Ripped off by HRN Tractors / Agritrac Exports Ltd (Stuart Barclay) - Aberdeenshire

Drillman · Mar 12, 2024

Dave W said:
No ones taking anyone to court.
My guess is it’s some weekend amateur good lifer who thinks it’s like buying off Amazon
Probably gone away with his tail between his legs

The busted wireless did make me chuckle, hardly a major failure and certainly won’t stop the machine been used. £20 off Amazon normally sorts a Chinese replacement out that slots straight in as well.

saying that a recent used tractor purchase of ours went back to the dealer to have a few bits sorted and while chatting to the rep as I was waiting for the scary finance lady to pick me up I mentioned in passing that the wireless surround had fallen off (I think the previous owner had done a wireless swap between me originally viewing the tractor on farm and it landing in the dealers yard) when I went to collect the tractor a posh new one had been installed. I hadn’t asked for it to be replaced just mentioned it in conversation.

So if anyone wants to buy a used tractor I recommend Russell’s as they take note of the little details And look after there customers.

bravheart · Mar 12, 2024

pgk said:
Maybe they are just chancers hoping because he is not local they can get away with breaking the terms of the agreed deal with limited come back. If poster can show evidence of the agreement and give good account of himself in court, ime, he will recover his losses. Woman who worked for me took VW to court over a new Tiguan with noisy gearbox. She had previously had a golf with same issue and VW changed gearbox so verbally agreed with salesman if Tiguan had same issue they would change no questions asked. Judge hammered VW finance and awarded damages for all her trouble, she still had to send "can't pay we'll take it away" boys into Milton Keynes HQ to recover the award plus costs.

OK but that's a new vehicle so different ball game

livestock 1 · Mar 12, 2024

Not wanting to get into the morals of dealers or farmers but there’s a hell of a lot of gear put into auctions then moved usually north to where less people know the history of the thing often into a certain machinery auction up there then sometimes into a dealers yard

Fergieman · Mar 12, 2024

I'm guessing there's plenty farmers that have moved things on to dealers without fully disclosing any faults.

As far as the OP goes it seems the engine, transmission,hydraulics and brakes are OK so that's a bonus.

Goweresque · Mar 12, 2024

Fergieman said:
As far as the OP goes it seems the engine, transmission,hydraulics and brakes are OK so that's a bonus.

That was my thought. If you buy a 10 yo tractor sight unseen and the worst problems you get is a list of fairly cosmetic/easily fixed items, then you haven't done too badly IMO.

b13 · Mar 12, 2024

Some interesting comments here - and a very interesting private message.

Some facts for clarification -

The machine was advertised on Autotrader as being sold by HRN tractors and that's who I dealt with throughout, until the point I received the invoice, which was from Agritrac Exports Ltd. That's why I mention both companies in the thread title.

There was no mention of the clocks being changed in the advertisement. However (as stated in my original post and to be fair to HRN) the salesman I first spoke to when I initially enquired about the tractor DID inform me of the clocks being changed, which is why I said I wasn't interested in the machine.

I am a consumer, not a trader, therefore, when I buy something from a retailer I am entitled to rely on the description the retailer gives me. Some people have the time to view, others don't. On the rare occasion something I buy turns out to be significantly mis-described then I know that I can either take it on the chin or make a claim in the county court. I have decided to do the latter on this occasion for three reasons -

1) they lied to me when they sold it to me, because they positively told me it was in full working order and would have a thorough pre-delivery inspection.

2) they lied to me when I made them aware of the faults by claiming they had reduced the price to reflect the faults that were present (this is total fabrication and is the main reason I am minded to take them to court)

3) they have largely ignored my very politely worded correspondence and have made no effort to resolve the issues.

I'm not looking for sympathy, the purpose of my post was to find out if others have had similar problems with either of these two companies. From looking through the comments on this thread it seems there are a significant number of people who have had similar bad experiences with them.

Doesn't come as a surprise that Chae1 is a friend of Stuart Barclay, I'm half expecting him to turn up at court as star character witness for the defendant company after reading his comments!

I make no apology for starting this thread, I am entitled to discuss with others the experience I have had with HRN / Agritrac as long as I present the facts accurately and fairly, which I hope I have done.

Dry Rot · Mar 12, 2024

I don't know if it's legally binding, but I have bought machinery at long range unseen (let's face it, everything is long range up here!) paying by cheque with a covering letter stating, "I am buying on your assurance that this machine is in good working order, fair wear and tear accepted".

Several times I have gone back and quoted that wording over fairly minor problems that prevented the machine from working as intended. One was a compression spring on a small baler that had obviously broken, then welded by the dealer. That was not "fair wear and tear". I got a pair of new springs, retail I think £200.

b13 · Mar 12, 2024

thorpe said:
if it's going to ourt it shouldn't be diskust on here`

Why not?

Moors Lad · Mar 12, 2024

Dry Rot said:
They are all the same. I had a fault with my quad so I put it in to HIS Inverness. They put a new CDI unit without consulting me which did not cure the problem. I was hopping mad as amongst the various things I had tried, replacing the CDI was one of them. HIS would not give me a refund and I now have two perfectly good CDI units here as 'spares'.

So I decided to try HRN as they are 'only' 150 miles away. They fixed the problem which was a broken wire, but charged me over £1,000 which was probably for the apprentice's time farting about and learning at my expense. Sometimes this far north you just have to bite the bullet and pay up. As the scrappy said when he towed away my first car, "Experience is worth what you pay for i

Not a very good account of 2 firms there!!! They don`t have much of a conscience. Just as well HRN didn`t find any expensive parts to replace..... Serious distance to travel for a really good ripping-off!!

b13 · Mar 12, 2024

Dave W said:
No ones taking anyone to court.
My guess is it’s some weekend amateur good lifer who thinks it’s like buying off Amazon
Probably gone away with his tail between his legs

Even if I am a 'weekend amateur good lifer' does that mean I deserve to be lied to by a retailer, who's website boasts - "Farming themselves and having hands-on experience in both arable and livestock agricultural sectors, gives the Barclay family the knowledge and expertise to meet the needs and expectations of loyal customers, who can rely on our experienced team of staff – many of whom have been with the company for several years."

b13 · Mar 12, 2024

Will 1594 said:
buyers remorse

Not really. I'm happy with the tractor, just not so overjoyed with all the time, hassle and money it has taken to get it into a road legal and useable condition.

40 series · Mar 12, 2024

3 sides to every story
Your side
Their side
The truth somewhere in the middle

gatepost · Mar 12, 2024

The fact is that most machinery gets moved on because it's started to cost money or is starting to make a strange noise somewhere, that's why stuff at farm sales makes stupid money , because in theory it was working. However there certainly are some ''Arthur Daley's out there, who take pleasure in ''putting one over'' like all walks of life. Or possibly just a bit inept really.

Dave W · Mar 12, 2024

b13 said:
Even if I am a 'weekend amateur good lifer' does that mean I deserve to be lied to by a retailer, who's website boasts - "Farming themselves and having hands-on experience in both arable and livestock agricultural sectors, gives the Barclay family the knowledge and expertise to meet the needs and expectations of loyal customers, who can rely on our experienced team of staff – many of whom have been with the company for several years."

No not at all.
But I do think your levels of expectation of second hand kit may be different to a regular buyer of equipment.

JP1 · Mar 12, 2024

Dave W said:
This whole thread is just wrong.
I’m in no way defending nor commenting on the dealer as I’ve no opinion on it.
But as usual far too many people comment with things they’ve heard and are not first hand experiences.
Then you’ve the issue of getting the various different dealers mixed up.
And once again we only ever hear one side of the story and I can 100% assure you there will be another side to every story.

But the biggest wrong is the fact the OP is supposedly taking them to court (which frankly I think will get laughed out of court) and posting the details on here. Wrong on every level imo

I always recall an artic trailer at a previous employer. It had been bought by a customer and put through the workshop. The chassis had a huge crack, filled with mastic and sprayed over

There's some sharp people about and the dealer often gets the blame but many things must have been knowingly bodged by the owner before a dealer took it on for resale

puntabrava · Mar 12, 2024

pgilliat said:
It's obvious to see from reading these comments people have very different opinions.
One man's view can easily be different to anothers, hence it is crucial to view with your own eyes.
The comment that it's not possible to view due to distance tells a story, in my eyes spending the sort of money mentioned and not been willing to drive a few hours is frightening, I have driven hundreds of miles and found things not as described but would never consider buying unsold.
Could probably have been sorted out face to face. But unfortunately that will now be out the window.

You will not sort out anything with that bunch of crooks, I speak from experience. Barge pole touch.

BRB John · Mar 12, 2024

Alright might as well throw my 2 cents in...
I've had business with hrn before and never had any issues but it would be fair to say that I don't know how they cope with issues.

Secondly I've bought a couple tractors unseen and so far I have gotten away with it and personally don't see the problem with it.
Expecting farmers to take days out of work to view a potential purchase seems kinda insane to me personally but I guess I'm just busier that most farmers apparently

Thirdly all in working order as I understand it means engine, transmission, backend and the bare minimum working to allow it to do the work is what it means.
Radio and your seat is not included in that statement. If these details are important to you then you need to be prepared to ask those questions over the phone or request video and photos to feel better assured.

And finally regardless HRN should take the tractor back if the customer isn't happy and wishes to return it minus delivery and admin costs of course. Especially within 30 days.

Top Tip. · Mar 12, 2024

BRB John said:
Expecting farmers to take days out of work to view a potential purchase seems kinda insane to me personally but I guess I'm just busier that most farmers apparently

It’s funny folks perspective, I’m quite the opposite in that I would think it’s insane not to take time out of work to check out a substantial purchase such as a tractor. It all depends on your priorities I suppose.

Ffermer Bach · Mar 12, 2024

Sam Partridge said:
Sorry for your troubles but you should ALWAYS go and see machinery before buying, especially tractors. (although you may have come to that conclusion already) They perhaps have pushed the envelope too far but there is always a bit of variation in what one person would see as GWO and acceptable compared to another. Yes they should have been more honest about what didn't work but distance is no reason to not go and see a machine first, and if it is accept you have to buy closer to home

About 25 years ago, I went to see a contractor who worked in Port Talbot steel works, he showed me pictures on his computer of a dump truck he had just bought from Japan second hand and was being shipped over. I think it was about a quarter of a million! And I did ask did he go to see it, he said no.

BRB John · Mar 12, 2024

Top Tip. said:
It’s funny folks perspective, I’m quite the opposite in that I would think it’s insane not to take time out of work to check out a substantial purchase such as a tractor. It all depends on your priorities I suppose.

Just out of interest and to be cheeky, when you buy a new tractor do you go to the tractor factory to witness it being built?

Ripped off by HRN Tractors / Agritrac Exports Ltd (Stuart Barclay) - Aberdeenshire

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