South West Bikers | Motorcycle Forum

Just heard on another forum that V&J have called-in the administrators. If it is true then its a bit of a blow to motorcycling in the Taunton and Bridgwater area

Been hearing rumours. Apparently there was a note on the door saying "closed til Wednesday due to unforseen circumstances". My mate won't be happy. He's give 'em some money to get him an air filter which hasn't turned up yet.

they lost the Suzuki and Kwak franchises, haven't got any stock in the Taunton shop, I think Honda were keeping them going in Bridgwater. Sad but I expect Riders will step in for the Honda site.

yeah I'd heard rumours about difficulties going back to the Mudford days... to be honest that branch didn't have the greatest local reputation but there you go.

It really is a sign of the times, right now my concern would be for anyone who has bunged a deposit down. There is no official confirmation of this news that I can find, which in itself would worry me if I had money down with them...

Can anyone confirm this? Any news from Taunton or Bridgey?

Stores locked and website down suggests its game over, but if I had money down or was owed by them I would be desperate for an official statement.

I hope they haven't gone. Ordered £90 of parts for my son Varadero 125, last week.

have to be carefull what I say as don't know who reads these forums but please please people use your local franchises etc and not just the bigger giants, such as the main one in Exeter which I won't name but really have had bad experiences with them and think it's a real shame when anyone else in the area goes.

Just my point of view, hope people get there bits and pieces they've put money down for.

i believe it to be true, think the hondas were taken away last week and the administrators called in on monday, shame to see another one of the big boys gone just like that

It's important to keep flagging this thread up because so far V&J have issued no statement, meaning that some people with dosh down may not even know that their money is on the line.

We reported it on bikerglory.com and chased up MCN. Steve Farrell rang back to say even they had drawn a complete blank - he even tried ringing the MD's house, nothing doing. His next move was to get a statement from Honda, we'll hear more tomorrow. The main concern right now is that with no statement and no administrators on record, punters involved are on a 100% looser. That's why it's important to keep this in the public domian as much as possible. For that reason anyone who has put money down or has a claim for unpaid wages should step forward - I know Steve would like to hear from you so he can pass details onto Honda.

nick650 wrote:have to be carefull what I say as don't know who reads these forums but please please people use your local franchises etc and not just the bigger giants, such as the main one in Exeter which I won't name but really have had bad experiences with them and think it's a real shame when anyone else in the area goes.

Just my point of view, hope people get there bits and pieces they've put money down for.

fortunately we all have the choice of where to spend our money. V&J didn't have another penny off me after a bad experience (with the father) in 2003ish.

likewise another local dealer wont get another penny off me after a very bitter experience last year (again it was the owner not the staff). I'd rather go to Fowlers/bridge/wherever is going to give me good service and not treat me like a mug.

Confirmed on MCN website but still a wall of silence from V&J... no word on deposits, bikes in for servicing, spares placed on order (and paid for) etc etc

nikko wrote:yeah I'd heard rumours about difficulties going back to the Mudford days... to be honest that branch didn't have the greatest local reputation but there you go.

It really is a sign of the times, right now my concern would be for anyone who has bunged a deposit down. There is no official confirmation of this news that I can find, which in itself would worry me if I had money down with them...

I used to work in the Mudford branch myself for nearly 3 years between 2007 and 2010. Yes I knew that the branch didn't have a good rep as I tried to be a customer beforehand but wasn't too pleased with service over the phone. I believe that I did my best to change that service to everyone I dealt with the best I could. Decided to leave after Suzuki pulled the plug on 41 dealers before winter of the final year as times were tough and thought it might help. I've heard alot since about the shops from friends and for the staff it's a shame that they are gone, I hope for the customers waiting for parts/deposits/money/etc that they get it.

It is a sad day when another dealer closes its doors for the last time, Again I also worked at the Yeovil store between 2008 and 2011 and time did get hard due to how motorbikes were selling but you just had to carry on as normal.

I agree that the service before me and Nik started was bad but I belive that all the time and effort we put in made a big diffrance, I think people stopped going as soon as Suzuki made there cock up (god knows how they thought they could sale motorbike in the UK with out dealers across the UK)

All I can say is good luck to the family that owned V&J, and hope their are not anymore big dealers in trouble that we have a big effect.

Found more news regarding V&J's, found this from the Somerset County Gazette.

Director David Hopgood said: 'After the conclusion of our partnership with Honda and some very tough trading conditions the directors of V&J Superbikes have taken the very difficult decision to begin the appointment of Milsted Langdon as administrators who will be contacting customers and creditors in due course

Hopefully will be able to get my money back for spares with this official announcement??

zzrman wrote:Found more news regarding V&J's, found this from the Somerset County Gazette.

Director David Hopgood said: 'After the conclusion of our partnership with Honda and some very tough trading conditions the directors of V&J Superbikes have taken the very difficult decision to begin the appointment of Milsted Langdon as administrators who will be contacting customers and creditors in due course

Hopefully will be able to get my money back for spares with this official announcement??

That should be the case, get hold of your deposit slip and be prepared to wait.