Dear All!

Below a copy of my recent correspondence with Ford....

Anyone else has a feeling that I am getting shafted ?

"Date of first registration 30/07/2010, mileage 58000, Vehicle warranty repair was declined by Dagenham Motors on the grounds of "previous problems with the cooling system" and "strange residue in the cooling system". After investigating various options the vehicle was returned to me with the suggestion of replacing the oil cooler, then it was said that possibly replacement of the radiator "will give us a better chance", total bill of £708 was also presented to me with the payment demand ttfor our ivestigative work and time spent on the vehicle". Within last month the vehicle spent at the dealership 14 days,

I am 2nd registered keeper, the vehicle accordingly to Ford's records was in and out the various Ford's dealerships with the overheating issues. There is no proof or record of any other workshops carrying out any repairs on the vehicle and given the age/mileage and the fact that the vehicle is to remain under Ford's manufacturers guarantee for few more months it is highly unlikely that anybody owning this vehicle would choose to use any other fee charging repair provider instead of the manufacturers dealer's network.

During the first visit the technicians failed to find any faults and the vehicle was returned to me with the statement that "intermittent faults are very hard to repair and so far nothing happened and the van is performing as expected” - on my arrival I have stated dearly what were the synptoms and the conditions when the fault occured (6th gear spead around 75-80mph - temperature gauge fluctuating with no other symptoms of overheating with the needle traveling back and forth within the 5 seconds window).

After few days \ have came back to the dealership with the video recording showing the instruments beahving exactly as described above. During my second visit despite of my advance booking and request to book it ONLY If. there is somebody available to look at it on that day, the vehicle sat in the same spot of the car park where I have left it (as discussed with the service desk operator Mr Andy Webb the previous afternoon, as anybody can appreciate losing the working van for 36 hours for no reason is causing a lot of disturbance to my 24 hours emergency glazing business.

When Mr Webb has informed that “they didn't have a chance to look at it yet“ after further enquiry at the service reception I was told by Mr Nick Forbes that "they are very busy with the retail Customers, hence the potentialy time consuming warranty repair will have to wait". The next morning I have decided to speak to Mr Andy Potter (Dealership Manager) and he had apologized for the misleading statement and reassured me that every care will be taken to resolve the issue efficiently.

I have to admit that from that point the communication with the service has been much better although the whole operation of ’’investigating” was completely fruitless. As the road testing was not done during the day every even the smallest attempt to fix/replace any of the components was subject to overnight road testing, one of the technicians was taking the van home to Luton (Beds) (app 20 miles each way), 3/4 of tank of diesel was burned as a result (I have tested the vehicle myself this afternoon - it only takes 2 miles to warm the engine enough (and gain enough speed for the fault to re-occure - time after time).

At the begining of the whole process I have tried to explain that due to the fact that my van makes a vital part of my business it is very important that any diagnosis/repairs are carried out promptly due to the fact that any rental vehicle is not suitable to carry glass {my van is fitted a cushioned floor and internal glass racking). As i was refused the courtesy van "We don't have anything available" i have rented VW Crafter from Enterprise Van Rental in Park Royal (NW10) at the cost of £360.I have also advised the service operatives that I was supposed to leave for lenghty trip to Germany on DEC 3rd and needed the van repaired by DEC 2nd. I had to cancel the ferry ticket due to the van still being faulty today.

On Thursday NOV29th I was told by Mr Nick Forbes that "We are going to start charging you now, you must pay for our time as we have found some residue in the oil radiator an there is a thermostat missing" when I have arrived to the garage I was shown an oil cooler thermostat with a missing internal part. Potentially that missing part released from the thermostat body could have gotten sucked into the water pump and caused the damage to the water pump which was replaced under the warranty last year - just a theory. I was told that now I will have to pay for every operation as "the van has been tampered with" - as stated before there is no record or evidence of any repairs carried out by other technicians, there is also no non-branded parts or components installed and as explained before I find it hard to believe that anybody would use fee-charging garage for anything while entitled to free warranty repairs.I was also told by Mr Forbes that the garage will not be able to carry on with the "investigative operations" without replacing the oil cooler at my expense, after the short discussion it came out that actually also the main radiator needs to be replaced and also engine needs to be fluished in order to maximize the chance of the succesfull repair.

I have agreed to the suggestions and at the end of the day I was presented with the bill for £708 (inc VAT). I took the vehicle out on the road in the evening and it have faulted again after 4 miles. When I have rang Mr Potter this morning I was told that “the whole process was correct and they have done all they could” when I have pointed out that nothing really was achieved Mr Potter stated that they have to follow Ford’s guidelines and policies.

I find the whole situiation strange and distressing, within last five years between me and my brother we have spent over £60k with Dagenham Motors (purchased 7 vans) and i-have a feeling that I am being treated unfairly.

And the latest installment, after receiving an idiotic phone call from the Ford's offices:

Dear Sir or Madame,

I have contacted you via email on 30/11/2012 regarding some warranty repair issues. I have received no communication from you apart from some strange phone call stating that as the fault with my vehicle was occuring above 70mph (also the legal limit in UK) Ford as a company did not feel that it was reasonable for me to expect for the vehicle to be repaired or tested by the dealership. I am sure that all the brand enthusiast as well as the motoring press will be deeply amused if you could kindly put such statement in writing. Please respond in writing to my original enquiry within an reasonable 7 days time frame.

Emailed 28/12/2012 via Ford’s customers contact enquiry form

Please let me know if any of the Members had similiar experience....

Edited by Avant on 28/12/2012 at 18:08