[DeathPig]

The below content was sent to me by Tariq Umar. He requested me to post this here in his stead, as he does not have an account here. We are members of a Kia Sonet group on Facebook. He wanted to let more people know about what had happened to his new Kia Sonet during service.

His service center indulged in gross malpractice, such as replacing a fully functioning display with a faulty one, and scratching the insides in the process. Fortunately, his DVR was running, and it recorded every second of the conversation and other audio. While I do have the files with me, I'm unsure of how to attach them here as they're sort of big and can't be hosted on the TBHP image server.

Dear Sir,

It is to bring to your kind notice the malpractices, fraudulent work, cheating happening at authorized kia service centre. This service centre guy's conversation is evident to the fact the malpractices and forgery happening at service centres. I am extremely disappointed and enraged after listening to this.

Location of video: My Kia Sonet GTX+ Car taken on test drive from service centre to do basic check
Video Shot by : Dashcam recorder on 04.01.21.
People in video: Service centre staff
Explanation of the conversation: My car's infotainment has been replaced with a broken infotainment system from a test drive car at 0045 sec of video,
they are talking about what they have done in my car swapping with the broken infotainment system of the test drive car with my car. In 02:20 of the video, they are discussing how I will react and how they have cheated me.

Background of why my car went to service centre:

From the day 1 of delivery my infotainment system was hanging and lagging during long rides I complained about this to Safdarjung Kia(Dealership) and they asked to visit their service center at Okhla.

I visited Kia Service centre, as my infotainment system used to stop responding every now and then. To this, the service centre people kept my car for 4 days as their expert couldn't figure out the problem. After receiving back my car I noticed they had broken my AC vent surface and there were scratches all over the surface of the dashboard.

After using the car for few days since the infotainment system was working fine, in order to replace my AC vent I had left my car in service centre on 03.01.21, till 05.01.21 I did not received any update regarding my car so in the evening of 05.01.21 I went to service center just to check what is actually happening to my car. The AGM service called me and said the screen got broken during installation of AC Vent and asked me to give him a month to arrange a new infotainment system as it is not available with them in stock and it might take 30days to procure it from Mobis, they requested me to wait till then. I took my car back to my home as there was no point of leaving the car with them for 30 days. When I checked my Dashcam footage I was shocked to see in the video the guy clearly saying how he changed my screen with broken one of their own test drive car. This is what actually fraudulent practice in being done at service center I am really saddened to see the ill condition of my car now which is just 35days old, They promised me that they will replace it with a new unit within 10days after waiting for another 10days I went to their service center where they another Infotainment unit stating its a brand new unit, when i was coming back to my home i found there were 10 mobile phones were already paired with the system also in maps location were already fed by someone else, as how could a brand new unit have all this customer data, i immediately called the service center that they have again installed an old unit into my car they again started making excuses and asking for another 10days for brand new unit. This is how they are cheating customers and I am one of them.

My brand new car is compromised. I have invested my hard earned money more than 14lakhs to kia and this fraudulent service center is now fooling customers.

If the below videos don't work, click here to watch it

https://www.facebook.com/10001367178...1543868644663/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B-dS...ature=youtu.be

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M8l1...ature=youtu.be

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ZbM...ature=youtu.be

Here is a TLDR summary by Vid6639:

Sequence of events from the thread:

1. Customer complained of head unit lagging and hanging.

2. Kia fixed the problem by changing the head unit. While fixing the head unit, they damaged the AC vents.

3. Car goes back to fix the AC vents. When changing the AC vents, it appears that the guys have changed the head unit once again with their demo car head unit which was broken. However, they tell the customer that the head unit screen broke when fixing the new AC vents.

4. They order a new head unit, but it takes 1 month. Customer takes the car back and checks the dashcam footage and there is some chatter on replacing the head unit & nobody will know.

I'm wondering why it was needed since all cars are still under warranty, so not like the scam yielded any monetary benefit, unless the demo car is not a warranty car.

EDIT: Resolution details posted at this link (Kia dealer fraud caught on dashcam | Frontier Kia swaps headunit with demo car's)

[Col Mehta]

Originally Posted by DeathPig

The below content was sent to me by Tariq Umar. He requested me to post this here in his stead, as he does not have an account here. We are members of a Kia Sonet group on Facebook. He wanted to let more people know about what had happened to his new Kia Sonet during service.

His service center indulged in gross malpractice, such as replacing a fully functioning display with a faulty one, and scratching the insides in the process. Fortunately, his DVR was running, and it recorded every second of the conversation and other audio. While I do have the files with me, I'm unsure of how to attach them here as they're sort of big and can't be hosted on the TBHP image server.

Unbelievable!
Unacceptable!
Unethical!
Disgraceful!
Appalling!
Outrageous!

.......

What the hell is going on with these people!? It's such a shame that ASS is taking a customer for a ride with such malpractice. I'm enraged and sad for the owner to have gone through this. He did not deserve this kind of thievery from these disgusting scammers. Given that the owner has the proof, he should immediately file a formal complaint with the consumer forum and write to the top banana in KIA .

[sarav100]

Originally Posted by DeathPig

The below content was sent to me by Tariq Umar. He requested me to post this here in his stead, as he does not have an account here. We are members of a Kia Sonet group on Facebook. He wanted to let more people know about what had happened to his new Kia Sonet during service.

His service center indulged in gross malpractice, such as replacing a fully functioning display with a faulty one, and scratching the insides in the process. Fortunately, his DVR was running, and it recorded every second of the conversation and other audio. While I do have the files with me, I'm unsure of how to attach them here as they're sort of big and can't be hosted on the TBHP image server.

This is grossly wrong and shows the arrogance of Kia service centres. With such incidents, how can customer trust their service centres with periodic service itself ?

Kia should investigate this incident thoroughly and take a stern action, else they'll soon end up like Skoda and VW.

[DeathPig]

Originally Posted by sarav100

This is grossly wrong and shows the arrogance of Kia service centres. With such incidents, how can customer trust their service centres with periodic service itself ?

Kia should investigate this incident thoroughly and take a stern action, else they'll soon end up like Skoda and VW.

He is struggling to get a response from them.

Kia, as in the case of the Matheran fire issue, has not deigned it worthy to respond to him. He is struggling to get A response from them, let alone positive or negative.

I'm not sure where Kia is going, and I say this as a prospective customer of their vehicle.

[harpreetsubhi]

Originally Posted by sarav100

This is grossly wrong and shows the arrogance of Kia service centres. With such incidents, how can customer trust their service centres with periodic service itself ?

Kia should investigate this incident thoroughly and take a stern action, else they'll soon end up like Skoda and VW.

They are selling like wildfire and hence at this point will not give any attention to any customer woes. This is how these companies behave. I remember when Ecosport was launched the dealers took everybody for a ride and there was no way to get company's attention to sales and service woes of customers.

[SideView]

Originally Posted by DeathPig

The below content was sent to me by Tariq Umar. He requested me to post this here in his stead, as he does not have an account here. We are members of a Kia Sonet group on Facebook. He wanted to let more people know about what had happened to his new Kia Sonet during service.

This needs a separate thread on it own.

My greatest fear, a perfectly working vehicle getting its parts replaced( with faulty parts of relatives/friends of ASC workers) while been send to ASC.

[ram_bishop]

It's complete robbery, after seeing all these kinds of incidents how someone can give their vehicle for service with peace of mind. This could seriously affect the trust of customers on Kia.

Originally Posted by DeathPig

Fortunately, his DVR was running, and it recorded every second of the conversation and other audio. While I do have the files with me, I'm unsure of how to attach them here as they're sort of big and can't be hosted on the TBHP image server.

Looks like he is having an authentic proof and can proceed with consumer forum complaint, I'm not sure but for this he can go a fraud case against them I think.

[CEF_Beasts]

Thankfully he had his dashcam installed and working! Otherwise the service centre wouldn't even accept the cheating done by them. I would suggest proceeding with a consumer forum complaint.

Such unethical practices by Kia just make them stoop to an entire new low!

[Beelzebub]

Originally Posted by DeathPig

Fortunately, his DVR was running, and it recorded every second of the conversation and other audio. While I do have the files with me, I'm unsure of how to attach them here as they're sort of big and can't be hosted on the TBHP image server.

He can upload the files on YouTube/Facebook/Twitter or any other public domain and you can share a link here. Ask him to post on FB groups/ Tweet to some KIA senior officials and file consumer complain and follow up till issue is resolved.

[shancz]

Kia seems to have cut corners not just in vehicle and material quality but also dealer selection. Their feedback response has been poor but more concerning is the fact that there doesn't seem any improvement. Other cases/threads are testimony to the fact.

This might seem like brand bashing but these are real cases with and their handling of them is reminiscent of a "don't care" attitude. So they duly deserve it.

Honestly I have given up on them and Hyundai for any future purchase/recommendations.

Hope the issues get resolved for the owners.

[7000plusrpm]

Originally Posted by DeathPig

We are members of a Kia Sonet group on Facebook. He wanted to let more people know about what had happened to his new Kia Sonet during service.

His service center indulged in gross malpractice, such as replacing a fully functioning display with a faulty one, and scratching the insides in the process.

Kindly advise him to mail KIA and use social media (Twitter, Facebook, Instagram) to try reaching them. I'm sure some more knowledgeable members can suggest better if legal action is possible. If yes, it would probably be better to take that route.

Seeing the direction the Korean twins are taking, we are soon going to compare them to Skoda, not Maruti!
The Seltos GNCAP rating and these issues mentioned by the owners must be a PR disaster for the organization. Still, they don't even bother to respond, not even to the customer, let alone a press release.
I'm an owner of the Sonet and I'm shit scared of the support I'm going to get from KIA in case of issues. And obviously, I'm not going to recommend this brand to my family and friends. Not before I hear something positive from their head honchos in India.

[Engine_Roars]

Is not this forgery, with all the recording and proof available? Why no one here is talking about filing a case against Kia and the service center? Have we Indians become immune to this kind of behavior that this has become a part of what we expect?

I understand, not everyone has the bandwidth to deal with police, courts and such but these companies have it too easy here in India. They don't deserve that.

Sad state.

[DeathPig]

Originally Posted by Engine_Roars

Is not this forgery, with all the recording and proof available? Why no one here is talking about filing a case against Kia and the service center? Have we Indians become immune to this kind of behavior that this has become a part of what we expect?

I understand, not everyone has the bandwidth to deal with police, courts and such but these companies have it too easy here in India. They don't deserve that.

Sad state.

I messaged him in the morning. He has filed a case with the consumer forum, and intends to see this through. Will update here as and when I receive any.

[Engine_Roars]

Originally Posted by DeathPig

I messaged him in the morning. He has filed a case with the consumer forum, and intends to see this through. Will update here as and when I receive any.

Glad to know. I wish more people take it on themselves to claim what is rightfully theirs.

[chetancm7]

Originally Posted by DeathPig

The below content was sent to me by Tariq Umar. He requested me to post this here in his stead, as he does not have an account here. We are members of a Kia Sonet group on Facebook. He wanted to let more people know about what had happened to his new Kia Sonet during service.

His service center indulged in gross malpractice, such as replacing a fully functioning display with a faulty one, and scratching the insides in the process. Fortunately, his DVR was running, and it recorded every second of the conversation and other audio. While I do have the files with me, I'm unsure of how to attach them here as they're sort of big and can't be hosted on the TBHP image server.

Fie upon the dealership! Is this the kind of dealers that KIA wants to contract with. They need to be punished and the government should also come up with hefty penalties for such unethical practices of robbing a customer. Good that the dashcam has captured all the recordings. I am still wondering, didn't the service guys realize that their conversations and activities are being recorded?