Poor customer service!! HALIFAX VW

**Teflon** · 09-05-2010,09:36 AM

The VW customer service people in Milton Keynes were outstanding when it was located there. They were contemplating having the wife's car transported to HQ for their guru to fix a problem my local dealer couldn't. Since they have switched to a call centre (I thought it was Leeds, not Sheffield) the standard is abysmal.

My prefered dealer (not my local one, who I wouldn't pay in washers) tells me that the new service is widely known within the dealer network as a shower of sh!te. His words, not mine.

It looks like you have finally got your problem elevated high enough to get the attention of someone who cares about customer service and brand reputation. I wish you the best of luck.

After two years of struggles with one of my cars I've been less successful, given up on VW UK and when the Passat gets long in the tooth it will be replaced by a Honda. The customer service may not be any better but at least the cars come out of the factory without anything to complain about.

**gribbo** · 14-05-2010,08:43 PM

First the good news....Car has been with Halifax VW for the past four days, and they appear to have fixed the annoying squeaks around the dash by fitting a new centre console which butts up to the curved dash very nicely and by re felting all contact points, where there is likely to be friction.They have also strapped up some cabling at the back of the dash. "Eureka" I hear you cry.... now the bad news, Someone at the dealership opened the drivers door onto the fixed ramp post in the workshop and has caused paint damage to the drivers door, nasty gash measuring twelve inches vertically, right through to the metal... which someone must have known they had caused!! The result is yet another period of time when I have to be without my vehicle. Fortunately they have admitted liability but no-one is admitting to causing the damage?? Yeah right!!
The estimated cost for repair is around £300.00 and includes replacement chrome strip and plastic door bottom panel. Worst of all the dealership in HALIFAX is owned by VW LIVERPOOL and has now to be taken, by transporter to the Liverpool workshop, repaired over there and brought back... knowing my luck it will probably drop off the transporter!! (The service manager is contemplating taking an injunction out on me i"m sure).

VW UK have finally got their act together and monitored the dealership to progress both the dash and the damaged door matter today, but it's been bloody hard work and immense grief to get this far, not to mention the lengthy phones calls and letter.

Needless to say the repair will stand out as they often do, so my pride and joy bears another scar that will no doubt annoy me every time i approach her... wife says "its just a car love", how wrong she is.

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

**fat controller** · 14-05-2010,09:06 PM

Originally Posted by gribbo

First the good news....Car has been with Halifax VW for the past four days, and they appear to have fixed the annoying squeaks around the dash by fitting a new centre console which butts up to the curved dash very nicely and by re felting all contact points, where there is likely to be friction.They have also strapped up some cabling at the back of the dash. "Eureka" I hear you cry.... now the bad news, Someone at the dealership opened the drivers door onto the fixed ramp post in the workshop and has caused paint damage to the drivers door, nasty gash measring twelve inches vertically, right through to the metal... which someone must have known they had caused!! The result is yet another period of time when I have to be without my vehicle. Fortunately they have admitted liability but no-one is admitting to causing the damage?? Yeah right!!
The estimated cost for repair is around £300.00 and includes replacement chrome strip and plastic door bottom panel. Worst of all the dealership in HALIFAX is owned by VW LIVERPOOL and has now to be taken, by transporter to the Liverpool workshop, repaired over there and brought back... knowing my luck it will probably drop off the transporter!! (The service manager is contemplating taking an injunction out on me i"m sure).

VW UK have finally got their act together and monitored the dealership to progress both the dash and the damaged door matter today, but it's been bloody hard work and immense grief to get this far, not to mention the lengthy phones calls and letter.

Needless to say the repair will stand out as they often do, so my pride and joy bears another scar that will no doubt annoy me every time i approach her... wife says "its just a car love", how wrong she is.

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

That has got to be one of the best lines I have ever read on a forum - ever!

Sorry to hear your bad news though - you don't expect to get your car back from a dealer in worse condition than it went in. Hope the repair is satisfactory.

**gribbo** · 16-05-2010,01:59 PM

That's my next worry. Know a local paint sprayer who used to do work for Halifax VW. He is a brilliant sprayer and stated that the repair would require painting and blending both offside doors, new chrome strips and a plastic trim at the base of the drivers door. For some unknown reason they have stopped using him and have arranged to have it taken to Liverpool on a transporter. I have heard it directly from the service manager that he expects only the drivers door to be attended to, so i hope it doesn't stand out.. i shall have t wait and see, but I'm left chewing my fingernails over the next move... car goes in next Monday for three more days!!

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

**Europa25** · 17-05-2010,01:43 AM

That's really unlucky gribbo - hope she comes back looking great.
If not, then submit the letter and charge them the costs of getting it done to properly

God forbid the dashboard squeaks when she does!
Brilliant line btw, v v funny

All the best.

DSG4ME · 17-05-2010,08:49 AM

Gribbo, if it comes back 2 - tone reject it until they get it right, do some searching for official complaint bodies as well, so that if you need to reject you can hit the manager with some impressive names and put him on the back foot before his blagging gets in the way, treat them as they are, lying thieves, because that sadly is what they are, always have been, always will be, it's in their nature, and the fact most of the what was Mr Jones and Son dealer's have been swallowed up by multi national's doesn't help them to get anymore customer focused.

**gribbo** · 26-05-2010,07:53 PM

Car dropped off Monday morning to be shipped to Liverpool for painting... usually end up with a 10 plate basic Polo as a courtesy car, however, without prompt I'm in a 10 plate TOURAN with Sat Nav. (its amazing what the threat of bad publicity brings!) They originally booked my car for three days, Guess what, its Thursday tomorrow and still no contact from HX VW.
Be careful when you take on a courtesy car as the HX VW garage have slipped me a hire agreement, and i had to ask what their excess was... £1500.00 was the response, so again I had to insure the vehicle on my own policy, which was done at zero charge I might add.
I can see me having the Touran over the weekend and into Tuesday, as Monday is a Bank Holiday.
I am getting a bit apprehensive about the return of my vehicle... just hope they don't cause anymore damage. I can see it tipping me over the edge!!

**gribbo** · 03-06-2010,05:44 PM

Yet the saga continues.. I was supposed to get the vehicle back on Friday gone, as i had informed then i was away bank holiday weekend. needless to say it wasn't returned from Liverpool until late Saturday afternoon so I had to use their loan car over the weekend. they were then shut on B/H Monday and i eventually picked it up Tuesday.
the paint job stands out like the proverbial sore thumb and the car now bears a circular bloom where they have conducted the repair from the drivers door to the rear offside door. they have also marked every single alloy by strapping it down onto the recovery truck and caused a minor scratch to the rear offside wing which i have managed to autoglym out. And, because they drove it back from Liverpool they also used fuel which they have not replaced!!!. As a gesture of "goodwill" they gave me a brand new set of genuine VW boxed roofbars, which when opened were also found to be faulty... i went banana's in a polite way with the service staff ad they sat back, shrugged their shoulders and said "I don't know what to say to you" I responded with nobody knows what to say to me do they. Needless to say the manager at VW Halifax refused to speak with me so yet again i am reliant on VW UK sorting this ****** mess out.
I have no faith in them tackling a repair again, in fear that they may make the repair look worse (they even sprayed around the rear door trim instead of replacing it!!) and that they may cause further damage to my car.
i have insisted that they refund the cost of fuel used and obviously replace the bars with another set... (If you are considering roof bars get the thule version as they are about 70 quid cheaper and more substantial.)

The above and this reply on the forum supports my claim that this paticular dealership is worse than crap, they do not respect your vehicle or you as a customer and you should at any opportunity avoid dealing with them. Go elsewhere!!.