Ripspeed...Ripoff!

[MattT]

Back in August I posted about wanting to fit 17s to my Clio...I thought Id got lucky when my local Ripspeed had a sale on - 20% off = Bargain!
I bought some 17" Ikon Plus in shadow chrome. They told me 3-4weeks delivery as Wolfrace didnt have any in stock...4 weeks go by and I gave them a ring, they told me itd be another week/10days. So I ring back after 10 days, to be told theyre not here yet but in next Thursday/Friday (i.e. today). I rang today to be told Theyre not in the uk yet and itd be another minimum of 2 weeks! I wasnt best pleased so told them to sod it and Ill have a refund.

Anyway, to save wasting a weekend off I rang around and got a better deal at Rotchford Tyres - they have them in stock - they offer free fitting (Ripspeed = £20) - and will deliver on a Saturday! All this and nearly £175 cheaper than Ripspeeds 20% off sale price!

I was nearly robbed, I sure as hell wont be dealing with Ripspeed again...

 

[GR7]

Maybe they should be renamed "RIP-OFF Speed"

 

[davidol]

wanna post to defend ripspeed here. Im a ripspeed specialist workin in the cardiff newport rd branch...

u are rite to be angry about the supply issues with wolfrace wheels but ur outburst shouldnt be aimed at halfords. I have had this problem 4 times with wolfrace in the last 4 months. Back in may I had a customer order a set of mantis in 17inch for a ford escort. I spoke directly to wolfrace and they confirmed they had the wheels and they would be dispatched for three days delievery. customer was happy with this and went away. 3 days came and went and customer phoned to ask where the wheels were.

we contacted wolfrace and they told us they had made a mistake and had no wheels in stock (nice of them to phone us and let us know ) but would have some in a week so no major problem there. customer was pissed but not too bad. week came and went and still no wheels. customer phoned again so we phoned them to be told shipment had been delayed and would be here anytime soon. exactly the same routine happened week in, week out until 2 days ago when the wheels finally arrived!

so u see, the problem isnt with halfords its with wolfrace and they absolutely sh*te customer service. the number of lies we were told along the way was unbelieveable but at the end of the day we cant go the suppliers and beat info out of them so we can only tell u wot they tell us.

 

[GR7]

A friend of mine had to wait ages for new wheels because apparently the whole of Italy closes down in September and he had to wait until they were back from hols!! He tried loads of other places who had the same story, especially as they were 18" in size and also the manufacturer had said that they will only make a minimum order of 400 sets of wheels and 18" ones took longer as there isnt quite the same demand as there is for 16" or 17" wheels.

 

[TAG]

Tell me about it!!! I worked in Cardiff in a specialist car store many years ago. Customer bought and paid for a set of four wolfrace wheels. We ordered from them when they were in Whitchurch and the same old story. Havent had time, no stock, Oh! had some but went to another customer etc. Best one was cant set the jig up to drill holes for the wheel nuts until we have a batch of about 100 sets Quite willing to take the money but not so willing to deliver.

 

[woodleadam]

I can see that Ripspeed are saying it is the manufacturers fault due to them being unhelpful and wasting halfords time. But that is no excuse. It is not the consumers problem at the end of the day. Halfords should not be making excuses and passing the blame. I can see the problem for halfords but they should be updating the customer regularly, explaining the issue and offering the consumer there money back plus a coupon or some thing for wasting there time.

 

[MattT]

Davidol - Now that Ive had a nights sleep I can appreciate that it wasnt totally Ripspeeds fault...The the fella at Rotchford Tyres laughed when I told him what had happened - he laughed because apparently Wolfraces UK base is in Southend or at least their warehouse is, anyway Rotchford (also based in Southend) told me that as soon as Wolfrace get Ikons & Mantis (and other popular alloys) in stock he buys the majority! Now, technically Halfords orders with Wolfrace still get priority but this is a major reason why whenever a retailer rings to check stock Wolfrace rarely have them in.
Its not entirely Ripspeeds fault, but theres no excuse for charging £175 more - even after a 20% reduction! That is what annoyed me almost as much as waiting for weeks. The one positive is that Ripspeed did offer me a full refund tho...so its not all bad.

 

[6foot6]

sounds to me like Wolfrach are a bunch of Issac Hunts and dont bring in enough stock to fill there order quoation.

Also If halfrauds know of issues with WolfRaCE being sh*te at delevering wheels then the customer should be made aware when buying, that way they dont get pissed off with waiting, or DONT PAY untill your goods come in.

Why not just by pass the middle men and go direct to Wolfrace in the first place and get trade prices.

 

[Tom_16v]

Ive heard an awful lot of stories like this about people buying alloys from halfords and having to wait weeks, sometimes months for them!

& to be honest, not all of them are buying wolface alloys. They cant have the same problem with every alloy wheel manufacturer!

 

[BRUN]

i work for Motor World mate, and just to let you know that we have had supply problems with Wolfrace lately and apparently a shipment is coming into the country on the 26th Sept......... and then another about 1 week later

we dont usually take very long to get wheels in, however if you came into the shop today and wanted some 17" Urban Racers in a Ford fitment you would be waiting at least 1 week, more than likely 2 weeks.......or there is 1 set in the whole company.........in Dorset.....cos i did a nationwide store search today on them as we needed a set for a customer...

thats what ive been told by our customer service department....and the guy who i spoke to, Michael, never bull sh*ts me, he tells the truth and gets me proper accurate info so we can inform customers properly...

 

[davidol]

MattT - I know what u mean about ripspeeds prices...it is frustrating for us as salesman to have to compete when our prices are quite a bit more than local competition. However what I am pointing out is u shouldnt take it out on the staff in the store as trust me this doesnt help ur case as when a rude customer shouts at me I do less and less to help them out. Be positive but firm

Just my opinion

David

 

[MattT]

Davidol - I wasnt rude, but I made sure he knew I was annoyed at being led on for weeks. But whoever I was dealing with in Manchesters store always said hed get back to me but I was always the one who had to ring up to get the latest. I work in retail myself, and know all too well about dealing with awkward customers - so rest assured I wasnt rude, and I wont be when I go in to get my refund. Out of interest, is it mainly alloys that Ripspeed over-charge for? For example, is their audio equipment reasonably priced?

Matt

 

[Tom_16v]

LOL! Your joking arent you!

Put it this way, I bought the newest (at the time) Alpine MP3 H/U the same week my mate bought from Halfords (with his staff discount) the newest Alpine CD H/U. Both exactly the same price!

I think you get free fitting with it, but buying mail order still works out cheaper.

 

[davidol]

Tom_16v

yeah rite...halfords as a whole is expensive but I believe we have to do it as a company because of the ammount of stock we hold. Plus what u have to realise as well in some respects (and this isnt a big headed comment) ur paying for the specialists knowledge...

for example, u may be able to buy a alpine amp cheaper in motor world but when u ask the guy behind the desk he more than likely wont know the answer because he has not been trained in the field. ur local ripspeed store will have a specialist who has been trained in this sorta thing and can really help u out...training courses cost money

just my opinion again and no offense to anyone on here if they work in motorworld. Im not saying all the guys are like that but thats what Ive found locally

 

[Jim172CUP]

ive never found anyone in Halfords who knows anything at all about cars, esp ice products.

 

[BRUN]

Quote: Originally posted by davidol on 20 September 2003


for example, u may be able to buy a alpine amp cheaper in motor world but when u ask the guy behind the desk he more than likely wont know the answer because he has not been trained in the field. ur local ripspeed store will have a specialist who has been trained in this sorta thing and can really help u out...training courses cost money

just my opinion again and no offense to anyone on here if they work in motorworld. Im not saying all the guys are like that but thats what Ive found locally

sorry but your talking sh*te there mate, every time ive been into a Halfords they dont know even half of what i know, they talk b****cks or give you a blank expression, yes i know there are a few good lads who work for Halfords who DO know there stuff, but saying that your staff know more about the lads at Motor World is a joke, in my region i know there is a lot of lads who do know what there talkin about............however i did ring a few shops out of our region the other day and they didnt seem to have the knowledge that i do, and shops in my region do..........i suppose its swings and roundabouts but in my experience Halfords staff dont know as much as our lot

 

[BRUN]

oh and we do have training courses......im actually going on the Kroozin one on Thursday........all the modifying and ice stuff....

 

[telford_mike]

Its not just Wolfrace. I ordered Team Dynamics from my local Halfords last month. I paid in full and was promised a delivery date. They didnt come. Two more delivery dates were promised, including Ive just spoken to Rimstock and theyre on the van. They still didnt come. I got a refund. No-one at Halfords seemed surprised at what had happened, although I have to say they were always polite and I had no trouble getting my money back.

Once youve taken a customers money you have to deliver. No excuses. If you dont deliver you can hardly complain when you get bad press on boards like this!

Halfords suck!

 

[Ian_182]

I went to the telford branch for a green air filter and waited over two months before getting a refund

halfords are cack...

ian.

 

[nfbr]

Motorsport Wheels UK is the problem. The company we @ ripspeed get all our alloy wheels from. If you wanna sl*g anyone off sl*g MSW off cos their f**kin useless.

Its down to the supplyers. Halfords dont have a big warehouse full of your "Green Airfilters, and Alloy wheels"

Unlike Speciallist alloy wheel and tyre companies we cannot afford to carry a huge stock of every wheel in every size and every fitment with every different tyre.

Im not sayin that halfords is perfect and its all the supplyers fault, at halfords we try to show customers a high level of customer service, and when outside companies fail us it makes our job twice as hard to keep up that high level of customer service.

 

[nfbr]

+ U should fit the alloys yourself you lazy get ! lol.

 

[davidol]

sorry BRUN posted that late at night and my head wasnt screwed on properly. it wasnt meant as a direct insult to Motorworld staff as many of the lads in my area are good mates of mine cos theirs a good working relationship between all the modifying shops in cardiff. I have just found that they dont seem to know all much as the lads in halfords in the cardiff area. But like u said it is swings and roundabouts.



NFBR - to be honest mate I deal with the bristol branch of MSW and the guys and girls there have to be the best company I have ever had the pleasure of dealing with. The wheels are always on time, in immaculate condition and if there is a problem its sorted out straight away with no fuss. Not a bad word to say about them but like u said u probably dont deal with the bristol branch so couldnt say what the others are like

 

[MattT]

Quote: Originally posted by nfbr on 20 September 2003

+ U should fit the alloys yourself you lazy get ! lol.

hehe, I know - that was always the plan - but hey if its free anyway...But I bought them from somewhere in Southend and I live in Manchester...so Ive fitted them myself anyway.

I also got my refund yesterday. The fella at Ripspeed appologised on behalf of Wolfrace, and he told me hed complained direct to Wolfrace UKs managing director telling him he was sick of being the middle man for problems caused by Wolfrace. He was annoyed hed lost the sale, but was glad Id got them eventually - even if it was through somewhere else.
Heres a pic:

http://www.mmm1j.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/Clio.jpg
Anyway, its all sorted now...apart from my insurance

 

[nfbr]

Matt that will be the problem mate. The fact that you live in manchester area means your halfords will have to deal with the same branch of MSW as my store do. The manchester Motorsport Wheels guys are complete f*ucking retards.

 

[derv]

i agree with the good/bad customer service at halfords, sometimes you get someone who really know their stuff, then other times you get a total muppet! i went in ages ago for a second neon tube for my boot install, "sorry sir we dont sell them anymore" ok build my install without it, go to get some boot carpet and low and behold a whole rack full of the neon tubes i wanted! And funnily enough i wanted black boot carpet, "sorry sir we only sell the grey now" ok get some from somewhere else go over a week later and hey look a whole fresh batch of black carpet!