Walsh & Midgely Darwen - SHAME!

[MMUK]

Had my alternator refurbed by these guys just over a week ago at a cost of near £100. It had the works done on it. Fitted it last Tuesday and the ******* thing has completely failed this morning leaving me stranded on the A38 just outside Bromsgrove :evil:

The RAC are totally lemon and limeing brilliant though! Quoted up to 90 minute wait which I thought fair enough, I'm in a layby so it's not as if I'm in a precarious position. The guy turns up in about 25 minutes. Booster pack out, fire the van up and I'm on my way. Gold stars aplenty for the man in the orange van (even if it was a Ford Transhit :lol: ). =D> =D> =D>

So, as I'm working away from home at the moment I can't go back to these monkeys and throw the alternator at them. I end up taking a trip to Euro Car parts in Smethwick in dad's car to pick up a new one. Now I'm £150 lighter and I've got to get all oily and ucky tomorrow


Not a happy bunny! When I get home Walsh & Midgely are going to get an uncensored bollocking and there'll be all hell let loose if I don't get my money back AND some form of compensation for the inconvenience! :evil:


EDIT: Oooh :mrgreen: The swear filter is napping :lol:

 

[joethedrummer]

MM,,,,,careful Mate,,,some of us produced the Transit,,,and what do most people think the white van man drives ????

 

[RossJarvis]

Ford panel van, she blinking marvellous (at least till they put the flappy accelerator pedal in);

If made from Hob-nobs it's a digestive transit.

If driven by a bloke in a dress it's just a tranny van.

I'd suggest when you go back to the cowboys, that initially you are polite but firm and give them a chance to "make good" off their own back. If this doesn't work then gradually increase to ballistic without letting them fanny you around.

 

[JustBen]

Anymore fruit in your post and you will have made a fruit salad.

I love my transit. It drives 100k a year and never misses a beat.
It's not driven lightly either.

 

[MMUK]

I suppose 115k miles/12 years out of an alternator isn't bad going. What pisses me off though is the money I paid for a full refurb last week!

It's no good to me for them to try and repair it again. I'm working away from home so had no choice but to buy a new one.

 

[sawdust1]

Hi MM, i noticed before you don't rate Transits, why's that. I have had 4 over the years, they all rusted out in the end, living down a muddy bumpy track in the middle of a wood does not help. Last year i changed over to a 08 vivaro, bad mistake costing me a fortune at the mo, back to a transit next year.

 

[ChrisR]

Had my alternator refurbed by these guys just over a week ago at a cost of near £100. It had the works done on it. Fitted it last Tuesday and the pineapple thing has completely failed this morning leaving me stranded on the A38 just outside Bromsgrove :evil:

The RAC are totally lemon and limeing brilliant though! Quoted up to 90 minute wait which I thought fair enough, I'm in a layby so it's not as if I'm in a precarious position. The guy turns up in about 25 minutes. Booster pack out, fire the van up and I'm on my way. Gold stars aplenty for the man in the orange van (even if it was a Ford Transhit :lol: ). =D> =D> =D>

So, as I'm working away from home at the moment I can't go back to these monkeys and throw the alternator at them. I end up taking a trip to Euro Car parts in Smethwick in dad's car to pick up a new one. Now I'm £150 lighter and I've got to get all oily and ucky tomorrow


Not a happy bunny! When I get home Walsh & Midgely are going to get an uncensored bollocking and there'll be all hell let loose if I don't get my money back AND some form of compensation for the inconvenience! :evil:


EDIT: Oooh :mrgreen: The swear filter is napping :lol:

I have no idea who Midgely Darwen are, or what sort of reputation they have, but as I read your post, it appears that they have not had the opportunity to rectify the problem, components do fail so it may not be entirely their fault.

So before running them down on this forum and then blasting into their works and raising hell, I think you should give them the chance of reply. Unless of course you have had previous poor service from this company, in which case why did you use them again.

I spent my whole working life in industrial electrical engineering, if I arrived at a site and was greeted with a torrent of abuse that the b*****, system has failed again. My stock answer was, “I am so glad, as it keeps me in work”.

If on the other hand I was greeted with, something like, are we glad to see you, we are desperate to be up and running. My answer would be something like I will have a look and let you know as soon as I can what the problem is and how long to fix.

So when you visit this company I don’t think a torrent of abuse will get you very far, but a polite complaint will probably work wonders.
Just give it a try.


Take care.

Chris R.

 

[MMUK]

I've had several Transits over the years. MK3, MK5, MK6 and MK7.

The MK3 was just slow and noisy. 2.0l Pinto
The MK5 was slow, noisy and a rust bucket. 2.5l Banana engine that seized up.
The MK6 was the best of a bad bunch except the EGR valve needed cleaning every 5k or so. 2.4 Duratorq RWD
The MK7 was AWFUL. The most uncomfortable van I've ever owned. Gearbox made from Edam with extra holes. Plagued with electrical problems, leaked like a sieve and kept going into limp mode every time there was even a sprinkling of rain. Owned it from new and threw it back at Bristol Street after two months.

Ended up getting a LWB HR Trafic after the MK7. 1.9dCi 120. 6spd box. Best van I ever owned. Only one minor issue during the time I owned it was the clutch packing up at 60k. It had to go in the end when I took a permanent job or I'd still have it now.

 

[MMUK]

Had my alternator refurbed by these guys just over a week ago at a cost of near £100. It had the works done on it. Fitted it last Tuesday and the pineapple thing has completely failed this morning leaving me stranded on the A38 just outside Bromsgrove :evil:

The RAC are totally lemon and limeing brilliant though! Quoted up to 90 minute wait which I thought fair enough, I'm in a layby so it's not as if I'm in a precarious position. The guy turns up in about 25 minutes. Booster pack out, fire the van up and I'm on my way. Gold stars aplenty for the man in the orange van (even if it was a Ford Transhit :lol: ). =D> =D> =D>

So, as I'm working away from home at the moment I can't go back to these monkeys and throw the alternator at them. I end up taking a trip to Euro Car parts in Smethwick in dad's car to pick up a new one. Now I'm £150 lighter and I've got to get all oily and ucky tomorrow


Not a happy bunny! When I get home Walsh & Midgely are going to get an uncensored bollocking and there'll be all hell let loose if I don't get my money back AND some form of compensation for the inconvenience! :evil:


EDIT: Oooh :mrgreen: The swear filter is napping :lol:

I have no idea who Midgely Darwen are, or what sort of reputation they have, but as I read your post, it appears that they have not had the opportunity to rectify the problem, components do fail so it may not be entirely their fault.

So before running them down on this forum and then blasting into their works and raising hell, I think you should give them the chance of reply. Unless of course you have had previous poor service from this company, in which case why did you use them again.

I spent my whole working life in industrial electrical engineering, if I arrived at a site and was greeted with a torrent of abuse that the b*****, system has failed again. My stock answer was, “I am so glad, as it keeps me in work”.

If on the other hand I was greeted with, something like, are we glad to see you, we are desperate to be up and running. My answer would be something like I will have a look and let you know as soon as I can what the problem is and how long to fix.

So when you visit this company I don’t think a torrent of abuse will get you very far, but a polite complaint will probably work wonders.
Just give it a try.


Take care.

Chris R.

I was just ranting earlier, it's been one of those days. However in this day and age I don't expect a fully refurbished item to pack up again within a week.

 

[blackrodd]

FWIW, I have never had any luck having an alternator re- built myself, either.
I've Always had the same outcome, useless and unreliable lasting between 4 hours and 3 weeks!
Regards Rodders

 

[RossJarvis]

I was just ranting earlier, it's been one of those days. However in this day and age I don't expect a fully refurbished item to pack up again within a week.

Totally understandable in the circumstances.

As I mentioned earlier, take the offending item back, inform them politely how difficult the situation was and they should refund your money at least, assuming they are a company with some sort of integrity. Further recompense would be better.

If not, then park a van outside (transit, or other vehicles are available) with a large sign on it telling everyone what you think of their service. This is of course optional.

 

[Tom K]

So your defective alternator didn't charge the battery but after a jump start you could drive it even though the battery (FLAT) wasn't being recharged?

 

[MMUK]

So your defective alternator didn't charge the battery but after a jump start you could drive it even though the battery (FLAT) wasn't being recharged?

Yep. The battery was reading 11.34v on the meter, enough to power indicators and brake lights, but dropped to about 9.6v when the starter was operated. Once the van is running the injection computer only draws milliamps. The battery just didn't have enough oomph to turn the starter.