[Gildarts]

Originally Posted by SuhasManjunath

The next mediation is on the 22nd January 2018.

Is there any update after the mediation on 22nd?

[SuhasManjunath]

Update :

As expected, the mediation on 22nd January 2018 was unsuccessful too!

The representatives from Vinayak Skoda did not even bother coming to the mediation center, they instead called the mediator and informed that they were not interested for a settlement through mediation and they are ready to fight the case at the court.
No representative from Skoda India was present for any of the mediation sessions.

The next hearing in the court is on 8th February 2018.

My Viewpoint on the proceedings :

Vinayak Skoda who was an ex-parte for 155 days after the case being filed is now trying to fight it out at the court only to buy time to resolve the matter. In the process of doing so, they asked the court to put the case for mediation and dragged the case at the mediation center for over 2 months even when they previously knew that they will not be willing to close the case through mediation.

Vinayak Skoda's next plan will be to fight the case in the court by playing hand-in-glove method with Skoda India and buying lots of time to even make a single proceeding.

Skoda India on the other hand has whatsoever no concern about its far gone dealer and the sufferings of the customer due to their inability to completely involve and solve the matter.

My next move :

I will be hosting a roadshow named the "VINAYAK's DEATH DRIVE" in which i will be driving along with my fellow companions who also have grievances against Skoda or its dealers and we will be parking my DUPED/FAKE-ed car at a good location and will put-up a huge banner covering the entire side of the car so that all passerby's can get familiar with the different kinds of fraud that the automotive dealer is into.
In the banner, it will say 'R.I.P SKODA RAPID' , 'A SIMPLY CLEVER SWAP' along with links to the major sites which are covering this case. post which I shall go live on all possible platforms and talk about the ill-doing and the bad state of Skoda's dealer and how they have cheated me and the deficit involvement of Skoda India in helping it's customer. I shall also make efforts for the media coverage.

Now I request my dear BHP-ians to advise me for my next plan and also suggest for any changes or improvisations if required.
Also anyone who would willing to help me and be part of this DRIVE, Do please get in touch with me on +91 7760889523 or through facebook 'Suhas Manjunath' " https://www.facebook.com/suhas.manjunath.18 "

Also, here are about 10 links to sites other than team-bhp which are covering this case. Including some top sites such as Money Control and news channel such as news9

Money Control :
http://www.moneycontrol.com/news/bus...n-2482169.html

News9 :

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_-sUURtctUI

1) https://www.rushlane.com/skoda-deale...-12252225.html
2) http://www.ibtimes.co.in/this-skoda-...-handed-744712
3) https://www.motorbeam.com/fake-rapid...-skoda-dealer/
4) http://newsdog.today/a/article/59de6...a6f9d/?d=false
5) https://gaadiwaadi.com/skoda-dealer-...dition-476565/
6) https://m.dailyhunt.in/news/india/en...ewsid-74608000
7) http://newsneeded.com/car-or-truck-b...ecial-edition/
8) https://bharathautos.com/skoda-deale...ake-cheat.html

[speedmiester]

I am appalled by the casual nature of Skoda in the entire episode.
Hope this is the final nail in their coffin. Let them die a quick death.
Their cars may be good, but no customer has to go through such fraud and harassment.

[honeybee]

Originally Posted by SuhasManjunath

As expected, the mediation on 22nd January 2018 was unsuccessful too!

...

The next hearing in the court is on 8th February 2018.

I hope you have hired a good lawyer and I hope you have documentary evidence of the dilly dally by the dealer.

Requesting for mediation and then telling the mediator bluntly that they are not interested is wasting the court's time and taking the judiciary for a ride. Strong point in your favour.

[mudhasir]

Originally Posted by SuhasManjunath

Update :


My next move :

I will be hosting a roadshow named the "VINAYAK's DEATH DRIVE" in which i will be driving along with my fellow companions who also have grievances against Skoda or its dealers and we will be parking my DUPED/FAKE-ed car at a good location and will put-up a huge banner covering the entire side of the car so that all passerby's can get familiar with the different kinds of fraud that the automotive dealer is into.

Can you please post the details such as venue, date, time etc. of the roadshow here?

I will be in Bangalore for couple of days next week and I may have a chance to join you

I also suggest that you go live in Facebook when this event happens. There are several BHPians who are outraged and appalled by Skoda's behaviour but will not be able to take part in the roadshow due to their unavailability. But we can all share your live video link to increase its reach

[dark.knight]

Originally Posted by SuhasManjunath

Now I request my dear BHP-ians to advise me for my next plan and also suggest for any changes or improvisations if required

One word comes to mind when it comes to Vinayak Skoda - THICK skin, they themselves admit to swapping parts that turn out to be incompatible, they give out solutions that reek of temporary single-customer patch-up rather than show a change in ethos and on top of that they miss every single interaction to genuinely apologize and sort out this mess which shouldn't have been a mess to begin with. I fail to understand why they named a company a name that symbolizes truth and enlightenment to begin with, here instead, obstacles are being created.

I think they have now realized that you are ready for a battle and they are drawing out their evasive war tactics. Even as a person who believes strongly in the customer-is-king concept, and more so, ethicality in business.. I'd stop short of going the legal route in this country because of the time factor and also the fact that one has to go through so much aggravation and lies to fight for his/her rights on a stage which is almost entirely blind to the truth.

BUT, you have started it and its time to finish it. Hope all those who've faced similar treatment from Skoda/dealer join in and support you in the event you plan to organize. I will follow the progress and hope that everything is set right in terms of the destruction of time, money and peace that buying a new car resulted in. HORRIBLE decision by the dealership, this could've ended in a 100 different ways leading to a peaceful, customer-centric result, why they chose the most abrasive, boorish way is puzzling.

[SuhasManjunath]

Hello BHP-ians, This is regarding the details for the DRIVE.
The DEATH DRIVE is not yet scheduled for a couple of reasons.

1) Keeping safety and protection of my fellow companions who are willing to support me, I had contacted some authorities to make sure there would be no untoward incident or trouble from the rogue dealer.
The authorities then asked me to not schedule or organize any event during this weekend (2nd . 3rd and 4th of February) as the city will be witnessing a statewide bandh and Narendra Modi is scheduled to visit the city in the same weekend and there could be trouble or political chaos created.

Originally Posted by mudhasir

I also suggest that you go live in Facebook when this event happens. There are several BHPians who are outraged and appalled by Skoda's behaviour but will not be able to take part in the roadshow due to their unavailability. But we can all share your live video link to increase its reach

Yes , I shall be going live on Facebook and several other platforms and also upload the video on youtube. I have tried to involve the media as well to cover the event as it proceeds.

[StarrySky]

You are fighting the dealer in court already. Will your personal involvement in hosting/organizing a public event on the same issue against the dealer weaken your case in any way in the court? Have you taken a legal opinion regarding this?

[SuhasManjunath]

Originally Posted by StarrySky

You are fighting the dealer in court already. Will your personal involvement in hosting/organizing a public event on the same issue against the dealer weaken your case in any way in the court? Have you taken a legal opinion regarding this?

Yes, consulted the lawyer . He has advised to be careful with what I say during the event.
Other than that, there is nothing that could weaken the case in the court as all evidence are clear from our end and we have been fighting against them based only on facts and proofs and this can not be changed.
Hosting such an event might give them opportunities or anger them to threaten me but not change the aspect of the case at the court !

[honeybee]

It might be prudent to first fight the case in court. You seem to have all the evidence on your side.

Simultaneously raising rhis matter in the social media might be construed as a trial by media or an effort to influence the judiciary.

I wonder why your lawyer allowed it. What will you do if the judge says, go and fight the social media war first and then come to us, or takes umbrage with it?

[drmohitg]

I don't think that Skoda or the dealer is least bothered about the negative publicity this is generating. Infact I think as far as they are concerned, any publicity is good publicity. A majority of customers who buy Skoda, are tech savvy I feel and there is a good chance that they would have or will in the future, spot this thread and other reports related to this elsewhere and then be smart enough to take their business elsewhere.

You have taken them to court and I am sure you will win this case. I am not really sure if a public showdown is going to help you much. Why take the risk?

[shubhu3112]

Originally Posted by drmohitg

I don't think that Skoda or the dealer is least bothered about the negative publicity this is generating. Infact I think as far as they are concerned, any publicity is good publicity. A majority of customers who buy Skoda, are tech savvy I feel and there is a good chance that they would have or will in the future, spot this thread and other reports related to this elsewhere and then be smart enough to take their business elsewhere.

You have taken them to court and I am sure you will win this case. I am not really sure if a public showdown is going to help you much. Why take the risk?

I have booked a Rapid Edition X just a couple of days back. I was contacted by both Vinayak Cars and Tafe Access. Though, I received a better offer from Vinayak, I declined stating via an email to Skoda CC and Vinayak Sales team that I do not trust them after this particular incident with Suhas. They tried to convince me but I made it clear that such unethical practices do scare away potential customers. My brother is also contemplating booking a Kodiaq and we are going to ensure that we rub salt to injury by taking a quote from them but buying from Tafe Access (Assuming that i have a better experience with my Rapid X edition from tafe)

[gkveda]

Originally Posted by shubhu3112

I declined stating via an email to Skoda CC and Vinayak Sales team that I do not trust them after this particular incident with Suhas. They tried to convince me but ...

I am more interested to understand what and how did they try to convince you in spite of their criminal actions? What story do they have to justify their actions as right?

If you can jot them down hear, it would be easy to understand their perception about the owner and this transaction.

[shubhu3112]

Originally Posted by gkveda

I am more interested to understand what and how did they try to convince you in spite of their criminal actions? What story do they have to justify their actions as right?

If you can jot them down hear, it would be easy to understand their perception about the owner and this transaction.

Their defense was that this is under litigation and only when the truth comes out via a judgement, they can either accept or deny any wrong doing on their part. I simply refused to buy in their argument and asked them to get their own facts right before trying to convince me. Skoda India was a bit pushy on trying to execute this sale through Vinayak Skoda. Not sure why. I told them clearly that i am not going to put down 17 Lacs to a dealer who lacks ethics and If i have to get a Skoda , I would want an alternative option for a dealer. Other wise, I would take my business to some other brand.

[drmohitg]

Originally Posted by shubhu3112

TSkoda India was a bit pushy on trying to execute this sale through Vinayak Skoda. Not sure why. I told them clearly that i am not going to put down 17 Lacs to a dealer who lacks ethics and If i have to get a Skoda , I would want an alternative option for a dealer. Other wise, I would take my business to some other brand.

Well although I do not have any saying in this, but if you really want to be on the safer side or give any importance to this issue, then don't just shy away from this dealership but rather altogether avoid Skoda. Only then they might understand the gravity of cheating a customer. Because as we all know Skoda played hands in glove with their dealer when they washed off their hands in such an "apple vs oranges" sort of a case. It is SHAMEFUL ( I can't think of a better word) on part of Skoda to not resolve this otherwise straightforward case.