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GaryPL
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I was not aware the rules had changed. Thank you [emoji846]


Quick link for you re. 0345 numbers. If the company I'm ringing does not have a freephone number or a local rate number I can call for free out of my bundle I got to a website called www.saynoto0870.com to get one, works 99% of the time.


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Ford vouchers will be just that, vouchers you can only use in a ford dealership. You can usually use them on anything from parts to a new vehicle. It's a bit of a kick in the ***** really because those vouchers cost them nothing to issue as they haven't had to spend any money to get them. These vouchers would also come from Ford UK not the dealership so their compensation would still be outstanding, and because Ford UK have issued something they have set a precedent and confirmed what you have dealt with is worthy of compensation. 2 free services would be what I would be looking for and nothing less.

You are being lead a merry dance here and you have given the dealership more than enough time to take ownership of the issue, I know I couldn't have been as patient as you, well done for keeping your cool. They have now agreed that the problem is covered by warranty so why it took them 3 weeks is anyone's guess but it should have been agreed within a reasonable time frame I.e. a week. That's another issue, the car could have been fixed and back on the road by now had it been examined by a competent outfit. I had better service from Renault when my fuel line fractured, they said it was a wear and tear item and refused to entertain a warranty claim on a 1 month old car. One call to Renault UK and the threat of rejection and it was all sorted and the car was delivered back to my home 48hrs later.

So the vouchers are only yours if you take the car back? What a crock, if you stay in a Ford they are sorry but if not then screw you and don't let the door hit you on the way out. This is just the type of story the local rags like and also one that really spreads on social media!


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Who, me or the OP?


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Gary. [emoji38]


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Gary. [emoji38]


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I hate text sometimes, gets me paranoid that I'm off the mark or being an ***** lol text is so subjective


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Thanks for the support and words of advice, guys.

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Latest e-mail, sent just moments ago:

Quote

Dear Xxxx,

 
Thank you for your telephone call today, informing me that my vehicle is expected to be ready by Wednesday.
 
I am however writing to formally reject the vehicle, in compliance with my statutory rights.  The reasons for this are as follows:
 
  1. Ford have been given a significant amount of time to rectify the extensive list of issues that I have been constructively attempting to resolve with two dealerships over several visits.  The most recent of these visits has resulted in the Xxxx dealership possessing my nearly new vehicle for over five weeks, during which time I have been misled on a number of occasions about the progress of repairs.
  2. I am still unaware about which of the numerous reported faults are being repaired by the dealership at this point, however this is now irrelevant when the intention of this e-mail is taken into consideration.
  3. Ford have been unwilling to entertain any measures to ameliorate my ongoing concerns.  My suggestion of extending the warranty was immediately rejected without consideration, which unfortunately suggests that as a company, Ford have no faith in the quality or ongoing reliability of its vehicles.  Nor does it suggest that customer satisfaction is of any concern to Ford.
  4. Ford have refused to entertain discussions on any compensatory measures until it has forced me to retake possession of the vehicle.  I interpret this as trying to back me into a corner, which is not a position that I am going to allow Ford to put me in.  I also recall describing this procedure as "backwards" when we spoke.
  5. My experience with Ford over recent months suggest that it will be unwilling to co-operate with me in the future, in the event of other items going wrong on the vehicle.
 
It is unfortunate that Ford's inflexibility and unwillingness to work with me on the various reported issues has led to me having to take this course of action.  On the whole, it is a pleasurable car to drive and I would have been content to continue owning it, if Ford was willing to act constructively.
 
Please let me know, via return e-mail:
 
  1. How I go about collecting extraneous personal belongings from the car. 
  2. How I arrange a mutually convenient time to drop off the courtesy car.
  3. When I can expect a full refund for the vehicle.
 
I have copied this to Ford's managing director as I hope that he will find how his company is treating its customers to be of interest.  I quite reasonably expect more when I am spending £12,000 with your company, which in itself was almost impossible to do because of the comedic buying experience that I had back in August.
 
Finally, I would like to point out that I have been pleasant and accommodating towards Ford and its dealerships, up to the point that I had to involve its customer relations centre in this latest issue.  I wonder whether the outcome of this experience would have been different should I have been an 'awkward customer'.
 
Regards,

 

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I only just saw this and read it from the beginning now.

But good move rejecting the car - sounds like you got a total lemon that I would have no faith whatsoever being properly fixed as lemons will stay lemons forever!

Good luck!

Perhaps a Toyota/Honda next? :)

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Sorry for the torture you endured when reading!

It may well be a lemon, but I am still upset that it came to having to reject it.  You form an attachment to vehicles and I have spent quite a lot of money sealing the paintwork which I probably won't get back.  Never know though - this e-mail may get some results.

I'm not really sure what would come next.  Finding something that combines the spec, the engine and performance, the look, the drive, the cost is extremely challenging.  I also want a 3 door car.  So that rules out the Mazda 2 and Skoda Fabia.  Toyota doesn't have a 'warm hatch'.  Honda Jazz is for the elderly.  Vauxhall taught me a similar lesson to Ford. VW is too pricey for the age and spec that I want.  I am currently looking at a Suzuki Swift Sport.  They seem to have a fair chunk of the kit but they have a shoe box for a boot and they aren't the best in terms of fuel economy/CO2.  The Kia RIO and Hyundai i20 only have hairdryer engines.  I could look at a ProCeed or i30, but they are in a different class of car.

So in short - I have no idea!

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Sorry it's come to this but it's about time Ford had your feelings documented and your intentions. It doesn't bode well for the rest of us if we have an issue. I very nearly got into the same position as you over a very simple fault that I self diagnosed and suggested the fix. Ford wouldn't hear anything I had to say telling me I shouldn't trust anything I read on Google or forums, I had a few choice responses for them. Everything changed when I talked of Consumer Rights and rejection.

Have you or would you look at the DS3? Having driven one of their diesels I was quite impressed, there is also the slightly bigger DS4. Incant recommend the brand having never had one, well unless you count a VTS Saxo 'back in the day' when I had no idea what garages were like.


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Thanks for the DS3 suggestion.  I don't think that sheltering from unreliability in a Citroen is the best way forward though!   That being said, practically every Citroen is ranked higher than almost every Ford in recent surveys.  Guess that's saying something.

The DS3 is a nice enough car though I think it's more aimed at women.  Single bloke in his early 30s is probably not the target clientele :P

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You might be right there on all counts. I liked the engine in the DS3 but after initially liking the styling I have since changed my mind. There are some bargain A3 to be had, unfortunately there a very few sciroccos' about at a good price. The vRS is very easy to modify but second hand ones can be a risky buy depending on the age and engine type. The swift sport is good value for money but I've never been able to get behind it. Is the civic of any interest?


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I'm not against the Civic. Looked at them a few years ago. Will have a look online tomorrow evening and see what my options are.

Never know though. Ford may well try and make things better now, instead of continuing to mess me around. Dare I say that I will be expecting a greater gesture than I would have been a couple of days ago, when I was still trying to secure an amicable solution!

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Would you consider taking the car back or is your mind set? It does sound like the Fiesta meets most of your needs, or else you wouldn't have chosen it. Whatever happens make sure you are happy with the outcome and that it favours you and not them, nothing worse than regrets or being hasty because they have ***** you off. I hope you get a favourable solution soon, thanks for the updates it is proving quite eye opening the way some dealers treat their customers, some dealers fight for you not against you.


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I would definitely consider taking the car back. It's a good combination in most areas except build quality and customer service it seems. This is why I've been so accommodating up to this point. But my concerns about build quality are what is driving me to suggest a warranty extension. If they are that satisfied with their vehicles, a warranty extension could potentially be at no cost to them. It'd also give me some confidence. But now I think it's beyond that and they owe me more. Mitigation and compensation. Is that unreasonable given the last 6 months of dealing with these jokers? I don't think so.

But for them to instantly dismiss my initial offer, staying they don't do extended warranties, is bull. They do as they flog them at the end of the manufacturer warranty period. They also sell them on new cars.

But now I'm of the opinion that if they really care, they can actually offer me decent reasons to stay. They owe me that much, given I haven't had my car since early/mid January and because of the abysmal time I have had whilst in their hands.

I may have acted hastily when I got home in a mood this afternoon, but I won't regret it.

Thanks for the support and sympathetic ear. Hopefully my threads have been more informative than annoying to most 🙂

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To say iv 'enjoyed' reading the posts isn't the word I want to use as it sounds like I am happy with what you are going through, far from it but I think it's great the forum can be a sounding board and support. I do like to hear how you're getting on. As for acting hastily I do it all the time in work, fire off emails telling people exactly what I think instead of what they want to hear. My team leader is always giving me hell for it, tells me to write the emails then store them as a draft and review it an hour later. If I still feel the same then send it, 9'times out of 10 I would though! In your case I think it's about time they had a swift kick up the *****, who was it sent to? The dealership or to Ford?
I would be looking to get my finance payments back and insurance costs whilst the car has been away, either in a cash payment or a service plan/warranty. If they offer you free breakdown for the next XX years tell them to ram it as they do that regardless for the first 3 years. Just remember that whatever they say to you from now on should also be covered in writing, especially their response to that email. Try to always give them a deadline to your requests, I normally find 5-7 working days acceptable in most situations. That kind of time gives them time to respond at least, if they agree to do something then again get them to be time specific with you. Try to use dates instead of days too, just for completeness, and keep a record of when you are in contact with or contacted by the garage. Make of a note of the day, time, name and subject discussed. Quite easy to do on your calender in your phone, that way you have a time line.


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Today and a response from the managing director's office which was a polite sod off as it's nothing to do with them. I got a couple of names of senior people in the CRC but I haven't bothered raising it with them.  No response from the case manager at the CRC. I have also sent it to the dealer e-mail address at Trust Ford today as apparently Ford have a web of companies.  I also found Trust Ford's operations director's details and sent details of the drama to him.

Tomorrow's another day.

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I yesterday tracked down an operations director and sent them an email too.

Email I received today. I like the motto. It captures my experience perfectly. Except Ford is driving in reverse:

Good Afternoon Mr Xxxx

I have tried to call several times but unfortunately not got an answer and no voicemail service.

Your vehicle is ready for collection.

Please call me to discuss work carried out and a collection time convenient to you.

Kind regards,

Xxxxx

Assistant Aftersales Manager

TrustFord – We drive the standard in customer care

 

My response:

 

Dear Mr Xxxx,

 
Unfortunately I contacted Ford on Monday, formally rejecting the vehicle. It is unsurprising that the CRC has not been in touch with you, and not replied to me.
 
I also forwarded correspondence to Ford's approved used address. In addition, correspondence was sent to Trust Ford's operations director. I have not received replies from these either.
 
Once I have had written confirmation over the rejection process, and formal assurances over when I will obtain a full refund, I will be happy to discuss a mutually convenient return date for your courtesy car, when I will also remove any remaining personal belongings from the car currently at the dealership. I am grateful for the fact that I have had use of the courtesy car for this rather extended period, however I was clear with you and Ford that I was intending to reject the vehicle if a satisfactory resolution was not reached.
 
I am sorry that it has come to this.  I provided multiple opportunities to Ford to agree measures to mitigate my concerns about the quality of the car and compensate me for the fact that I have personally devoted significant amounts of time to resolving the issues. This as well as the fact that that I have not had use of my car for nearly a quarter of the time I have owned it. Unfortunately the 6 month purchase anniversary wouldn't wait for matters to be resolved at Ford's pace.
 
Kind regards,
 
Xxxx
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Yet another update. Got a call from the case manager at the CRC. She said emails go into a junk folder and she got all of them in one go. Sounds like a stupid system which just serves to irritate already irate customers to me. Is there anything this company does that is fit for purpose?!

She said, as she did before, that I have to liaise with the dealer. I reminded her that it's a vehicle branded as "Ford Direct" so they are the dealer. It was noted that my emails are sent to others, including Trust Ford, so she wanted to note on the file that I'm dealing with the dealer. I said I would be if I ever got any responses to my emails and I don't care about the semantics of who at Ford I need to deal with for the rejection of a vehicle. It's all Ford to me.

As I said earlier in this thread, I can be a pain and now my patience and goodwill towards them have run out, I'm being just that. A pain 🙂

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Junk folder? that sounds like an excuse, any half decent company will have a ticket/support system where your emails go to.

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Indeed.

But this experience is beginning to teach me that making simple things extremely painful and highly frustrating is the only thing Ford are actually good at!  So it may actually be a problem with a junk filter for all I know.

Just smacks of a company that is taking its customers for granted by taking advantage of them.

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Very much like a case of get a customer and then you can treat them how you want when they have your money!

Just as a point of contact for advice - you can call Motor Codes on 0800 692 0825 or the Financial Ombudsman on 0800 023 4567.


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Nothing today. So it seems as though this is going into next week! They really know how to look after someone they've done so much to pee off.

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And they still have your car?


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