DSG woes in The Age

[Diesel_vert]

This is the article that concerns me... If a VW customer wrote a complaint from a work email and VW rather than respond to that email positivley or negatively with attepmted due process or disputing the problem or whatever... that is one thing.... however to defend by attacking by threatening that person with the sack by exposing them to their employer... then VW has lost me to the brand...

I have defended VW to all the haters for the last three or so years, but that action is not one of a responsible corporate... rather a hysterical shonk resorting to subterfuge... I dunno... I have been sitting on the fence, no rush to get out of a little roadster whilst I check out the next GTi/R, next Skoda RS wagon ( hopefully in AWD - i'd be in that!) or whatever. But that article struck a nerve...

Business ethics is an oxymoron.

Volkswagen is like any other corporation (don't let marketing fool you), so I can't say I'm especially surprised at the actions they've taken.

There are two sides to any story, but if that story develops I will be interested to find out what happens..

There are three sides to any story. Yours, mine and the truth.

[nyc863]

Volkswagen should take into account that I am a website builder by profession, and that should I not receive the proper treatment as a customer, I will use my skills on the Internet to disseminate news of this situation far and wide, and by that I mean to every car forum in the world, as well as building a website devoted to this affair.

I'm not surprised with that attitude that you ceased to get any help, and got the finger.

Companies act quite pragmatically in general, I suppose you thought they'd rather bend over for you than risk losing more business from your online droppings, however they are also comprised of individuals and if I was the case manager who got such a threat letter I'd react with as much of a big FU as the rules of my job allowed.

At least as you describe things (which undoubtably are tilted to make you look good), it is clear that you brought your situation on yourself by being one of those difficult customers that call centre staff are trained to deal with by hanging up on.

You got a car, it had a difficult to diagnose issue, you spat the dummy and issued threats and SURPRISE you didn't get very good service.

How is your hit-job website going? got much traffic? or do you find it easier to repeat yourself endlessly on established sites and make VWA look sensible.

[pologti18t]

Geez - you really seem to be going after this individual...

He is showing up in all the forums sprouting this stuff again.
One thing to be disgruntled... another to be somewhat vindictive. One second a happy as larry owner (2yrs of no issues)... then this comes out in the press and he is back at it.

[nyc863]

That may be your way of handling issues, and good luck to you if it works for you.

But your approach didn't work.. Clearly.

And if you had asked someones advice they'd have told you it was likely to piss someone off that otherwise may have turned things around for you.

This forum is too small for you to present your case in full perhaps you need to do that website and link people to it if you want them to take you as a data point against VW. It would show the polite letters you wrote, and the nasty replies you got, it would show the dealer giving you the finger and VW agreeing with the dealer, and so on -- until we're all rooting for you.

Because as it stands the highlights you focus on tell me you're one of those difficult customers, the ones that threaten legal action for everything (and don't even have a lawyer) and think that because they are internet savvy they should get more attention than anyone else.

[Transporter]

But your approach didn't work.. Clearly.

And if you had asked someones advice they'd have told you it was likely to piss someone off that otherwise may have turned things around for you.

This forum is too small for you to present your case in full perhaps you need to do that website and link people to it if you want them to take you as a data point against VW. It would show the polite letters you wrote, and the nasty replies you got, it would show the dealer giving you the finger and VW agreeing with the dealer, and so on -- until we're all rooting for you.

Because as it stands the highlights you focus on tell me you're one of those difficult customers, the ones that threaten legal action for everything (and don't even have a lawyer) and think that because they are internet savvy they should get more attention than anyone else.

I agree. The one can achieve a lot when complaining politely. It always worked for me.

[THE_EGG]

So impressed to see you still hanging out here, Egg!

Just goes to show how much you would love that car back! But I fully understand your concerns.

If only VW would address the issue properly, I bet they would have at least one return customer!

What a shame their handling of all this is so immature.

More that I want my money back tbh haha. Or at least the drop in value going from $30k to $19k in 4 months - I'm pretty sure the salesman who was looking after the trade at Citroen new there was something up hence the low trade value.

[Transporter]

Please tell us how you would have handled it. Bear in mind, I'd already politely asked the dealer to ask VAG for a replacement, given the intractable and seemingly insoluble problems with what was an almost-new car that were putting me and my loved ones in mortal danger.



Difficult, in these circumstances? You betcha! Threaten legal action? Where did you get that from?

You don't have the right to get the replacement, we don't have the lemon law in AU.

[Transporter]

I always start off by complaining politely, as I did in this case. Did not work for me.

I don't believe you did.

[THE_EGG]

You don't have the right to get the replacement, we don't have the lemon law in AU.

I thought we did have the lemon law here in Australia?

[THE_EGG]

Yes, but anything (not just cars) purchased after January 1, 2011, is covered under Australian Consumer Law "Consumer Guarantees".

If this scenario had happened with the client purchasing the car in 2011 and getting to say, next year with similar problems, VW would have to abide by the law and meet the customer's request – for a major failure, the client chooses whether to keep the car and be compensated, have it replaced with a similar product (if available), or receive a full refund.

+1 correct

[wai]

You don't have the right to get the replacement, we don't have the lemon law in AU.

I'm pretty sure there is one in NSW. but the issue is enforcing it.

The fact that VW have resorted to lawyers means it is biting. After all, to get a legal team together will cost around $10,000 per day. I know. A client of mine is fighting a cast that will go on for years, and when the lawyers are in it is $10,000 per day.

[nyc863]

Please tell us how you would have handled it. Bear in mind, I'd already politely asked the dealer to ask VAG for a replacement, given the intractable and seemingly insoluble problems with what was an almost-new car that were putting me and my loved ones in mortal danger.

Difficult, in these circumstances? You betcha! Threaten legal action? Where did you get that from?

I'm just saying the "type" of customer that threatens to fill search engines and message boards with their story is often the "type" that threatens legal action right off the bat.

what would I have done? I'd have escalated the and documented and escalated and documented until I had the makings of a case that they'd lose in front of the ombudsman, and/or a court. I'd also post here and ask for the opinion of others. It costs nothing now to video every second of ones driving experience, there are so many resources online you can educate and represent yourself for free if you have the time to do so. Do you think you're the first customer to disagree about whether a car is a lemon? there are consumer protection mechanisms you should exhaust. Did you?

If you don't have any time to do that, perhaps you had to take a financial hit and move on, but you seem to have a lot of time to build sites and tell your story so it sounds like you had the time to get what you wanted without threatening asymmetric online warfare.

[RoknRob]

I'm not surprised with that attitude that you ceased to get any help, and got the finger.

Companies act quite pragmatically in general, I suppose you thought they'd rather bend over for you than risk losing more business from your online droppings, however they are also comprised of individuals and if I was the case manager who got such a threat letter I'd react with as much of a big FU as the rules of my job allowed.

At least as you describe things (which undoubtably are tilted to make you look good), it is clear that you brought your situation on yourself by being one of those difficult customers that call centre staff are trained to deal with by hanging up on.

You got a car, it had a difficult to diagnose issue, you spat the dummy and issued threats and SURPRISE you didn't get very good service.

How is your hit-job website going? got much traffic? or do you find it easier to repeat yourself endlessly on established sites and make VWA look sensible.

Really?

I would have thought any company with an ounce of confidence in their product would never have taken a rant like that so seriously...

The customer (who is always right?) is clearly distressed. Managing that with a lawyer letter is the wrong approach, IMHO.

Especially if there were already civil attempts at restitution.

[brad]

You don't have the right to get the replacement, we don't have the lemon law in AU.

That explains why a mate on my other forum was given a replacement Volvo after 11 months when the dealership failed to repair his vehicle (they made it worse actually). Then he got his money back after 4 weeks with the new vehicle because it had issues as well.

[muli]

Re: DSG woes in The Age

So the simple solution is to buy from states that have lemon laws and boycott local dealers in ones state?