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-------- Original message --------
From: corra loubser
Date: Thu, 09 Feb 2023, 1:22 pm
To: Rita Van Der Watt, [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected]
Subject: Complain on service and repairs
Complainants details:
Client Info: Mrs. SM van der Watt (known as Rita)
Residing at: 40 Chandler street, Hazelpark, Germiston
Contact number: 060 5282067
Email address: [email protected]
Representative details: (In Private capacity)
Name & Surname: Cornelia P.M. Loubser
ID No: 7112070215088
Contact number: 0737851578
Email address: [email protected]
Regulatory Examination Certificate No: 198262
Vehicle in questions details: (As per Invoices, Service & Inspection Records, New Vehicle & 1 Year / 20 000 km Genuine Ford Accessory Warranties)
Make and Model: Fiesta 1.0 EcoBoost
Chassis No: WF0DXXGAKDFK41552
Engine No: FK41552
Current Mileage: 119332 (Vehicle currently at Alberton Ford)
Vehicle Purchase date: 19/06/2015
Vehicle Service history: 01/07/2016 15830km, service done by Imperial Group (15830 km’s travelled)
20/06/2017 32795km, service done by Imperial Group (16965 km’s travelled)
21/06/2018 53295km, service done by Imperial Ford (20500 km’s travelled)
08/07/2019 69150km, service done by Imperial Ford (15855 km’s travelled)
22/09/2020 85534km, service done by MASS Auto (16384 km’s travelled)
02/08/2021 102354km, service done by Mass Auto (16820 km’s travelled)
26/07/2022 113943km, service done by Motus Ford (11589 km’s travelled)
23/12/2022 119207km, Repairs & Service Alberton Ford (5264 km’s travelled)
26/1282022 Plus minus 50km, vehicle Broke down again!!!
PLEASE NOTE: All serviced parts were returned to client as requested, except by MOTUS Ford.
Services done in 2020 & 2021 was done in Lockdown period, genuine Ford parts were
Used during these services as indicated on the invoice and confirmed by Alberton Ford.
Explanation of events:
The client (complainant} called Motus Ford on the 25th of July to book for a Mayor service and that her vehicle’s campbelt should be replaced, as she was going to take a vacation to the Bush veldt, and wanted to make sure that everything is 100% on her vehicle, before she left. The client knew that her vehicle’s km’s were low but the vehicle is already 7 years old and she didn’t want to take any chances, seeing that she’s going to travel alone.
The Service advisor Sizwe 0027427 as recorded on the invoice from Motus Ford, informed the client that the vehicle could come in for the service as requested on the 26th the following morning and that the vehicle should be available, at their premises at 07:00.
The vehicle was booked in at 07:04:12 for inspection and service by Sizwe, which informed the client that the vehicle will only be booked for an annual service, because the Campbelt should only be done on 240000km’s, not before then and the clients vehicle were on 113943km’s. The client was informed later telephonically that her vehicle was ready for collection. The client was met by Sizwe and accompanied to the paying point and then to her vehicle. The client noticed that there were no returned parts in her vehicle and asked for it, after a few minutes the client was informed that the parts were already disposed. The client asked but why and was informed that it was a mistake on their behalf. The client wasn’t impressed with the answer and found it very odd as she’s always received the old parts and how can she be certain that all these parts were replaced. This response was just laughed off by Sizwe.
On the 12th of December 2022 the morning the client was on her way to buy a few items from the shops, when the vehicles engine an oil light came on at the same time and the vehicle made a funny noise and had no power.
The client immediately called Motus Ford, the call log on the client’s phone registered the call made at 09:46. The client asked to be transferred to the service department, and the call was answered by the service manager, called Bradley. The client explained to the service manager, to what was happening and that she’s going to bring the vehicle to them now, seeing that they were the last dealership that worked on the vehicle and that was less than 5 months prior and surely the parts and the service should still be under some kind of guarantee and what is she to do as they never returned the parts to her.
The service manager then told the client that he can’t assist her now, he will only be able to take a look at her vehicle on the 27th of December and that no parts or service is guaranteed by Ford. The client told him that she can’t wait till then as she has an upcoming vacation and how is she to proof that the parts were installed as per invoice as she didn’t receive any parts from them. The service manager replied to the client that unfortunately there’s nothing he can do and if she doesn’t like what he told her, that she’s more than welcome, to come with her lawyer. The client informed him that she wasn’t satisfied with his response and that she will take the matter further.
The client was absolutely shocked by the way the service manager spoke to her and decided to avoid further conflict and contacted Alberton Ford.
COMCLUSION:
Taking all events and scenarios into consideration!
1. Service record
Client has for filled the after sales agreement on the purchase of the new vehicle agreement, as set out by the terms and conditions by Ford, as per documents attached, see new vehicle warranty and recommendation on service intervals.
a. Page 9 Section 3: 1 Year/20 000 kilometer Genuine Ford Accessory Warranty, which states clearly!
The 1 Year/20 000km Genuine Ford Accessory Warranty is valued for a period of 12 (twelve) calendar months or 20 000 kilometers, whichever occurs first from the New Vehicle Warranty Commencement Date and is ONLY applicable to Ford Accessories fitted and listed under the Pre-Delivery inspection, by the Ford Authorized Dealer prior to delivery. (This means on all after service parts and after services, that Ford’s warranty should be binding). I therefor can’t understand, how the service manager could tell the client, that nothing is warrantied or guaranteed by Ford.
b. Page 25 & 26 Service and Inspection Records: Service Book entries, shows clearly that all services were done and vehicle was inspected, the only service history that wasn’t recorded in the manual was 2021 but could be backed up on the invoice attached done by MASS Auto. (The Service Manager at Ford Alberton, confirmed that the parts used by Mass Auto as per invoice, was genuine Ford parts)
c. Taking a closer look at the vehicle service history, the observation is that the travelling distances reached between services is in the region of an average of 16 200km’s, however after the service was done by Motus Ford Germiston, only 5246km’s was reached, before the vehicle in question broke down. What’s more striking is that if a person are to add the previous kilometers, after Mass Auto serviced the vehicle in 2021 and you add the kilometers that was reached after Motus Ford Germiston, supposedly serviced the vehicle in 2022, the vehicle would then have reached more or less the same travelling distance, that was reached before a service was done by the other dealerships therefor the question are, whether the vehicle was actually serviced and if any new parts where actually fitted by Motus Ford Germiston, or is it just a coincidence that the vehicle broke down after it reached the buildup memory of kilometers reached before a service would be due. Does this explain the arrogance of the service manager at Motus Ford Germiston and was the treatment that the client received from this manager fair? Is this how customers should be dealt with in the hour of need? Is this the kind of after service treatment, any client should experience? Voice recordings should be available from Motus Ford Germiston’s system!
Explanation of events to have vehicle repaired:
The client contacted Alberton Ford on the 12th of December 2022, after the poor telephonic service, she received from Motus Ford Germiston. Service advisor Nthabiseng answered the call and informed the client that they could assist the client on the 19th of December 2022 at 07:00, on which the client agreed and the service was booked and scheduled, the client explained to the service advisor that she needs her vehicle a.s.a.p. because she has to leave on the 27th of December.
The client took the vehicle in on the 19th at the arranged time and was informed that a diagnostic report would be done to pinpoint the damages and then it should take about 4 hours to strip the vehicle. The client would then be contacted with a quotation amount and the quotation would be mailed to her for approval. The client informed the advisor again that she needs her vehicle as soon as possible as she had a confirmed vacation that she needs to go on and she was reassured that the vehicle would be ready on Wednesday the 21st.
The client called a couple of times in on this day, she didn’t receive any feedback and was scared that the vehicle would be prepared without her knowing what was actually the cause of the vehicle breaking down and what the damages would amount to. The client was told during these calls that they don’t have any feedback as yet,
On the 20th of December the client called in a few times and was informed that the vehicle in question cambelt didn’t broke but the damages were caused due to it.
On the morning of the 21st of December, I (Mrs. Loubser made a call to Ford from Mrs. van der Watt’s phone to Ford Alberton and the call was answered first by Nthabiseng who informed me that the repairs would be in the region of R27,000.00 and a quote will then follow. The second call was answered by Mpule (customer service manager). I explained Mrs. van der Watt’s frustrations to Mpule, regarding the fact that she hasn’t had any real feedback as to what the damages to the vehicle were and that she still didn’t receive a quotation and that we demand to have prober feedback before 11:00 even if we should receive everything, that me and Mrs. van der Watt would come to the office at 11:00.
At 11:00 me and Mrs. van der Watt arrived at Alberton Ford, we were met by Mpule Sape and accompanied to Nico Bruyns (Service Manager) office. This event was recorded by myself and all parties were notified of the recording.
Introductions were made, Nico explained that he heard about the situation with the vehicle that morning only, due to him being on leave, I explained to him the events that happened at Motus Ford Germiston and to the agreement on Monday the 19th of December, that the vehicle would’ve been available to the client but was informed that she would only receive her vehicle on the 30th of December and this can’t be happening as she was supposed to go on vacation on the 27th and she was promised that the vehicle would be available on this day but all she heard from them so far was that the vehicle’s cambelt didn’t break and then again that is was broken and this is causing a lot of confusion. The service manager then explained to me that the cambelt didn’t break but what seemed to be a normal problem with the 1L Fords is that the cambelt causes shavings from the cambelts teeth, that drops into the sump and gets sucked up by the oil pump and then eventually clogs the oil pump, which in return causes the damage to the vehicle. The service manager also confirmed that the cambelt should only be replaced as per Ford’s regulations on 240 000km’s. He explained that the cambelt always runs in oil and the only time that a person would know if this happened was if the cambelt were replaced and this is a mayor job as everything has to be stripped before this problem would be found.
I then asked the service manager, if the cambelt was replaced by Motus Germiston Ford and the oil filter, surely the new oil filter should have been able to have caught these shavings, before it would clog the oil pump and if a new cambelt was replaced would this not have prevented the damaged that was caused now? The service manager then explained that they would only have found it if the sump was dismantled from the block, the oil pump is in the sump, which have different compartments and between these compartments there is channels where the oil and the shavings move through but by the time it reaches the oil filter it should only be oil and maybe a bit of small shaving particles.
I explained to the service manager and the customer service manager that we need to find a solution which would be beneficial to the client and to Ford, but the client needs her car fixed as she has to leave on Tuesday the 27th of December, the client doesn’t mind to pay for the repairs now but the car needs to be fixed and in 100% condition, the client is a pensioner and a female and we know woman gets attacked in S.A. every day and we don’t want her to end up in a position where she would be attacked next to the road, should she get stuck. I also explained to them that the matter will still be taken up with Ford Head Office and the Ombudsman as to how she was treated by Motus Ford Germiston and for the work that was done by them on the vehicle.
The client mentioned to them that what made her really upset is that she kept on phoning and nobody bothered to call her back, Mapule did mention that unfortunately there is a problem when it comes to the relevant departments giving feedback to the clients and there were similar complaints before but she didn’t expect to experience another one so soon.
Nico the service manager then said that we will have the vehicle by Friday and that he will take it for a test drive himself to make sure that the car is ready by 17:00.
He then requested from Ntabiseng to complete the quotation in order for the client to pay and the repairs could start on the vehicle.
The amount that was paid by Mrs. van der watt on the 21st of December totaled R34,852.02 this was done on a card machine
I also asked the service manager why these vehicles weren’t recalled by Ford, if they knew new that this was a problem with the 1L vehicles, as this should have been seen as a manufacturing problem, he unfortunately didn’t have an answer to this question.
On Friday the 23rd the client and myself went to collect the vehicle and she drove the vehicle to her home. The client then drove the vehicle again on the morning of the 26th to do her final shopping before she would leave on vacation, unfortunately the vehicle did the exact same as what it did before the repairs was done and the service manager was called to come and collect the vehicle.
The service manager came to client’s home on the 27th with a courtesy vehicle, which I requested for the client and they drove her vehicle away from her property.
The service manager called a few days later and informed Mrs. van der Watt that the cambelt’s sensor wasn’t aligned and this was the reason for the vehicle to breakdown again and that she could collect the vehicle on the 2nd of January 2023. We were surprised with this explanation, because the vehicle lost all power and made the exact same noises it did before she took it to Alberton Ford. The client told me that she feels very unsure about the vehicle and don’t know whether she can trust the workmanship.
On Monday the 2nd of January 2023, I accompanied Mrs. van der Watt again to Alberton Ford, to collect the vehicle and to get clarity from Nico if Ford was going to take some responsibility for the default on the cambelt. The customer service manager Mapule met with us, she informed us that the vehicle was ready but that Nico was on leave. I then told Mapule that Nico was on leave. Me and Mrs. van der Watt went to look at the vehicle, we met up with a youngster that pulled the vehicle out. We opened the bonnet and noticed that the vehicle’s engine and noticed that it was extremely hot and the client told me that the top of her engine never exposed so many wires before. I then looked at the km counter and realized that an additional 103km were driven as the counter was now on 119310km’s. I then asked the youngster that pulled the vehicle out, who drove the vehicle that the engine is so hot and he said he doesn’t know as he only pulled it out of the workshop. I informed Mapule that we won’t be taking the vehicle as Nico wasn’t there to explain to me what Ford’s feedback were and the client wasn’t happy with the engine being so hot and the way the engine wires were exposed. Mapule called Nico and I explained this to him, he then said that we will meet up again, when he gets back from leave.
Aon the 17th of January 2023, Mrs. van der Watt called Mapule to confirm the time that we would meet up with Nico, she informed us that she will call Nico to confirm the time and will call us back. Mapule called us back a bit later and said that Nico requested that we meet up on the 19th instead at 11:00.
On the 19th we met with Nico the service manager, he then informed me and the client that Ford will not take any responsibility for the default on the cambelt. due to the fact that Mass Auto did the two services on the vehicle in 2021 & 2022 and they aren’t according to Ford a credit dealership and that she will only have a warranty of 20000km or 1 year, which ever came first, on all the parts that were newly replaced by Ford Alberton.
I informed Nico that it was ridiculous that the client is then basically loosing 120000km’s warrantee on the vehicle’s engine, due to a cambelt that caused shavings to clog the oil pump, which Ford knew was a problem on the 1L vehicle’s, plus the client had to still pay for this defect on top of it. I told Nico that this is unacceptable and he said that he will discuss the matter further with his superiors and let us know what the outcome is, because I told him that the client had no trust in the vehicle anymore. The client looked at a few other vehicles’ that was on the floor available and the sales manager said that he was willing to trade the client’s vehicle in for a R100000 on any of these vehicles, the differences between the cost was approximately another R100000 and additional R20000 would be required for reregistration of the new vehicle on her name as she has personalized number plates.
Nico informed us by email on the 28th of January 2023 that based on the service history happening at a non-Ford franchise dealer in 2020 & 2021, that Ford most likely wouldn’t have granted goodwill.
The predicament that the client, a widower and pensioner, know finds herself in is that she has to either take full responsibility for a part that was defaulted from the day she bought her vehicle brand new, or she has to use her last funds to buy another vehicle. How is this for treating customers fairly?
Dispute:
1. Discrediting of Mass Auto as accredited dealership and repair center.
a. How is it possible that Ford can decide that this motor dealership isn’t accredited, when this dealership is registered and recognized by the motor industry.
b. They have qualified mechanics that has the exact same qualifications as the one’s at Ford or better, also bear in mind that some mechanics use to work for Ford prior in their careers, are their qualifications also now not seen as none accredited or qualified mechanics just because they aren’t work for Ford anymore?
c. They are selling and fitting genuine Ford parts, surely if a dealership is selling and fitting Ford genuine parts, they should be accredited by Ford as they are the suppliers and distributors of these genuine parts!
d. They are also recognized by the insurance industry.
e. Are clients now responsible to track all the dealerships, through Ford to insure they are Ford accredited?
f. Please note that the repairs done by Mass Auto was in 2020 & 2021 during the lockdown period!
2. All services done on the vehicle by all dealerships, had nothing to do with the cambelt that caused shavings to enter the oil system!
3. Damages was caused by the cambelt, that should only be replaced on 240000km’s according to Ford’s stipulations.
4. As per Alberton sales manager, the 1L Ford vehicles are known to cause these kind of problems on the cambelt, should clients be held responsible for manufacturing defaults, when Ford themselves knew that these shavings can’t be detected, unless the sump gets removed and stripped?
5. Are clients being treated fairly under these terms and conditions,
6. Are clients being treated fairly when they don’t receive calls and feedback from Ford dealerships after their cars were booked in for repairs or when they are mocked by service managers that the clients can come with their lawyers if they don’t agree with how they are being treated?
7. Please note that the client’s vehicle was still under 120000km’s when this all happened and could still be classified ad a fairly new motor vehicle.
The client would highly appreciate if you could consider all points noted and awaits your findings conclusions and feedback on these matters, she is currently a widow and pensioner and would like Ford to take responsibility for what has happened to her vehicle. The vehicle is fully paid. Plus, the client wasn’t able to go on her much needed vacation!
Your faithfully
Mrs. C.P.M. Loubser
Client representative in private and personal capacity
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