At the beginning of December I ordered a new build C43 AMG in the Chelsea London branch with a salesman named Jim. He was really helpful and I was really pleased with the service that I had received. A deposit was paid by the end of that day and I was given an estimated delivery date of April. He assured me he would update me and inform me of a confirmed delivery date which would be no later than 3 weeks. ( Note in the contract that they have to provide the car within 60 days of the estimated delivery date ) By the end of January I had received no updates, so I contacted him myself. Only to be told there was going to be a delay with the car due to the factory putting the colour requested on restriction. He informed me he did not know long this would be and would not be able to find out, I would simply have to wait until the restriction had been lifted, but that this would definitely happen before the next build slot come June. ( this was already outside of contract ) . I left it with him, while regularly chasing him up to see if anything had changed. At this point I was very concerned as I was part exchanging the car I currently had, but the further the date was pushed back the more money I was losing off my car. I also queried if this was going to be taken into consideration, or whether I would be compensated for what I was going to lose off the back of their factory restriction. I was told this was not their fault and they would not compensate me for my loss as this is not something that they do. At no time was I contacted by him or the branch to inform me of anything at all. Every time I got through I was told the same thing. That they did not know. Unfortunately the majority of the time I was shrugged off by the receptionist, to be told no one was in for me to speak to, only her. I find it hard to believe that the only person within the branch during sales times was the receptionist who cannot give information or make an order re a purchase. I found her customer service and attitude appalling, and in a place such as Mercedes Benz, where customers are paying a substantial amount of money I would expect a lot better. I would receive better customer service at Lidl for a pack of 85p marshmallows than I did when dealing with this branch. By February I went to visit family up in Newcastle, and while I was up there I thought I would test the waters and go down to the Mercedes branch there and just ask the question. The whole atmosphere was totally different there. You could tell the staff were passionate not only about their job and the brand itself, but also doing their very best for their customers. I was introduced to a salesman named Chris Arkley and he dealt with me from here. From the jump the process was so straightforward, and he honestly could not have been more helpful. He made one phone call regarding the colour restriction and instantly came back with a confirmed date of November. The fact that this had been so easy proves that the Chelsea branch had me on the run around and knew fine well I would not get the car until late November. I find it mind boggling that they believed it would be acceptable for me to wait 11 months for a car. ( This whole time bare in mind they are holding my ‘nonrefundable’ deposit ) . At this point I knew I had to be proactive as I was being conned by the staff at the Chelsea branch. I asked Chris to show me some of the stock cars they had available. That day I found a car I wanted. I told Chris I would be back the next day to buy it as I needed to go back to the Chelsea branch and have them release my deposit. I contacted Chelsea only to be told Jim was on holiday and again there was no one else in that I could speak to. Only the receptionist who answered my call. Again, very hard to believe she was the only person present. Sales must be pretty bleak to only have a receptionist and no salesperson on site. Eventually after calling continuously I was put through to the manager Fernando. ( who apparently was never there ). He assured me he would sort this out and have the funds released. He said the only thing he needed to find the payment and refund it was the name and date in which the payment was made. This was provided to him on the Friday. I contacted him on the Saturday to assure this had been done. Which he told me it had. Monday, no money has been refunded back into the account. So again I chased it up, only to be told he needed the beneficaries account details. I queried why this was not requested on the Friday when this was originally discussed, his reply was. We no longer have accounting on site so I was unaware of the credentials needed. Considering this man was the branch manager, I’d like to hope he had worked long enough to know how to do his job. Surely he has dealt with accounting more than once, or got the information from accounting previous to me, so this again is another thing I find very hard to believe. But moving forward once I had given over the account details he informed me that the card payment would be back in my bank within 1-2 days and the bank transfer would take 3-5 days. ( He could not give me an explanation as to why the original payments both on a card and bank transfer were both instant yet there was a waiting time for it to be refunded. Seems strange I can make instant bank transfers but a company such as Mercedes Benz there is a delay with their bank ) . Wednesday came, and nothing. I gave them the benefit of the doubt and waited before I chased it up once again. By the time Friday came, still nothing. I rang for an explation and was told the same thing by the girl on reception. No one was in. My mother who was seething at the way in which Mercedes Chelsea we’re dealing with business called them herself. To be told the same thing, no one was in. And when she questioned it, and made clear it was highly doubtful a receptionist was left to deal with the whole branch herself, the girl was clearly offended and hung up the phone on her. When she tried to call back the phone just rang through. We waited acouple hours and tried again, she answered. My mother demanded to speak to a manager, and was then put through. (What happened to it only being her in and no one else?) She was then told by Fernando the same as I was told on Monday that it would take 1–2 / 3-5 working days, which I replied that it had already been that amount of time which they had no response for. Surprise surprise. It wasn’t until the back end of the following week did the money get refunded. Which is just shocking service. I then received a voicemail from Jim, which was less than professional. Making clear he was highly offended that I had complained about the service, and in a nut shell called me a liar. Mercedes Chelsea gave the worst possible sales experience. Never have I experienced such incompetence and I can sincerely say I would never go back there nor would I advise someone to go. I would actually advise them to drive that bit further and go anywhere other than that particular branch. Back to Chris up in Newcastle. He is the reason for the 5 star rating, and I don’t think 5 stars does him any justice. He made up for all the negatives I had experienced with Mercedes thus far. His passion for cars and the brand itself was infectious and made me fall in love with the car all over again. Everything was done so quickly, and with such ease. Chris couldn’t have been more professional if he tried and I would honestly drive 6 hours every time I buy a new car for that kind of service. It was second to non and I can’t thank him enough. True car salesman and genuine guy. And for the record I love my new car, more so that I got it from him. All the staff at the Chelsea branch ruined the experience of buying the car. It’s so refreshing that one guy can change an opinion on a whole brand. As after dealing at the branch in Chelsea I was ready to write off the whole brand. So if you are reading this and you are interested in buying a Mercedes, and happen to be close to Newcastle or just fancy the drive. Ask for Chris Arkley. Highly recommended.