its been a bit of a silly week with RA Design. First off last week i ordered some Wolfsburg Edition DEEP PILE matts for my Mk2, paying the extra premium, and on the basis that if i wasnt happy ( i explained im quite fussy!) i could get a refund or a credit note at Edition 38. I was reluctant to buy them in the first place as the 3 slat grill i ordered from them last year arrived broken and they refused to replace it. But i liked the matts, which i got at GTI International last year (which they did discount for me because of the grill issue), and with the drivers one all worn through now i wanted to get a matching set. So the matts arrived eventually, and the logo was double the size, the rear matts didnt have the emblem on them and the carpet was as about as deep pile as a chinese sweatshops finest. So i called them up, they were apologetic, and offered to swap them over at edition 38 or to get a credit note/refund. No worries i thought even though i did lose 12quid on postage. On comes Edition 38. An hour earlier, one of the officials had came over to my friend and I's Autojumble asking if we were traders? With the confused look in our eyes, we asked what made him think that? Apparently there had been a complaint made by a trader that as i had a few bits and bobs such as chinese door handles the same as him but for a realistic figure, not the extortinate prices they charge i must be a trader. Hence to say what makes a trader, surely someone who has a shop and buys in bulk? me i just had a stack of spare parts and some items i bought a while ago to make a few quid on to fund my car, not exactly a trader! and considering half our parts where from broken cars, it seemed very very strange, more spite than anything. At this point i didnt know who made the complaint, but the official was pretty cool and said its obviously we wearnt but they had to check it all out, understantable. So anyway, an hour later i trot on over to RA to talk about the matts. He basically told me there was nowt he was going to do about it, contrary to what he said on the phone. I looked in disbelief, but instead of making a scene i just walked off vowing never to part with my hard earned with them again. I should of known better, but still... Turns out though, it was RA who made the complaint and tried to include other traders into the arguement who and i quote ;wearnt really bottomd'. Seems to be RA are a bunch of strange people, and everyone should be a little weary of them. Ive asked around, and others have had bad experiences too, so i thought maybe it was time i lifted the lid. No doubt there a successful company with many happy customers, but just be weary of their attitudes if something goes wrong with your order.Ive experienced nothing but attitude from them, and its a shame they have to make what is a friendly thing going on like at Edition 38 into a vindictive battle. Very sad RA [:^(]
just couldnt believe him throwing a wobbler, buisness must be bad if he's worried about some autojumblers! However at the prices he charges for some of the import gear, im not surprised..300percent mark up on certain items! Are there any Edition 38 organisers as members on here? could them PM me for a chat?
shouldve p1ssed in their van try the ed38 forum..there will be someone on there to talk to Edited by: pigbladder
Where I work, a senior manager who sits near to me happens to be a Corrado enthusiast and he recently placed an order for some new wheels from RA Design. Over the weeks I've heard about the progress (or rather, lack of) and the story really is shocking. In brief, he ordered some wheels on the understanding that they would take X number of weeks to arrive from the manufacturer (possibly in Germany). However, the lead time for the weels just kept growing longer and longer, and eventually the chap at RA Design admitted to him that he really had no idea when they would arrive, and agreed that they had taken far, far longer than promised. When my colleague requested a refund, RA Design agreed - but insisted on keeping a 200 quid 'handling fee'. And he reckoned he could just do this as it suited him, despite never having sent out a receipt, nor (according to my colleague) ever outlining such terms and conditions verbally or in print. After some consultation was made wiht trading standards and further phone conversations, RA agreed to refund. Then it took several phone calls to chase up the refund before it finally appeared in his bank account.
The following is all allegedly, and could be fact or fiction, make up your own mind:- 1.) R&A have allegedly made all their staff redundant in the last few months, it is now just Rick & his wife running the show, this is due to poor business. 2.) Rick @ R&A allegedly has issued many formal legal threats to competing traders over the last few years including Venom, Style Dynamix etc, most of them totally unfounded claiming sole rights to import various brands. Consequently, R&A have made few friends in the tuning scene, and many traders & customers will allegedly be overjoyed should they go under. Of course, the above statements maybe fact of fiction P.S. Regarding the order for Schmidt wheels, if these are the new TH Lines in 16 and 17" sizes, I have a good friend who owns a German Alloy Wheel Shop. He refused to even put these sizes in his adverts until they actually arrived from the factory, let alone take any money for them. He said to do so would simply be robbing people without providing any product, and there was always the issue that they would never turn up. Schmidt stopped manufacturing the 18" TH Line centres for about 1 year due to quality issues with the casting, hence my friend stopped selling the wheels immediately. The wheels are now available again, but does that mean he should have taken people's money and made them wait for 1 year!! NO!
kinda glad im not the only one to have troubles with them, but i feel for those of you who have lost more..if hes gonna take out action against big retailers like venom, no wonder he kicked up a fuss about my 15 chinese door handles! think i need to get on to someone from edition 38, as ill be doing the same again next year as i do every year and just dont want the animosity on such an othewise super chilled out and wicked day..
Well guys and girls , You are not the only ones who are being given the run-around and I am p$$$$$$ed to say the least. I mean I asa company should be given good service from a supply point of view but its not the case.... I placed an order with R&A approximately 8 weeks ago now and have still not received my goods.!! I sent a fax to the supplier who did not reply, but R&A did asking me to be patient with him as he is away on holiday for two weeks!!! Well tbh I really do not care anymore as my customer must think Iam an a$$$$$le for the amount of time taken. Well I called the supplier who has told me he has the item in stock so I must call RA ...... Well what doyou think I will do next????????? Ever played Cluedo.lol
I have cancelled my order and goneelsewhere He told me as I have cancelled my order he doesntneed tobe dealing with s$$t and put the phone down. What an a$$$$hole I will post that he is an a$$ elsewhere
please can i have a pint,dealt with this guy before and his service really is very poor,spoke to me like a child and i only wanted what i had paid for 4 weeks earlier!
i cant even be bothered to explain the whole story, but basically, my ex g/f bought me some sideskirts from them, they were completely the wrong fit, rang them up, sent them back, they returned the same ones, and told me to f*ck off over the phone. I told him i recorded the whole conversation and he got pretty concerened, but i then cut the sideskirts up and made them fit, as i couldnt be bothered with legal action. the manager, richard, is a total t*sser.
if you did take the effort and report them to trading standards he would have to sit up and take notice.it sounds like he really should not be in the customer service industry!! everyone i speek to doesn't really have a good thing to say about them. it's a shame because they used to be good
You should all get together at a show where they are trading. Go over as a group and give him a visit. MAke sure he has no-where to run to. Get a spokesperson for the lot of you and do it in a non threatening manner with no swearing etc. and tape the whole thing with everyone's problem being mentioned. If then he goes mental.... 1: trading standards 2: f++k the above and sort it out yourself...vigilanty style!!
Anyone else notice page 24 of the December '05 issue of PVW? A certain someone makes a comment about how internet forums 'get businesses a bad name over a small problem'.
yeah i noticed it..and ebay is ruining everything? hmm i think again this is in relation to my chinese door handles at 15 and his at 35, and considering he copied me when seeing my import stuff on ebay its a bit rich dont you think!
Well, no R&A for me - ever! theres enough decent suppliers out there without having to deal with muppets
