James K

An Open Letter to Lookers PLC Leadership

To: Mr. James Brearley, Group CEO, and Mr. Alex Smith, Board Chairman, Lookers PLC I am writing this public review to bring your direct attention to a catastrophic failure of ethics, leadership, and customer duty at your Mercedes-Benz franchise in Crawley. My experience has been so profoundly mismanaged that it demands your immediate intervention. From the outset, the sales team engaged in what can only be described as a deliberate misrepresentation, selling a vehicle with inexplicable mileage discrepancies and undisclosed defects. When challenged, their strategy was one of dismissal and denial. The greatest disappointment, however, came from the leadership. General Manager Stephen Forsyth became the face of your company's empty promises. Despite assuring me he would personally resolve the matter, his approach was to protect his team's flawed actions rather than protect your customer. After a single placating phone call, he has vanished—ignoring every single email for weeks and allowing the situation to fester. This is not leadership; it is a dereliction of duty. The result? I was forced to become my own investigator, uncovering the truth they refused to acknowledge. Only when presented with irrefutable evidence did they accept the vehicle return, but the punishment for holding them accountable was immediate: a torturous delay in refunding my money and a outright refusal to cover the significant costs I incurred because of their fraudulent sale. This is not a simple customer complaint. It is a case study in how a culture of impunity can flourish under weak management. The actions of your Crawley team have caused immense stress and financial strain on my family. Therefore, this is more than a review; it is a formal, public challenge to you, the senior leadership of Lookers PLC. Will you allow this franchise to continue operating in this manner, tarnishing the Lookers and Mercedes-Benz brands? Will you investigate the conduct of Stephen Forsyth and his team, who have chosen to ignore a customer rather than resolve a problem? Will you step in to ensure this is resolved justly, with full compensation for the financial and personal harm caused? The world is watching how you respond. I have already escalated this to the Financial Ombudsman and Trading Standards, but a company that prides itself on reputation should not need a regulator to force it to do what is right. I await your direct action.