Poor customer service!! HALIFAX VW

[The Rover]

Hi, Quatrelle, pardon my ignorance, but what is the SMMT??

I feel for you, happened to me years ago with a motorbike. Totally ruined my ownership of that bike.

SMMT, guessing at senior management team?

[matta4]

SMMT=Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders

[gribbo]

Yep, i know what you mean.
I was lucky enough to find my estate at FW CROSS in Scunthorpe two years ago, it was absolutely mint, just like new inside and out, and still was prior to Hx Vw getting their clumsy hands on it. I cant stop looking at the crescent shaped bloom which runs over both the drivers and rear passenger doors, as you approach the car.. it has no doubt de valued the car too, because it stands out as an obvious repair. They say its passed their quality control, at the paint shop in Liverpool, but they would say that as they damaged it and they are paying for it so its been done on the cheap. I should have insisted it went to a garage of my choice then i couldn't have argued with them about the paint job. Either that or I should have had it done and billed them. (I had it priced up at around £350.00 at a local vehicle painter who has done body work repairs for me in the past and his reputation is outstanding . Hx VW used to use him as he is only a quarter of a mile from their dealership but now Hx VW owe this kid thousands for repairs he has done and they haven't paid him a bean.... If i had a choice I would have taken it to him and been confident about the repair. He is now having to go through a legal claim to get what he is owed... for those in the Halifax area, if you need a paint job doing contact CJR Body repair shop at Shelf. Hand on heart he is a good recommendation.

[gribbo]

Thanks to all for the support and advice, I may indeed pen a letter in full detail to the SMMT and see what develops from there. I will replicate the correspondence to Auto Express, and my local paper to warn prospective Hx VW customers.

Gribbo, unluckiest man in the world. Fall in a barrel of ****, come out sucking my thumb.

[Quatrelle]

SMMT=Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders

...and you didn't see my lips move

[polo2002]

Gribbo, I'm so sorry you have been treated this way by Peter (the penis) Smith and his band of incompetents at Halifax VW. I did post a warning on the Dealer section some months ago.

I have been through a similar experience with Halifax, I part exchanged a 2 year old Passat for a 20 month old Golf GT and had a very bad time. They botched the paintwork repair that needed doing when they bought in the car I had to get it re-done locally and claim the cost back. They fitted criuse control and it didn't work properly and put the steering wheel back wrong. As with your case it just snowballed into a disaster and took 5 weeks to take delivery of the car.

Due to a holiday we delivered our car to them so we could collect the Golf on the way home but it was not completed and they sold our car anyway. They also asked for a large payment upfront which we partially paid to show good faith. I after many emails to the dealer principal (minor company director) managed to obtain the email address for the managing director for 'the Clare James Automotive Group', I'd already written to him but he failed to reply and rang me at home once but I was at work.

After I emailed him we entered into discussions as to how his company would honour the promises which were broken and he failed to appologise but eventually paid everything I asked for. Needless to say he got quite nasty in the end and has told me I am no longer welcome at any of his dealerships (I don't care!).

If you want Mr Ian Rutters email address you can have it with pleasure and you can mention me to him I'm sure he will remember me. If you ring either Warrington VW or Liverpool Vw you may get to speak to him or ask the Branch Manager at Liverpool vw Simon Ellis to pass on a message you will find him helpful. Lastly Peter Smith at Halifax continually lied to VW customer Care about what he was doing so you won't get much help from them , they seem to believe everything he says!

[gribbo]

I am really grateful that this website has allowed me to flag my complaint, and it pleases me to see that over five hundred people are now aware how poor the dealership is. Hopefully the dealership will find out about this, take the opportunity to reflect and accept that they are getting their customer service aspect wrong. The customer is normally right in most cases, as have I been about all area's of complaint about my vehicle.
Perhaps they forget it's the public who keep them in their employment and I believe they should re consider their working practices, tighten up what for me is a very loose ship and start putting matters right, without the need to justify, and approach *cap in hand".
still waiting for contact about the inadequate paint job, but i have been informed that the dealership are prepared to put £40.00 worth of fuel in my vehicle for all the inconvenience. They have also provided me with a set of VW roof bars for the estate, which I was wanting, so its just the issue of the repair I need to address.

[polo2002]

Gribbo you are right to be patient for a reply but don't wait too long as my experience showed me that if you are not persistent they will forget about you. When we were not contacted as promised they tried to tell us they had rang, but they didn't because we have caller display and a phone that logs the last 50 calls. If you point out to them that the customer usually is always right they tell you it's rubbish.

When I told Peter Smith that the paintwork was unacceptable he told me that 99% of people wouldn't of noticed it and in future I should only buy new cars because I expect too much.

If you are not happy with the repair get another VW dealer to give you an estimate for repair and insist that Halifax reimburse you, I did this for the paintwork repair, steering wheel alignment and cruise control and to pay for the next service which I should not of needed because they changed the service regime without my consent. They also paid for a section of lower bumper because it was damaged when they were working on the car. I insisted that they paid purely to punish them for the lies and deceit and because they refused to explain why we were treated so poorly or given an apology by peter Smith.

It appears that you are being treated in a similar way and I was told by the Managing Director that he would sort out the issues raised 'internally' which I took as p#*s off we do what we want to, which clearly they still are.
Good luck.

[gribbo]

Hi to everyone,
Sorry for the delay in update but I have been extremely busy with work, but here's the latest.
I have compiled detailed letters, but have delayed posting, for various agencies which VW UK are aware of. The lady dealing with me at VW UK has now got her foot firmly on the accelerator and is monitoring the customer service in respect of my complaint from the dealership.
I have received new roof bars which appear intact, and I have the promise of £40.00 fuel from Halifax VW for all the too-ing and fro-ing, in relation to attending the dealership, but I am still awaiting of a decision on the paintwork. I have had to (and decided to) wait a fortnight to liaise with the service Manager David Lee's, as the dealership have suffered a tragic death of one of the customer service team.
Out of a mark of respect i have not pushed the paintwork situation but will be liaising with VW UK on Monday to pursue the matter on my behalf with the dealership. I shall keep everyone updated as to the final outcome, which i hope will be known very soon.

[gribbo]

Just landed back from the dealership, after speaking to the service manager. having now seen the car for himself, he now accepts that the paint job is sub standard and has promised to have it rectified, (so the vehicle has to be shipped out to Liverpool once more, (I have asked that it be driven there to minimize damage to alloy wheels. when he asked what the problem was I told him that the transporter guy had damaged all four alloys, so he has promised to now rectify this as well. I also asked him about the forty pounds fuel and he again conceded and stated my car would be full to the brim on its return. So i am running the tank down and i think they want it back on Friday this week to begin to repair it?? I hope things are heading in the right direction, but what a struggle to resolve something which should never have happened in the first place.
The service manager has played this one correctly in my eyes and even pointed out bits of dirt in the respray i hadnt picked up on, so i will just have to wait and see what the repair is like when it returns.