A feeling of disappointment

[Mrstee]

I really hope VW are listening, Granny Jen doesn't deserve to be treated so badly. I'm appauled. As a potential new custome for VW I am now having serious doubts about their customer relations (or lack of) and will have to consider carefully whether or not to buy. VW will not know how many of us potential customers they are losing will they ?

 

[Mrstee]

Fur

I really hope VW are listening, Granny Jen doesn't deserve to be treated so badly. I'm appauled. As a potential new custome for VW I am now having serious doubts about their customer relations (or lack of) and will have to consider carefully whether or not to buy. VW will not know how many of us potential customers they are losing will they ?

Further to my comments above, I live an hour's drive from my nearest commercial dealer (Exeter), and the idea of having to travel further to a recommended dealer for faults and servicing is frankly ridiculous.

 

[GrannyJen]

VW customer service is my worst experience everywhere.

I love my cali. It is quite the very best vehicle that I have ever owned. It delivers in spades everything that is promised.

It has one fault. Only one fault. Yet the service response to sort this one fault is quite the worst that I have ever experienced. It is total contempt. Absolute total contempt for a customer prepared to invest £60k in a flagship vehicle.

I love my Cali. I hate the contempt that my beautiful cali has been subjected to by a customer care team that is arrogant, up it's own arse and feels it has a captured market.

For that reason alone I will buy anything but a VW campervan in the future.

 

[motacyclist]

One of the attractions of the Cali is the integrated way everything works and the charging and battery system is part of this. If the battery is not getting charged it knocks out the fridge and eventually the heater, lights and water pump, so the whole van becomes useless for it’s intended purpose.

There are so many complicated and diverse components in these vans that it is impossible for the “technicians” to be familiar with them all. You need to be expert with a spanner, computer, plumbing, electronics, car and domestic electrics. So it is not surprising they are unable to fix the charging problem. In fact I would say there is more knowledge on this forum about the product than in 95% of the dealerships. No comfort to the poor owner!

We’ve had quite a few problems with coachbuilts over the years, and if say the fridge went down, then a man from Dometic would turn up at your house, or if the heater went down then you would get a visit from whoever made them. So you always got the expert. Not so with the Cali - it’s back to the man with a spanner (or hammer?)!

The problem is that in the main the Calin is being sold by people who are not familiar with the fixtures and fittings, who are not interested in campers and lack any enthusiasm for them. The dealerships themselves have been gifted a brilliant product by VW and only have to sit back while the customers almost fall over themselves to buy them.

Jen - I hope there is a reconciliation with Albert, after all it is most likely the problem lies with a component that is sourced externally from VW and in all probability is also used by MB in the Marco Polo. We don't want to lose you to a different forum

And speaking of MB, our company bought two top spec Vito’s and we had nothing but problems with one of them. And the depreciation was horrendous. After 4 years we only got £1000 more for a MB that cost £30k than a Toyota Hiace that cost £11k.

 

[motacyclist]

I see VW have commented on GrannyJen's posting on their Facebook page.

Have you got a link?

 

[larrylamb]

There are so many complicated and diverse components in these vans that it is impossible for the “technicians” to be familiar with them all. You need to be expert with a spanner, computer, plumbing, electronics, car and domestic electrics. So it is not surprising they are unable to fix the charging problem. In fact I would say there is more knowledge on this forum about the product than in 95% of the dealerships. No comfort to the poor owner!

We’ve had quite a few problems with coachbuilts over the years, and if say the fridge went down, then a man from Dometic would turn up at your house, or if the heater went down then you would get a visit from whoever made them. So you always got the expert. Not so with the Cali - it’s back to the man with a spanner (or hammer?)!

'Fraid i disagree, surely a dealership like most independent garages would get an auto electrician in to fix something they can't, like i said previously it's not rocket science it's a leisure battery charging system

 

[motacyclist]

'Fraid i disagree, surely a dealership like most independent garages would get an auto electrician in to fix something they can't, like i said previously it's not rocket science it's a leisure battery charging system

That would be the sensible thing to do but Im not sure they would. We work for household names and know how it all goes.

The auto electrician would have to fill out a contractor questionnaire, provide risk assessment and method statements, proof of public and professional liability insurance, submit repair procedures and be VW approved etc etc. He would also probably have to wait 3 months to get paid.

I think what actually happens is that they (VW dealer) just describe the problem on a web form (probably getting mixed up), submit it to VW (who probably misunderstand the symptoms) and wait for instructions on how to go about the repair (of a completely unrelated problem).

 

[GrannyJen]

I think what actually happens is that they (VW dealer) just describe the problem on a web form (probably getting mixed up), submit it to VW (who probably misunderstand the symptoms) and wait for instructions on how to go about the repair (of a completely unrelated problem).

This is so true.

Every time that I speak to the dealer they are waiting for "VW Technical" to come back.

Always waiting. They were waiting yesterday morning. It was that sense of total lack of urgency that blew the fuse with me yesterday.

Presumably no one at VW Technical cared it was a camper, a nice weekend coming up,the time when the £60k leisure vehicle sold by VW would be wanted most.

Presumably to them it was a working vehicle, one used during the week therefore no rush as it was weekend tomorrow.

There seems to be a complete, remote detachment by VW to any form of consideration that at the other end, making life hell for the Dealer who is "waiting for them to come back" , is a customer who actually wants to use a vehicle that they have paid an awful lot of money for.

 

[GrannyJen]

Have you emailed Chris Evans?

Sent him a tweet

 

[Bramco]

GrannyJen,

Send me your personal email address by the messaging system on the forum and I'll send you an email exchange I had last year with the previous director of commercial vehicles, he's now the director of passenger vehicles unless he's moved on.

As I said in a reply to a previous post, all email addresses in VW are in a standard form John.smith@volkswagen.co.uk. So if you know the name of the current director of commercial vehicles you have a good chance you can target them directly. I tracked down the name I used through some detective work on Google etc.

I copied in as many people in VW whose names I could find through discussions with the dealership etc.

My email didn't get our van delivered early but it did get me compensation, van until ours was delivered and other stuff and also the attention of someone in the Executive team in customer care.

The biggest issue here is that a lifestyle product like the Cali is sold and supported through the commercial vehicle centres. Talk about a square peg in a round hole it's more like a starship enterprise peg in a round hole.

PS when googling for names make sure you look at the date on any web page you get to, otherwise you might pick up on old news and therefore a previous incumbent in the role.

 

[chuggertwo]

How awful...how dreadful.The treacle of corporate indifference and the film flam of superficiality and fragmentation exasperate me to an extreme....i guess. Bit of a soapbox for me in "modern" Britain's/Europa's corporates/public services. Don't you just yearn for (not a suit/or the patronising words of feigned concern) just someone (genuine) that knows a bit and /or if they don't will admit but will link with someone that does and sort it!

 

[timber]

Granny Jen
You must have bought a Cali that is not up to scratch, demand a replacement.Just do not leave us as I am sure we all love your sense of humor

 

[GrannyJen]

Seriously stepping aside from the terrible service.. what on earth is wrong with your Cali. I realise the van is warrantied and it's totally VW's responsibility but have you tried posting the symptoms on here in detail to see if any of the members can help solve the problem.. it could be something that someone else has experienced to a lesser extent but could be a fix for you or give you an area that maybe the dealer has overlooked.

I thought that I had explained the problem, in fact ad nauseum to the probable boredom of all and sundry.

I plug in the 240v lead into the plug socket provided.

sometimes it charges, sometimes it doesn't. Sometimes it charges then mysteriously stops charging.

Every time it has disappeared for days on end "to be fixed" it comes back and the problem is worse. An intermittent fault became a permanent fault. At least I could charge off the engine so managed to still use the vehicle as a camper.

Now, after the last "fix" The ability to charge via engine generator has also gone so now there are no means whatsoever to charge the leisure batteries.

The control panel replacement for the control panel thought to be causing the problem achieved nothing except the complete failure of the replacement control panel. The third control panel to be fitted cannot make up its mind to show Hook up or Engine Generating so it does both, oscillating between the two every 2 or three seconds, even when there is no hook-up plugged in and the engine is switched off.

 

[timber]

I thought that I had explained the problem, in fact ad nauseum to the probable boredom of all and sundry.

I plug in the 240v lead into the plug socket provided.

sometimes it charges, sometimes it doesn't. Sometimes it charges then mysteriously stops charging.

Every time it has disappeared for days on end "to be fixed" it comes back and the problem is worse. An intermittent fault became a permanent fault. At least I could charge off the engine so managed to still use the vehicle as a camper.

Now, after the last "fix" The ability to charge via engine generator has gone so there are no means whatsoever to charge the leisure batteries.

The control panel replacement for the control panel thought to be causing the problem achieved nothing except the complete failure of the replacement control panel. The third control panel to be fitted cannot make up its mind to show Hook up or Engine Generating so it does both, oscillating between the two every 2 or three seconds, even when there is no hook-up plugged in and the engine is switched off.

My self, I would start with the plug then cable then socket for anything amiss .Then go to a reputable auto electrician for the on board electrics.
One cannot the VW staff to know all about all types of vehicles that vw turn out.
I do hope you get it sorted
Regards
Richard

 

[GrannyJen]

My self, I would start with the plug then cable then socket for anything amiss .Then go to a reputable auto electrician for the on board electrics.
One cannot the VW staff to know all about all types of vehicles that vw turn out.
I do hope you get it sorted
Regards
Richard

They have done that, traced it all through to the charger. Replaced the charger. Then traced it from charger to faulty relay. Changed that. Then decided it was a bad earth so replaced earth shunt. Each time it gets worse not better

I wish sometimes I had never reported the original fault. At least I had a camper I could use, charging batteries off the engine with the occasional bonus of getting a partial charge off hook-up - sometimes

 

[GrannyJen]

Have you got a link?

https://www.facebook.com/VolkswagenCommercialVehiclesUK

 

[larrylamb]

https://www.facebook.com/VolkswagenCommercialVehiclesUK

Liked and shared Jen.

 

[GrannyJen]

As Martin said, they reply.

They must be imposters though, it is not VW corporate policy to reply

 

[GrannyJen]

Liked and shared Jen.

If enough people on FB read it, visit this forum, read other, it might just get through to VWCS that we are not going to sit idly by whilst they treat us, the people who pay their wages, with total contempt.

 

[peakman]

Granny Jen
You must have bought a Cali that is not up to scratch, demand a replacement.Just do not leave us as I am sure we all love your sense of humor

Writing as a retired solicitor, my memory from law school some 45 years ago, is that you only have a few weeks to reject 'the goods', after that you claim compensation - namely if vw cant sort it, you can repair it (if you can!) and claim the cost of repairs (i.e. no compensation for inconvenience, distress, lost holidays etc). If noone can repair it, then you could sell it (declaring the problem) and claim the loss of value from what it would have been worth as a used vehicle if it had not had this problem. I have no doubt there are legal experts with more recent knowledge who can expand or correct what i have written

 

[GrannyJen]

What I really want, and at last what I seem to have achieved, is a bit of urgency injected into the response from VW.

Jason at SMG has been brilliant but he can only do as VW technical direct and VW technical always seem to be totally dilatory in their responses. Even worse was the deafening silence from VW Customer service who whilst "being on the case" failed to contact me in six weeks during which time the vehicle was off the road for 20 days.

I love my Cali, I think the vehicle is brilliant and only want it back in working order.

 

[shudycamps]

A few years ago, a muscian checked his treasured guitar on board a United Airlines flight who promptly fobbed him off. Hop onto You Tube and type in muscian and United Airlines. After doing thiis he received compensation PDQ. I have in business have threaten with You Tube, FB and Channel 4 plus Watchdog along with my own camera crew in court. The various problems over the years disappeared. I also think Jen, you should also seek legal interpretation, if you are unclear, what VW's legal responsibilities are and the time frame in which they must delivered during the warranty period.

 

[motacyclist]

Talking about a feeling of disappointment, I wonder how bosses at VW felt when they thought they had bought the Rolls Royce car factory only to find it didn't include the name.

Then found out BMW had got it

 

[Goldie]

Just pray you don't need a repair abroad during your third year of warranty. I brought both a Beach and Skoda Yeti to NZ with me. Beach is running fine, but Skoda instrument panel had failed on arrival and it wouldn't pass warranty of fitness (MOT). Although they can be repaired I opted for a new one as the car was under warranty, cost was £2,500 and it had to be sent from the factory in Europe. I had to pay for the repair and Skoda (VW Group) insisted I sent the invoice and diagnostics into the dealer where I purchased the Yeti within 5 days of the repair.

It took from 05 January to 16 June to process the claim despite me emailing them every week or so - it was being processed at head office in Europe and was out of their hands. By the time it was paid I had lost a couple of hundred pounds on the exchange rate. They agreed on 10 July to refund me an additional £217, but would only do it by cheque and couldn't do a bank transfer which is ridiculous in the world of internet banking, e.g. they wanted to send me a cheque to NZ so I post it back to my UK bank - I suggested they drop it into their local NatWest during their lunch break. Skoda have agreed to do the refund through the original dealer which they state can take two weeks and I'm still waiting for the money as the person dealing with me was on annual leave until 03 Aug.

Andy

 

[Skylark2.0]

They have done that, traced it all through to the charger. Replaced the charger. Then traced it from charger to faulty relay. Changed that. Then decided it was a bad earth so replaced earth shunt. Each time it gets worse not better

I wish sometimes I had never reported the original fault. At least I had a camper I could use, charging batteries off the engine with the occasional bonus of getting a partial charge off hook-up - sometimes

My son suggested trying a new hook up cable? I know it has gone beyond that now but might be worth a go? Really sad and frustrated that this has happened to you and I fear for the whole Brand "California" an incident like this. They are pompous fools.