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-   -   Booked Skoda, paid in full, showroom shut down! Now what? (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/indian-car-dealerships/170595-booked-skoda-paid-full-showroom-shut-down-now-what-5.html)

And I thought buying a Rapid was as simple as this. You mean the marketing guys were misleading people?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vu32Cuz3tYA

That's what marketing guys normally do :uncontrol
Welcome to the world of advertising. :D

On a serious note, is there any latest update on this issue?

Having worked in a corporate scenario, I can say with confidence that Marketing, Sales, Operations departments don't know what the other is doing and move according to their own KRA 's.
:-)

The glue that binds these three is the Customer Relationship guys. When either of the three mess up and is confronted by an angry customer. Then its the customer relations' mess to clean up.

:-)

Thanks for the patience, but with utmost despondency, bordering disgust, I will have to report a rather gloomy update on the ensuing case. I have been waiting for some discussions with the aggrieved and getting conclusive information regarding this case, hence did not want to jump the gun.

Like I had said earlier, “appreciation for where it’s due” and the official remark from Skoda offering a definitive deadline for resolution did indeed provide a semblance of rationality to this madness. 10 days after and scores of calls/ discussions later, the aggrieved are still lighter by the amount paid to Senator and Skoda for their car. It has become pointless to harp upon the adage of the joy and aspiration of customers on buying a new car. Specially when we see thousands flock to the nearby showrooms to book and drive away with their families on auspicious occasions right from Diwali till the time the new year sets in. But for some families, incidents like these leave them scarred to the extent that they lose faith in the corporate systems present to apparently make this a joyous time.


How it has played out since the last update:
Senator “Skoda” (not sure if I can call them ‘Senator Skoda’ anymore after they have publicly renounced their relationship with the dealership, but will continue to do so since the Company had ‘Appointed’ them in the past) had issued two post-dated cheques in the first week of December, only to be encashed on the 8th and 10th respectively. This was almost echoing the helplessness of the issuer, as if to say “Sir! Paise hote toh kya baat hoti?” (If the money was there, then we won’t be fussing about on this issue now!) Reluctantly, this was accepted. I had, on my part, provided the precedence of the earlier case posted on this thread, wherein the customer booking the Superb was issued a cheque that bounced. Needless to say, the cheque presented for payment on the 8th promptly bounced for “lack of sufficient funds”. On calling Mr. Marathe, who now has been posted to AVK Ford, apologies were offered for an apparent ‘accounts department issue’ and a request to re-present the bounced cheque on the 10th and delay the other one till the 11th. Today, the first cheque has again been declined by the bank due to “insufficient funds”. Hardly surprising!

Note: The second cheque has not been presented yet. Toilet paper anyone?


What has Skoda done till now:

• Emailed the Team BHP community pledging their support to this cause. Appreciated.
• Customer Service call to ‘ensure’ this was a ‘genuine concern’. Weird, but I have nothing against validation!
• The aggrieved called back Skoda to enquire what was the outcome of the call made a week back. Mr. Umesh Chaphekar called him back ensuring the aggrieved that they have taken note of this raging issue, and doing the needful. He has also coordinated with ICICI Bank to get all parties involved in the matter on the same platform.

Infact, on the 10th earlier this month, representatives from Senator, Skoda and ICICI Bank had met to discuss these issues; and we have gotten from reliable sources that the bank has been asked to spool out details of loan accounts that have been processed in favor of the now-defunct dealership. However, surprisingly, in an email correspondence from Skoda to the aggrieved as of 2nd December has stated “we have given Senator Motors 15 days starting 26th November to complete the entire process and provide us with the aforesaid solutions effectively”. As I write now, the 18th day has literally ‘dawned’.


What has the bank done:
I work in a bank, and trust me when I say this, there is no way on Earth and everything true and bright in a day on it, can the bank be oblivious to this scam and perpetrators of unscrupulous activities in Senator. Every bank has a robust system of identifying individuals/ companies who have a chequered past. This is done through scanning their past payment history, analyzing their past relationships and scrutinizing their financial obligations. It is called a ‘Screening’ process. On many occasions, they maintain a local ‘sanctions list’ including person(s) with such past indiscretions. Despite India not having a formalized ‘sanctions list’, a list of fraudulent accounts and willful defaulters are to be reported as part of the Fraud Framework, that has been revised as recently as May of this year.

Now don’t tell me ICICI, the largest private bank in India has such a lopsided operations team, that it doesn’t believe in having systems that automatically red-flagged Senator Motors account. Added to this, the Direct Sales Advisor (DSA) channel representative was introduced, on premises, to the aggrieved by the dealership. Nexus anyone? Hell yeah! At this point in time, ICICI is not in the radar for being a party to the litigation plans, but they are not very far from getting their hands in a dirt bin, they wished they had never sought. As part of an annual compliance reporting to the RBI, the bank is required to report performances of all its ‘outsourced sales function’, and it’ll be very easy to prove that they did not follow due diligence and justified processes before disbursing the loan to a ‘should have been sanctioned’ party.


I wish I had something good to write down; unfortunately for everyone concerned, that seems to be a day to be followed after a long, long night!

That reflects very bad on Skoda though the act of perjury has been done by the dealer.

IMHO, the aggrieved party MUST go ahead and bank all the cheque(s) for the sake of expressing interest in tough action and for records. The recently amended Negotiable Instruments Act has got stricter punishment and remedies for the cheque bounces.

Source

Skoda, won't ever touch you with a barge pole. You guys are nothing but a bunch of lying, conniving scoundrels. I will personally ensure no one from my circle of influence ever makes the mistake of buying Skoda.

:Shockked::Shockked: All of this is happening under Skoda's watch! Goes to show that the company has no control over its dealerships. A matter that has been taken to Skoda's headquarters has this result.

No money, no car, no dealer.

And at the end, two useless cheques. First time I'm hearing of a case like this. I sincerely hope your relative gets his money back soon.

This is terrible to say the least. We have a rapid in the family and were looking to dispose that off and pick up another rapid albeit with a dsg box for my father. Needless to say this is not going to happen anymore.

Skoda deserves to be in the market position that they currently are, and I wish it only gets worse from here for them. They know nothing about customer service and retaining customers.

Such a notice should be displayed at the dealership. There should be a point in the dealership agreement that the manufacturer can put up such notices at the dealerships as per situation that exists at any given point of time.

Whenever a dealership stops selling a brand, the name of the brand will have to be removed. This can give a good indication that the dealership is no longer associated with that brand.

Eg;
Remove " Skoda " from "Senator Skoda" .

Wow.. Amazed at reading this and even thinking that this is possible in this day and age!
That too, not at some local mom and pop shop but a MNC Automobile Manufacturer make me go nuts. It is painful to see this going on.

Have your relatives tried the consumer courts just yet? To me, it looks as of the only solution to the whole scam. The bank should be made a party as well. How can they not know? Plus, banks always have a method to getting back their money. They are complicit, or at least some one is at their branch.

Never touching a Skoda, atleast in India.

Cheque bounced twice- clear case of Section 138- please file a criminal complaint against the dealer. Also get in touch with a good lawyer in your city to guide you how you can simultaneously move for a summary recovery suit under Order 37 if you have any document from the dealer promising a full refund.

do both these actions and you should get your money soon. Dont bother with consumer forum in this case.....will be a waste of time.

Dear methecupid,

I have been following this thread from the beginning.
I do not have words.... except maybe OUCH!
'Sorry for you' does not seem adequate.

Just my 2 cents - ask for a DD. At least that cannot bounce. If they refuse to do so, then you can go to court claiming mal-intention.

Girish Mahajan

Skoda just doesn't seem to get it right and learn from their mistakes. From their dealers putting in fake parts by charging the owner the cost of a genuine part and now to this. And to add to the irony, they have the advertisement doing the rounds saying Buy now, Pay in 2017. Yeah right!:Frustrati

Guess, we Indians have to reply back to their slogan of Simply Clever, by spreading the word Simply Never!

This is criminal and should be addressed properly. Skoda should also be made party in the courts as the money was paid out to their authorized agent (the dealership will qualify as agent in the terminology).

Making bank a party should be done after your relative conducts an informal discussion with the loan sanction and disbursal department of the bank; this may give them additional power to reverse the transaction as your case will create a base for them to put their acts together.

Your record of booking amount payment (when the dealership was actually authorised as Skoda dealership) as well as the time when the loan amount was disbursed by bank to the dealership (substantiated by communication from Skoda that the matter will be resolved by 10 Dec 15) are sufficient to make both of them responsible as Skoda stopped you from taking legal recourse and took matter in their hands

Business malpractice and forgery case should be based on bouncing of non-negotiable instrument (cheques); yes this is a cause of concern, but somehow this is what is available to you as recourse now. Take this to various forums such as:
- LinkedIn articles
- Facebook page of Skoda and VW in India and their European HQ
- Auto magazines
- Online auto forums

Make sure every submission from your end should be polite and firm with no use of offensive language.

Start using snail mail (registered) for every communication to dealership and Skoda India - this will help create a paper trail.

Record all calls that your relative makes in this regard (apps are available). Keep a record of all calls made including date, time, person on the other side, call brief etc.

If there is any kind of threat / harassment happens in relation to this issue; report it to police station immediately.

All the best !

Thank you all for lending your time, support and advice. The thread has been shared with my friend’s relative, and be rest assured, we are all keeping a keen eye on the developments. Cheque bouncing definitely is an unpardonable case with various regulations governing the financial ethos in the Indian banking system. However, with a precedent case of cheque bouncing whilst repaying the gentleman with his money towards booking of his Superb, I would have assumed the bank would have a red-flag against the parties concerned.

Considering that the Senator personnel have been a habitual offender, in its truest terminology, I had suggested getting a DD for payment. This, however, was sheepishly declined, and the aggrieved chose not to coax him any further.


It helps when one’s wife is a lawyer, so she told me that the case has enough evidence and platform to go ahead for a criminal case. The ultimate decision, however, will have to be taken by my friend’s relative. He’ll be very well within his rights if he chose to, from what I know, he has already approached the Consumer Court and they have been updated of the situation. They had, earlier, sent an email asking the dealership for a response too; however, I am not sure if that line has been further pursued. Having said that, it would not be hard to reactivate that line of thought.

My friend showed me another piece of communication from the Skoda Customer Service, dated 10th December requesting ‘a further 15 days from today' wherein ‘we will be ensuring to provide you with a concrete settlement plan of you claim by end of this timeline’. I guess I can only suggest them to wait for the time-period and witness this saga unfold. However, at the same time, a criminal case will have to be lodged with 15 days of a cheque bounce, for it to be deemed valid. I am afraid, all this will have to be done together.


Very valid point Condor. That’s something which had struck me when I saw that notice from Skoda. If, as purported, Senator had ‘resigned’ from being a Skoda dealer on 16th October; then the process of deliveries and refunds, should have been undertaken by Company officials, rather than dealers from the date of resignation to the final day of winding down. What you suggested, should also be mandated, and under strict supervision of a Company official posted on premises. At the end of the day, the name of the manufacturer is on the line as well.



Check! I have asked my friend not to accept an offer to get a car delivered from another dealership. Another one in my circle was contemplating the Skoda Yeti, before I promptly sent a link of this thread to him. Rest assured, I will lend a keen ear to all conversations around me that has things like “buy” “new car” “skoda” in them. Drive safe, when you drive at all!