42 replies to this topic

[liam1288]

i think paul and liz are a nice couple, dealt with them face to face for a coulpe of bits, they gave me good advice and chatted quite a bit...they are very busy all day though so i can understand if they might be having a bad day but they were very nice to me neather the less. i rang up a few times and felt like i was being a bit of a bother but they answered all my questions so in the end i drove there to buy the bits...

[adam_93rio]

i think that some of the comments on here from a certain person are bordering on slander. the dogs for example are not agressive or to be fair not that big. the only big one they had was very old and could barely walk. (which has now died)
the only dogs let into the shop area is a little westie who is soft as muck, and another pup who has the same temperment.

i have been there when paul was dealing with a "faulty" calliper that a customer had sent back, the fault he found when testing was that the bleed nipple had been removed and a new one cross threaded which split causing a leak. the guy on the end of the phone was acting rediculous even though he had bought the callipers around a year before and they had clearly covered some miles. the guy drove from somewhere down south to pick it up apparently.

im just outlining a scenario that i know of and although the guy on the end of the phone was giving him an earfull he stayed reasonably calm compared to what he was receiving over the phone.

also, dlm. i think you have said enough

[Matt]

Sorry Adam... but if you are refering to my comment.. i can assure you this is not simply slander.
I'll expect a fruity email from Paul and Liz threatening legal action later....
(As is almost predictable from P&L minis - they have a lovely reputation for that too)

I come from a family of mini owners.. Currently 4 sat on the drive at the moment. a lamm convertible (only 50 of them left)
2 tuned cars and a standard. My girlfriend owns a mini, her brother used to have a mini.
My father used to work as a rover mechanic and then for a short while a mini repair business. Put simply.. we know minis, our family is pretty well known for it, rarely have a problem we can fix, and reckon we could compete with some mini shops for parts!!

We ordered a brand new weber carb from them (father actually) and it turned out to be a refurbed carb... which hadnt been rebuilt properly!
again another hastle getting that refunded and exchanged... (before i bought the second lot)

Having had first hand experience with them myself i will never recommend P&L
Ordered a flip front, bodykit, 2 a-panels, new suspension, and 2 new doors (when my car was vandalised.. have a look for the project thread)

I waited 7 days and gave them a ring to find out where my order was. At the time.. the order approached nearly £600.
They told me my order would take around 40 days to be picked, packed and sent out. Unacceptable when the car was already in the bodyshop waiting on these bits (and online status said every item was in stock!). I asked if they could send part orders.. they said no. They were as uncoorperative as they could possibly be....
When i was told i could accept it or **** off. i asked for the card to be refunded.. they refused.. Liz doesnt know the law quite as well as she thinks!
We had a talk about distance selling laws and she also told me that the credit card company wouldnt be interested.
After 3 calls and a formal letter, the card company actually sorted it out on our behalf... We placed our order with minisports... who dispatched an order within 4 days direct to the garage.

Paul is arrogant, rude and abrupt. We have a lot to do with the mini scene and i have heard nothing but bad things about p&l minis.
Liz is quite possibly the most foulmouthed women ive spoken to... a colourful array of language she can use!!
Unfortunetly Dave the mechanic is quite possibly the nicest person you could meet amongst the mini scene, helpful, knowledgable and the real only asset to P&L.

i have been there when paul was dealing with a "faulty" calliper that a customer had sent back, the fault he found when testing was that the bleed nipple had been removed and a new one cross threaded which split causing a leak. the guy on the end of the phone was acting rediculous even though he had bought the callipers around a year before and they had clearly covered some miles. the guy drove from somewhere down south to pick it up apparently.

im just outlining a scenario that i know of and although the guy on the end of the phone was giving him an earfull he stayed reasonably calm compared to what he was receiving over the phone.

Seems conveniently similar to the story above?

also, dlm. i think you have said enough

Why? everything dlm has states is fact... Even Dave the mechanic advises not to buy a car from them!!
Purely because Paul is prepared to cut corners to make more profit!

[danie garry]

well it turns out my experience aint been too great, got the wheels 'n all but when i rang about a damaged wheel i was told to email pictures of said wheel, which i did (4 times!). rang again and again just being told to send the pictures and that they would assess them and get back to me........................i'm still waiting!
their service on buying was good but any after sales help was non existant, i'v used minispares and huddersfiel a couple of times and couldnt fault any of their products or service

[dlm]

also, dlm. i think you have said enough

I'm sorry. As stated everything I have written is fact and who the hell are you to tell me I've said enough. It has nothing to do with you.

[Shifty]

also, dlm. i think you have said enough

I'm sorry. As stated everything I have written is fact and who the hell are you to tell me I've said enough. It has nothing to do with you.

Keep it all factual and no arguing please

[Senile Old Git]

I have spent loads with P + L, always next day delivery, 100% stock fulfllment and good prices especially on Heritage panels.

I would add it is sometimes hard running a business that caters for Minis, we as businesses want to spent our time being productive but customers can tend to take up hours of our time discussing various pros and cons. It is a fine line to keep all party's happy!

I do agree though, issues such as faulty goods etc should be resolved as soon as.

[liam-ds]

The mecanic is top notch!!

its the owner who you need to watch out for.... he has some very big agressive dogs.. who he likes to let out when a customer confronts him.

i'd be very very careful!

only dogs they have are a westie that is a loverly dog roams about not bothered who comes and goes and a puppy that has the same temprement as the westie

[adam_93rio]

also, dlm. i think you have said enough

I'm sorry. As stated everything I have written is fact and who the hell are you to tell me I've said enough. It has nothing to do with you.

Keep it all factual and no arguing please

thanks shifty, i dont feel i particularly started anything there. its just when you come on a thread and all there seems to be is a couple of people repeatedly slagging them off its just not right is it. its things like this that make small companies not bother as much with the mini scene and more focusing on it just being a job and paying the bills.

i dont particularly use p&l as my major supplier. but its a lot easier than ordering online sometimes. i have been fobbed off before being told parts dont exist anymore but found them elsewhere. but its only now i choose to say it to prove a point. i wouldnt just go blabbing it out whenever someone mentions them

[System]

i have been there when paul was dealing with a "faulty" calliper that a customer had sent back, the fault he found when testing was that the bleed nipple had been removed and a new one cross threaded which split causing a leak. the guy on the end of the phone was acting rediculous even though he had bought the callipers around a year before and they had clearly covered some miles. the guy drove from somewhere down south to pick it up apparently.

im just outlining a scenario that i know of and although the guy on the end of the phone was giving him an earfull he stayed reasonably calm compared to what he was receiving over the phone.

also, dlm. i think you have said enough

I am that said person. and your story realtes to my above one.

I can tell you 100% now that I did not once raise my voice to Paul or give him an earful on the phone I am not that kind of person, I was curious to know what had gone wrong and it was infact the other way around (I was infact very confused and shocked by his attitude) as I said earlier being called a liar and that I had wasted a lot of his time. As for the nipple it was standard I questioned Paul about this as I had already had my caliper taken to my local mechanic who works for ford and advised my the caliper was faulty and to take it back to P&L as it was still under warranty. As for the Mileage The Mini with those calipers have barley covered 200miles on them since purchased July 09 Fitted Ausgust 09. Also how is it that I send the caliper off to the manufacturer who advised me it was the internal bridge seal that had failed?? and when I asked if it was the nipple they said not at all...

So two set of mechanics tell me its the seal and not the nipple and then one says its the nipple who did not even take the caliper apart? I will leave that to the people who read here to work that out...

Also my caliper is on the mini working perfectly well with the exact same nipple on that Paul saw so it obviously is not the nipple.

I don't want to start any fights but as I work in customer care for a large firm the kind of treatment I received for this was shocking especially as P&L was my main place for purchases with liz being very kind and helpful and to then have this happen to me from Paul.

I still will not be going back... I'm sure Paul will manage without my custom.

Edited by System, 18 June 2010 - 11:14 PM.

[dlm]

also, dlm. i think you have said enough

I'm sorry. As stated everything I have written is fact and who the hell are you to tell me I've said enough. It has nothing to do with you.

Keep it all factual and no arguing please

thanks shifty, i dont feel i particularly started anything there. its just when you come on a thread and all there seems to be is a couple of people repeatedly slagging them off its just not right is it. its things like this that make small companies not bother as much with the mini scene and more focusing on it just being a job and paying the bills.

i dont particularly use p&l as my major supplier. but its a lot easier than ordering online sometimes. i have been fobbed off before being told parts dont exist anymore but found them elsewhere. but its only now i choose to say it to prove a point. i wouldnt just go blabbing it out whenever someone mentions them

I respect yours and anyones opinion, I just took exception to you more or less telling me to shut up, and I am not repeatedly slagging them off.
I have used all the major companies and have never had poor customer service like I have with P & L. I have just made the point that they are breaking the law and wanted to warn others to be aware of this. I am not disputing the speed of delivery, and if the arches had been as described in their advert then I would of probably been congratulating them on the speed of delivery and would of had nothing to complain about.

This section of the forum is for people to tell others of the service they receive whether it is good or bad so that they can make their own decisions on whether to use that service

I always try and support smaller companies and the best I have ever dealt with is Minimail, followed by Somerfords.

I would prefer to be telling people of great customer service rather than moaning.

[Timify]

Last time i had dealing with P&L woulc have been about 3 or 4 years ago.

I unloaded a lot of MK1 scrap on them and they gave me some pretty good prices off the replacement parts purchased. Paul was a very nice man to talk to, and helpful. Seemed he had all the time in the world to impart advice where he could.. and the mechanic guy ( dont know his name) even more so.

The only gripe I have was i had been where told some wheels where in stock and reserved. After driving up to collect, they actually where not in stock... wasted trip!! We needed them urgently, so drove to Huddersfield instead.

[Van13]

Just read this thread thought I would give my personal account of p&l
I bought a mk1 mini from p& l many years ago the car vibrated terribly all the time through the steering and did not drive right
We asked for new tyres to be put on the front they turned out to be part worn
The car had bad electrics when we viewed it they assured us it would be sorted 2 weeks later whilest my wife was driving down the m1 the car caught fire this was traced down to poor workmanship the guy who sorted it for us said an apprentice could have done a better job ( a live wire had touched the body work ) when we got the car inspected turned out the car was crabbing suspension was down right dangerous and it had just been to the m o t station I found Liz foul mouthed and took no responsibility Paul was that far up his own ar-e I don't think he would ever hear our complaints we sold the mini on ( telling the truth about its problems ) at a massive loss after that experience we stayed away from minis for many years , back now though restoring my 72 van happy days . I would just like to say this all happened many years ago . Feel a lot better getting that of my chest