[methecupid]

Stay away from Senator Motors Skoda, Goregaon (W), Mumbai

In what can be only termed as a never-ending saga of the Skoda horror-strory, the only flight the new emblem of the Czech manufacturer is taking is towards more malpractices. Having maintained a strong liking for VAG cars for their engines and build, I have vehemently supported their cause (albeit with a caveat against their after-sales) in my circle. Unfortunately, I have been caught off-guard on a recent experience for one of my friends’ relative had with the Senator Motors (Skoda), Goregaon, Mumbai.

Sometime in September, 2015, the relative went on to book the Skoda Rapid Anniversary Edition with Senator, and was asked to pay INR 50,000 as booking amount. It was also insisted that the full payment is required prior to delivery of the car. The loan was processed with ICICI Bank and the rest of the amount was promptly credited to the dealer. Apparently the belief of Skoda as a multi-national company and obliviousness to any untoward incident happening on the delivery process, the individual did not preempt any issues in doing so. The delivery date was determined to be 3rd November, 2015. The day came, and went by without even so the VIN number shared with him. As a goodwill gesture, the dealership even provided a replacement car, which itself was a spanking new vehicle. Needless to say, this was done without any paper being ripped-off a booklet or authenticated documentation. Not ready to use the car provided for too long, lest damages are claimed at a later date, the family returned the donor car last week, and that was that of the story. A week prior to delivery, the bank has also processed the loan amount to credit the dealership.

Ever since Thursday last week, all calls made to the dealership have not been accessible and the showroom has been locked up. The bank, for obvious reasons, does not hold any liability for retrieving the amount processed. What has really taken the bull is that the Bank claims there are atleast 3 more customers who are aggrieved with the same problem with the very same dealer. Emails have been sent to the customer center and marked to the MD generic email. Calls to the customer center have resulted in pacifying but futile replies of “we are looking into it”. Adding to it, an FIR has been lodged at the insistence of the bank last weekend, and apparently the Police said that there have similar reports lodged earlier.

Some of the red flags, which were quite imminent, has been communicated to my friend;

• The entire amount requested prior to the car being even delivered to the relative.
• No PDI done at either dealer location and/or the stock-yard.
• If similar cases had been reported, the bank should have flagged the payment prior to release.
• Donor car provided without an issue, may be it would have been palmed off to an unassuming customer later.

10 lakh of someone’s hard-earned money is hostage. This post is not only a call to the more learned members of the thread, but also serves as a notice to the forum members and public at large, to not deal with the dealer and its other distribution channels (Skoda Autobahn and AVK Ford Chandivili to name a few).

Concerned personnel who have been at thick of the plot:

Principal Officer: Puneet Kumar
Sales Advisor: Ritesh Yadav
Sales VP: Siddhant Marathe

[Aditya]

Stay away from Senator Motors Skoda, Goregaon (W), Mumbai - post moved to a new thread.

[ShaileshHinge]

SHOCKED !

Do write to Skoda at customercare@skoda-auto.co.in. You will typically get response on this Id. This has helped me in the past.

Also try calling on 1800 209 4646 / 1800 102 6464 post the email.

[AkMar]

This is really shocking. Skoda never seems to improve

There used to be another branch of Senator Skoda besides my office in Chandivali. That too has been closed down since a few weeks. I was under the impression that it is being renovated. Didn't know that the dealer has shut shop. There could be similar complaints from this branch too.

Edit: Are Skoda Autobahn & AVK Ford too owned by the same owners? AVK ford seems to be functioning normally.

[Tanveer_2558]

Wow, Everytime i think skoda and VW have done it all ( Ways to trouble their customers) I get to know something new! This is shocking, Thanks for sharing.

[Vik0728]

This is blatant Fraud methecupid and I really hope you/your relative are able to get back every single penny that has been extorted by Senator Motors Skoda, Goregaon (W), Mumbai

I am quite sure you have run your checks on this, but just in case you are yet to:

- If the cops claimed to have had similar cases filed against this showroom folks, have they even done anything to defer this for future unsuspecting customers?

- Considering the fact that this is a not one off incident with Senator Motors Skoda, Goregaon (W), aren't SKODA INDIA doing anything to prevent such frauds?

- If the Bank released the funds inspite of having had similar cases before, wouldn't they be just as much responsible for this fraud?

I don't know how the legal stuffs really work here buddy, but I think you must really consider ways of bringing both SKODA & BANK folks to justice.

[swiftnfurious]

Originally Posted by methecupid

Stay away from Senator Motors Skoda, Goregaon (W), Mumbai...

Skoda keeps improvising; but on negative points!!

Could you let us know what's the FIR that you filed?? Do you think you can manage to get the contact details of the rest of the folks who have been affected & form a team for legal battle? That would be a stronger way to hit Skoda I guess.

[StarrySky]

This is blatant fraud by the dealer.

Did your friend try to find out if the booking he made has been forwarded to Skoda by the dealer? If yes, he may have some hope of getting his hands on a car or getting the money back. If not, I am afraid, he will most likely be on his own in this fight. Especially if the dealership has now shut down (maybe it was shutdown due to previous complaints).

The bank will probably wash its hands off the case since ultimately the customer himself would've asked the bank to release the funds to the dealer. But, they should've warned the customer if they have prior knowledge of fraud by the dealership. Hopefully the investigation will also check if bank employees were hand-in-glove with the dealership.

[deepv]

This looks shocking to say the least, but I am just wondering such thing could happen anywhere as mostly the money is to be given/transferred to dealers prior to delivery.
What is the safeguard for the customer against such frauds beside relying on dealer/company's reputation?

Hopefully police will catch concerned folks soon, but in the meantime its a pain for the person concerned on various fronts.

[Sherlocked]

Oh man, this is any car buyer's worst nightmare!
Check with the insurance company that whether the insurance has been done in the car buyer's name or not. Also check with the RTO regarding the registeration.

[alpha1]

Just to maintain a neutral stance here on this thread (since this condition may arise with any other manufacturer too):
1) what preemptive measures could Skoda organization have taken to ensure that dealer is not able to fleece the customer in this fashion
2) what post incident actions could Skoda take in order to bring the culprit dealer to book

[GTO]

Just a heads up: Skoda has dropped a line and the contact details of the OP have been forwarded to them (after the OP's approval, of course). Skoda is currently looking into this matter.

Originally Posted by alpha1

what preemptive measures could Skoda organization have taken to ensure that dealer is not able to fleece the customer in this fashion
2) what post incident actions could Skoda take in order to bring the culprit dealer to book

Good point.

See, dealerships don't shut overnight. There's ample advance notice to take the necessary measures.

1. Stop the dealership from accepting bookings xxx number of days before they shut down.

2. Any pending deliveries against bookings made should be smoothly transferred to another dealer.

Work amicably & sort it out. No rocket science, others are already doing it. If a manufacturer wants, they can exercise a lot of control over their dealerships. You should see how Maruti dealers are petrified of headquarters.

[SmartCat]

Before taking a dealership, don't they have to deposit Rs. X crores with the manufacturer? Like a security deposit?

[fine69]

Originally Posted by methecupid

What has really taken the bull is that the Bank claims there are atleast 3 more customers who are aggrieved with the same problem with the very same dealer.

Do we have any information whether the bank knew of all this beforehand or was it that they processed and cleared the last payment post which these cases started coming up.

As for the dealer, I'm sure that an auto-manufacturer cannot control each and every activity of their dealers but better governance is being exercised by a lot of other manufacturers and its that robust governance & consistent communication which prevents such sudden surprises.

However, what has Skoda left to lose now, their name/brand? Are you kidding me?!!

[avdhesh15]

This is extremely sad and unfortunate to say the least! Just a year back my cousin had got his Superb from them and then too there were many issues which we wrote off as regular issues, e.g. car coming well beyond promised date, insistence of money before PDI, etc.

One question: what can we as customers do to ensure this doesn't happen to us?