Bus Stop Campers Sheffield

Kerrance said:
Has anybody had any recent dealings with or had a conversion completed by Bus Stop VW or Bus Stop campers in Sheffield lately?
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Hi, Yes our van is currently with them, but we are starting to get concerned, even more so after reading this thread. It went in on the 16th May, I emailed on Mon just to get a casual update as it had been 3 weeks and we have still not received a completion date, I emailed Mon, then Wed and nothing, called yesterday and was told I'd get a call back, emailed again this morning saying I'd like to know the situation before the weekend. We initially went on their good reviews, although in hindsight the reviews are a little old and there seems to be no recent ones, good or bad. All our initial meetings and communication was great, although we did hear the story about them getting another customers colours wrong which did spark anxiety for me. We are now unsure what to do, we suspect they have not started it yet and it's been in almost a month now. We are not demanding or pushy people, but do feel we have the right to a progress update every 3 or 4 weeks. If we pull it out seems we will have trouble getting our deposit money back from what I have read on here? They are really nice people and it seems the final conversions are great, but I'm not comfortable with the lack of communication and update.
 
Kerrance said:
Exactly what we did, following further false promises & finding out no materials had been ordered we eventually requested a refund. Nearly two months later, during which we’ve been told several times they’ll start the refund… we’ve yet to receive a penny back.
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Hi, how long had they had your van without starting it? Have you managed to get your refund yet?
 
Bav said:
Hi @2018 - welcome to the forum. My advice would be to get yourself around there and find out exactly where they're at. You can also voice your concerns to them whilst looking them in the eye,
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Yes, we are unfortunately having to just call up on Mon, it seems they are now ignoring our emails, we have sent 3 this week and no replies and it seems that they are now not answering our calls, we have left a voicemail, but don't expect a call back. It's concerning that they have our van and a good chunk of our money and are now ignoring us. Feeling very uneasy about the situation.
 
2018 said:
Yes, we are unfortunately having to just call up on Mon, it seems they are now ignoring our emails, we have sent 3 this week and no replies and it seems that they are now not answering our calls, we have left a voicemail, but don't expect a call back. It's concerning that they have our van and a good chunk of our money and are now ignoring us. Feeling very uneasy about the situation.
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I always find it's a lot harder to ignore someone stood right in front of me, whereas "strategic email/ voicemail prioritisation" comes as second nature (at least that's how it was worded in one of my recent annual appraisals :whistle: - not sure, but don't think it was meant as a compliment!).
 
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  • Haha
Reactions: CAB
2018 said:
Hi, how long had they had your van without starting it? Have you managed to get your refund yet?
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Had our money since early Feb, to secure the slot and purchase the necessary materials. Had our van for 6 weeks. We like you gently asked for a progress update at around 4 weeks (was told 3 to turn it around)
We, as you’ve been recommended to do which I fully support given our own experiences. Called in on the 6th week to see for ourselves.. Van sat in yard, not moved.
 
Im not sure if this helps or not but we used Bus Stop VW in 2021 and did get a completed van but it did take effort! They sourced the T6 for us which was very helpful and we were impressed with how efficient they were. This was purchased in March 2021 and they arranged all transport for it. Our build slot was for the end of April 2021 - 6 weeks turnaround time advised. We agreed they could hold the van for us to save on vehicle tax. We paid our deposit on time and then it all went quiet. They did respond to emails and phone calls - I also managed to get hold of one of their personal mob numbers which I think helped! but we didn't get our camper until the last week of Sept 2021 in the end. In between all of this we did visit them to see what was happening - lots of reasons for the delays - staff , material shortages, all probably valid reasons but why not be honest with people - we did say this to them! We had to cancel 3 holidays we had planned and they did offer to refund any deposits (although this wasnt needed as we got this back). They also sent photos as well - when pushed. When we picked up the van it did have the rear spoiler missing and some very minor decoration bits inside but we decided to take it anyway. We returned the van in Dec 2021 for them to finish off the final bits, which they did do but again that did take some effort and I basically told them we were turning up on this date and would wait until it was done. They however did also replace some parts within the locking mechanism of the side door which was nothing to do with them but they fitted them for free (we purchased the parts before hand). As for the van, we are v happy with it, we have been on 6-7 holidays since Sept, some minor issues which we could fix ourselves but I think this is more to do with heat/shrinkage/usage and I am VERY fussy!! They got all of our colours right! Although we did have to change the colour of the tent which was disappointing as they couldnt get the colour we wanted - but Im glad they communicated this. I honestly think they have taken on to many customers for their own good. Like everyone else I read the reviews. Interestingly I didnt put a review on myself as I really liked the guys there and it wouldnt have been a great review - maybe this is why they have only good reviews!? Good luck - keep phoning and popping in is all I can suggest.

View attachment 160470

FB_IMG_1633861201831.jpgin their workshop on collection day!
 
Kerrance said:
Had our money since early Feb, to secure the slot and purchase the necessary materials. Had our van for 6 weeks. We like you gently asked for a progress update at around 4 weeks (was told 3 to turn it around)
We, as you’ve been recommended to do which I fully support given our own experiences. Called in on the 6th week to see for ourselves.. Van
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JEK said:
Im not sure if this helps or not but we used Bus Stop VW in 2021 and did get a completed van but it did take effort! They sourced the T6 for us which was very helpful and we were impressed with how efficient they were. This was purchased in March 2021 and they arranged all transport for it. Our build slot was for the end of April 2021 - 6 weeks turnaround time advised. We agreed they could hold the van for us to save on vehicle tax. We paid our deposit on time and then it all went quiet. They did respond to emails and phone calls - I also managed to get hold of one of their personal mob numbers which I think helped! but we didn't get our camper until the last week of Sept 2021 in the end. In between all of this we did visit them to see what was happening - lots of reasons for the delays - staff , material shortages, all probably valid reasons but why not be honest with people - we did say this to them! We had to cancel 3 holidays we had planned and they did offer to refund any deposits (although this wasnt needed as we got this back). They also sent photos as well - when pushed. When we picked up the van it did have the rear spoiler missing and some very minor decoration bits inside but we decided to take it anyway. We returned the van in Dec 2021 for them to finish off the final bits, which they did do but again that did take some effort and I basically told them we were turning up on this date and would wait until it was done. They however did also replace some parts within the locking mechanism of the side door which was nothing to do with them but they fitted them for free (we purchased the parts before hand). As for the van, we are v happy with it, we have been on 6-7 holidays since Sept, some minor issues which we could fix ourselves but I think this is more to do with heat/shrinkage/usage and I am VERY fussy!! They got all of our colours right! Although we did have to change the colour of the tent which was disappointing as they couldnt get the colour we wanted - but Im glad they communicated this. I honestly think they have taken on to many customers for their own good. Like everyone else I read the reviews. Interestingly I didnt put a review on myself as I really liked the guys there and it wouldnt have been a great review - maybe this is why they have only good reviews!? Good luck - keep phoning and popping in is all I can suggest.
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Hello, so it seems that this is an ongoing issue with them, we did finally get an email on Friday, saying we would get an update on Mon, still nothing today so called just before closing, we was told that they are running on 3 members of staff as 5 staff members walked out within one week and that they are training up 2 or 3 new staff members, but still no update on our conversation and no honesty on whether its being started or not (it obviously hasn't). It seems they can't keep staff and yes I agree they are taking on way too much work and can't handle the workload, I suspect they are running the business on people's deposits and relying on new customers deposits to finish off other customers conversations etc, I can't think of any other logical reason as to why they would jeopardise the business like this. They are nice people and maybe this is why people are not speaking up on social media via reviews or maybe they have a way of 'monitoring' them, I regret taking our van to them, but they were brilliant to start with, had all the time in the world for us, but once our deposit was paid its become a total different story! I really don't have the energy to be chasing them for updates etc, it's meant to be a really enjoyable and exciting process. The strange thing is that we heard a lot of stories about other customers from them saying people were demanding and expected things doing immediately because they had a lot of money, in hindsight all the warning signs were there. I think we will take our van back and take the small claims route to get our money back if they don't co-operate. Can I ask, where else would people take vans for conversation? I have started looking for other conversation business online.
 
That sounds hard work. Small claims can be done online.

I had a van mostly converted by @AJCConversions a few years ago. No nonsense, was given a day for it to be dropped off, came back 10 days later. Excellent, had no issues with the conversion. We only had one vehicle then, so months away would have been highly stressful.

I would search the forums for companies who are well-thought of. I even searched the T4 forums.
 
2018 said:
Hello, so it seems that this is an ongoing issue with them, we did finally get an email on Friday, saying we would get an update on Mon, still nothing today so called just before closing, we was told that they are running on 3 members of staff as 5 staff members walked out within one week and that they are training up 2 or 3 new staff members, but still no update on our conversation and no honesty on whether its being started or not (it obviously hasn't). It seems they can't keep staff and yes I agree they are taking on way too much work and can't handle the workload, I suspect they are running the business on people's deposits and relying on new customers deposits to finish off other customers conversations etc, I can't think of any other logical reason as to why they would jeopardise the business like this. They are nice people and maybe this is why people are not speaking up on social media via reviews or maybe they have a way of 'monitoring' them, I regret taking our van to them, but they were brilliant to start with, had all the time in the world for us, but once our deposit was paid its become a total different story! I really don't have the energy to be chasing them for updates etc, it's meant to be a really enjoyable and exciting process. The strange thing is that we heard a lot of stories about other customers from them saying people were demanding and expected things doing immediately because they had a lot of money, in hindsight all the warning signs were there. I think we will take our van back and take the small claims route to get our money back if they don't co-operate. Can I ask, where else would people take vans for conversation? I have started looking for other conversation business online.
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If you haven’t already, you need to visit Busfest & the caravan & motor home show. We did 18months of research before we chose our converter. We visited the aforementioned shows, visited various companies & spoke to people on campsites. The problem with taking recommendations from fora, is that very few people will stand up and say “my van is crap & I should never have taken it to xxxx”. Draw up a short list based on what you’ve seen in the flesh & work from there. The problem is that there’s been an explosion of converters cashing in on the boom. Many are just “Fred in a shed” who did his own conversion & thought he could make a few quid doing others. Many of the conversions we saw during our research, were identikit jobs, using the same design & furniture that can be bought online. If you want something different or unique, you need to dig deep in time & money.
 
I've seen plenty of complaints! But I went back years...

I'd look for people properly capitalised, who don't need a massive deposit to fund cashflow. That discounts most of the "enthusiastic amateur".

But I'm a massive introvert, who barely leaves the house, so organised events aren't something I think of doing but good idea!
 
2018 said:
Hello, so it seems that this is an ongoing issue with them, we did finally get an email on Friday, saying we would get an update on Mon, still nothing today so called just before closing, we was told that they are running on 3 members of staff as 5 staff members walked out within one week and that they are training up 2 or 3 new staff members, but still no update on our conversation and no honesty on whether its being started or not (it obviously hasn't). It seems they can't keep staff and yes I agree they are taking on way too much work and can't handle the workload, I suspect they are running the business on people's deposits and relying on new customers deposits to finish off other customers conversations etc, I can't think of any other logical reason as to why they would jeopardise the business like this. They are nice people and maybe this is why people are not speaking up on social media via reviews or maybe they have a way of 'monitoring' them, I regret taking our van to them, but they were brilliant to start with, had all the time in the world for us, but once our deposit was paid its become a total different story! I really don't have the energy to be chasing them for updates etc, it's meant to be a really enjoyable and exciting process. The strange thing is that we heard a lot of stories about other customers from them saying people were demanding and expected things doing immediately because they had a lot of money, in hindsight all the warning signs were there. I think we will take our van back and take the small claims route to get our money back if they don't co-operate. Can I ask, where else would people take vans for conversation? I have started looking for other conversation business online.
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Given they still have our money 4 & 1/2 months since paying & 2 & 1/2 months since collecting.. I’d say it is very likely they are living on deposits.
 
Salty Spuds said:
You’re going to have a very short campsite list
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The parties are epic tho. Even me, with my fun police tendencies, can appreciate the effort that goes into them.

Anyway, we digress...

With my ex-CAB advisor hat on:
Op, write formally with recorded delivery requesting your money/van back (or preferred action).

Give them a deadline to respond, eg 7 days. Quote the current legislation.

CAB has a website, detailing the steps involved...
Good luck.
 
2018 said:
Can I ask, where else would people take vans for conversation? I have started looking for other conversation business online.
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Jay586 said:
I had a van mostly converted by @AJCConversions a few years ago. No nonsense, was given a day for it to be dropped off, came back 10 days later. Excellent, had no issues with the conversion. We only had one vehicle then, so months away would have been highly stressful.
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@2018 +1 for AJC Conversions, based at Glossop, speak to Brandon - for a no nonsense approach & a very helpful guy.
He is on this Forum as a trader - @AJCConversions - so you can PM if you need to
He promised my full conversion on a certain date and it was completed on that date.
Turnaround approx 3 weeks if I remember.
No hesitation in recommending them.

My build thread:

www.t6forum.com

My T6 Journey...

The story starts like this... From being a little lad, nearly 40 years ago whose Dad had a succession of air cooled T2's and T3's dropside double cab pick up trucks, whilst being a self employeed welder / fabricator that could be heard driving up the street before being seen driving up the...
www.t6forum.com www.t6forum.com
 
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A
moomin-j said:
@2018 +1 for AJC Conversions, based at Glossop, speak to Brandon - for a no nonsense approach & a very helpful guy.
He is on this Forum as a trader - @AJCConversions - so you can PM if you need to
He promised it on a certain date and it was completed on that date.
Turnaround approx 3 weeks if I remember.
No hesitation in recommending them.

My build thread:

www.t6forum.com

My T6 Journey...

The story starts like this... From being a little lad, nearly 40 years ago whose Dad had a succession of air cooled T2's and T3's dropside double cab pick up trucks, whilst being a self employeed welder / fabricator that could be heard driving up the street before being seen driving up the...
www.t6forum.com www.t6forum.com
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And if you want something unique & truly bespoke, try Dirty Weekender in Worcester. They will probably be booked up until next year and they aren’t a budget option. But you will get a truly individual build with an OCD attention to detail.

Dirty Weekender - Adventure Vans

VW van conversions and extreme sport
www.dirty-weekender.com
 
Where are they storing all these vans? If I was a converter and I was behind on conversion 1, started conversion 2, I'd be phoning conversion 3 saying I'm ever so sorry but can you drop it off next week instead of this week as I'm behind and I don't have the room!

I'd also not want the responsibility of storing an expensive van that I had no intent of starting converting for weeks / months!
 
Mixersmate said:
Where are they storing all these vans? If I was a converter and I was behind on conversion 1, started conversion 2, I'd be phoning conversion 3 saying I'm ever so sorry but can you drop it off next week instead of this week as I'm behind and I don't have the room!

I'd also not want the responsibility of storing an expensive van that I had no intent of starting converting for weeks / months!
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They have a gated yard area, when we went in march 2021 it was packed! Should have been a warning I guess but we didnt realise at the time. They did have significantly less Van's when we went again in july and then sept. They told us they have insurance...cant remember the amount now ....seemed substantial at the time but I do remember after seeing the yard the 2nd time and what with the cost of stuff now, whether it was enough to cover everything back then. Looking back now I think I might have lost my mind for a moment as we didnt even take out our own insurance until we picked it up. I am usually miss careful and not afraid to ask so they obviously made me feel comfortable at the time....... I guess if people are worried they should ask to see their insurance cert and/ or get their own cover.
 
Well they've had my Crafter 6 months and I'm hopefully picking it up Friday, it's been hard work but they're slowly progressing, I will let you all know if the van is delivered . So fingers crossed.lets book a holiday and ........... relax
 
Picked my van up this evening and must say it was well worth the wait, stunning workmanship, far better than I expected, absolutely lovely finish all round, my van was washed and polished and looked like new, I'll post some pics tomorrow if anyone's interested, all I can say to people that are still waiting is, be patient, they've got the staff back on track and things are moving forwards. I would still highly recommend Bus stop even with the delays.
 
Sidbattle said:
Picked my van up this evening and must say it was well worth the wait, stunning workmanship, far better than I expected, absolutely lovely finish all round, my van was washed and polished and looked like new, I'll post some pics tomorrow if anyone's interested, all I can say to people that are still waiting is, be patient, they've got the staff back on track and things are moving forwards. I would still highly recommend Bus stop even with the delays.
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Ooh yes photos please!

I follow them on instagram and their finished product does look excellent and they are only an hour away from me, but my van is my only car so I couldn’t wait a long time, I also don’t have the patience that you have!
 
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