Info on Mark Schmitt // Schmidt, South African tuner
 

Hi guys

Anybody heard of this guy? Has had a car of ours for over 2 years and is making life extremely difficult for us to retrieve it! Would like to know if anybody else has had the "privelage" of crossing him, had any problems with him?
If you don't want to leave a comment please feel free to pm me, any information, opinions, or any orher rants would be appreciated so we can build a bigger picture of this guy

Cheers!

The name certainly rings a bell. Think he was based cheltenham way or around Gloucestershire I think

Yes thas correct, have you or anybody you know had any dealings with this chap?

Cheers!

How has he managed to have your car for two years?? Was it for motorsport prep?

He's had it that long due to me not being able to track him or the car has been moved! It was suppose to be a straight forward engine swap for one that he has there, just keeps spewing out lies IMO, first it's a problem with injectors, then the map was wrong, then it needed a different turbo, gearing was wrong, didn like the suspension, thought car was too dirty so spent days taking things off and cleaning ( all of which mind we have not asked for and have repeatedly asked for the car back, but as you can obviously make out by this post we ain't lol!) engine was a fully forged motor, he has sent me a video of the car running! So where is it I ask??

Have had nothing but problems off this guy wish he was never introduced to us! He has had me come up numerous times at all hours with the recovery truck as we have given him a piece of our minds, we get there and surprise surprise ................ No car! Has given us so many excuses it's unreal! Have seriously been debating on reporting it stolen as that is the only time the police can intervene, but then I don't want a marker against the car so bit of a sticky situation going down!

He makes us wait hours and IF!! He shows up he is always with his child so he can use her if he needs to get away a bit sharpish

Report it stolen! I would! You don't know if he even has your car as you've not seen it!

Why don't you briefly explain the situation to a solicitor? Or phone your local police station and ask someone what you can do about it? Unless there is more to this story, you surely have a right to take your car back after payment for the work so far that you have ASKED to be done?

Already been down this route, there is nothing the police will do as its a civil matter! Really strange the way the law is ain't it! Have taken legal advice as well but as he is not "a company" again it's through the courts which again is more cost.

We have seen the car on 3 occasions, each time the car is in a different location! The bill is already settled and also have a written letter from him exonerating any further charges, he certainly is not a daft chap, have heard other stories since of other people having similar issues all tried police route but all came to the same verdict! There have been times when the engine was in the car and others when it is not? He tells us it's because of a water leak or some other BS story but I'm sure he has a few of these people on the go and maybe putting engine in to different cars and showing them the progress then removes it again and puts it in another, thats my opinion on it anyway! Can't prove it...............yet but this is why I'm searching for anymore info on him, enough is enough!!

I know of 2 other cars ATM in same position as me, like I say all debt has been settled, after the amount of shouting down the phone at him u would think e would have had enough and just give the car back even if it's incomplete! I'd get it to one of the reputable guys on here then! But he don't this is why I'm very weery! It's not as if we have not tried to be reasonable especially after this time frame! But he just ignores us and replies when he feels like it with random messages that make no sense to us what do ever!!

Anybody else got any more info? Thanks to those who have pm'd me with details!

Like I say, perhaps ask a solicitor that deals with these kinds of civil matters?

Personally, if I knew where the car was, I'd show up with the means to get it back (i.e. a truck) and just take it. Ask him for anything else back and keep it businesslike, i.e. don't say 'I was wondering if you could find the engine'. Say 'where is the engine?' in a tone that tells him you there to take it, not merely that you're asking if he would kindly return it - the stuff is yours to take. Take a few big mates to help you carry stuff etc and so that he doesn't start his sh*te.

:thumb:

I can't understand why the Police won't get involved. Surely this is theft. Unless I am missing something

Report it as stolen.

Chip

Have tried collecting it trouble is it was last locked away in a private plane hanger! Getting through there is a bit of a nightmare as you can imagine! police can't touch it unless reported stolen as previous post said and if we do report it stolen it will show up on any checks done on the car, and if it came up in a report you ran on a car you were going to buy and it came back stolen, would you still buy it for 1 and the other is resale value, I personally wouldn't want to buy a car that has come up stolen, you just don't know what someone has done to it or subjected it to, this is IMO!
Like I say I think he's had plenty of practise with doin this with people and knows how to tred the line between Whas law and what's a civil matter, but it does really annoy me that the police would not come and escort us to the property last time to collect it when we knew where car was! Totally backwards if you ask me!

2yrs is this a wind up?


:content:

Think it's time to get heavy with him then. It's the only way with some people. just the presence of a few heavies would be a good start.

No shag defo not a wind up :)

When ever we do track him down or find him he always turns up with his 2yr old kid! He's not daft and if anything ever happened whilst the kid was present it just would not be worth the rap especially with my job!

Believe me we have been red in the face to the point where we have had to just walk away or would have ended up doing something We may live to regret lol if it was not for the fact he had his little one with him may have gone down a different way but I wouldn't want a child to whiteness a situation like tha you can see her getting quite weery when we raise our voices, so it is purely out of respect for his little one, after all she has no choice of who her father is as much as she may have a different opinion in years to come!

You don't need to raise your voice. When you get there, just ask firmly where the car is. Whatever he says after that, whatever excuses, tell him you're there to take it and ask him to open the hanger.

Sounds like a pretty strange situation. I've never heard of anything like this that didn't involve things getting nasty. It's weird that he's just avoiding you. What are his reasons for not wanting you to have it back? Has he perhaps done something to it? Is there some other issue you're not telling us about?

Stop ****ing around and report it stolen! If he's had it for two years already then you've obviously tried every other way to get it back. Do you realise how much value you've lost already in two years:brickwall

Having a stolen recovered car is better than no car!

Azz ur very much spot on in what ur saying probably gonna end up going down tha route it's been long enough but really didn wanna go tha route but not seeing many alternative routes now!

Glesgakiss no mate hand on heart nothing my end to upset him apart from all the texts and calls that have been exchanged over the period! Like I say I have heard from others who have been in this position and others that still are! Just seems a very odd guy who seemed pretty much straight up when met, but shortly afterwards was when the probs started :(

He tells us the car is done every time we speak and will send us messages at stupid o'clock in the morn saying it will be back today, never happens tho! Last time we went to collect it he showed up with the old wheels, the old number plate and a couple of other bits, so we thought " hey this actually may be the day the car comes home " boy were we wrong, 6 hours later and a parking fine from the services still no car, over a 100 mile trek home and gone 1am in the morning and started work at 6am next day which he knew about! Still did not bother him, he took us to the place the car was "supposedly" when we got there he gave the excuse he didn have the code to open up, and then an hour later he said car was moved so would have to be first thing in morn, them hour later his mate who has it had to mysteriously fly out to Italy for work obligations, all of these excuses came out of his mouth in 1 night and none of them bothered to let him know where car was or it had been moved, so obviously I questioned him over the fact he didn not know where the car was and that we were not at all happy people who we have no idea of have the car and without him even knowing! He simply got toungtied as said "I'm not listening to this" got in his car and that was that, since then nothing has happened but car is still ready and will be back every weekend for over 2months again now! He is an absolute joke! Do not even entertain leaving him it car! Not saying he ain't good at what he does (still to see for ourselves) as we have been in cars he has previously just mapped and they made good figures, but anything where he says he needs the car just forget it Nd walk away as fast as u can is my opinion!

I agree, report it stolen. It appears he doesn't want to give it back so IMO its technically Stolen! As soon as 5'0 turn up at his door his asshole will pucker like a snare drum!

I`d just go and take it off him, No questions and no chat and when the police turn up because they will just explain the situation, Make sure you have all your paperwork at hand :thumb:

Report it stolen,. yes there is a marker against the car but then when you sell it on you explain this thread...

I dont know what to say... 2yrs!!!

Lol do those cnuts actually do anything to help Joe Public :cuckoo:

TX.

Absolutely crazy ain't it! Really want to know if anybody has heard anymore on him as so far I have 2 other people who are having problems exactly the same as us! Guessing this guy is a proper tw*t by the sounds!

More info i got the better as I'm pretty sure I'm goin to report it stolen soon and the more evidence I have from other people testimonies the better, perhaps even do a group theft report on the berk! Police will surely have to do something then!

If its not reported stolen then why should they?

: :facepalm:

Oh dear, methinks this one has legs :lol1::lol1:

Too much ""inconsistancy"" to be legit, and i'm sure this or a very similar thread has been posted either on here of one of the other automotive sites before...


I'll pop back when it hits page 6, and the lynchin mob is posseed up:lol1:


Mart

Well I would have thought it would have been easier for them just to escort me to premises to collect it would save them a hell of a lot of time,bother and paperwork! And if he is refusing to hand over our property and is doing this to other people that's fraud/obtaining property by deception, even when it is reported stolen odds on we won't see the car for still a number of weeks, I have nothing against the police but it certainly seems to me they do as they please sometimes!

We had a similar situation a few years ago with a set of high end audio speakers..

We sent a set out on test to a customer,he then promptly put them on Ebay and sold them...Luckily we drove to London and intercepted the sale..

All along we told the police what was happening and they were not interested.As far as the police were concerned they speakers were not stolen until money had actually changed hands..
We went to 3 police stations(Haringay,Tottenham and Muswell Hill IIRC) and spoke to different officers.We asked for a police presence when the exchange was scheduled,they flatly refused even though we told them that things could go bad when the time came to take the speakers back..

Anyway,they gave us a reference number and the direct phone number to call if anything happened.

The sellers duly turned up at the address and we let them go into the buyers house and i went and looked in the car to confirm the speakers were there..My friend then called the police and told them the situation,but slipped in that it "looked like" the guy had a knife on him when he exited the car...

The police arrived within 3 minutes!!.........We recovered our goods!

Mart what other posts do you know of, there is one on here from someone else titled "anybody heard of him" but thas all I can find, any other links u can point me too would be appreciated! This is 100% legit no wind ups, strings attached or anything like tha, not out to disrespect his capabilities as a tuner but certainly warn others of this guy before they make the plung and possibly join the club of loosing ur car for years :'(

And I'm still waiting for the finished product so don't even know what is what with him yet to say he's even done a good/bad job but will certainly let you all know should we eventually get the car back!

Cheers

Just report it stolen, I've had a stolen marker taken off a car before. No problems.