UK refunds following cancellation

[Keenan]

I sent an e-mail cancelling my order on 2 March 2023.
Four more e-mails later, I got the following response on 31 March 2023:

I sincerely apologise for the delay in response.

I understand, and I'm sorry to hear of this. I can confirm that I have requested for your deposits to be refunded to your original payment account.

Please be aware that this can take up to 14 working days to be actioned.

Please, could you provide the expiry date of your recently issued card? This will prevent a delay in processing your refund.

Kind regards,

My card wasn't recently issued, but OK... but this is only working day 3 so hopefully they'll return my deposit on or before 20 April.

Incidentally, I'd saved cash to buy the Emira and when I cancelled my order was very tempted to get a pre-loved 570S which was up for the same money instead... but I missed out on the particular car I was interested in and have done something entirely different with the money instead...

They are sitting on deposits for cash flow. Shocking behaviour. Just like going back on the price guarantee from Matt. They want the cake and to eat it.

 

[dzernski]

Formally emailed 9 days ago after being told they couldn't accept via chat. Still no response. Sent a chaser today, will call tomorrow. I am more disappointed than sad that I am not regretting my decision.

 

[Hell4Leather]

They are sitting on deposits for cash flow. Shocking behaviour. Just like going back on the price guarantee from Matt. They want the cake and to eat it.

I’m wouldn’t call $2500 cash flow. They can make better money selling Lotus gear and cool parts for existing owners. “For the drivers” spinning rims…..that’s class

 

[Keenan]

I’m wouldn’t call $2500 cash flow. They can make better money selling Lotus gear and cool parts for existing owners. “For the drivers” spinning rims…..that’s class

We have deposited £5000 here in the uk. They soon add up I’m not an isolated case.

 

[Hell4Leather]

We have deposited £5000 here in the uk. They soon add up I’m not an isolated case.

I get it, here is USA I deposited last year and won’t see my car until 2025. The good news I guess is they only asked for $2500; until they change their mind I guess. I would imagine requiring something more substantial when the factory confirms the build.

 

[TomE]

They are sitting on deposits for cash flow. Shocking behaviour. Just like going back on the price guarantee from Matt. They want the cake and to eat it.

I’m more inclined to believe it’s cock up rather than conspiracy with Lotus. I think they are overwhelmed by call and email volumes, the numbers of cancellations and contact from owners about issues with their cars. So processing refunds is taking much longer than it should.

 

[EM12AAM]

I’m more inclined to believe it’s cock up rather than conspiracy with Lotus. I think they are overwhelmed by call and email volumes, the numbers of cancellations and contact from owners about issues with their cars. So processing refunds is taking much longer than it should.

I think you're right but that in itself demonstrates what an omishambles Lotus is at the moment.

They must have predicted that there would be a large number of disgruntled cancellations following the price increase and in light of Matt Windle's "promise"... so they could have planned for that and trained up some temp workers in advance; these aren't rocket science queries after all.

I think that a month to even respond to a request for the return of refundable deposits is a(nother) disgrace quite frankly.

Fortunately my refund has now been received as it was processed more quickly that the 14 working days but nonetheless in total it took over 5 weeks which I don't think is acceptable.

I mourned a bit when I decided to cancel but like others have said I don't regret my decision one bit.

 

[boris71]

Well this morning I received my deposit back, just within the 10 days stated when they sent the confirmation email. I am enjoying my new M4 Competition, sadly not the Lotus I was so excited about ordering and receiving. Sadly not the case. Only being 15 miles away from the factory I thought it would be good to keep a part of Norfolk in Norfolk, but LLC have made a complete balls up of this car coming to the market, they had a great shot at kicking some rivals up the arse but have failed to deliver. Having read some of the issue arisen on some cars and the fact this would have been my day to day car its not with such a large tear in my eye that I say goodbye to LLC and this forum.

 

[Grumpy]

Well this morning I received my deposit back, just within the 10 days stated when they sent the confirmation email. I am enjoying my new M4 Competition, sadly not the Lotus I was so excited about ordering and receiving. Sadly not the case. Only being 15 miles away from the factory I thought it would be good to keep a part of Norfolk in Norfolk, but LLC have made a complete balls up of this car coming to the market, they had a great shot at kicking some rivals up the arse but have failed to deliver. Having read some of the issue arisen on some cars and the fact this would have been my day to day car its not with such a large tear in my eye that I say goodbye to LLC and this forum.

Cancelled on 3rd March. They repaid £2k of my deposit within 10 days but still have £3k. I have chased by email several times with no response and been hanging on forabout 20 minutes. Obviously their callback facility is overwhelmed or doesnt work.

 

[Speedluvver]

Cancelled on 3rd March. They repaid £2k of my deposit within 10 days but still have £3k. I have chased by email several times with no response and been hanging on forabout 20 minutes. Obviously their callback facility is overwhelmed or doesnt work.

WebChat gets the best response....

 

[Spooner69]

Good luck getting your deposit back. It seems likely that a group of us will need to appoint lawyers after New Year, I'm getting knowhere with CC. I'm hoping direct contact with Matt Windle will help.

I e-mailed a very polite complaint to Matt Windle direct and got a call from Fraser Gillespie shortly afterwards, deposit money in my bank account that pm.

Could you tell me where to find the email address you mention or share with me please ?

 

[Kingslim]

Could you tell me where to find the email address you mention or share with me please ?

mwindle at lotuscars.com

 

[Jonhklee]

I haven’t posted for ages, but I still having significant issues with refund of my £2k from July 2021!! I cancelled back in Feb 23, still not got my refund back.

Lotus refunded to my old credit card with proof, my bank closed the account ages ago and charged back to Lotus with proof. My bank tells Me to chase Lotus and request refund via alternative means. Sent in my documents to Lotus to refund to my bank account and then Lotus is not answering emails or phone calls. Webchat just tells me they will update me….. months have gone by without comms…. So annoyed with Lotus right now.

 

[richbrown]

Nope. I chased them on Fri and they replied promptly on Fri saying it will be processed and issued the same day (yes, passed onto the accounts team ). Still not reached my credit card - cannot take this long - they are just sitting on it. It is 26 working days and counting ...

To add insult to injury, I got my 'protect and enhance' email today in anticipation of the delivery of my Emira I have half a mind to just take delivery now. Lotus seems to do a great and consistent job of missing the low expectations I have of them.

Did you get your refunds back in good time? I’m at the same stage, have the protect and enhance email but have gone for another car now. Hopefully lotus will refund without too many calls or chase ups

 

[Jonhklee]

Did you get your refunds back in good time? I’m at the same stage, have the protect and enhance email but have gone for another car now. Hopefully lotus will refund without too many calls or chase ups

Got my refund within 5 days of my last email, which helped as I cc’d mwibdle at lotuscar dot com. . They transferred my deposit back to my current account. Good luck at getting your money back soon. Not sure how I feel about Lotus customer handling Now, will wait till my finances settles once again before committing to a sports car.

 

[Dreamon]

An update on my deposit return. Lotus customer care forwarded my deposit return request to the team responsible. Web chatted with cust care today (two weeks on) only to be told my request had not been actioned and it could be another two weeks before before i get my money back. I've emailed telling them it’s not acceptable and i want it in my account next week. I'm not holding my breath. Dealing with Lotus is just a joke. If I do re-visit an Emira in the future it will not be with Lotus direct. They have no idea or regard to customer service.

 

[mike 207]

My deposit refund saga is similar to Dreamon. I cancelled 23.10.23, confirmed with LCS via web chat, email and telephone conversation & was told the standard 14 working days period to refund. Of course nothing happened so called/emailed/web chat again 14.11.23 to be told " we cannot cope with current number of cancellations, the member of staff who was dealing with your cancellation has left Lotus, your 14 working day period will start again from now BUT if you don't receive the funds after the expiry of the 14 day period contact us again" Everything about Lotus & the way they have handled orders, deposits, build data , communication etc etc is purely awful. My last email to LCS on 15.11.23 informed them to accelerate my refund and if nothing happens within the 14 day period ( the new, 2nd 14 day period ) I am handing to solicitors. Will the nightmare never end ??

 

[EspritGuy]

My deposit refund saga is similar to Dreamon. I cancelled 23.10.23, confirmed with LCS via web chat, email and telephone conversation & was told the standard 14 working days period to refund. Of course nothing happened so called/emailed/web chat again 14.11.23 to be told " we cannot cope with current number of cancellations, the member of staff who was dealing with your cancellation has left Lotus, your 14 working day period will start again from now BUT if you don't receive the funds after the expiry of the 14 day period contact us again" Everything about Lotus & the way they have handled orders, deposits, build data , communication etc etc is purely awful. My last email to LCS on 15.11.23 informed them to accelerate my refund and if nothing happens within the 14 day period ( the new, 2nd 14 day period ) I am handing to solicitors. Will the nightmare never end ??

Unfortunate story for sure.
But more surprising is the statement 'we can't cope with the current number of cancelations.'
Ordinarily implies job security. Unless that post was canceled.
No urgency in replacing the staffer handling this duty?

 

[mike 207]

Unfortunate story for sure.
But more surprising is the statement 'we can't cope with the current number of cancelations.'
Ordinarily implies job security. Unless that post was canceled.
No urgency in replacing the staffer handling this duty?

I didn't take any notice about the remark " member of staff dealing with your cancellation has left Lotus" - I just felt the guy was saying anything to avoid being blamed himself. There was a real frustration/despondency in his voice though & not trying to exaggerate the issue but something is definitely not right at LCS & the guys who do eventually answer the phone sound worn down by all the complaints and negativity being thrown at them. More concerning was their remark about the unmanageable level of cancellations which I was surprised was so openly admitted ?

 

[Hethel Merman]

Maybe the cancellation person got laid off - there was news of redundancies there recently.