A few days ago, a scandal broke out around one of the BMW dealers, the Independence company. Dozens of customers who paid for the cars could not get them, despite the fact that they were at the site from an authorized dealer. The noise began to grow, and representatives of the Russian office of BMW made an official statement, where they confirmed that the dealer had financial problems and assured that they were taking measures to solve the problem.
The scale of the problem became clear after the story of the Muscovite Gleb Pimenov, who had been trying to take the paid for two months, was posted on Facebook. crossover bmw... After unsuccessful negotiations with the dealer, Pimenov blocked the main entrance of the dealership with his car and, together with his friends, guarded his new car in the parking lot so that she is not taken out. This case was published in a number of media outlets, thanks to which the car was still given to the client. But, as it turned out, the Muscovite was not alone in his problem. There was a case, one of the clients who could not pick up his car from the dealer even with the help of a lawyer, out of despair almost began to destroy his purchase right in the parking lot, but friends who were nearby held him on time. He still got the car, but disaster almost happened.
The official representative of the Russian office of the BMW Group Vasily Melnikov said:
BMW Group Russia confirms that the Nezavisimost dealer center faced a number of complex problems that led to the dealer's failure to comply with the agreements and the subsequent suspension of his work. Because of this, the deadlines for handing over the purchased cars to customers were violated. At the moment, negotiations are underway with the dealer to find a way out of the current situation, envisaging various scenarios, up to the most cardinal ones.
In order to make a decision as soon as possible, taking into account the interests of customers as much as possible, BMW Group Russia asks everyone who has encountered a violation of the delivery time of the car to contact BMW customer support. In this case, you must have documents confirming the purchase and payment of the car.
At present, simultaneously with the collection of information in order to ensure a sufficient level of safety of vehicles owned by BMW Group Russia, vehicles are being taken out of the Independence DC. At the importer's warehouse, complete safety and security of cars is ensured: the cars assigned to the clients of the Independence Group will not be transferred to anyone until the moment of the final investigation of the situation.
The essence of the situation is that, having received money for the car from the client, "Nezavisimost" did not transfer them to the BMW Group, as a result of which the cars were physically delivered to the dealer's site, and the importer did not give away the vehicle without payment. Apparently, the financial situation of the company (about which it is not yet known for certain) is not in the best way, as a result of which there are virtually no funds for the purchase of cars.
At the same time, other dealerships of the Independence Group - Land rover, Ford, Audi and others, similar problems are not observed, dealerships work as usual, although the company itself is going through an optimization process, due to which several centers of different brands have closed over the past year. However, they fulfilled their obligations to clients in full.
“We do not recommend buying cars and doing service work at Nezavisimosti and refer clients to other dealerships. We deal with the questions that customers have and try to minimize losses, "- said a BMW representative.
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“We do not recommend buying cars and doing service work at Nezavisimosti and refer clients to other dealerships. We deal with the questions that customers have and try to minimize losses, ”said a BMW spokesman.
Auto dealer "Independence" has stopped selling cars in its metropolitan showrooms. The group, against which the bankruptcy lawsuit was filed, has several centers in the regions
The car dealer group "Independence" has closed the last points of sales of cars 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 "Nezavisimosti" confirmed to RBC the closure of all Moscow salons of the group.
The car dealer's website and phone numbers of car dealerships are not working. According to the official websites of Audi and Volkswagen (two latest brands with whom Nezavisimosti had dealer agreements), the company is no longer their official dealer... Volkswagen representative (unites Volkswagen brands, Audi, etc.) said that there were no “changes in the status” of Independence: the company remains a dealer of its brands.
GK Nezavisimosti bankruptcy 2017, sale of property
In Moscow, the car dealership companies "Independence" have stopped selling cars completely. Loss of funds is possible for customers who have purchased a car on a prepaid basis. Several car dealerships in the regions continue to operate.
The site of "Nezavisimosti" is currently not working and the phones at the points of sale in the capital are silent. Nezavisimost is no longer listed as an official dealer on the Russian websites of the Volkswagen and Audi brands.
For the time being, the Ford dealership is operating in Yekaterinburg and Ufa, and the Peugeot in Yekaterinburg.
"Independence", bankruptcy
Gazprombank (GPB) has filed bankruptcy claims against a number of companies in the Nezavisimost group of car dealerships, according to a file of arbitration cases.
So, on November 24, GPB filed claims for the bankruptcy of Nezavisimost Nedvizhimost Ural LLC, Nezavisimost Yekaterinburg M LLC, Nezavisimost Yekaterinburg K LLC in the Arbitration Court of the Sverdlovsk Region, as well as on the bankruptcy of Nezavisimost MC LLC, Masterpromtorg LLC , LLC "Independence - used cars", LLC "Independence - Khimki" to the Moscow Arbitration Court.
Earlier, the bank announced its intention to file a bankruptcy petition with about 20 companies that are part of the "Nezavisimosti" structure. The notices concerned the companies of the Independence group in Moscow, Yekaterinburg and Ufa, as well as controlled by the Cyprus Independence German Motors Limited and Independence Holdings Limited. In particular, among them were the Volkswagen dealer Auto Hansa LLC, as well as Audi and Peugeot dealers.
Auto show "Independence", scandal
In February, the shareholders of Nezavisimosti financed the company (the amount was not specified) and changed the top management. In 2015, Nezavisimost restructured its debt to Gazprombank by 2.6 billion rubles. (as Kommersant reported, the loan was extended until at least 2019). In A1 "Kommersant" noted that they are in the process of negotiations with banks, and about additional investments "it will be possible to speak only after their completion." Earlier, Interfax sources asserted that A1 refused to finance the dealer and would not prevent his bankruptcy if one of the counterparties initiates this process.
In A1, Kommersant was told that "historically they were a financial investor of the Independence Group" and were not involved in the company's operating activities. "
At the end of last year, the dealer's management announced the difficult financial situation in the company and requested financial support, which was provided, according to A1. “A1 actively supported the management in the process of negotiations with the creditor banks, but, unfortunately, as we see, the situation did not normalize,” the shareholders said.
September of this year was not an easy time for the multibrand holding "Independence". In the press and even on television, everyone actively discussed the scandal, which flared up actively around the above organization. The problem was that this company - in fact, car dealerships, simply stopped issuing vehicles to their own customers, which, by the way, had already been paid for in advance. The largest dealer in Russia stopped answering consumer questions and any comments this situation, spreading rumors that very soon the corporation will simply declare its own insolvency as such - bankruptcy.
How did the events develop further?
The deceived buyers began to turn to government agencies and directly to manufacturing companies, whose dealers were directly the Nezavisimost 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 itself. In general, losses amounted to at least six billion rubles, which is the largest amount in the entire history of this business area, respectively.
The first to refuse to cooperate with the dealer of WWII, and then the company Volvo Cars also terminated all business relations with this company. The manufacturers themselves had to save the deceived buyers, 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 the financial resources have long been paid accordingly.
What news is there about this?
It is worth noting that the scandal became interesting to a huge number of media representatives who actively keep their finger on the pulse of events around the company and the scandal itself. Thus, official sources report that both the BMW company and the car manufacturer Volvo Kars have already terminated the contract with the specified dealer and even held tenders regarding who will be the official representative in Russia in the future. However, the companies are not yet reporting the results and we can only wait for the announcements.
In addition, an investigation is underway into the situation that caused the scandal. 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 have shown that Nezavisimosti's problems began a long time ago - a few years ago the company took out its first loan. Now its amount has increased several 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 have recently begun to report that negotiations are currently underway regarding an immediate restructuring of loans. 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 reported more detailed information so far.
How are things going with the solution of the issue?
The deceived customers began to talk about the problem and the manufacturers, as has already been repeatedly said in this article of our official resource, independently took up the direct solution of the question posed. To date, BMW reports that they were able to completely eliminate the problematic of the issue regarding their buyers, who made full payment for the vehicle, but 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 resolution, 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 incomplete, but close to a full payment. With such clients, the situation is somewhat more complicated and, it is worth noting that the official representatives have not yet commented on this situation in any way and, accordingly, have not reported on whether the problem 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 so far no one can clearly answer these questions, as well as provide any guarantees on this matter 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 the money spent and / or the return of vehicles will also be faced by those buyers who made their purchase not on individual, but legal. According to sources, in this case it will be quite difficult to get your money back or get the promised car back, and it is not at all as easy 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 if you cheated at a car dealership?
It is worth noting the fact that not only the buyers of the largest dealer "Independence" face the subject of deception directly in the car dealership, but also many others who use the direct services of car dealerships, which 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 it is worth treating all the details of the transaction, and not everyone carefully checks such details. Most live in the dream that they are about to be able to get behind the wheel of a new vehicle.
It is worth noting the fact that the problematic of the issue of direct deception in car dealerships has become almost a "tradition" of 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, which only speaks of the high need to take such issues seriously.
If you have no desire to simply get a large enough loan to get your vehicle, be deceived about the authenticity of the offered car, and also avoid other unpleasant situations, then stay with us and continue reading this article.
Cheating option - too cheap car
Needless to say, it’s high time for all of us to get used to the fact that in the realities of the modern world, in reality, 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 terms of incredible benefits - a car several 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.
Liability of fraudulent car dealerships before the law
It's not a secret for anyone that any fraudulent actions in our state are illegal and, accordingly, are prosecuted in accordance with the current legislation of the Russian Federation, respectively. It is worth noting the fact that in a procedural order, fraud directly in car dealerships by a court can be qualified in different ways:
- administrative offense;
- felony 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 study the situation in order to find out which provisions of the said law were violated in this particular case.
Fraudsters can be brought to criminal liability 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 moment can refer to any options that are offered by the specified organization: insurance, fraudulent actions regarding the sale of low-quality goods to the buyer, fraudulent actions regarding the final amount of the vehicle's value, 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 possible way in this process you can be helped by such a professional in his field as a lawyer and / or a lawyer.
Legal assistance or independent solution of issues?
Everyone 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 must not give up, and even more so that we are not talking about small sums of money.
If you are well versed in the topic, have sufficient qualities of pressure, perseverance and penetration, then you can easily improve your knowledge of jurisdiction and go to the vastness of self-defense of your own rights and your financial situation. You can also independently engage in representing your own interests in all state instances directly, if you have a sufficient amount of knowledge and experience of a procedural nature directly.
In the event that you are not distinguished by such direct qualities, then it is best, of course, to lay the direct solution of this issue on the shoulders of a real professional in his field. At the very first consultation, your lawyer (attorney) will tell you about the prospects of your case and those realities with which you can continue to work accordingly. Thus, you 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, it is rather difficult to talk about any specific conclusions or decisions, respectively, regarding the above in this article of our resource. Recall that the immediate problem was that this company, in fact, car dealerships, simply stopped providing their own customers with vehicles, which, by the way, had already been paid for in advance.
The largest dealer in Russia stopped answering consumer questions and in any way commenting on this situation, spreading rumors that very soon the corporation would simply declare its own insolvency as such - bankruptcy. The defrauded buyers began to turn to government agencies and directly to manufacturing companies, whose dealerships were directly the "Independence" 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 itself. In general, losses amounted to at least six billion rubles, which is the largest amount in the entire history of this business area, respectively.
The main trait that can be summed up as a result of everything that has been said above in this article - never give up and continue to use all the methods available to you in order to prove your own rights and get what belongs to you by law. Needless to say that even if you still cannot get your vehicle or sue the money from the largest dealer in Russia "Nezavisimost", then this is only a temporary phenomenon and when more accurate decisions are already made on this case and signed relevant documents, then your situation will improve significantly, and your issue will be resolved quickly enough.
Important! For all questions about cheating in a car dealership, if you do not 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 can answer and advise you on your question as quickly as possible.
Consumer protection lawyers, and lawyers who are registered on Russian Legal Portal, will try to help you from a practical point of view in this matter and will advise you on all issues of interest.
One of the largest dealers in Russia, the Nezavisimost group of companies, stopped car sales and closed dealerships. Against the backdrop of scandals with importers that have taken place over the past few months and have led to the termination of contracts, this is a rather anticipated event. In addition, Gazprombank, which had previously announced plans to bankrupt the group's companies, filed bankruptcy lawsuits against several more companies of Nezavisimosti.
Nezavisimost Group no longer sells new cars, all showrooms are closed in Moscow and in the regions, Vedomosti reported on Monday. The portfolio of the Independence Group includes Audi, VW, BMW, Jaguar, Land Rover, Volvo, Ford, Peugeot, Mitsubishi. A1 investment group owns 49.95%, the rest belongs to Roman Tchaikovsky. Over the past three months, the dealer has violated the deadlines for the transfer of already paid cars to customers, since he did not have the means to buy the PTS from the importer. Thus, BMW, Volvo, Jaguar Land Rover and Mazda were the first to stop cooperating with the company. In "Independence" "b" confirmed that sales of new cars are not carried out. The dealer notes that the necessary restructuring of the group's debt is now impossible, and expects the initiation of bankruptcy processes for the group's companies. The total debt of the company, according to Vedomosti, is 6 billion rubles.
At the same time, it became known on Monday that Gazprombank (GPB) went to court with claims for bankruptcy of a number of companies of the Independence Group, this follows from the materials of the file of arbitration cases. So, on November 24, the bank filed bankruptcy claims of LLC "Independence Real Estate Ural", LLC "Independence Yekaterinburg M", LLC "Independence Yekaterinburg K", LLC "Independence MC", LLC "Masterpromtorg", LLC "Independence - used cars" , LLC "Independence - Khimki". The bank has previously announced its intention to file a petition for bankruptcy of about 20 companies of "Nezavisimosti". In "Nezavisimost", "b" stated that they were going through a "difficult negotiation process about the future fate of the company," and assured that they were planning to resolve the situation "with fewer losses for all and as soon as possible for clients."
In February, the shareholders of Nezavisimosti financed the company (the amount was not specified) and changed the top management. In 2015, Nezavisimost restructured its debt to Gazprombank by 2.6 billion rubles. (as Kommersant reported, the loan was extended until at least 2019). In A1 "Kommersant" noted that they are in the process of negotiations with banks, and about additional investments "it will be possible to speak only after their completion." Earlier, Interfax sources asserted that A1 refused to finance the dealer and would not prevent his bankruptcy if one of the counterparties initiates this process.
In A1, Kommersant was told that "historically they were a financial investor of the Independence Group" and were not involved in the company's operating activities. "
At the end of last year, the dealer's management announced the difficult financial situation in the company and requested financial support, which was provided, according to A1. “A1 actively supported the management in the process of negotiations with the creditor banks, but, unfortunately, as we see, the situation did not normalize,” the shareholders said.
On November 24, 2017, the Arbitration Courts of Moscow and the Sverdlovsk Region registered Gazprombank's claims on the bankruptcy of a number of dealer centers that are part of the Independence Group. The Bank had previously announced its intentions with respect to a dozen dealers of the Group of Companies (among them were Volvo, Audi and Peugeot dealers). The total debt of the Group is estimated at about 6 billion rubles ...
Recall that in July 2017, the Group of Companies closed its Land Rover Center on Leningradskoye Highway and KIA and Volvo centers in Yekaterinburg. In September, BMW disconnected "Independence" from the car ordering system (and in November it became known that the place of the former BMW dealership at Belaya Dacha of the "Independence" group would be taken by the "Avilon" car dealer). In October, Volvo Car Russia canceled the contract with GK. In mid-November, Nezavisimost disappeared from the list of official Mazda dealers in Russia (on the official website of Mazda distributor in Russia, Mazda Motor Rus).
However, the process of the fall of the auto giant began much earlier than 2017 ...
Heyday
In, published by the analytical agency AUTOSTAT in 2016, a separate block is devoted to the Independence Group, which for a long time was one of the five largest automotive holdings in Russia. And from chapter to chapter, you can clearly see how beautifully the group began (June 12, 1992), how it gradually developed even during the 2008 crisis, how it expanded its brand portfolio.
She sold cars Volvo brands(since 1992), Audi (since 1998), Ford (since 2000), Land Rover (since 2002), Volkswagen (since 2002), Jaguar (since 2003), Mazda ( since 2004), Peugeot (since 2007), BMW (since 2008), Porsche (in 2010, but not for long), KIA (since 2011). And by launching its own, at that time the largest in Europe, center body repair, was able to take on service not only "own" brands, but also Chevrolet, Opel, Skoda.
V best years the network of dealer centers of this group included 18 car dealerships in Moscow and the Moscow region, 9 - in Yekaterinburg and the Sverdlovsk region, 4 - in Ufa and Bashkortostan. At the same time, the image of Nezavisimosti was reinforced not only by the financial performance of the owners (in 2006, one of the owners, Roman Tchaikovsky, was included in the rating of Russian billionaires for the first time), but also by the volume of sales (for example, in 2012, the Group sold about 42 thousand new cars, in 2013 - about 36 thousand units), revenue (2011 - 44.5 billion rubles, 2012 - 57 billion rubles, 2013 - 51 billion rubles, 2014 - 47 billion rubles, 2015 - 33.4 billion rubles) and more than 150 prestigious industry awards and prizes confirming the leadership of the Group in the field of service and sales.
The company was among the first on the market to start working with used cars. So, already in 2009, "Nezavisimost" managed to sell 2,100 used cars and even made work with them a separate business line "Independence-Intrade". At first, this division had 11 technically equipped small sites in Moscow, but a couple of years later on the territory of the MEGA-Belaya Dacha shopping center, a large multi-brand center for 250 cars was opened for it and the construction of an even larger site began as part of the "Dealer village" on the Kiev highway.
Meanwhile, on the basis of the bodywork center, a new direction, AvtoMarin, was opened - a repair line for owners of yachts, boats and jet skis, and for the broader development of its own financial services (crediting, insurance, leasing, appraisal and fleet management), the company created a separate division, Independence -Finservice "(in 2011, the turnover of this division alone exceeded 1,700 million rubles).
All this, taken together, allowed the GC to survive the crisis years better than the auto retail market as a whole. Together with other leaders, “Independence increased its share ...
The beginning of the fall
Just five years ago, in 2012, in terms of revenue (RUB 57 billion), Nezavisimost was one of the five largest auto retailers Russian market... But already in 2013, despite a series of efforts undertaken to reorganize the business, a 10% reduction in staff, promotion and development of car service and financial services related to sales, it took only sixth place in terms of revenue in the rating table of auto retailers and seventh in terms of sales.
In 2014, the Group of Companies is still in the top ten (it is in 7th place). However, new car sales fell by almost a quarter (despite the fact that the market as a whole declined by only 10%). Experts suggested that the holding has a too large share of brands, which fell by 20-40% (Ford, Peugeot, Volkswagen, BMW).
Instead of implementing plans for the previously announced further development by opening centers in the regions, the Group begins to optimize its business. A number of Mitsubishi and Peugeot centers have been closed. For Peugeot, sales of new cars have been suspended even in Moscow, only a service contract has been retained. In the capital, the Group of Companies begins to form cluster-type dealerships, deciding to represent several brands in one building (on Entuziastov highway, on Yaroslavskoye highway, on Leningradskoye highway).
In the spring of 2015, the Group had its first serious debts to banks, but at first it somehow managed to come to an agreement. In 2015, the company dropped to 11th place in terms of revenue, and to 18th in terms of new car sales. In 2015, Nezavisimost stopped working with Mitsubishi (closing all brand centers in the cities of its presence), in February 2016, the same fate befell two of the six Ford centers ...
At the end of 2016, the company sold a total of 9.1 thousand new cars, which is 27.5% less than a year earlier. Sales of used cars through the holding's car dealerships amounted to 5.3 thousand units (-14.8%).
What will happen?
In September 2017, the media leaked information that the Independence Group of Companies was negotiating debt restructuring with major creditors, the process is in an active stage, consultants and auditors have been involved in it. In the rare comments made to journalists, there was hope that acceptable solutions would be found. “The Nezavisimost group of companies is optimizing its business, commented the chairman of the board of directors Roman Tchaikovsky,“ it will allow us to concentrate on working with the most successful brands - Audi, Volkswagen, Volvo, Mazda, etc. ”.
However, in the same September it became known about the delays of "Independence" in the issuance of paid BMW cars and Volvo to buyers. And soon representatives of BMW admitted that they had disconnected the Independence order system and began to take out the cars from the territory of the center.
Peugeot, as Kommersant reporters told at the end of September, explained to them that there were no buyers' claims regarding the issue of cars by Nezavisimost, but then added that the contract with the dealer expires at the end of the year, and the question of its extension is under consideration. In Jaguar Land Rover "Kommersant" only noticed that "Independence" is an official dealer, but now it does not sell cars.
As for Volvo, since August 2017, having switched to prepayment in settlements with the dealer, the manufacturer made a statement in October: “Taking into account the reputation and other losses that Volvo Cars incurs in connection with the current situation, we do not see an opportunity to continue cooperation with the company. "Independence".
In mid-November, the distributor of Mazda cars in Russia, Mazda Motor Rus, suspended cooperation with the auto dealer Nezavisimost in terms of sales of new Mazda cars to the latter. On his website "Independence" is no longer in the list of official dealers.
Gazprombank has filed bankruptcy claims against the companies of the Nezavisimost group of car dealerships, Interfax reported, citing materials from a file of arbitration cases. And then Vedomosti said that on November 24, the Arbitration Court of the Sverdlovsk Region registered bankruptcy claims of the bank for Independence Real Estate Ural LLC, Nezavisimost Yekaterinburg M LLC, and Nezavisimost Yekaterinburg K LLC, and on the same day the Moscow Arbitration Court registered the claims on the bankruptcy of OOO Nezavisimost MC, OOO Masterpromtorg, OOO Nezavisimost - used cars, OOO Nezavisimost - Khimki.
That in addition to Gazprombank, which has filed a lawsuit against Nezavismost, the GC has another major creditor - Sberbank.
