Arbforest Review
I first spoke to Mr Reilly of ArbForest on 28 March 2025, due to my interest in the purchase of a machine, a Bugnot BVN34, that he was offering for sale. He did a very good job of selling the machine to me, and by the end of the conversation, I had made a firm commitment to purchase the machine from him. Surprisingly I received an email the next day informing me that I had three days to find the money, myself or finance, or the machine would be put back on general sale.
My finance broker did his best to furnish Mr Reilly with the funds as quickly as possible, and after the funds had been received, Mr Reilly informed me that delivery of the machine was included in the cost. I did not give this any thought at the time, but on reflection, the machine was advertised both on Facebook and on Ebay - nationally in other words, so how could delivery possibly be built into the price? He did not know if the machine would be sold next door to his location, or to somebody at the other end of the country. Following on from this, every time I contacted Mr Reilly, there was a problem with either his staff, the lads are unreliable after a bank holiday weekend (Easter) or he was swamped with breakdowns that appeared to take priority over someone who had paid him £9600 in good faith. Time and again the delivery date was put back, until in the end, after intervention from the broker, enquiring after the status of the machine, Mr Reilly invited me to cancel the order on the grounds that he “does not tolerate any messing about.” I had been awaiting its arrival for two months by this time.
In a fit of annoyance, I agreed to the cancelation, and a few days later, an NDA (Non Disclosure Agreement) came through the post, and then by email for me to sign before the money would be returned. As finance had purchased the machine, I was able to appeal to them, and fortunately, my deposit, plus two monthly payments were returned. I never considered signing the form, and at this time, I do not know if the funds have been returned.
I was also quite heavily involved in the recovery of an item from Mr Reilly, whilst he was exhibiting at the Welsh Royal Show this year too. This item, a Dragonbite Tree Shear belongs to a company based in Australia, and they too had purchased in good faith. Mr Reilly had procrastinated extensively over the delivery of this item, and we were able to remove this from his stand at the Showground, where it was advertised as being For Sale, and get it transported to a safe location, prior to preparation for its journey Down Under.
I have since received correspondence from his solicitor in Swansea pertaining to this episode, and it appears that he is considering taking me to court on the grounds that I have defamed his good character in some way. Irrespective, I am glad, and proud, that I was able to offer assistance to good people, based many thousands of miles away, one of whom had flown over especially to challenge Mr Reilly on his stand in public.
My advice to anybody, who is considering doing business with Mr Reilly, is not to part with any money until the machine is delivered to their premises, and also to heavily scrutinize any correspondence provided.
All in all, a most extraordinary and unexpected experience. After all, I had just hoped to buy a machine that would make my working life much easier.