[bhargavd]

Hello All, I have been reading through this forum, and had sent an email to VW India regarding the charges from dealers. Below is the mail trail


-------------------------------------------------------------------
Bhargav Diwanji <xxxxxx@gmail.com>
Dec 13 (4 days ago)

to customer.care
Hello Volkswagen Team,

I went forward for booking the Polo GT TSI in our nearby showroom. But I was taken back when the dealer quoted Rs. 6900/- as the Logistics charges.

My family has bought many cars and SUVs till date but I was never ever charged for Handling and Logistics. (We still own and drive a '96 Tata Sierra, '08 Ford Fiesta, '11 Toyota Etios, '13 Maruti Wagon R) I believe the so called handling charges should not be applicable and should be made free as the Supreme Court of India had made an order of the same. Please see the links attached for clearing any doubts.

Court Order is attached-

http://www.supremecourtcases.com/ind...=1&do_pdf=1&id =24262

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/c...w/11369279.cms

http://www.gaadi.com/news/supreme-co...onsumers-23419


Do clear the charges if you agree with the above said ruling, else please let me know the rules put forward by the supreme court/ legalities involved. Your response to the mail will be shared with the dealer through whom I make a purchase decision.


VWVI R: Pune, Customercaresales <Customercaresales@volkswagen.co.in>
Dec 15 (2 days ago)

to me
Dear Sir,

Greetings from Volkswagen Passenger Car !!!

We are happy to note that you have over competition chosen to own a Volkswagen.

To respond to your query more efficiently, we would request you to please share with us your contact no. along with the city and the dealerhsip name that you have contacted for the purchase.

For any Further information, please do contact us or write back to us on customercaresales@volkswagen.co.in


Best Regards,
Customer Care Sales
Volkswagen Group Sales India
Mumbai


From: Bhargav Diwanji [mailto:xxxxxx@gmail.com]
Sent: Sunday, December 13, 2015 8:29 PM
To: NSCI R: Mumbai, Customer-Care
Subject: Dealer Handling Charges, not to be applicable as per supreme court orders. Require Volkswagen India


Bhargav Diwanji <xxxxxx@gmail.com>
Dec 15 (2 days ago)

to VWVI
Hello Team,

Thanks for the reply.

My contact number is +91 99xxxxxxx. I shuttle between Pune and Mumbai and have spoken to 2 dealers in Pune and 2 dealers in Mumbai regarding my request. I would keep my options regarding dealer open and wont commit to any one dealer just now.

Also it really doesn't matter which dealer I buy from as all dealers have similar "Handling/Logistics Charges". Hence in my first mail I have mentioned that i should be able to show your email any dealer through which I make a purchase decision.

Looking forward to your reply.


Bhargav Diwanji <xxxxxx@gmail.com>
Dec 15 (2 days ago)

to VWVI
Hello Team,

Some more info regarding the same:

http://english.mathrubhumi.com/news/...-news-1.737026

http://m.timesofindia.com/city/hyder...w/49946293.cms

Would like to know how this would be handled at Hyderabad and Kerala dealers.



VWVI R: Pune, Customercaresales <Customercaresales@volkswagen.co.in>
4:24 PM (18 hours ago)

to me
Dear Sir,

Greetings from Volkswagen Passenger Cars!

This is with regards to you query on the “Logistics and Handling charges”. As the Topic is currently a matter of prejudice, we will not be in a position to comment on the same.



Best Regards,

Customer Care Sales

Volkswagen Group Sales India

Mumbai





From: Bhargav Diwanji [mailto:xxxxxx@gmail.com]
Sent: Tuesday, December 15, 2015 12:31 PM
To: VWVI R: Pune, Customercaresales
Subject: Re: Dealer Handling Charges, not to be applicable as per supreme court orders. Require Volkswagen India


Bhargav Diwanji <xxxxxx@gmail.com>
4:34 PM (17 hours ago)

to VWVI
Hi Team,

Can you please present relevant details of the case under prejudice? Considering actions being taken in Hyderabad, Kerala the authorities should be following some directive?

Also as a good measure the OEMs should not back a charge which is being utilised for bribery and corruption. alVW should be pro active in not having it applied to consumers till a concrete resolution is in place (if under prejudice).

-------------------------------------------------------

Would like to know from all of you- what should be the next steps? Is there any way I can highlight the same to RTOs?

PS: Blanked out my email id/phone num, I get a lot of spam already

[sohu9]

I was able get this illegal handling/logistics charge removed completely during my recent purchase of Creta. Dealer had to accept it after an official complaint was filed with Hyundai customer care. Also got insurance & finance from outside. Delivery got delayed due to this fight. But it was worth it.

[bhargavd]

sohu9- how did you register a formal complaint? Shouldn't my mail be treated as one?
I am also willing to wait, as i have no rush to get a car.

[sohu9]

Originally Posted by bhargavd

sohu9- how did you register a formal complaint? Shouldn't my mail be treated as one?
I am also willing to wait, as i have no rush to get a car.

In this case I had emailed them as well as called up the toll free number. In these matters, I prefer to talk to someone and insist on getting an official complaint number. Unless you get this number, your complaint may not be logged in. Our emails may or may not be read. Sometimes they would just have standard auto-reply which does not guarantee that it has been registered in their system.

After this, all my email communication with dealer as well as the company would have this complaint number in the subject line.

[SILVERWOOD]

It is very simple guys.

Get a quote/proforma invoice from the dealer and write a strong email to the company with the relevant articles citing this as illegal and violation of a court order.

I have got the charges removed from all the companies except Nissan where the dealer choose to loose ONE sale and the company kept mum.

Waseem.

[bhargavd]

Originally Posted by bhargavd

Hello All, I have been reading through this forum, and had sent an email to VW India regarding the charges from dealers. Below is the mail trail

Called up VW and got a complaint number from them. They forwarded my complaint to VW Dealership. I had mentioned that I wanted a mail regarding VW's stand on the issue- have they allowed it or not, which they still haven't.

I got a call from VW Dealership and Manager was going to explain me the charges, where in I told them I already knew them and no point explaining again. They would not waive off the charges anyways.

Anyways, I have taken a step forward and complained to the Maharashtra Transport Ministry and RTO Pune. Lets see where this heads too.

EDIT:
Got a call again from the dealership of how they can help out in this case. I have asked them for a break up of the handling charges on email as they pay taxes on it. Actually after the call I feel there needs to be a clear cut definition of the charges. The grey area is bad for the customer as well as the dealer. The Manufacturers and relevant authorities need to proactively clear this out.

Any inputs on the next steps are requested.

[libranof1987]

Just an out-of-box suggestion; RTO comes under the purview of Nitin Gadkari, right?

Considering how proactive this Govt. has been in attending to e-complaints, esp. via Twitter; how about tweeting this matter to Mr. Gadkari?

His (hopeful) reply will make dealers very reluctant to persist with the charge.

[bhargavd]

So a couple of updates:

VW India- Got a call from one of the CCEs after a strongly worded mail that I wanted a clarification from VW and not the dealer. He says the matter is in the courts and VW can't comment on it. I asked him the case details and he had none. So the call was as useless as the mails.

Still VW called me yesterday for a feedback call if my issue was resolved. Gave the poor guy at the other end a earful. He is supposed to get this notified to the seniors.

Ford India- Same mails/calls with them, they to handed over the issue to a dealer, mailed them again to clarify Ford India's stand. Quoting the mail from Ford India-

"We suggest you to contact your nearest Ford dealership and book the vehicle of your choice. All charges will be explained by our dealership. However post finalization of the dealer if you need our intervention, please do let us know. We will be happy to assist you"

So basically they will reduce the amount, which was confirmed by the dealer to whom the issue was first allocated. So some sort of closure.

Complaints to Authorities-

Maha Gov Grievance Website- https://grievances.maharashtra.gov.in/en

Token Id: Dept/HOMT/2015/387

The result was the complaint being forward to the Transport Commissioners and marked resolved. I have marked it as dissatisfied for the reason that is not resolved.

Originally Posted by libranof1987

Just an out-of-box suggestion; RTO comes under the purview of Nitin Gadkari, right?

Considering how proactive this Govt. has been in attending to e-complaints, esp. via Twitter; how about tweeting this matter to Mr. Gadkari?

His (hopeful) reply will make dealers very reluctant to persist with the charge.

I would love to do that except, I am not on twitter (and don't plan to join). I am trying to source an email id for his office, so maybe that helps. If any one can tweet to Mr. Nitin Gadkari regarding this issue and update us, would be really helpful.

[Mortis]

From my experience also dealing with Honda while booking a Jazz for my in-laws, it seems like the manufacturers are hand in glove with the dealerships. Its like they are saying go ahead and try to fleece the customers on handling charges and insurance and if you cant convince the customer we will help you confuse them as much as possible but if the customer is not a fool or desperate for the car then you will have to drop the charges. Meanwhile we will just beat about the bush and not outright confirm or deny anything and just keep giving answers like "court case" "service tax" "lunar eclipse in Brazil" etc.

[hserus]

Originally Posted by libranof1987

Just an out-of-box suggestion; RTO comes under the purview of Nitin Gadkari, right?

Wrong. RTOs are state government organizations. Gadkari is a central govt minister.

He said in 2014 that he wants to scrap RTOs and bring in a new system that automates registrations, traffic fines sent to your home address etc.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/i...w/40383360.cms

And more recently he called RTOs worse than Chambal dacoits for derailing the bill he proposed for that new system, claiming that they are egging on state governments to oppose it because their corrupt activities will be disrupted if the bill is passed.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/i...w/50130586.cms

While I am sure he will get hearty applause for his views on RTO corruption, I am not sure that states will be willing to forgo crores of rupees revenue in vehicle life tax / re-registration / drivers license etc fees. Any new system that comes in due to a bill drafted by a central government ministry means all revenue from activities covered under the bill will revert to the centre.

So, as can be seen, there is a lot of opposition to the move.

It however appears to be quite convenient to road users (no having to re-register your car if you move from one state to another, for example).

[sgiitk]

Originally Posted by hserus

Wrong. RTOs are state government organizations. Gadkari is a central govt minister.

And more recently he called RTOs worse than Chambal dacoits for derailing the bill he proposed for that new system, claiming that they are egging on state governments to oppose it because their corrupt activities will be disrupted if the bill is passed.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/i...w/50130586.cms

It may not be that tough to fix these dacoits. Have a centralised register where all such matters are dealt with. Let this central office then handle to 'local' end. It is a massive enterprise. In a small country like the UK it is the DVLC at Swansea who handles both vehicle and driver licensing. Even then in the beginning they were getting overwhelmed, and as a result they switched to the original license being valid till the age of 70, and then renewal every five years. Mind you the number of vehicles there may not be that small.

I understand all records were supposed to have gone online a couple of years ago, so a similar body (maybe with some additional offices) should be possible, utilising this network. Also, then hassles of car movements across states can be addressed in a transparent manner.

[SILVERWOOD]

Our advocate is seeking peer review on the same.Since this menace is spread all across India,he is exploring the possibility of filing a case before the National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission (National Consumer Forum) instead of taking the Transport Department to the Karnataka High Court.

29,96,000 cars were sold in our country in the year 2015 (excluding luxury cars, bikes,Commercial vehicles & Earth Moving Equipments).Conservative estimate of Rs 10,000/car as handling charges takes us to a staggering amount of Rs 2,996,00,00,000 (500 million $).

Waseem.....

[SILVERWOOD]

1,56,00,000 bikes were sold in the year 2015.Conservative estimate of Rs 2,000/bike as handling charges takes us to a staggering amount of Rs 3,120,00,00,000 (500 million $ again).

Cars+bikes and we are talking of 1 Billion $ (USD)

Waseem....

[mrbaddy]

Kerala RTO Suspends Dealerships That Levied Handling Charges.

There is no rule by the government or RTO that allow dealerships to extort extra amount from customers in the name of handling charges.

The Kerala Motor vehicle department recently raided major vehicle dealers across the state in a bid to catch dealerships extorting money from customers in the name of handling charges, MotorBeam reader Habeebu Rahman informs us. The raid called “Operation looting” saw action being taken against 71 dealers and was led by all RTOs in the state. The RTO department swung into action in a response to a complaint filed about illegally receiving handling charges during the purchase of a new vehicle. The department has also temporarily cancelled trade certificate of dealers found guilty.

As per estimates, around eight lakh new vehicles are registered in Kerala in a year, out of which around six lakh are two wheelers. The dealers are charging an average of Rs. 2000/- as handling charges from customers illegally and going by simple maths, the amount extorted turns out to be a hefty Rs. 120 crores per year. The numbers escalate further for four-wheelers as the complaints suggest that dealers are charging anywhere between Rs. 6000-1.5 lakhs as the supposed handling charges.

If you take Rs. 10,000/- on an average charged by dealers on each vehicle, the earning amounts to around Rs. 200 crores per year. That is certainly a hefty sum which goes unaccounted for and is a mere loot. Not to forget, this amount is charged against absolutely nothing. The dealers could also face criminal charges as a police complaint could be filed against them as indicated by the state transport commissioner.

In most cases, vehicle manufacturers provide expenses to dealerships for pre-delivery inspection, fuel among other bits in a bid to transfer cars from the stockyard to the dealership location. However, dealers have made an opportunity out of the same to fleece unsuspecting customers. The problem though isn’t just limited to Kerala, handling charges is a scam very much operational in other cities as well and can be very much denied by the customer. The Kerala RTO has concluded that if dealers are found guilty again, their trade certificate will be cancelled permanently.

Dealers found guilty in certain RTO circles –

* Palakkad – 13
* Trivandrum – 3
* Attingal – 2
* Kollam – 1
* Pathanam thitta – 2
* Alappuzha – 2
* Idukki – 6
* Eranakulam – 9
* Moovattupuzha – 3
* Trissur – 3
* Malappuram – 4
* Kozhikode – 4
* Vatakara – 3
* Wayanad – 3
* Kannur – 6
* Kasargod – 7

Source: Motorbeam

[nik hill]

Originally Posted by mrbaddy

Kerala RTO Suspends Dealerships That Levied Handling Charges.



Source: Motorbeam

That's one of the best moves to have come from any state government in recent times which will go a long way in settling the issue clearly in consumers favour.
I hope this will act as a deterrent in other states also and this menace of fleecing the customers by the dealer and companies turning a blind eye to this loot will come to an end.