KSM Motors smashes customer's Jetta on a joyride. EDIT: New replacement car!

[amit_mechengg]

Just saw the agony of a fellow FB guy regarding the VW JETTA he owns(owned)

After the horror stories of SKODA how can their father i.e VOLKSWAGEN stay behind?

Quoting from his posts :https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?f...type=3&theater

This is what @Volswagen India has classified a minor accident while the car was in their possession for a regular oil change service. The company has been lying through its teeth, first hiding the very accident from us while discussing the charges for the regular service. On the day that the car was to be returned, we were informed that the car had met with a minor accident. Till date we have not been shown the actual car and these are the only pictures we have. The story so far (below is the actual complaint that I have now sent to their corporate office as directed by the Volkswagen international page here on Facebook. I received an automated message confirming the receipt of my complaint but I have not been contacted by anyone yet). Today Volkswagen has washed its hands off the entire issue, claiming the accident occurred through no fault of theirs and they cannot do anything about it. Unfortunately for them, they have left behind a complete paper trail and written records showing the truth in their own words - the car was taken out for a joy ride by these people and one of them has caused this accident. The official letter states that VW India is unable to do anything as we will not accept any of their 'offers' (read insurance fraud, filing of a false police complaint and a fake First Information Report - all serious criminal offences under the Indian Penal Code).


Hello,

I was given these email addresses via the VW International page on Facebook. I am writing to you to bring to your attention the sheer disregard for customer service and how the VW brand is being tarnished in India due to some bad elements in the VW India network.

I have a VW Jetta (registration number _____________) (VIN / Chassis number – ___________) (Model - Jetta AT 1.9 TDI). The vehicle is registered in the name of my company OWS Freight Systems Pvt. Ltd. and I am a Director in this company. Following is the brief of the incident with a VW authorized dealer (KSM Motors Pvt. Ltd.) and the lack of action from VW India thereafter.

• On 16th August, the car was sent to the authorized dealer for regular planned service and maintenance as per a scheduled appointment with KSM Motors, an authorized dealer and workshop for VW India

• 18th August – after various discussions over phone and email, we were given an estimate of INR 42,700 for the servicing and same was approved by us over email. We were informed that the car would be ready to be collected on 20th August by 6 pm

• On the evening of 20th August, representatives from KSM Motors approached us and informed that during a test run by their service engineer, the car met with a ‘minor accident’ on the evening of 18th August around 7.30 pm

o We were provided the photos that have been attached with this email as evidence of the ‘minor’ accident

o From the pictures it is evident that this was a major head-on accident

o The representatives from KSM Motors went on to offer us a deal – if we would pass the accident as if it was done by us and claim money from our insurance agency, KSM Motors would pay us any deductible or other charges that the insurance company may charge us

o We were shocked by the proposal and the casual manner in which it was presented and summarily dismissed this offer of criminal fraud and refused to entertain any such offers. We made it clear that it was not the policy of our company to indulge in any such criminal and fraudulent activity and expected better ethical standards from a company like VW

o As there was no way our vehicle could be returned by 6pm on Aug 20th as was promised, we demanded replacement vehicle in lieu of our car which had been damaged by the authorized dealer. Though the representatives seemed to admit their mistake, they said they were not in a position to provide even a temporary Jetta while the matter was being resolved. They arranged for an old, rickety Toyota Innova taxi as interim relief August 21st onwards.

o At this time, no police complaint or other proof was presented by the representatives to support their version of the minor accident.

• Post the meeting on 20th August we have been made various offers as under:

o KSM Motors would buy our old car at ‘fair market value’ and sell us a new car of our choice
This offer was summarily rejected by us as this smells of a scam – the fair market value of the car is now very low as the dealer has wrecked it. Moreover, this seems like a convenient way of selling a new car and lacks any effort on the part of the dealer and VW India to right the wrong done to us, not to mention the stress and aggravation caused by this ordeal to us. This high handed approach, after the previous unethical encounter has left us very saddened by the general state of affairs of VW in India

o KSM Motors would sell us a used car of a similar make and model which was being used by “one of their Directors” and since the cost of this used car was more than our car in its present wrecked form, we would pay the balance to the Director
At this point it seemed that whenever we thought VW India and its authorized dealers had stooped to their lowest point, they went ahead and proved us wrong. This proposal is wrong on so many levels including the little matter of corporate governance at VW India and the conflict of interest of this un-named Director. This is adding further insult to injury by VW India and its authorized dealer

• Upon constant daily follow-ups we were informed by KSM Motors representatives that they are still not able to ‘resolve’ the matter as we are unwilling to ‘accept’ any of their ‘offers’. The cause of delay was thus conveniently put on us for not ‘working with them’ to resolve the issue.

• This was not the end of our shocks. We had been demanding the copy of the police complaint and a written undertaking from the authorized dealer that there was no death or damage or destruction of property or harm to any person as a result of this accident. Till date, no such undertaking has been received which is a cause of grave concern to us. For all we know, some person might have been seriously injured or killed in the accident and we demand to be indemnified from any responsibility or claim arising as a result of this accident.

o After 10 days of asking for it, we were finally given a copy of the police report of the accident – the biggest shock was yet to come
The official police report states that the accident occurred on the 16th of August around 11.30 pm – the very day the car was given to the authorized dealer for servicing. This means the accident was hidden from us for 4 days, all the while the authorized dealer was corresponding with us over phone and email about the servicing of the car and asking for our approval to begin the servicing of the car. Moreover, from the timing of the accident – night 11.30 pm it is evident that someone at the dealership has taken the car out for a personal joy ride. Perhaps the intention of hiding the accident from us for 4 days was to try and repair the car without informing us and passing on the costs as inflated charges for our original request. Once it become clear that the accident was too major to be fixed without raising suspicion, the authorized dealer informed us 4 days later.
Needless to say, this was the shock of shocks.

We have sent letters to both VW India and the authorized dealer demanding an explanation of this major discrepancy in the lies fabricated by them and the police report, but till date no reply has been given by either of them

• I finally decided to take to social media and posted the picture of the damaged car along with a short description on the VW India Facebook page in hopes of eliciting a response and possible resolution from VW India. The only real response I got was three people saying that they would never buy a VW car. VW India on the other hand only asked me to send it a personal message with some additional details which I promptly did last Friday. On Monday I got a generic message stating that my request had been entered in their backend system.

• I tried contact VW customer care over the phone after that. When I gave them the required information, the started discussing about the planned maintenance that was to be done on the car instead of the accident case. This makes me question where my actual complaint has been registered. I subsequently asked VW India through their messaging system on Facebook that I wanted to have a complaint reference number as well as a strict deadline as to when my complaint would be resolved. I was given a reply that complaint resolution takes time and was still not given any complaint number. — at Volkswagen Navi Mumbai.

[shadows123]

Wow that is shocking. Seems VW never understands or takes India seriously at all!! If it were US of A or some Euro country , they would've been sued heavily by now.

I guess in India there is no alternative because rich corporates can get away with almost anything(thanks to a spineless govt which bends over backwards on seeing a suitcase full of money)!! The only alternative you can have is to use the consumer court but then again, considering another user in this forum has a case pending with Skoda for 4 years(due to non-show of VW executives & judges) so will have to wait it out!!

[hiren.mistry]

Goodness gracious! If they call this a minor accident, wonder what a major accident will look like.
The only thing I can say is all the best, as none of the offers given by VW are worth taking up.

My sympathies!

[gaurangsaini]

This is very sad indeed. The only reason I convinced a friend to go for VW Jetta 2012 instead of Laura was to avoid the pathetic Skoda A.S.S.

I'm at a loss of words here. Isn't VW positioned as a premium manufacturer? These car cos need to realize that after sales service can make or break a brand.

[amit_mechengg]

If they treat an accident case this way i am wondering how they siphoned off the earlier death due to fire in the vento case.

The case vanished like the spiderman does.

[tazmaan]

Wow thats some messing up!!! I really feel sorry for you. The offer which you mentioned (KSM Motors would buy our old car at ‘fair market value’ and sell us a new car of our choice) seems like a one to take. Try to squeeze in 50k above the market value. The accident has happened, the car is ruined and our consumer court will not even give you this result or better. I suggest take it and move on also move away from Skoda and VW group.

Offtopic: My A start was dented by Suzuki on 1st service. Sai service repaired it withing 2 days and also gave me a swift as a loaner car. They even offered me to show video footage of how it happened. I was pissed but they were patient with me and apologetic which eventually calmed me down.

[amit_mechengg]

Same instance happened with my linea when the Pandit auto mechanic brushed a punto against my lineas rear bumper. They not only painted the rear bumper but also did touch up for front bumper and other places without even asking them to do it.

[speedmiester]

Pathetic attitude of KSM Motors and VW India.

They are just sullying the name of their brand with such tactics.
Looking at the damage, it would take at least couple of lakhs to get the car into shape.

Since this car is company owned, the company might be able to lead the fight with VW and it's dealer.
If it had been an individual, it would be far difficult to deal.

[Desmosedici]

Add one more to the list. First Skoda and now the parent VW. I would say that most of these International Companies think of us as fools as the governance in itself in our country is a matter of shame. No one will respond to you for a pretty long time and as mentioned earlier in the above posts, a court case is already goin on and no relief yet to the poor consumer.

Ask them whether they will provide everything in writing to you on what happened. Discuss the best possible solution and atleast get the car back. Its your hard earned money, dont let it go waste and let the car sit idle in their hands. Ask for an offline compensation (without using your insurance), keep everything as proof and then once you feel you are in a better position, then you can launch your attack by maybe registering a complaint of fraud etc. Just my opinion. Please do keep us posted. Many would have gone through this agonizing pain on this forum and am sure they would definitely assist you.

All the best.

[miharbe]

This is shocking to say the least and seriously is nothing short of high handedness. For a manufacturer aiming to make it big in India this definitely is a big big shocker.

Personally it is quite scary for me because i send my car (Vento) for service at KSM Navi Mumbai. My personal experience has also almost always been suboptimal (this inspite of having cordial relations with the service head and the bodyshop manager) and I am sure a lot of others will vouch for this (souravc has this well documented in his thread and in the multiple discussions i have had with him).

Of all the options given to you none of them seem acceptable on the face of it. I wonder why they have not mentioned about repairing the vehicle for you. Unless I am missing something there doesnt seem to be any irrepairable damage done.

Ofcourse there is the whole thing of cutting your losses both in terms of time, headache and being without a vehicle for a long length of time though it good to know that you have taken the fight to VW. The real sad story here like most Skoda horror stories is the reaction by the company is the cause of concern (a rogue dealership is always there)

VW needs to realize a simple fact that a premium experience is not just restricted to the vehicle, it is much more. While such things may happen with other manufacturers they need to ensure that there is minimal inconvenience caused to the end customer which is a major differentiator. Washing their hands off the whole episode is just not done. This is an opportunity in adversity for VW and I hope better sense prevails and the matter is resolved amicably at the earliest

[esteem_lover]

Looks really sad to see a car look like that just thrown into the yard for no fault of the owners. Seems like all his protests and complaints have been met with a very strong will not to help. This is a very bad PR for Volkswagen, India.

Hope he gets a new car soon.

BTW,
How old is this car ?

[mayankjha1806]

Just this morning the mail comes to my official email ID regarding this accident from colleagues about VW and the first thing i did was to search the forum for similar thread. Now its there.

I am not sure about the truthfulness of the story, although i trust VW are fairly capable of doing this sort of service to their customers.

[zoombiee]

"we were given an estimate of INR 42,700 for the servicing and same was approved by us over email"

This looks quite out of the place. How does a bill run up to 42k for a supposedly normal oil service and how was that approved by the customer?

[sourabhzen]

All we can do is stay away for such dealers and advise all to stay away from all manufacturers with such callous attitude towards the consumers.

The forums like this and other social forums are good means to spread the word around so that people do not take chances on their cars with at least the dealer.

[lohithrao]

God, this is real scary!

btw Cant imagine the same happening to a individual who has bought a car from his savings!

Amit please keep us updated!