Seeking forum members' advice on what is now "an irresistible force meets immoveable object" dispute I am currently engaged in with the supplying Audi Centre of my current vehicle, acquired new on a silly lockdown deal on a car in stock within the franchise operator's wider network back in the summer.
The supplying Audi Centre is NOT my regular Centre, being located in a completely different part of the UK to me. It is part of a different franchise to my own Centre's dealer group, with which I have had a perfectly amenable relationship over what is nearly two decades of Audi ownership.
I already know that franchised Audi Centres are distinct and different to Audi UK; Audi UK being the importer and the Centres being independently run retail operations. There is, in that sense, no umbilical cord between the two and my contract is with the retailer, not the importer or manufacturer.
Without going into major details here, some cosmetic defects were identified on the the vehicle, all caused by prior adverse human interaction with the car, one of which is potentially a safety issue, within the first few weeks of my ownership. Despite meeting with the Centre's senior staff (a woeful waste of time and effort), the submission and rejection of numerous letters of complaint under the banner of the Consumer Rights Act, 2015 after consulting with Citizens Advice, and recent reference of my extensive case file to Audi UK Customer Services, the situation is at deadlock.
I have no intention of rejecting the vehicle and I have recently modified my demands in an effort to be seen as reasonable. I was offering a negotiated settlement but the Centre has chosen not to match that effort or modify its original position. I have now received the Centre's "final position" letter.
I am fully aware that under the Consumer Rights Act, I now have the option of issuing a "letter before action", essentially giving the Centre notice that unless it responds positively, I can escalate this to legal action by way of the Small Claims Court. To replace or repair the affected areas runs into thousands, not hundreds, of pounds. And while you might incredulously ask, "why didn't you notice this?", it is simply because two of the three areas are minor in size, not easy to spot but are very expensive to rectify. The third and most serious issue only manifests itself in certain lighting conditions. Two are external, one is internal.
While my legal entitlement is valid, I have pulled back from the brink of triggering this action as this is clearly a "last resort" and there is the "risk v reward" conundrum to weigh up. Covid-19 restrictions on daily life also don't help when triggering court action.
Accordingly, I am now putting my case in the hands of The Motor Ombudsman under an ADR (Alternative Dispute Resolution) and have been issued with a case file reference. TMO has been very upfront about the length of time, due to Covid-19, this may take to investigate and rule on....possibly SIX months. And then there is no guarantee of a win. I do not have to accept TMO's ruling as in doing so it will be binding. This then leaves the option of the Small Claims Court to seek redress, but by then the vehicle will be approaching a year old.
That's the preamble; now the request...
Has anyone been in serious dispute with an Audi Centre and found it difficult or impossible to get a result? If so, what did you do next?
Audi UK's Customer Service case managers are essentially toothless; they have no power to dictate to Centres what they should do to rectify customer issues and Audi UK, by extension, seems not to police the Centres, leaving them to self-regulate. There appears to be no accountability to the importer and I am left with the view that the Centre I'm in dispute with has merely closed ranks with the support of it dealer group HQ, frustrating me at every opportunity in the hope that I'll lose interest and drop my complaint.
TMO has confirmed I won't damage my position with them if I choose in parallel to write to Audi UK HQ, attention of Andrew Doyle (UK Director), as TMO would always prefer a settlement to be reached by agreement rather than by one being imposed.
An Audi Centre unconnected with either me or the dispute has suggested that writing to Andrew Doyle would be a useful thing to do, if for no other reason than to bring to his attention the unacceptable actions of an accredited Centre with restorative action hopefully to follow. I'm further advised, anecdotally, that such intervention has happened in the past and the offending outlet told in no uncertain terms to "sort it."
No evidence of that, obviously.
I have even, briefly, considered writing to BBC Watchdog.
Has anyone had experience of Audi UK HQ getting involved in such disputes and forcing a resolution? I'm approaching this from a "tried everything, got nowhere" position, while talking about "brand and reputational" damage caused by the dogma and intractability of a Centre that was happy to take my hard-earned cash a few months ago.
Any suggestions or examples of bad experiences resolved gratefully received.
Thanks.
The supplying Audi Centre is NOT my regular Centre, being located in a completely different part of the UK to me. It is part of a different franchise to my own Centre's dealer group, with which I have had a perfectly amenable relationship over what is nearly two decades of Audi ownership.
I already know that franchised Audi Centres are distinct and different to Audi UK; Audi UK being the importer and the Centres being independently run retail operations. There is, in that sense, no umbilical cord between the two and my contract is with the retailer, not the importer or manufacturer.
Without going into major details here, some cosmetic defects were identified on the the vehicle, all caused by prior adverse human interaction with the car, one of which is potentially a safety issue, within the first few weeks of my ownership. Despite meeting with the Centre's senior staff (a woeful waste of time and effort), the submission and rejection of numerous letters of complaint under the banner of the Consumer Rights Act, 2015 after consulting with Citizens Advice, and recent reference of my extensive case file to Audi UK Customer Services, the situation is at deadlock.
I have no intention of rejecting the vehicle and I have recently modified my demands in an effort to be seen as reasonable. I was offering a negotiated settlement but the Centre has chosen not to match that effort or modify its original position. I have now received the Centre's "final position" letter.
I am fully aware that under the Consumer Rights Act, I now have the option of issuing a "letter before action", essentially giving the Centre notice that unless it responds positively, I can escalate this to legal action by way of the Small Claims Court. To replace or repair the affected areas runs into thousands, not hundreds, of pounds. And while you might incredulously ask, "why didn't you notice this?", it is simply because two of the three areas are minor in size, not easy to spot but are very expensive to rectify. The third and most serious issue only manifests itself in certain lighting conditions. Two are external, one is internal.
While my legal entitlement is valid, I have pulled back from the brink of triggering this action as this is clearly a "last resort" and there is the "risk v reward" conundrum to weigh up. Covid-19 restrictions on daily life also don't help when triggering court action.
Accordingly, I am now putting my case in the hands of The Motor Ombudsman under an ADR (Alternative Dispute Resolution) and have been issued with a case file reference. TMO has been very upfront about the length of time, due to Covid-19, this may take to investigate and rule on....possibly SIX months. And then there is no guarantee of a win. I do not have to accept TMO's ruling as in doing so it will be binding. This then leaves the option of the Small Claims Court to seek redress, but by then the vehicle will be approaching a year old.
That's the preamble; now the request...
Has anyone been in serious dispute with an Audi Centre and found it difficult or impossible to get a result? If so, what did you do next?
Audi UK's Customer Service case managers are essentially toothless; they have no power to dictate to Centres what they should do to rectify customer issues and Audi UK, by extension, seems not to police the Centres, leaving them to self-regulate. There appears to be no accountability to the importer and I am left with the view that the Centre I'm in dispute with has merely closed ranks with the support of it dealer group HQ, frustrating me at every opportunity in the hope that I'll lose interest and drop my complaint.
TMO has confirmed I won't damage my position with them if I choose in parallel to write to Audi UK HQ, attention of Andrew Doyle (UK Director), as TMO would always prefer a settlement to be reached by agreement rather than by one being imposed.
An Audi Centre unconnected with either me or the dispute has suggested that writing to Andrew Doyle would be a useful thing to do, if for no other reason than to bring to his attention the unacceptable actions of an accredited Centre with restorative action hopefully to follow. I'm further advised, anecdotally, that such intervention has happened in the past and the offending outlet told in no uncertain terms to "sort it."
No evidence of that, obviously.
I have even, briefly, considered writing to BBC Watchdog.
Has anyone had experience of Audi UK HQ getting involved in such disputes and forcing a resolution? I'm approaching this from a "tried everything, got nowhere" position, while talking about "brand and reputational" damage caused by the dogma and intractability of a Centre that was happy to take my hard-earned cash a few months ago.
Any suggestions or examples of bad experiences resolved gratefully received.
Thanks.