[kapiljolly79]

Well, let me put it in brief because there is a whole set of mails that is not here. The issue has been taken up with the GM of Continental. They will not involve the Bhasin group. And I am sure of you have seen the condition of the dealership, it just shows how concerned the group is. Lets be honest, a company like Skoda has a dealership which is in shambles? Sounds untrue right? But the fact is that the state of affairs is terrible. You have to see the dealership to beleive it.Even the GM sits in an open top un air conditioned cubicle. Dirty, messy and noisy area.
The company Skoda Auto India Limited is directly in the loop. Mr Kulkarni, who is the after sales incharge has blankly said that they have no say when it comes to the service provided by continental. They say Continantal is responsible for everything it does.

Anyways, we sent them a mail before this one saying that they should give us a written guarantee that the car will not cause any problem. But that they do not want to give cos they have no trust in either the dealership or the car. So we asked them that they either give us the guarantee or refund us the money for the car or provide us with a new vehicle. But to this they are silent.

So this just shows that neither is the Dealership confident about the car and service and neither is the company Skoda Auto India bothered about the plight of their customers.

I cannot compell you not to buy a Skoda vehicle. But this is the truth of affairs with the after sales service of the company itself, let alone what the dealerships are doing.

[diffsoft]

Kapil:

I had the most harrowing experience of my life and got bailed out by advice from T-BHPians....briefly, I ordered an Octavia Combi from the older dealer in Bangalore. They gave an older vehicle, took my money, had my registration forged and asked me to take delivery.....which I refused. Sent notices to Skoda and the dealer which were unanswered. Went to the police station and they landed with a posse of policemen into the showroom upon which the dealer cringed and returned my money at almost the speed of light. I learnt the following from my experience which may help you:

1. Get your facts impeccably correct and with proof.
2. Send formal correspondences to Continental Motors and to Skoda (at the highest levels and refer your discussions with the personnel) I am not sure you will get any reply but it builds your case that you have been trying really really hard
3. Always be polite and courteous however frustrated you may be inside. You don't want them to take advantage of your frustration and say that you have made verbal abuse, threatened us etc etc (I am convinced that my Skoda dealer was a veteran in poor customer service. Search this forum and mouthshut.com to learn more about their exploits)
4. Have patience and be prepared for a legal wrangle
5. Do note that while Skoda might say they have no say in matter regarding to the dealer, our laws relating to consumer protection have made it amply clear that both the dealer and the manufacturer have responsibilities and they are both culpable!
6. Have in mind a good civil lawyer and keep him abreast of the proceedings
7. After matters got settled, I wrote to Mr Reinhard Jung (CEO of Skoda Worldwide) on a single page my ordeal and positioned it as - "hey do you know what's happening to Skoda in India and do you like it this way"....boy, believe me I got a speedy reply from Mr Thomas Keuhl (Head of Sales in India) saying sorry and making all the right noises, with a copy to a Board Member of Skoda WW. So imagine legal notices to Skoda do not get any response, but send a note to the higher ups and people respond immediately. Wish I had done that earlier, I did not though I was advised by T-Bhpians otherwise. So I request you to write-in as well. I also think there is a Volkswagen Group Head for India sitting in Mumbai. Put a copy to him as well.

I know it's absolutely frustrating, but buddy hang in there and you will win!

Cheers,

[kapiljolly79]

Originally Posted by diffsoft

Kapil:

I had the most harrowing experience of my life and got bailed out by advice from T-BHPians....briefly, I ordered an Octavia Combi from the older dealer in Bangalore. They gave an older vehicle, took my money, had my registration forged and asked me to take delivery.....which I refused. Sent notices to Skoda and the dealer which were unanswered. Went to the police station and they landed with a posse of policemen into the showroom upon which the dealer cringed and returned my money at almost the speed of light. I learnt the following from my experience which may help you:

1. Get your facts impeccably correct and with proof.
2. Send formal correspondences to Continental Motors and to Skoda (at the highest levels and refer your discussions with the personnel) I am not sure you will get any reply but it builds your case that you have been trying really really hard
3. Always be polite and courteous however frustrated you may be inside. You don't want them to take advantage of your frustration and say that you have made verbal abuse, threatened us etc etc (I am convinced that my Skoda dealer was a veteran in poor customer service. Search this forum and mouthshut.com to learn more about their exploits)
4. Have patience and be prepared for a legal wrangle
5. Do note that while Skoda might say they have no say in matter regarding to the dealer, our laws relating to consumer protection have made it amply clear that both the dealer and the manufacturer have responsibilities and they are both culpable!
6. Have in mind a good civil lawyer and keep him abreast of the proceedings
7. After matters got settled, I wrote to Mr Reinhard Jung (CEO of Skoda Worldwide) on a single page my ordeal and positioned it as - "hey do you know what's happening to Skoda in India and do you like it this way"....boy, believe me I got a speedy reply from Mr Thomas Keuhl (Head of Sales in India) saying sorry and making all the right noises, with a copy to a Board Member of Skoda WW. So imagine legal notices to Skoda do not get any response, but send a note to the higher ups and people respond immediately. Wish I had done that earlier, I did not though I was advised by T-Bhpians otherwise. So I request you to write-in as well. I also think there is a Volkswagen Group Head for India sitting in Mumbai. Put a copy to him as well.

I know it's absolutely frustrating, but buddy hang in there and you will win!

Cheers,

I totally agree with you and have kept my utmost calm. And I have sent emails everywhere. However I would really be glad if you could give me the email addresses of Mr. Reinhard. That is probably the lasst door to knock before I go legal. Thanks a bunch.

[Jaggu]

if you have spent 1.5 lakh and still your car is in this mess, i feel its time to call your lawyers.

[aaggoswami]

You have already paid a very high cost. I cant believe that a car has to be with them for 5 months just because they had to change the entire wiring. I am quite surprised. They are joking.

I think they have also used your car and that too very roughly.
I would recommend :

1) Get all your emails in perfect order and mail to your family members. Its just backup.

2) Next time in person-to-person conversation, try recording atleast voice. This is perfect proof to grille them.

3) Dont threaten them, but be very stiff at the same time. Donot tolerate any useless excuse. Ask them to give proper solution or make you talk to some senior person or else you are not moving out of their dealership. This extends pressure on them.

4) I dont know if emails work at very high level, but also try phone calls and record them.

5) Also if you wish, get the media involved. This is another very powerful tool.

6) If still they are not properly behaving, then go for Consumer court. This is where you will get justice.

[ashthedivx]

It's actually high time to consult your advocate. Do not take things on granted. They might go worst in future. I would suggest not to take the delivery and take the matter to company. If they do not reply to your correspondences, launch a Police report and get police to Sokda HO (which i believe is in Delhi only)

[Shrey_Gupta]

there was another story in the autocar sept issue.it concerned one Mr anish goel who is a subscriber of Autocar and had a problem of formation of pools of water on the floor of the front passenger seat of his Skoda Octavia.

The A.S.S "fixed" the problem but it reoccured and workshop personnel told him that leaves were blocking the drainage channel cos he parked his car under the trees!!!!Mr Goel then contacted Autocar and they took up his cause but only managed a waiver of part of the bill.

Skoda is fast losing customers due to their legendary service.

[harishv]

i have been fighting for the last 7 months with skoda. their dealer nummer eins put bogus parts to the tune of 4 lakhs plus in my car. skoda had themselves inspected my car,( i have a copy of their internal inspection report), verified the fraud and recalled my car for rectification at jmd auto, repaired it, but, wonder of wonder, wanted me to return the spurious parts to nummer eins and give skoda and nummer eins a clean chit. can u imagine? it is unbelievable but there is a huge racket running amongst skoda officials and their dealers. i refused to toe their line and hence they have retained my car asking me to make payment for the rectification.

after tremendous pressure from the media skod subsequently shut down nummer eins.

ashutosh dixit, gm sales, skoda met me for an amicable settlement at the jw marriott. i have recorded the entire 1 hr conversation. very interesting. tried to pull a fast one on me. i didn't succumb.

in consumer court, unimaginably, skoda a subsidiary of volkswagen has claimed that they are not responsible for the actions of their dealer and have refuted their email correspondence with me. but the district consumer forum has interminably ruled in my favour and asked skoda to make payment to jmd auto and release my car immediately. skoda has gone in to appeal at the state forum.

got in touch with walter stechel, german consul, reinhard jung, chairman skoda cz, bernhard steinrucke, indo german chamber of commerce, joerg mueller, volkswagen india chairman, andreas prinz, volkswagen india md, eva drdakova, czech consul. got a few replies claiming helplessness.

i have a small piece of advice for all those people who have been tormented by skoda. go to the press. that is the only area that affects them. as soon as u go to court they claim matter to be sub judice and wash their hands off and their lawyers take over and delay the matter and since money is not an issue for them they will take ur case to the national level till u tire out or succumb. press is what hurts them the most, and the press is aware of the mischief conducted by skoda dealers and their officials.

best luck to all those who are fighting skoda. willing to assist if you want my help.

harish kanchan

[diffsoft]

Originally Posted by kapiljolly79

However I would really be glad if you could give me the email addresses of Mr. Reinhard. That is probably the lasst door to knock before I go legal. Thanks a bunch.

His email id is blocked to emails from unknown senders. I sent him a courier to the Czech address below:

Mladá Boleslav
headquarters:
ŠKODA AUTO a.s.
Václava Klementa 869
293 60 Mladá Boleslav
Czech Republic

When Thomas Keuhl replied to me, he copied it to Fred Kappler who is head of Sales and Marketing worldwide. So you may want to send it to both of them.

Best,

[HappyWheels]

Check this report, court ruling that dealer & manufacturer are responsible for the product sold.

Dealers cannot shrug off responsibility once goods are sold- Hindustan Times

[diffsoft]

Check this out as well:

Skoda told to replace faulty car or pay Rs 11 lakh - The Financial Express, 20 April 2008

You can try reaching the owner and maybe talk to his lawyer as well!

Cheers,

[kapiljolly79]

Dear Team. This is the reply that we received from Skoda India.

Dear Mr. Vipin Jolly,

We are in receipt of the below mail in which you have given your apprehensions regarding the car DL4CR9123. We have requested our Technical Department to depute Skoda Engineer to inspect your car. As our Technical Field Force team is traveling to other parts in India we will let you know the date of visit very shortly.

Kindly note again that the ECM has been changed in your car for the said fault of “Engine Malfunction Light” glowing.

As per your comments on replacing the car Skoda Auto India cannot support you in this regards.

Regards,

Santosh Kulkarni
After Sales.

Škoda Auto India Pvt. Ltd.
Plot No.:A-1/1, Shendra,
Five Star Industrial Area, MIDC,
Aurangabad-431201.
Tel: +91 240 6631261
Fax: +91 240 6631277
E-mail:- "Santosh.Kulkarni@skoda-auto.co.in"






On receiving that reply, we have written back to them as under.(this is all the original correspondence and dated today.
-------------------------------------------------------------------

Dear Mr.Kulkarni,

This refers your mail of just now.

Please note that our mail of 5th Oct, 08 is not based on apprehensions but on facts as mentioned therein.

Inspection by Skoda Engineer: - You may take your time in getting the car inspected by Skoda Engineer but before we take delivery we would certainly like to have the Inspection / Test report certifying that the car is now in perfect condition in all respects.

Replacement of car: - Please note that we did not straightaway ask you to replace the car but asked you to give us an assurance that IN CASE THE SAME FAULT REAPPEARS, YOU WILL REPLACE THE CAR OR REFUND US THE AMOUNT PAID AT THE TIME OF ITS PURCHASE. We feel that based on our past experience that we took delivery and sent back our car 3 times to Continental Auto for rectification of the same fault during the last 1 month, our asking for this assurance is very genuine, logical and reasonable.

Your refusal to give us the assurance mentioned above clearly establishes that you yourself do not have full confidence on your product and services provided by your authorized dealer and if this is not the case then you should have no problem in giving us such an assurance to avoid any complications in future.

Please note that Skoda India is fully responsible for the product and the maintenance / service provided by its authorized dealers throughout India and your refusal to understand / co-operate with the customer in case of genuine complaint (as in our case), will only go against Skoda India. Please note that you are selling a premium product and Skoda India or your authorized dealer should refrain from taking the customer for granted and have absolutely no right to play with the customer’s money and valuable time.

Awaiting your positive response,

Best Regards,

Vipin Jolly


Mod's Note: Please type your posts directly on the board. Avoid copy-pasting from Word or any other external editor. It creates unreadable posts. Your posts have been reformatted just this once.

Also, do not make multiple back-to-back posts. Skoda's response and your consequent reply have been merged. Take car of this in future.

[kapiljolly79]

Well, the dealership and the company are both silent. The emails have been sent to SKoda H.O in Cz. So lets wait and watch. Meanwhile they are not in the mind frame to issue a guarantee that the fault doesn't reoccur. This just shows how much confidence they have in both their product and their after sales network.

[harry10]

Is it only me or others are also noticing the number of increase in complaints against Skoda services?

[ashthedivx]

Originally Posted by harry10

Is it only me or others are also noticing the number of increase in complaints against Skoda services?

Nothing new Harry every knowledgeable car owner knows about the same, but with so much serious complaints on-board Skoda Authorities must take serious steps to improve the same.

For whom i fear is the owners who are picking up Skoda for their brand and luxury car status in india.