VWFS Service Plan - 2 FOC - Warning around contract length

[craig j]

Hello

Hopefully this is the right area, but wanted to warn owners of an issue I have had with the VW service plan.

I purchased my T6 ocean in December 2019 and as part of taking finance VWFS were offering the 1 minor / 1 major service plan as part of the deal.

I have always been advised by the VW dealers to use the on board computer to notify of services and inspections as I am on the flexible service plan.

The van has finally called for its oil service and inspection is a month or so away and so I went to book in for the major service. During the inspection service last year for brake fluid & trans fluid the dealer was kind enough to advise that we should save the major service for the next major service.

Anyhow, long story short, the service plan has disappeared from the system and the benefit no longer exists. I've contacted VWFS and it would appear that there is a 48 month limit on the service plan and despite my vehicle not requiring it until now, the benefit is no longer valid. I can't find any reference in the contract or any of the paperwork I received so I just wanted to warn others who might end up in a similar situation.

I think its a poor show on VWs part and feel that they should at least warn you in writing that your service contract is about to terminate.

 

[Ch1pbutty]

Hello

Hopefully this is the right area, but wanted to warn owners of an issue I have had with the VW service plan.

I purchased my T6 ocean in December 2019 and as part of taking finance VWFS were offering the 1 minor / 1 major service plan as part of the deal.

I have always been advised by the VW dealers to use the on board computer to notify of services and inspections as I am on the flexible service plan.

The van has finally called for its oil service and inspection is a month or so away and so I went to book in for the major service. During the inspection service last year for brake fluid & trans fluid the dealer was kind enough to advise that we should save the major service for the next major service.

Anyhow, long story short, the service plan has disappeared from the system and the benefit no longer exists. I've contacted VWFS and it would appear that there is a 48 month limit on the service plan and despite my vehicle not requiring it until now, the benefit is no longer valid. I can't find any reference in the contract or any of the paperwork I received so I just wanted to warn others who might end up in a similar situation.

I think its a poor show on VWs part and feel that they should at least warn you in writing that your service contract is about to terminate.

If there is no max term shown on the t&c within the contract, then the 2nd service is still valid.

 

[andyinluton]

Hello

Hopefully this is the right area, but wanted to warn owners of an issue I have had with the VW service plan.

I purchased my T6 ocean in December 2019 and as part of taking finance VWFS were offering the 1 minor / 1 major service plan as part of the deal.

I have always been advised by the VW dealers to use the on board computer to notify of services and inspections as I am on the flexible service plan.

The van has finally called for its oil service and inspection is a month or so away and so I went to book in for the major service. During the inspection service last year for brake fluid & trans fluid the dealer was kind enough to advise that we should save the major service for the next major service.

Anyhow, long story short, the service plan has disappeared from the system and the benefit no longer exists. I've contacted VWFS and it would appear that there is a 48 month limit on the service plan and despite my vehicle not requiring it until now, the benefit is no longer valid. I can't find any reference in the contract or any of the paperwork I received so I just wanted to warn others who might end up in a similar situation.

I think its a poor show on VWs part and feel that they should at least warn you in writing that your service contract is about to terminate.

The absolute maximum between services on the flexible service plan is 24 months. So based on normal mileage that should be a minor at 24months and the major at 48 months.

It sounds like you have had a service last year - thats either very late ie 3+ years for the first service or early for the second one. I don't understand why if you had a service last year you need one so soon?

 

[craig j]

The absolute maximum between services on the flexible service plan is 24 months. So based on normal mileage that should be a minor at 24months and the major at 48 months.

It sounds like you have had a service last year - thats either very late ie 3+ years for the first service or early for the second one. I don't understand why if you had a service last year you need one so soon?

I had the first service in Jan 2022 at 2 years (which is probably why the OBC is 1-2 months later in calling for an oil service - inspection still not due according to van).
VW recommend brake fluid at 3 years so I had an inspection completed and also the haldex fluid changed at my own cost as a precaution.
The 4 year major service is now due - my van has not called for the service until now.
The point of my note was to warn others, that despite being told by 2 dealers to follow the computer in the van, beware that you may exceed the limit of 48 months on the service plan (which I can't find in writing anywhere).

 

[craig j]

The absolute maximum between services on the flexible service plan is 24 months. So based on normal mileage that should be a minor at 24months and the major at 48 months.

It sounds like you have had a service last year - thats either very late ie 3+ years for the first service or early for the second one. I don't understand why if you had a service last year you need one so soon?

I've also just gone back to check my service manual and for flexible service plan it says 'as per service interval display' - nothing about 24 months maximum. Where would I find this info to over-ride the instruction in the service book? I may have missed this somewhere.

 

[Ch1pbutty]

I've also just gone back to check my service manual and for flexible service plan it says 'as per service interval display' - nothing about 24 months maximum. Where would I find this info to over-ride the instruction in the service book? I may have missed this somewhere.

You won't find it. VW are just trying to escape their obligation under the service plan by feeding you false information.

Contact below, they give good free advice:

Citizens Advice

Online free advice from Citizens Advice to help you find a way forward, whatever the problem. Our research enables us to campaign on issues affecting people's lives.

www.citizensadvice.org.uk

 

[andyinluton]

You won't find it. VW are just trying to escape their obligation under the service plan by feeding you false information.

Contact below, they give good free advice:

Citizens Advice

Online free advice from Citizens Advice to help you find a way forward, whatever the problem. Our research enables us to campaign on issues affecting people's lives.

www.citizensadvice.org.uk

Before anyone gets all excited about going legal lets establish the facts! - he's bought a pack of two consecutive services but appears to want to use them on services 1 and 3 not 1 and 2 - hence my queries about the timings of the services.

I've also just gone back to check my service manual and for flexible service plan it says 'as per service interval display' - nothing about 24 months maximum. Where would I find this info to over-ride the instruction in the service book? I may have missed this somewhere.

What services has your van had and at what age & mileage?


The text below is copied from a leaflet about VW vans in general & servicing options.


Service schedules
Some vehicles have the technology to allow a choice of service schedules between Fixed and Flexible.
Fixed Service Schedule:
This schedule means that the vehicle is serviced at a set mileage and/or time. The current schedule equates to one service every 12 months
or 10,000 miles, whichever comes first.
Flexible Service Schedule:
This schedule is dictated by onboard technology that monitors service requirements and oil usage. It is possible that some vehicles can go
24 months or 25,000 miles between services, meaning your vehicle spends less time in the garage and more time on the road for your enjoyment.
Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles, along with Volkswagen Commercial Vehicle Financial Services have analysed which schedule is best suited for you so you get the best driving experience possible.
If you tend to travel 10,000 miles or less per year the Fixed Service Schedule has been activated on your vehicle.
If you travel 10,001 miles or more per year the Flexible Service Schedule has been activated on your vehicle. This has been determined from
the information that you provided when choosing your contract term and mileage.

 

[Perfectos]

I had an situation, Van centre advised my pre paid plan had been “Cancelled “ by VW, when I tried to make a service booking, (posted elsewhere)

Van centre suggested I contact VWCV , which I did they eventually reinstated it. VW stated a 2 year period before expiry, which is complete BS.

I specifically looked at the T&Cs, it is very very clear that the plan is for two service, not time related.
VW are selling a financial product and are bending the law to suit themselves, despite no expiry on the contract terms !

I pointed this out to VW & the fact they sell vans with a variable service schedule ! They conveniently ignored that point !

edit

Service confusion

So, last Wednesday I received a text from Citygate advising me that my Cali is due for a service and inviting me to book online which I did. Shortly after booking I received a phone call advising that the text was sent in error and that because my vehicle is on ‘variable service intervals’ it...

vwcaliforniaclub.com

 

[Perfectos]

Contract wording is shown in this thread = post #9

Fixed price service plan 2017. 2 full 2 interim services

When I bought my van new in 2017 from SMG Tonbridge I took out a fixed price service plan which included 2 full and 2 interim services. I called VW Financial Services today to discuss All In and to my dismay they told me my fixed price service plan had expired (in 2021). I explained to them my...

vwcaliforniaclub.com

Edit:
i should point out that my van was not “due a service“ within two years as it had been fully serviced by the Dealer as part of Warranty work to a leaking oil seal (New engine oil & filter ) my van has had an engine oil & filter change every year from new, year #1by an indie, # 2 VW 1st “small” service, #3VW warranty, #4 Second pre paid “full “ service.

VW own T&Cs do not state an expiry - see the thread above for screen shots of the actual wording

 

[Ch1pbutty]

I had an situation, Van centre advised my pre paid plan had been “Cancelled “ by VW, when I tried to make a service booking, (posted elsewhere)

Van centre suggested I contact VWCV , which I did they eventually reinstated it. VW stated a 2 year period before expiry, which is complete BS.

I specifically lookEd at the T&Cs, it is very very clear that the plan is for two service, not time related.
VW are selling a financial product and are bending the law to suit themselves, despite no expiry on tge contract terms !

I pointed this out to VW & the fact they sell vans with a variable service schedule ! They conveniently ignored that point !

edit

Service confusion

So, last Wednesday I received a text from Citygate advising me that my Cali is due for a service and inviting me to book online which I did. Shortly after booking I received a phone call advising that the text was sent in error and that because my vehicle is on ‘variable service intervals’ it...

vwcaliforniaclub.com

Agree, there is no time limit.

We purchased a service plan from VWFS for our older van for 2 x services. It was was purchased on a Black Friday deal just after a paid service...so was just under a 2 year wait until we could use the 1st service under the plan, next one is due soon according to the MFD.

I only mention the service plan when I drop the van of. Although this time they should have a record of it as the number was shown on the paperwork for the last service. Remember at the time i had to ask for a copy of the service paperwork, they did say that it was recorded digitally so no need - but not much use when we come to sell the van and need to show the buyer service history

+ Edit + Just put my Reg in, and shows as below:

 

[craig j]

Before anyone gets all excited about going legal lets establish the facts! - he's bought a pack of two consecutive services but appears to want to use them on services 1 and 3 not 1 and 2 - hence my queries about the timings of the services.

I have not had my 2nd service yet. I had the option from my dealer to perform additional preventative maintenance to my van so I took this precaution to try and maintain a perfect service record. The 2023 inspection was not a major service and was a health check, brake fluid change and haldex fluid change according to the receipt. My fault for not explaining in detail.

What services has your van had and at what age & mileage?

According to the Complete service record which my dealer printed for me during my last visit.
Registered 12/2019
Inspection with oil change - January 2022 + 10178 miles
Inspection with additional work which was brake & haldex fluid change - April 2023 + 18601 miles which I paid for myself on guidance of the dealer
Vehicle is now due a major service and has 25000 miles

I'm sure this can be argued lots of ways, but the service plan paperwork clearly states 1 minor and 1 major service. I wouldn't call the 2023 inspection a major service and was down to my choice based on recommendation of the dealer.

Again, I just want to warn others to be careful with the time limit and as you have now pointed out having additional preventative work recommended by the dealer which can confuse matters.

At the end of the day, I am no stranger to cars and engineering them, but the VW inspection and flexible service system triggered by the OBC is less than straight forwards when combined with the other information being thrown around. Either follow the vehicle computer or give clear guidance from a schedule.

 

[andyinluton]

I have not had my 2nd service yet. I had the option from my dealer to perform additional preventative maintenance to my van so I took this precaution to try and maintain a perfect service record. The 2023 inspection was not a major service and was a health check, brake fluid change and haldex fluid change according to the receipt. My fault for not explaining in detail.


According to the Complete service record which my dealer printed for me during my last visit.
Registered 12/2019
Inspection with oil change - January 2022 + 10178 miles
Inspection with additional work which was brake & haldex fluid change - April 2023 + 18601 miles which I paid for myself on guidance of the dealer
Vehicle is now due a major service and has 25000 miles

I understand now re the inspection.

OK I agree with you re its a second service thats due - the only thing I would question is why the service is due in a month or two, I would have said it's a month overdue already!

There is no reason why your service plan shouldn't cover this due service..

 

[craig j]

I believe that the MFD starts counting the date of the next service from the date of the previous service when it is reset. My dealer has a busy workshop so there is a waiting time for a service. As a result the first was done in January even though booked in November in advance of the MFD calling for the first service. Therefore the next service was not called by the MFD until the end of Jan. I actually called the dealer ahead of the MFD warning again and they told me not to worry and just follow the MFD...

This gets even more complex with the MFD calling for inspections at different points, even when on the flexible 2 year service plan.

I've lodge a complaint with VWFS which I expect will be rejected by them in 8 weeks time. At that point I will contact the Motor Ombudsman as recommended by Ch1pbutty. Thank you!

​

 

[Ch1pbutty]

I understand now re the inspection.

OK I agree with you re its a second service thats due - the only thing I would question is why the service is due in a month or two, I would have said it's a month overdue already!

There is no reason why your service plan shouldn't cover this due service..

Sometimes its a bit of a game.

- Dealer has called me every month for past 4 months telling me that my service is overdue and needs booking asap. If I didnt check I would have taken their word for it and booked the van in 4 months ago, meaning van would have been serviced 6 months early.

- Each time they call tell I they its not overdue according to the MFD, and will book an appointment later. MFD (today) shows 50Days until its due, mileage limit not reached.

- It would be better if they said - //According to our records, and based upon previous mileage in our system your service is due in 6months, would you like to book in advance//

If I call today and by some miracle get a cancellation slot next week, then I have had the van serviced 40 days early, and the clock for the next due service starts running. The saved days do not extend the clock in the same way that booking an early MOT does. Hence always try to get the service as close as possible to the overdue date.

That said, looks like we might be selling so might need an earlier service after all!

 

[andyinluton]

Have you tried buying another service plan? that will ( with rare exceptions) show if the system thinks you already have a plan in place as Ch1pbutty demonstrated above.

Absolutely pointless waiting for the Obudsman etc that will take months. If you cant prove to the dealer that you have a valid service plan how do you intend proving it to the ombudsman? - van needs servicing now, it's the garage that sold you the service plan you need to be shouting at. Which dealer is it?

 

[Corradobrit]

My Audi scheduled prepaid service plan had a time element from the date the car was first registered. OP might have run foul of this regardless of the mileage.

 

[Perfectos]

My Audi scheduled prepaid service plan had a time element from the date the car was first registered. OP might have run foul of this regardless of the mileage.

The wording of the VW pre paid plan does not stipulate any dates, purely two services (as paid for) !

 

[RockinNRollin]

I now need to check the wording of the latest service plans; I am fairly sure the one I got with mine last summer was "3 years free servicing", but I feel I need to check the small print on this - I noticed my MFD suggests a 2 year interval, but I definitely want the oil and filter changing every 12 months.

 

[california.will-g]

Bought mine during happy camper event last year, says first 3 services as required, no mention of a time limit

 

[Sheffield10]

In true VW / VWFS style, the wording will be different in each place you look - happy camper offer vs. VWFS Servicing Agreement vs. VWFS 'Manage my Finance' Account. In my case the only place an expiry date is mentioned is on the VWFS 'Manage my Finance' Account - where it says my servicing contract end date is 6 years after the start date (offer was part of the Happy Camper deal). There is no mention of the free MOT, which I missed when staring at the small print, so I'm sure VW will go to great lengths to deny that was ever part of the offer

On my previous van, where the offer was for 4 services, the expiry date was 4 years after the start date, so go figure. The only place I have found an expiry date mentioned is on the https://myvwcvfinance.vwfs.co.uk/dashboard once I have logged in.

 

[RockinNRollin]

Used to be the case (maybe I'm going back a long way here) that there were two types of service, "minor" and "major", but even the minor involved more than just an oil change, included things like lubricating hinges/lock barrels etc. etc.

 

[Peter & Christine]

Hello

Hopefully this is the right area, but wanted to warn owners of an issue I have had with the VW service plan.

I purchased my T6 ocean in December 2019 and as part of taking finance VWFS were offering the 1 minor / 1 major service plan as part of the deal.

I have always been advised by the VW dealers to use the on board computer to notify of services and inspections as I am on the flexible service plan.

The van has finally called for its oil service and inspection is a month or so away and so I went to book in for the major service. During the inspection service last year for brake fluid & trans fluid the dealer was kind enough to advise that we should save the major service for the next major service.

Anyhow, long story short, the service plan has disappeared from the system and the benefit no longer exists. I've contacted VWFS and it would appear that there is a 48 month limit on the service plan and despite my vehicle not requiring it until now, the benefit is no longer valid. I can't find any reference in the contract or any of the paperwork I received so I just wanted to warn others who might end up in a similar situation.

I think its a poor show on VWs part and feel that they should at least warn you in writing that your service contract is about to terminate.

Thank you for sharing that.

I have the same plan and have been assured that the 2-year term is not strictly followed and that the the two services are honoured even if they extended beyond the 2-year terms stated the plan.
I will go back and reconfirm this now.

 

[scottk]

Used to be the case (maybe I'm going back a long way here) that there were two types of service, "minor" and "major", but even the minor involved more than just an oil change, included things like lubricating hinges/lock barrels etc. etc.

The oil service is the minor but still includes a health check.

 

[craig j]

Hi All

Just a quick update on the results of my complaint to VWFS. They have written to say that I didnt use my service plan as required (within 4 years) and it is non-refundable. However as a goodwill gesture they have transferred the cost of the outstanding service to me. Just a shame that I had to waste time and effort to get to this solution but it is a positive outcome for me.

What has become obvious is that I need to change dealers. The amount of misinformation and confusion from them regarding what needs to be done is becoming evident. They pushed that I did a haldex and brake fluid change last year and then told me it was outstanding again this year. The one issue i needed resolving under warranty they won't touch because it was an existing warranty issue resolved by another dealer (the foils to prevent the roof corrosion are coming off). They insist I need to go to the original dealer who performed the fix, however they are not easy to get to. What happens if it is a more significant issue and you've moved to another part of the country. It's not great customer service tbh for a very expensive product.

I hope this journey regarding the service plan helps others who may fall foul of the rules (which arent written anywhere )

 

[colintfcolintf]

Good to see something positive
out of interest, where are you? Who do you need to change away from, and who is original dealer.
dealers can make or break our ownership experiences