Auto dealer "Independence" has stopped selling cars in their showrooms in the capital. The group, against which the bankruptcy lawsuit was filed, has several centers in the regions.
Auto dealer group "Independence" closed the last car sales points in Moscow. This was told to RBC by a source close to the group, and confirmed by a partner of the company. The representative of "Independence" confirmed to RBC the closure of all the Moscow salons of the group.
The website of the car dealer and phone numbers of car dealerships do not work. According to the official websites of Audi and Volkswagen (the last two brands with which Nezavisimost had dealer agreements), the company is no longer their official dealer. Volkswagen representative (combines Volkswagen brands, Audi and others) said that there were no "changes in the status" of Independence: the company remains a dealer of its brands.
Now the group continues to operate several auto centers in the regions - Ford in Yekaterinburg and Ufa, Peugeot - in Yekaterinburg. A representative of Ford Sollers told RBC that the group's car dealerships in these cities continue to sell cars, but from December 1, the contract with Independence will be terminated. A Peugeot spokesperson said the deal with the dealer is valid until the end of 2017.
Independence’s problems escalated in early 2017. The company changed the manager and began to optimize business processes. The total debt of the group is about 6 billion rubles. Its main creditors are Gazprombank and Sberbank. On November 24, Gazprombank filed bankruptcy claims against a number of Independence structures.
At the beginning of 2017, the group had eight dealer centers owned and four leased in Moscow and the regions. In July, the car dealer closed a number of car dealerships in Moscow (Volvo, Land Rover/Jaguar and Volkswagen) and Yekaterinburg (Volvo, Mitsubishi and Kia). At the end of September, Independence lost its contract with BMW. Then the representative of the dealer told RBC that the group was considering the possibility of terminating the agreement due to unprofitable sales of this brand. According to him, in 2017, Independence lost about 300 million rubles on sales of cars of this brand. due to low margins. Later, Kommersant, citing its sources, reported that the Avilon car dealer group could take the Belaya Dacha dealership, which Nezavisimost rented for sale. BMW cars. In October, Volvo, Jaguar/Land Rover, Mazda and Mitsubishi also canceled their dealer contracts with Independence. As a result, the dealer was left with only Audi, Ford, Volkswagen and Peugeot.
Andrey Pavlovich, Chairman of the Board of Avilon AG, told RBC that Avilon is now in the process of completing a deal to buy a BMW auto center. According to him, dealers specializing in the sale of specific brands may show interest in other Independence car dealerships. “Car centers are very difficult to convert to other activities, and the network in Moscow is very well-established in terms of location. If banks suddenly sell Land Rover centers, then dealers of this brand will be more interested. It will be possible to work there only with those brands with which Nezavisimost worked,” he concluded.
September of this year was not an easy time for the Independence multi-brand holding. In the press and even on television, everyone actively discussed the scandal, which flared up actively around the organization mentioned above. The problem was that this company, essentially car dealerships, simply stopped issuing vehicles to its customers, which, by the way, had already been prepaid as such. The largest dealer in Russia stopped responding to consumer questions and commenting on this situation in any way, spreading rumors that very soon the corporation would simply declare its own insolvency as such - bankruptcy.
How did events develop further?
Deceived buyers began to apply to government agencies and directly to manufacturing companies, whose dealers were the Independence No. car dealerships. Thus, manufacturers began to solve this issue by issuing paid vehicles to deceived buyers, and all this was reimbursed directly at the expense of the manufacturer. In general, losses amounted to at least six billion rubles, which is the largest amount in the history of this business area, respectively.
They were the first to refuse cooperation with the WWII dealer, and then the Volvo Cars company also terminated all business relations with this company. Deceived buyers had to be saved by the manufacturers themselves, however, such a positive development of the situation did not affect everyone, and for many the question remains as to how to return their own money or still get vehicle, for which financial resources have long been paid, respectively.
What news is there about this?
It is worth noting the fact that the scandal has become of interest to a huge number of media representatives who actively keep abreast of the events around the company and the scandal itself. Thus, official sources report that and BMW company, and the car manufacturer Volvo Cars have already terminated the contract with the specified dealer and even held tenders regarding who will be the representative of the official type in Russia in the future. However, the companies have not yet reported the results and we can only wait for statements.
In addition, an investigation is underway into the situation due to which the scandal occurred. By the way, the owner of 50% of the company's shares, Roman Tchaikovsky, does not comment on his position and does not communicate with the press. Investigations showed that Nezavisimost's problems began quite a long time ago - several years ago the company took out its first loan. Now its amount has increased many times and directly amounts to at least seven billion rubles. Earlier it was said that the company is in a hurry to declare bankruptcy, but state-owned banks recently began to report that negotiations are currently underway regarding an immediate loan restructuring. The possibility of returning some part of the loans at the expense of the shares of this company is being considered. However, no official sources have provided more detailed information yet.
How are things going with the issue?
The deceived customers began to talk about the problem and the manufacturers, as has been repeatedly mentioned in this article of our official resource, independently took up the direct solution of the issue. To date, BMW reports that they have been able to completely eliminate the issue of their buyers who paid in full for the vehicle, but still did not receive their goods, respectively. Other car brands and their representatives report that this particular issue is in the active stage of its immediate solution, respectively.
However, it is worth noting the fact that in this barrel of honey there is a fairly large fly in the ointment. After all, a huge number of buyers made only a partial payment for their future vehicle, or the payment was an incomplete amount, but close to a full payment. With such clients, things are somewhat more complicated and it is worth noting that official representatives have not yet commented on this situation in any way and, accordingly, do not report on whether the issue of this formulation of this issue is being resolved or not.
But buyers do not give up and are actively trying to defend their rights, although no one can clearly answer these questions for them yet, as well as provide any guarantees in this regard in the same way. But we will further try to consider this issue in more detail and together find a way out of such an unpleasant situation, respectively.
Difficulties regarding the direct payment of money spent and / or the return of vehicles will also be faced by those buyers who did not make their purchase on individual, but on legal. According to sources, in this case, returning your money back or getting the promised car back will be quite difficult and not at all as simple as it might seem at first glance or as it was with those customers who were able to get the promised. We will talk about this in more detail later in this article of our official resource.
What to do if cheated at a car dealership?
It is worth noting the fact that not only buyers of the largest Independence dealer face the subject of deception directly in the car dealership, but also many others who use the direct services of car dealerships that are not as widely known to the public as already mentioned above. Needless to say, what are the thoughts of almost any potential buyer of such salons? Few people think about how carefully you should treat all the details of the transaction, and not everyone carefully checks such details. Most live in a dream that they are about to have the opportunity to sit behind the wheel of a new vehicle.
It is worth noting the fact that the issue of direct deception in car dealerships has become almost a "tradition" in almost any of the organizations of this type, and the worst thing is that the statistics are far from the most comforting, regardless of the region of the country and the financial situation of the potential consumer, respectively, that only speaks of the high need to take such issues seriously.
If you have no desire to simply fall for a large enough loan to get your vehicle, be deceived on the authenticity of the offered car, and avoid other unpleasant situations, then stay with us and continue reading this article.
Cheating option - too cheap car
Needless to say, it would be time for all of us to get used to the fact that in the realities of the modern world, in fact, free cheese is only in a mousetrap. And this applies not only to the transport industry of the domestic market directly. If you are strongly offered any product on the terms of an incredible benefit - a car many times lower than its immediate market value, then you should think very carefully about - where could there be a catch? Understand that there is no reason for anyone to work at a loss - there is no point in such a business.
Responsibility of fraudulent car dealerships before the law
It's no secret that any fraudulent activities in our state are illegal and, accordingly, are prosecuted in accordance with the current legislation. Russian Federation respectively. It is worth noting the fact that, in a procedural manner, fraud directly in car dealerships can be qualified by the court in different ways:
- administrative offense;
- criminal offense of the law.
Thus, the very responsibility of fraudsters will also be quite different. In order to qualify a crime, it is worth referring to the Law "On Protection of Consumer Rights" and carefully studying the situation in order to find out which provisions of this law were directly violated in this particular case.
Fraudsters can be held criminally liable directly under Article 159 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation in the event that there is a fact of almost direct deception of the client in the case, the presence of actions that imply such deception, respectively. This point may refer to any options that are offered by the specified organization: taking out insurance, fraudulent actions regarding the sale of low-quality goods to the buyer, fraudulent actions regarding the final amount of the cost of the vehicle, and so on.
For the rest, you should prove the presence of illegal actions of the car dealership regarding you specifically and in the best way possible. this process you can be helped by such a professional in their field as a lawyer and / or a lawyer.
Help of a lawyer or independent solution of issues?
Each person accepts the answer to the question posed independently. However, if you fall into the hands of scammers (in "Independence" or any other car dealership), you should have only one solution - to fight for justice and, above all, for your own interests. You should not give up, and even more so that we are not talking about small amounts of money.
If you are well versed in the topic, have sufficient qualities of pressure, perseverance and penetration, then you can easily improve your own knowledge of jurisdiction and go to the expanses of self-protection of your own rights and your financial situation. You can also independently engage in the representation of your own interests in all state instances directly if you have sufficient knowledge and experience of a procedural nature directly.
In the event that you do not differ in such direct qualities, then it is best, of course, to entrust the direct solution of this issue to the shoulders of a true professional in their field. At the first consultation, your lawyer (lawyer) will tell you about the prospects for your case and the realities with which you can continue to work accordingly. Thus, you will immediately determine the goals and you can always be sure of a positive guaranteed result from your lawyer directly.
What conclusions can be drawn from the current situation?
Needless to say, with regard to the article of our resource indicated above in this article, it is rather difficult to speak about any specific conclusions or decisions, respectively. Recall that the immediate problem was that this company - in fact, car dealerships, simply stopped issuing vehicles to their customers, which, by the way, had already been paid in advance as such.
The largest dealer in Russia stopped responding to consumer questions and commenting on this situation in any way, spreading rumors that very soon the corporation would simply declare its own insolvency as such - bankruptcy. Deceived buyers began to apply to government agencies and directly to manufacturing companies, the dealers of which were the Nezavisimost car dealerships. Thus, manufacturers began to solve this issue by issuing paid vehicles to deceived buyers, and all this was reimbursed directly at the expense of the manufacturer. In general, losses amounted to at least six billion rubles, which is the largest amount in the history of this business area, respectively.
The main feature that can be summed up as a result of everything that was said above in this article - never give up and continue to use all the methods available to you in order to prove your rights and get what belongs to you by law. Needless to say, even if you still can’t get your vehicle or sue money from the largest dealer in Russia, Independence, then this is only a temporary phenomenon and when more precise decisions are made on this case and signed relevant documents, then your situation will improve significantly, and your issue will be resolved fairly quickly.
Important! For all questions when cheating at a car dealership, if you don’t know what to do and where to go:
Call 8-800-777-32-63.
Or you can ask a question in any pop-up window, so that a lawyer on your issue can answer and advise you as quickly as possible.
Consumer protection lawyers, and attorneys who are registered on Russian Legal Portal, will try to help you from a practical point of view in the current issue and advise you on all issues of interest.
Around one of the BMW brand dealers. Center's clients BMW Independence» claim that they cannot receive paid cars, although they are physically located at the dealer's site. The seller, in turn, refers to the lack of title and the inability to issue cars to buyers. Dozens of victims talk about their claims on social networks, and some of them are ready to take extreme measures. As a result, on Thursday, September 14, the Russian office of BMW made an official explanation.
The case of Muscovite Gleb Pimenov, who for two months could not pick up the paid BMW crossover. “We paid for the car on July 25, the delivery date came out on August 15. The car is parked at the dealer, they swiped the money, but they didn’t buy the title from the importer BMW Rusland Trading,” Pimenov’s friend explained on Facebook.
As a result, a disgruntled car owner blocked the main entrance of the dealership with his pickup truck. "Friends demand immediate ransom of the car and guard their new car in the parking lot so they don't take her out. Today the dealer simply did not open,” Pimenov’s associate wrote. After a series of publications in the media, the dissatisfied client still received his new car.
Another story with the same dealer almost ended in damage to expensive property. A dissatisfied client and a lawyer spent several hours in the salon, demanding the keys to the car and calling the police three times. Having lost his temper, the client first overlaid several cars with wooden sticks, and then tried to get into the purchased car by breaking the glass in it, but was stopped by his friends. As a result, the management of the salon still issued the car, and with all the necessary documents.
The official representative of the Russian office of BMW, Vasily Melnikov, confirmed to the correspondent of the site that Nezavisimost really did not transfer money to the importer. “At the moment, a situation has arisen when customers paid for cars, but we don’t see this money and therefore we don’t issue titles. In fact, we did not receive any money. Now Nezavisimost is not fulfilling the obligations that a company representing our brand must fulfill," he explained.
Later, the Russian office issued an official statement in which it noted that negotiations are currently underway with the dealer to get out of this situation, providing for various scenarios, “up to the most cardinal ones.”
Representatives of the BMW Independence dealership recognize the problem and say that the company is trying to find a way out. “We continue to try to have a constructive dialogue with the BMW dealership for the benefit of our customers. We do our best to provide customers with cars of this brand in the near future. Until today, cars were issued in a planned manner in accordance with the terms of the contract. We hope that in the near future, together with the importer, we will be able to offer customers a solution to the current situation, ”the website answered at Independence.
At the moment, says Melnikov from BMW, the shipment of new cars to the dealer has been stopped. Moreover, the importer has started to remove the cars that were provided to the seller, and is also considering options for the removal of customer cars to ensure their safety. “We do not recommend buying cars and doing service work at Nezavisimost and refer customers to other dealerships. We are dealing with questions that customers have and trying to minimize losses,” said a BMW spokesman.
However, the importer still cannot directly force the dealer to issue cars that have already been paid for to customers, he says: “Legally, Nezavisimost has obligations to the customers from whom they received money and to whom they pledged to issue cars. This responsibility lies with the dealer. We are a third party, we ship cars if we see that the payment went through.
There is no talk about deprivation of the dealership either, they say in the BMW office: “This procedure takes at least several weeks. Any dealer center is protected from potential inadequate actions of the representative office. In this case, this is another legal entity that we have no right to influence. While we are considering options for what to do next.
Independence closed all its showrooms: on Monday it became known that the company had ceased to be the official representative of the Audi and Volkswagen brands. They were the last to cooperate with the dealer. Prior to this, several other importers terminated their contracts with Independence. The company said that they decided to cease operations, because they could not agree with creditors on debt restructuring. The dealer has worked on the market for 25 years, he had showrooms in Moscow, Yekaterinburg and Ufa.
The serious financial difficulties of Independence became known at the beginning of the year, its debts were estimated at 6 billion rubles. In September, several dozen customers of the dealer complained that they could not receive paid BMW cars. German manufacturer forbade the company to sell its cars, and gave cars to deceived customers at his own expense. In October, a similar situation occurred with Volvo customers, and the brand deprived Nezavisimost of its dealer status. Later contracts with the company were terminated by Jaguar Land Rover, Mazda and Mitsubishi. Ford and Peugeot plan to terminate their contracts before the end of the year.
In recent months, Independence has been negotiating with its main creditors - Sberbank and Gazprombank. A plan was discussed under which banks could become shareholders of the company. But on Monday it became known that Gazprombank had filed bankruptcy claims against Independence structures for more than 2 billion rubles.
How will the closure of Independence affect its customers and the market as a whole? The dealer declined to disclose how many customers have already paid for the cars and still haven't received them. According to the administrative director of the company Sergey Chadin, this is a small number. He expressed the hope that all automakers will meet the dealer halfway and issue cars to customers at their own expense: “For some customers, a decision was made to find funds, terminate contracts, work is underway with the rest. In particular, for Audi it was a favorable decision, the importer supported us. We are looking forward to Mazda, they are coordinating the position with the headquarters in Japan. We are working less favorably with Volvo, negotiations are still underway. According to Volkswagen, this issue should be resolved with the help of importers.”
Muscovites will hardly feel the departure from the market of "Independence". Cars of the brands that were presented at the dealer can still be purchased, said Dmitry Chumakov, CEO of the marketing and sociological research agency Vector Market Research: “Most of Nezavisimost’s business is still concentrated around the Moscow region. There are quite a lot of dealerships for each of the car manufacturers. Yes, in terms of after-sales service in a certain region or district of the city, representation will be worse, you will have to travel to neighboring areas. But, nevertheless, from the point of view of the representation of cars from various foreign manufacturers, including those included in the Independence portfolio, there will be no significant damage to car buyers.”
Competitors have already begun to look closely at the salons of Independence. So, for example, the Belaya Dacha center, which sold BMW, has already become interested in Avilon, writes Kommersant.