I've just had a very bad experience whilst trying to find a manual for my Puto Sporting and wanted to warn other people of what can happen on the following website...
WHICHMANUALS.COM...
BE VERY WARY OF PURCHASING OR DOWNLOADING A CAR MANUAL FROM THEM IN THE UK (and maybe elsewhere in the world maybe from their attitude - you'll see below).
I have read a lot on the web about scams, but much of it seems to be just consumer gripes... If things go wrong with this website however, THIS is a GENUINE scam - and they seem quite happy to admit it!! Please keep reading...
I was looking for a manual for my Fiat Punto Sporting and couldn't find it on their database, so emailed their customer service to asked if any of their manuals covered our car - and I was VERY specific about the model, year etc etc. They replied and told me that the Mk2 was the one I wanted. Good, quick customer service apparently.
To cut a long story short, I paid and downloaded the manual. I had to email them again to ask advice (they use a strange thing called a MagicDisc to view it which I'd never come across before - very laborious procedure) and again they replied promptly and helpfully.
But in my opinion the manual is TERRIBLE!!! I was expecting something like a Haynes manual, in PDF... THIS was very amaturish - poor sketches and minimal text. You cannot open it to full screen, cannot print (HOW do I take my PC to my car when I want to work on it???) and is very hard to navigate.
I started to complain bitterly. Each time I got a partial reply. Eventually they told me to use a screenshot if I wanted to print it. I pointed out that it still wouldn't open to a full screen so you could only get an A5 picture (sketch AND text) at best and this was still not a solution.
I asked for a THIRD time for a refund as the product was not as described to me and poor quality. I said I would go to Trading Standards, lodge a complaint with AlertPay (that's one of their payment methods) and warn people on the Fiat Forum amongst others.
This was their response (and this is a direct copy of their email):
"Hey - you got it wrong not us! You didn't read the description of the product.
If you feel the need to slag us on a forum DO IT! It seems you've made your mind anyway!
If you need to take it to the Trading people do it - WE ARE OUT SIDE UK JURISDICTION FOR A REASON."
Anyone who doesn't believe me when I say this is an exact copy of their last email I will happily forward a copy to them.
I am in the process of taking the steps I detailed above, so will let you know how I get on if anyone would like to hear.
But whether they choose to admit it or not, it is not going to do their business any good if I can post this on as many forums as possible so that it comes up when people google WhichManuals.com. I'm sure there are many people who can say they're happy with their purchase from them, but you could say their so-called 'customer service' is absolute zilch if you're NOT happy.
Remember the name - WHICHMANUALS.COM and be very, very wary if you buy a vehicle manual from a company who openly admit they have deliberately put themselves above the trading laws in the countries they deal with...
Oh - and by the way - AFTER I'd bought the damn thing, I found a reference to them being scammers on several other makes of car forums and there was suddenly a 'first poster' saying how wonderful the company was and how they used them all the time etc etc... Don't think it fooled anyone though! So look out for that response on this or other forums. Looks like they already have a mechanism to deal with web-complainers - so much for not caring about people posting about their poor products online!
THINK TWICE ABOUT USING WHICHMANUALS.COM - if you're not happy with their product you will not get any recourse to the law in the UK, or any recompense.
WHICHMANUALS.COM...
BE VERY WARY OF PURCHASING OR DOWNLOADING A CAR MANUAL FROM THEM IN THE UK (and maybe elsewhere in the world maybe from their attitude - you'll see below).
I have read a lot on the web about scams, but much of it seems to be just consumer gripes... If things go wrong with this website however, THIS is a GENUINE scam - and they seem quite happy to admit it!! Please keep reading...
I was looking for a manual for my Fiat Punto Sporting and couldn't find it on their database, so emailed their customer service to asked if any of their manuals covered our car - and I was VERY specific about the model, year etc etc. They replied and told me that the Mk2 was the one I wanted. Good, quick customer service apparently.
To cut a long story short, I paid and downloaded the manual. I had to email them again to ask advice (they use a strange thing called a MagicDisc to view it which I'd never come across before - very laborious procedure) and again they replied promptly and helpfully.
But in my opinion the manual is TERRIBLE!!! I was expecting something like a Haynes manual, in PDF... THIS was very amaturish - poor sketches and minimal text. You cannot open it to full screen, cannot print (HOW do I take my PC to my car when I want to work on it???) and is very hard to navigate.
I started to complain bitterly. Each time I got a partial reply. Eventually they told me to use a screenshot if I wanted to print it. I pointed out that it still wouldn't open to a full screen so you could only get an A5 picture (sketch AND text) at best and this was still not a solution.
I asked for a THIRD time for a refund as the product was not as described to me and poor quality. I said I would go to Trading Standards, lodge a complaint with AlertPay (that's one of their payment methods) and warn people on the Fiat Forum amongst others.
This was their response (and this is a direct copy of their email):
"Hey - you got it wrong not us! You didn't read the description of the product.
If you feel the need to slag us on a forum DO IT! It seems you've made your mind anyway!
If you need to take it to the Trading people do it - WE ARE OUT SIDE UK JURISDICTION FOR A REASON."
Anyone who doesn't believe me when I say this is an exact copy of their last email I will happily forward a copy to them.
I am in the process of taking the steps I detailed above, so will let you know how I get on if anyone would like to hear.
But whether they choose to admit it or not, it is not going to do their business any good if I can post this on as many forums as possible so that it comes up when people google WhichManuals.com. I'm sure there are many people who can say they're happy with their purchase from them, but you could say their so-called 'customer service' is absolute zilch if you're NOT happy.
Remember the name - WHICHMANUALS.COM and be very, very wary if you buy a vehicle manual from a company who openly admit they have deliberately put themselves above the trading laws in the countries they deal with...
Oh - and by the way - AFTER I'd bought the damn thing, I found a reference to them being scammers on several other makes of car forums and there was suddenly a 'first poster' saying how wonderful the company was and how they used them all the time etc etc... Don't think it fooled anyone though! So look out for that response on this or other forums. Looks like they already have a mechanism to deal with web-complainers - so much for not caring about people posting about their poor products online!
THINK TWICE ABOUT USING WHICHMANUALS.COM - if you're not happy with their product you will not get any recourse to the law in the UK, or any recompense.
