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

[KB6930]

Going for a look is always best. When we were looking for a tractor last summer we found one in the south west of England and it looked very tidy in the photo's so as luck would have it I had a family wedding in the general area so went for a look at it and yes it was OK but had been brush painted in bits which doesn't show up in pics and wasn't immaculate as described so we passed on it .

Even if I hadn't been going that way anyway either me or the boss would've jumped in a car and gone for a look it would've taken a day at most to do it but no way we'd buy unseen.

 

[suffolksmallholder]

Even going to view, would you climb up on the roof to check for rust or check all the i nstrument lights and functions?
I would doubt it. A lot of faults take a long time before they show, either to you or the dea!er.

Yes, certainly if I was spending £20K!

I bought a muck spreader blind, although that was much, muck cheaper and it arrived at ten o’clock at night so didn’t see it ‘till the delivery man was long gone.

Turns out it’s a good piece of kit.
Never met the vendor, nor am I likely to.

BUT I would have been all over that tractor.
Just saying
SS

 

[Welderloon]

Buying from Agritrac is different than buying from HRN they just share a yard
Agritrac is the export arm of the operation so will undoubtedly have machines that may have some 'issues', cosmetically, mechanically, higher hrs etc & any purchases from them definitely need a bit more investigating to ensure you are happy with what you are getting, there won't be any warranty from the Export arm or they'd be sending machines or parts back & forth across the world constantly..................about a 1/3 of the tractors at Cambridge today will have some association to the Barclay family either being sold or being bought

 

[Welderloon]

Any update @b13 ?

Gone quiet

Got his job back

 

[SolwayFarmer]

Bought and sold tractors from/to them. Found them and Stuart to be spot on tbh. Always viewed anything I was buying though

 

[suffolksmallholder]

Bought and sold tractors from/to them. Found them and Stuart to be spot on tbh. Always viewed anything I was buying though

You said it
SS

 

[Optimus]

Bought 3 tractors first time I saw them was when they were dropped off in the yard.non of them were under £50k

 

[Moors Lad]

I rang HRN about a telehandler that they had bought it from QF which I was fine about provided they were standing by it.They denied it and claimed they bought it in from a local farm that had it from new. When I pointed out that it was still on the QF website he hung the phone up and blocked my number.

My neighbour bought a gator off them,when it arrived it was a heap of shite with the doors missing he got a full refund.

I'm not sure who I spoke with but they told me a machine was out on hire. I googled the no plate and it was at Cambridge in the un sold lots. I think I got lucky as it was probably crap. Not to say that was Stuart.

I wouldn`t want to waste time driving for several hours to view a machine from a firm that was capable of any of the above....
Always a gamble buying s/h . Even on this thread you get different views of the same outfit....
The TOTAL lack of honesty in two of the above quotes is pretty shocking though!!!

 

[Sharny Graipe Shaft]

In this day and age you shouldn’t have to go and view. Photos and videos should be more than adequate. Where a mistake is made, and I’ve done it myself, is not having a paper trail. Email what the terms of the deal are and get a confirmation from the stealer. Is sad to read so many people saying you should have gone to see it or it’s old you have to accept faults etc. The seller should stand on for what was agreed. In my opinion if it was Stuart you were dealing with you can be fairly confident if he was talking, he was lying.

 

[suffolksmallholder]

Bought 3 tractors first time I saw them was when they were dropped off in the yard.non of them were under £50k

I bet these were ‘business purchases’ rather than a hand-to-mouth type.
I bought a new Land Rover HCPU for £24k and went to see it before handing over the money. At that time it was the only green one available in the country (don’t go there)

From Aylesbury to Market Rasen is no easy journey, but I did get to sleep in the showrooms pop-top camper Land Rover 110 County demonstrator whilst they sorted out the money side
SS

 

[TheEarlOfMoray]

I bought a krone front mower in the auction they had last year. Couldn’t view it as I only noticed it last minute. Phoned Stuart who told me it was working condition and would do the job. In my ignorance I thought it would be at their depot in insch but when I phoned after the sale to arrange collection they said it was at a yard in Dumfries which is 300 miles away but they would get it up to insch for £200. When I finally got it home over a month later I noticed the bed was bent like a banana and oil dripping out of it. Phoned Stuart who says it was an input in the sale and had no idea what condition it was in but would phone the guy and get it dealt with. Another 2 calls to him and kept getting the same story basically getting fobbed off. Still nohing done a year later. I’ve bought several new and used tractors and ploughs etc from HRN in the past with no problem and great backup but that was when his father was in charge. He would have had this issue dealt with in an instant. I’ve not dealt with them since and it’s put me off buying any machine from them again. Lesson learned, trust nobody

 

[suffolksmallholder]

In this day and age you shouldn’t have to go and view. Photos and videos should be more than adequate. Where a mistake is made, and I’ve done it myself, is not having a paper trail. Email what the terms of the deal are and get a confirmation from the stealer. Is sad to read so many people saying you should have gone to see it or it’s old you have to accept faults etc. The seller should stand on for what was agreed. In my opinion if it was Stuart you were dealing with you can be fairly confident if he was talking, he was lying.

In theory everything should be fine, BUT if the vendor is a lying, thieving basket then just being on site gives an edge.
I so nearly got caught with an elderly Frod 4000 and the ‘dealer-vendor’ nearly went back on his word but didn’t because I pushed back and was prepared to visit his yard to do so
SS

 

[benny6910]

Going for a look is always best. When we were looking for a tractor last summer we found one in the south west of England and it looked very tidy in the photo's so as luck would have it I had a family wedding in the general area so went for a look at it and yes it was OK but had been brush painted in bits which doesn't show up in pics and wasn't immaculate as described so we passed on it .

Even if I hadn't been going that way anyway either me or the boss would've jumped in a car and gone for a look it would've taken a day at most to do it but no way we'd buy unseen.

If I see something I’m interested in buying and it’s not local I ask for the seller to send me pictures of the bad bits, rusty bits welded bits. It’s a good thing as it’s saved me travelling to be disappointed with the item.

 

[Limcrazy]

They used to say "photos Never lie"
That's gone full circle even the perfect princess is capable of a wee bit of tidying up.

 

[box]

I almost always buy sight unseen, but I'm always prepared for the worst and expecting to spend money.

 

[Speedstar]

Hello

I'm about to commence a county court claim against this outfit, who sold me a tractor which was significantly mis-described. Does anyone else have any similar experiences with them?

Long story short, I enquired about a 2013 MF5410 early November 2023. I decided against progressing the enquiry (mainly because they had failed to mention in the advert that it had, had the clocks replaced!) but then a month or so later they call me out of the blue and ask me if I would be interested at a reduced price. I make an offer (£24.5k as opposed to the advertised £27.5k) on the specific basis the machine is supplied in full working order, i.e. I'm not expecting a shiny new tractor but everything must work as intended.

They agree and deliver it to me with faults including -

1) significant water ingress from the cab roof hatch due to badly corroded hinges - large amounts of water coming in whenever it rained.
2) seat collapsing (wiring fault)
3) heater controls inoperable
4) front loader grab inoperable (wiring fault and solenoid fault)
5) washer motor inoperable
6) 5 light/indicator bulbs out (yes 5!)
7) low engine oil
8) no door keys for the cab
9) hitch mirror cracked
10) radio inoperable - the water ingress had killed it

All issues reported to HRN immediately with a video showing the faults. No apology from HRN who have since shown absolutely no interest in rectifying any of the issues and claim I should have expected issues with it because they sold it to me at a price lower than initially advertised, which is complete BS as my offer was specifically on the basis it was in full working order and they accepted the offer on that basis.

It's a pain taking them to court but I think it's the right thing to do, particularly because of their fabricated claim to have reduced the price to reflect faults.

Anyone else had similar issues with this company?

I bought a MF 390 TWD years ago from Stuart, unseen over the phone , it turned up & on the wagon the engine did not look 100% ( it had been a collage training tractor so had be in parts a lot )but we took it off & put it in the workshop that night & took it for run the next morning & it put a Rod out of bed, So i called Stuart up & he did not want to know , so I spoke to dealer mate of mine & he said to call Stuarts dad which I did & he was great , I told what had happen & he said what do you want to do , I said the tractor from the bellhousing back is good & the put it right it needs a complete turn key engine, he said he could not pay for one of them so we did a deal & he paid me so many % of the cost of a new engine & the cheque was with us the very next day , As he said things can go wrong some times & you have to sort it out one way or another, I have bought from the since then & would have no problem buying from them again unseen , they have not been in job for a long time with out trust from people

 

[McD]

HRN are very good at making things look good it the photos, found that out going to see things at there depots in the past. I'm afraid these days trust no one and do everything by email so you have it the writing. I found that out the hard way this year dealing with a very reputable large dealer in Somerset.
A gentleman's agreement only works if both sides are gentlemen.

 

[J 1177]

Once travelled down from durham to heartfordshire, Mark Wetherhead to buy a combine, was descibed as seen. Top honest firm to deal with. Had it for 14 years.
Iv bought unseen a subsoiler/flatlift jobby from paxtons that was spot on, a good buy and a bit more techinical a 4 metre maschio from Mark Watson thats been great. The latter are two firms i know and expect to be right.
However id much rather travel and look at a machine when spending decent money.

 

[Rich_ard]

Once travelled down from durham to heartfordshire, Mark Wetherhead to buy a combine, was descibed as seen. Top honest firm to deal with. Had it for 14 years.
Iv bought unseen a subsoiler/flatlift jobby from paxtons that was spot on, a good buy and a bit more techinical a 4 metre maschio from Mark Watson thats been great. The latter are two firms i know and expect to be right.
However id much rather travel and look at a machine when spending decent money.

I would trust Mark watson. Dealers can't know it all either. If tractor drivers break stuff how's a dealer to know when it's going to go bang. Obviously if it gone and they are hopefully shifting it without anyone noticing then that's not good but sites like this you soon find out who's who.

 

[Sparkplug]

Barctrac - Stuart - sold me a 2 year old Telehandler - Heap of scrap and plenty of lies told by him - 6 inch of snow on the ground at the time and too far to go - will never ever buy anything from the group ever again!