[avigster]

Hello Everyone,
I would like to bring to everyone's notice how a friend of mine was cheated by Toyota's dealer in Surat M/s Nanavati Motors.

This friend wanted to buy a Toyota Innova and went to the dealer in the month of December 09 and made the booking, by paying a booking amount. However his bank failed to clear his loan on time and he informed the dealer about the same. The bank cleared the loan in March and he went back to them on 09th March 10, to get the booking processed.

In December he had selected the color of the car as L.Blue and the receipt to him as well as the booking form showed this information. When he went back in March, he was advised to select another color since L.Blue won't be available for at least 3-4 months. He selected the color 'Grey', a PI was raised showing the information as well as the receipt for the remaining amount was raised and that again showed the color selected as 'Grey'. He was advised delivery on the 24th of March, which was later changed to 29th of March.

When he went to get the car, he was being delivered a 'Silver' car, when he said he had booked 'Grey' he was told he is mistaken and he can either take the Silver car or forget about the car. He refused and has since been taking up the matter with Toyota. The sad part is the dealer forged his signatures of a form called 'Intimation of Changes in Booking', I am uploading the scans for everyone to see and decide themselves.

Toyota's attitude in this matter has been more then horrific, there responses were never forthcoming, Toyota India did not even acknowledge the receipt of his emails, he got in touch with Toyota Japan and they promised to ask Toyota India to review the matter.

After this Toyota India showed eagerness to settle this matter, however finally they had zero response, according to them they are not a legal authority and can't comment on forgery.

Shame on Toyota!

Ps: Check the signature on the Intimation, and compare it to The Booking Form and Deal Form

[vikram.vns]

Hi Avigster,

That's absolutely a cheating and my sympathy to your friend.

As your friend has all the documents, please suggest your friend to consult a good advocate and file a forgery case against Nanavati Motors and they can be sent behind bars upto 7 years.

I am sure once he files a case against Nanavati Motors they would approach your friend for a out of court settlement.

Regards,

Vikram

[abhi413]

That's pathetic! Please ask your friend to file an F.I.R. for cheating and forgery at least for starters, against M/s Nanavati Motors. And of course consult an advocate. An FIR stating all facts clearly will strengthen your case and help immensely in the court of law and is adequate grounds for obtaining justice. What's more surely there will be a request for out of court settlement and Toyota will wake up.
Shame on Toyota. Highly unprofessional behaviour by the dealer!

[H3LIOS]

If true - this is appalling. Forgery over a simple matter of vehicle color?? Why would (did) the dealer stoop to such a blatantly illegal tactic over such a simple matter?

File an FIR immediately and send a lawyer notice to the dealer. That should clear things up fast.

[holysmoke]

This is the second time in approx a month that I'm hearing of a Toyota dealer forging a signature. Something similar also happened to BHPian Sahil if I remember correctly.

[aargee]

@Avigster - I'm thinking from a neutral point & trying to provide my comments. If there's anything that I've misunderstood, pls correct me.

Originally Posted by avigster

according to them they are not a legal authority and can't comment on forgery.

Well, IMO, Toyota will definitely stay away from a single issue & leave to handle by dealers as they will not want any added troubles. However for any repeated complaints from the dealer, we can see them taking some action.

Why was the loan rejected in the first place for your friend?

Can't imagine why this is happening as I don't see a problem as why the dealer should do this. Changing the car's color from Silver back to Grey should be a child's play for the dealer, provided if they request some more time from your friend. Why would the dealer want to create an embarrassment with Toyota India as well as Japan? This should be a silly issue for the dealer to handle unless there's any prejudice. The dealer will also be aware for forging one's signature & its consequences & these things are common mostly with real estate where the asset values are very high & they shouldn't be bothered about doing with a car & especially on changing color.

[gemithomas]

If its a forgery do go ahead and file an FIR. Thats what he needs to do.

And why did it take 3 months to process a loan application. Above all has he checked what make (year/month) the car being delivered is?

I just dont understand why people dont do a PDI before registration!!!

[DRIV3R]

Originally Posted by holysmoke

This is the second time in approx a month that I'm hearing of a Toyota dealer forging a signature. Something similar also happened to BHPian Sahil if I remember correctly.

Yes, IIRC that was for a Fortuner.

Shocking that Toyota is doing nothing. IMO, Toyota should cancel this particular dealer's license and take further action on this.

[avigster]

First of all everyone thank you for your words of support!

The forgery and cheating by dealer is not so surprising compared to the disgusting silence maintained by Toyota India. Forget about a positive or negative response from them, they have even refused to acknowledge receipt of the emails for almost 20 days, they only acknowledged when the matter was bought to the notice of Mr. Akio Toyoda.

As for the FIR, a police complaint has already been lodged about 20 days back regarding this matter.

@aargee The loan was not rejected, it was through Andhra Bank, who had just opened a Branch is his area, so they needed more time then they initially thought would be required.

You are right when you say that this should be child's play for the dealer to change the color to Silver, but the problem was they had already asked for 20 days in the first place for the delivery. The booking was done on the 09th of March and delivery was being done on the 29th of March. Initially the owner of Nanavati Motors was not even willing to talk to him on the 09th of March, when he insisted he simply said our records say you have booked a Silver colored car, take it or leave it, when the documents were pointed out to him including the PI issued by them as well as the receipt he said I dont want to see the documents, if you want to prove it come and meet me in court.

When the matter got escalated and was bought to the notice of Toyota's office in Mumbai at that point they produced these forged documents. What are your views on the signature? Don't you think the signature on Intimation of Changes in booking is very different to signatures on other documents?

Looking forward to help and advice from all of you, thank you once again!

[dark_horizon]

On the Intimation of changes document, there is also a change requested in the name of the customer. So, did your friend request for a change in name ? If he had, where's that PI ? It should consist of change in name of customer at the time of booking, and also color from Light Blue to Grey.

[Sahil]

Originally Posted by DRIV3R

Yes, IIRC that was for a Fortuner.

Shocking that Toyota is doing nothing. IMO, Toyota should cancel this particular dealer's license and take further action on this.

Yes a very similar experience with me too. Here's the link: http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/test-d...ed-inside.html

[download2live]

Buying a car is no child's play in India.
Are we a Nation of Cheats and Thugs? Thats all I can think of after reading through this.

[avigster]

The funny part is that M/s Nanavati Motors issued a PI on the 09th of March which shows the color as 'Grey', the receipt issued for the payment on the same day shows the color again as 'Grey'.

When the Changes in Intimation document was produced to me, it shows the same date of 09th of March, and fraudulently shows the color changed to 'Silver'. When quizzed about this that how can documents issued on the same date show different color, the response was quite shocking. My friend was told that yes you selected the color 'Grey' on the 09th of March, however you called us after some days and decided to change the color to 'Silver', and we already had this form signed blank by you, so we brought the changes into effect.

Even if we buy this argument;
1) Why did Nanavati Motors got blank documents signed by the customer?
2) If the changes were communicated on phone after a few days of the booking, why does this document show the date of 09th March?

Now the attitude at both Toyota's and dealer's end is that forget about the documents, we have exactly gone as per the verbal communication. How shocking can things get from this point on?

[aargee]

@avigster - Well, let me try thinking from your friend's side.
I've a loan amount of Rs XXX approved to buy my dream car from Navaniti motors. If I've enough time, patience & believe I've stronger muscles than Navaniti motors, then I'll roll up my sleeves & show them who I'm either through the court way or my way.

However, I'm only interested & enjoying my drive with a new Innova, I'll just shrug off & book a Grey Innova from another dealer - I would've told this, but on searching for other dealers in Surat, looks like your friend doesn't have any other option, looks like this is the only dealer in Surat & hence making a monopoly.

IMO, instead of moving to court & police, try to strike a compromise with the dealer. I know it hurts when someone says this especially when they're affected. But thinking practically & overlooking the issue, just imagine the hurdles when it comes to court & trying to prove a forgery case on signature, wait several years trying to prove your innocence, paying the lawyer, running to court, keep waiting indefinitely with anxiety with a hope as when a positive judgment will be made. All the more, no one knows about the outcome of the case & there're several things that can happen against you or in favor of Navaniti. Is your friend having so much of free time to run behind the case? Is your friend interested with new Innova or closing down the dealership? After all, years of peaceful sleep cannot be compromised for any sum of money right?. Again, if nothing works out smooth or cannot be compromised, then moving to court makes sense. Good Luck & pls do keep us posted on the updates. Tks.

[HappyWheels]

I hope you have not handed over the bank loan draft over to them!

What is the status of the FIR? We have seen a similar case here in Bangalore where a customers sign was forged in the registration document. The guy went to the police who paid the dealer a visit - all the issues were sorted out immediately!

I hope you have named all the heads at the dealer in the FIR.