"Bidfood's Fleet Fiasco: A Tale of Neglect, Lies and Lost Cars"
In a bizarre series of events, two individuals - BN from Brighton and NC from Hertfordshire - found themselves at the receiving end of Bidfood's fleet management company, VMS. What started as a routine incident involving a damaged vehicle eventually turned into a nightmare of neglect, lies and lost cars.
BN reported that his car was towed away in January after a Bidfood delivery lorry accidentally reversed into it outside his house. VMS, which arranges repairs and provides hire cars, failed to provide any meaningful updates despite numerous attempts by BN to get in touch with the manager assigned to his case. The lack of communication was compounded when BN received five penalty charge notices for unpaid Ulez charges, indicating that his car had been driven without his knowledge.
Similarly, NC's car was damaged by a Bidfood lorry in June and was taken away by VMS for repairs. However, what followed was an identical pattern of neglect and lack of communication from VMS. Both cars were stored at Cobra Coachworks in Kent, where they were kept "held to ransom" as part of an unrelated commercial dispute between the two companies.
According to VMS, the holdout car owners are among 23 vehicles retained by Cobra due to a debt allegedly owed by VMS. However, the company refuses to provide evidence for this claim, despite repeatedly assuring both BN and NC that their cars would be returned promptly. It wasn't until a journalist intervened last month that VMS finally took action, appointing a solicitor to demand the return of the vehicles.
The twist is that Bidfood claims it was not even aware of the incidents involving NC's car until August, a month after it was repaired and paid for. The company has since ended its relationship with VMS, but is still working with them to secure the release of the two cars.
As BN finally received his car back nine months after it was taken - albeit with 46 extra miles on the clock - NC remains without her vehicle. Both drivers suspect that without press intervention, they would have still been waiting for their cars to be returned. The saga raises questions about accountability and communication in the fleet management industry, particularly when things go wrong.
In a bizarre series of events, two individuals - BN from Brighton and NC from Hertfordshire - found themselves at the receiving end of Bidfood's fleet management company, VMS. What started as a routine incident involving a damaged vehicle eventually turned into a nightmare of neglect, lies and lost cars.
BN reported that his car was towed away in January after a Bidfood delivery lorry accidentally reversed into it outside his house. VMS, which arranges repairs and provides hire cars, failed to provide any meaningful updates despite numerous attempts by BN to get in touch with the manager assigned to his case. The lack of communication was compounded when BN received five penalty charge notices for unpaid Ulez charges, indicating that his car had been driven without his knowledge.
Similarly, NC's car was damaged by a Bidfood lorry in June and was taken away by VMS for repairs. However, what followed was an identical pattern of neglect and lack of communication from VMS. Both cars were stored at Cobra Coachworks in Kent, where they were kept "held to ransom" as part of an unrelated commercial dispute between the two companies.
According to VMS, the holdout car owners are among 23 vehicles retained by Cobra due to a debt allegedly owed by VMS. However, the company refuses to provide evidence for this claim, despite repeatedly assuring both BN and NC that their cars would be returned promptly. It wasn't until a journalist intervened last month that VMS finally took action, appointing a solicitor to demand the return of the vehicles.
The twist is that Bidfood claims it was not even aware of the incidents involving NC's car until August, a month after it was repaired and paid for. The company has since ended its relationship with VMS, but is still working with them to secure the release of the two cars.
As BN finally received his car back nine months after it was taken - albeit with 46 extra miles on the clock - NC remains without her vehicle. Both drivers suspect that without press intervention, they would have still been waiting for their cars to be returned. The saga raises questions about accountability and communication in the fleet management industry, particularly when things go wrong.
I mean i feel bad for both BN & NC they went through such a nightmare with VMS it's like they were neglected on purpose 
i don't think it's right that companies can just hold onto people's cars without any proof or communication what if bn never got his car back if the journalist hadn't stepped in? it's like these companies think they're above the law or something 
u can believe these companies r so lazy! bidfood & vms r just a bunch of liars trying 2 cover their own arses. bn's car gets towed away january & now it's been 9 months & he still ain't got it back?! that's just mental. and NC's car is still stuck in kent, being held by cobra coachworks... what r they even gonna do with her car now? 
the thing is, these companies are supposed 2 b looking out for their drivers' interests, not holding them hostage 4 their own gain. vms & bidfood r just a mess, and i'm so glad someone finally had 2 step in & sort it out... but why did it have 2 take a journalist to get their attention?! 
vms is basically holding their cars hostage like they're some kinda rental property 
and the lack of communication is just ridiculous. bidfood should be all over this and take responsibility for their own fleet management, not just passing it off to vms when things go wrong 
I mean, what kind of company just leaves people stranded like that? I'm so fed up with the way Bidfood is handling these situations. Nine months for BN to get his car back and he's still a bit shortchanged too... 46 extra miles? Come on! 
. And now NC is still waiting for her car to be returned 
This whole saga needs some serious investigation and accountability 
, especially from Bidfood and VMS themselves. They need to take responsibility for their mistakes and make sure something like this never happens again 
This is absolutely ridiculous! Two people's cars are literally held hostage by a company that can't even get it right 
. VMS is basically just making up excuses and not taking responsibility for their mistakes. And what's with the lack of communication? It's like they're trying to disappear into thin air 
. The fact that Bidfood only found out about the incidents a month after they happened is rediculous 
. It's a classic case of "we don't know, we'll figure it out later" 
. Companies like VMS need to be held accountable for their actions and treated with transparency and respect 
. This situation is a total nightmare, but I'm glad the press is holding them accountable 
.
vms should really get its act together. it's not like they're trying to pull a fast one or anything, more like they just didn't care enough to follow up on the repairs and now both cars are paying the price 
anyway i think this is a big wake-up call for bidfood and vms to step up their game and make sure these things don't happen in the future 
? It's just... wow. And now they're saying they didn't even know about it until a month after it happened? Like, what is going on here?! 
anyway back to bidfood & vms... i think its a total fail on their part 4 handling the situation 
. First off, they tow away BN's car without even bothering to tell him what happened, and then they're supposed to magically fix it and give it back? No communication at all 
. And now NC's car has been gone for months because of some "debt" that VMS won't even prove exists 
. I swear, if you want something done right, do it yourself 
. Not anymore, VMS. Not anymore 
I mean, come on! VMS is a total joke! They're basically just taking advantage of innocent people who didn't even have a chance to deal with the actual issue (their own negligence). The whole thing is so messed up that you can almost feel bad for Bidfood too... like they're getting screwed over by their own fleet management company. And what's up with Cobra Coachworks holding onto these cars? It's not like it's personal, right? They're just a middleman trying to make some cash off of people's misfortunes 
. And Bidfood is just sitting there, denying they even knew about the incident until months later... it's not right. I mean, we all make mistakes, but to neglect someone's car and lie about it? That's a whole different story