An £18k watch purchase gone bad.
An £18k watch purchase gone bad.
I’d encourage anyone to read this review before doing any deals with the Watches X More team (based in Hatton Garden), part of the GoodSoil VC Portfolio. In Oct 2022 I purchased an undated Rolex Submariner Hulk. WXM informed me on good authority it was a 2018 model, as told to them by their seller/dealer. In the hours and days that followed things quickly went wrong, this started with me discovering subtle damage to the crystal, hands and dial (chips, scratches & blemishes). Upon reporting this damage WXM were helpful offering me a refund (cash + my part exchange watch back), repair the damaged Hulk or source a replacement. I showed favour in the last two options, but neither went to plan as WXM told me costs would be too high for both options. Long story short they then decided a refund was against their policy (seemingly changing their minds) so I was forced into a situation to walk away with the damaged Hulk. In fairness WXM made the suggestion for me to take the watch to Rolex and they would cover the repair costs. I did this, and things quickly unravelled. Rolex have told me the watch has been significantly damaged, with the worst issue being a new case body is required due to the thread being damaged, the total bill is £3,600. And worst of all with a new case the serial number won’t match the warranty card, which de-values the watch by around £2k. To top things off Rolex tell me the watch is 2015, not 2018, further devaluing the watch by around £1k. If I put to one side my issues around the date and the subtle but visible damage, which yes I could of perhaps spotted at the point of purchase (admittedly I missed this), I’d ask you all to answer this question: if you’d purchased or sold a watch that required a new watch case immediately after sale (through no fault of your own) would this not constitute an immediate refund? This undisclosed damage makes the validity of the sale void, and by law breaches have been made:
Consumer Rights Act 2015 (based on the quality not being satisfactory/fit for purpose as per the description/images supplied)
Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008 (based on crucial information on the condition being held back)
WXM have chosen not to respond to these breaches and have instead held firm on their supposed no refund policy which has not been consistent and more recently (after lots of chasing) they’ve made an offer to contribute £2,500 toward the Hulk repair. Does all of this sound fair to you? In real terms I’m out of pocket £4,100, this includes the watch being de-valued and the money I’d had to contribute to the repair.
To try and gain assistance I have also contacted WXM’s investor group Goodsoil, one of the founders was kind enough to respond and were sympathetic to the issues I’ve experienced with WXM, but they’ve chosen not to get involved to appease the situation.
There is of course a longer and more painful story behind this review, with many details left out. I’ve chosen to keep to the core facts so future consumers are aware of the problems I’ve faced. To sum up, all I’ve ever wanted to do is sort this mess out quickly which just hasn’t happened. It’s amazing how much stress this has caused me, with many sleepless nights. This isn’t a small sum of money for me, this is a purchase that has meaning behind it, and I’ve waited a long time to go through with it.