After moving from their poky little Warrington hideout at Woolston and moving to a monster 2acre site at Risley next to Walkers Crisps, The MD at Merc Dealers Enza motors has decided that customers cannot bring their trailers onto the site, instead they must continue to be dropped on the road as at the old depot.
The service staff seem to clueless as to why he has insisted carring on with this rule apart from the fact there is nearly 1.45 acres of new Sprinter vans parked up around the grounds which take up quite a bit of room, so I’ve written him a letter:
The Managing Director
Enza Motors
Leacroft Road
Risley
Cheshire
WA3 6NN
21 March 2005
RE: No Entry for Trailers Policy
Dear Sir.
I am writing to ask you to explain the reason for your recently imposed policy of refusing entry to customers articulated trailers onto the Leacroft Road site, and insisting that articulated trailers are left on the public road.
Asking your customers to leave an unattached and un accompanied trailer on a public highway leaves them open contraventions of the road traffic act 1988.
i.e.
PARKING OF GOODS VEHICLES ON ROADS
It is an offence to leave a goods vehicle or a detached goods vehicle trailer parked on a public road where it may cause unnecessary obstruction, where it could endanger, inconvenience or obstruct pedestrians or other road users, or where it may cause danger or injury to other persons using the road.
NIGHT PARKING OF GOODS VEHICLES
Goods Vehicles and Trailers over 1525kg unladen weight must show side and rear lights at all times when parked on all public highways during lighting up time.
CONDITIONS OF INSURANCE
In addition to the above are the implications of insurance, as most insurance polices become void in instances of illegal actions and activities. Also as a transporter of high value goods my policy states unattended vehicles and their loads are not covered for theft, therefore, leaving an unattached loaded trailer on the public highway is just not an option.
Whilst I can appreciate you trying to encourage local Warrington operators to leave trailers at their base, returning to our Middlewich yard to drop a trailer, en route from Liverpool to Warrington for servicing, involves a 54 mile 2 hour detour.
You seem to be alone in this area as other dealers I have dealt with have no problem in this respect, as they either allow trailers onto the premises or have arrangements in place for the parking of trailers on adjacent premises safely and securely off the public highway.
Your staff at Enza Motors have provided me with high standards of service over the past few years, but I find your no trailer/leave it on the road policy totally unacceptable, and I will seriously consider finding another dealer to supply my servicing needs should you be unable to satisfactorily resolve this matter.
Yours sincerely.
Anyone else have this sort of problem with dealers
This matter came to a head one Fri afternoon about three weeks ago when the unit was booked in for attention whilst I was away on holiday for a week. I was due to leave home for Folkstone at 17.00, but due to several delays during the day and already under severe pressure with the trouble and strife bending my ear about working on the day I went on holiday, I did not arrive at Warrinton until 16.00, only to be told by Mr Charisma Bypass on security ‘‘No trailers in hear Pal, you know the score, leave it on the road’’.
Eventually the service manager realised the fact that if I took the unit/trailer home he would’nt get the work, and saw my point about the trailer being unsafe on the road for over a week, and he got the trailer admitted, but it had to be hidden amongs the Sprinters out of sight. and I just about managed to get away in time to go on holiday without to much of a rollicking