally ill. I said it's not about the money but shocking customer service. I had my refund.

We bought a brand new car.  It started leaking water into the air con filter.  We allowed them  to repair it.  A few weeks later it happened again.  They insisted on wanting to repair it again.  I quoted consumer rights and rejected the car.  They agreed to supply a new one a few months later.  It developed the cane fault - rejected it again.  Stick up for your rights.

After I bought mine, I met a couple who had bought a 3 year old motorhome from the same place, with only a 6 month warranty and the first time they took it out, the wheel nuts fell off on the motorway...

If they increased the price AFTER you paid the deposit they must either refund you or honour the original price. Once you paid the deposit that was your contract. They are contracted to supply and fit at the agreed price. They cannot add on afterwards

We had some pretty poor customer service from them also. Subsequently sold the van and went elsewhere

We've been following your story.
Goods and services come into play.
Also as far as refunds are concerned  your bank has to honour without questions ( they will try but insist) without answering a full refund under the bank guarantee.
You should get refunded immediately into your account and they will have 30 days to reply or contest it.

I've done this with a horrendous Airbb upon return home.

Well done for bringing your misfortune to public attention and for the very balanced portrayal of the situation, I'm sure your advice will help others.  I worked in the industry for 29 years and at no time would we take such a poor approach to selling a product and customer service.  I've never got my head around the fact that business employees can offer rubbish service but when they personally purchase goods outside their work environment they expect top rate customer service, it's bizarre!   I do think the smaller independents get this, they know customer service is everything, this is what makes them successful,  pleasing customers is a very rewarding thing for the individual team member.  What's happened to integrity?  (That's enough now, it's turning in to a Sloanes rant with an S 🤣🤣🤣)

Bad craic that mate, Sounds like the type of company to give a wide one! Thanks for heads up.

Good for you ! Power to the people, Chris!

It’s unbelievable that you have to argue about the matter like that. Luckily, you didn’t give up. This seems to be a worldwide way of operating.

Well I had a very negative experience with that company in birtley. I have a very good job and at the time plenty money in the bank. I had also recently lost my mother who also left me inheritance..... I visited that company to buy a brand new motorhome. I was 30 years old at the time and on looking around a salesman came over to me and asked what I was doing. I clarified I was looking for a new motorhome. He replied with 'oh Im not sure we have anything on our forecourt you can afford at your age'. I went to Tyne valley motorhomes and a lovely man called Simon helped me. I wouldn't go to marquis if they were the last dealership in the country 😂