General: poor customer relations

[shandy]

Have any of you had poor service from Volvo customer relations department?
Following my ongoing problems with my v50 2.0d SE Sport, Ive phoned the customer relations department several times, but they never follow up the ongoing fault. Ive been told that someone is dealing with my issues and they will sent them and email to contact me asap. This never happens. Ive written to them, the dealer (Pilling , Milton Keynes) and Volvo finance. Between them they have not replied and I feel that im banging my head against the wall.
The car has been in and out of the dealer for nearly the past year with intermittent starting problems. They just cant fix it.
I find that they only care about getting money out of you. This car is just a lemon and it may aswell bear all the jokes that skoda suffered in the 80s
sureley im not the only one who feels that this brand is not premium. Volvo have got to go a long way to even scrape the bottom of the barrel.

[quality_shows]

the more threads I read here regarding volvo dealers the more I wish I'd spent a cople of '000 on a older 'proper' volvo with money left over to spend at a good independent. Then again we may just be seeing those small % of cases that are handled poorly by customer 'services'....
On a more serious note if you financed the car then it is the finance company who are legally responsible to you as the hirer (if hire purchased). This being volvo finance you need to involve them asap indicating that you intend to reject the car as being unsatisfactory, that the main dealer has on numerous occassions been given the opportunity the remedy the situation and have failed to do so and that you are prepared to allow them the opportunity to try and remedy the fault a final time within a timescale.
IF you want to take this route I hope you dates and times the car has been to the dealer and hopefully paperwork to show why it was booked in and work done. The problem you facing here is time, in that, you say the car has been in over the last yr, there comes a point where you will be deemed to have 'accepted' the car by contining to use it.
If you have legal cover on your car or house insurance then you could have access to a free legal helpline, I'd say call during the day with a list of points about the situation so you talk to someone a) who is awake and b) may has some experience.
This won't be resolved easily I'm afraid but if you have a case, can return the car to the supplying dealer, arrange other transport, put up with the 'intimidating' letters about adversely affecting your credit rating etc, then you could get a result.
Some useful info can be found here
http://www.bbc.co.uk/wales/x-ray/x_g...s/car1-1.shtml
It may also be worth speaking to volvo customers services again explaining your dissatisfaction and intended course of action, ask to speak someone senior.

Sorry to hear of your problems on this.

EDIT just read your earlier thread and you're solely on the goodwill of volvo on this one.....can't find the smiley for embarrased.........

[Northview]

I have every sympathy. My problems have not been as severe as yours, but still the car (S40 2.0D SE) has been back repeatedly to the dealer without the problems ever having been fully resolved - if at all. Sadly, the amount of time I was losing constantly going back to the dealer meant that eventually I just put it with the problems, so there's no chance that I'd be able to reject my car. To be honest I'm in two minds about it anyway - when it's behaving itself, it's very good: quiet, comfortable, etc., although I'm very disappointed by the fuel economy - or rather the lack of it! It's just that the same faults keep recurring and the service department don't seem to have a clue what to do about it. Every time it goes in it's like they're starting from scratch.

I know I should have taken a firmer line with the dealership, and escalated to Volvo UK if necessary. I think I effectively gave up, and pressure of work meant that I've done practically nothing about it. I'm trying to gear myself up for another 'assault' to see if I can finally get things sorted out.

[shandy]

Im trying to get a customer service manager involved which yet again I will have to wait for them to call back.
We all need to keep pestering Volvo UK as without customers they wont have any products to sell. Damage limitation is what they should be looking for and not pushing us to one side.
I am at a stage that I have nothing to lose, apart from money in the car. Forums and press would have an effect on their sales, which already shows on some threads with potential customers going else where.
All I want to achive is volvo having the car back due to faulty goods.
Like everything, there is good and bad. Maybe im the unlucky one, but I wont go down with out a fight.

[S60-MBS]

Shandy my last chat with Volvo Uk didnt go too well...the fellow from volvo customer relations was just not interested in my problems at all..he was more implying i am to blame for the premature failure of parts in my car ie either i drove to fast or drove too slow..i think volvo has got too arrogant now and customer relations is non existant..lol for a few moments i got the feeling the volvo call centre was India based but i have been corrected now..it was technical advise people i talked to and the guy i chatted to said hes does not understand the technical stuff at all..

[shandy]

I agree, they are useless.....
Today I spoke with Daniel at volvo customer relations (01926 691600) who was about as much use as a chocolate fire guard. When I said that Volvo can have the car back, he said,
"YOU WILL HAVE TO SPEAK WITH THE DEALER IF THAT WHAT YOU WANT TO DO, THATS WHY VOLVO DONT SELL CARS"
I also put it to him that if I went to the press/watchdog, this would affect Volvo's sales. He agreed, but this changed nothing. Maybe falling sales would give them a kick up the backside if they were facing redundancies.
I even spoke with Volvo finance who told me that I cant reject the car as Ive had it more than 6 months. I will need to speak with the dealer (Pilling Milton Keynes). The only usefull piece of information was that the dealer can apply to Volvo for financial support if I want a new car.
DO THEY THINK IM STUPID?
The thought of ever having another Volvo makes my skin crawl.
Now im waiting for a call back from Cliff Boes at Pilling. I feel that im about to waste some more breath!
Maybe Watchdog and the like will be the best way of dealing. The ETM faults last year caused some problems for them and it also prompted a few more customers to get involved.

[S60-MBS]

I was only told of the fact Volvo dealers can apply for financial support from volvo after i got my car sorted...and this was by a dealer who i complained about since owning a Volvo..and they did mention Volvo had responsibility to ensure their equipment in their cars is of satisfactory quality...i mentionwed this to volvo customer services who didnt really give a monkeys!..perhaps your right shandy a mass revolt would be the key to be heard...when i had my Toyota i never had problems with them at all...even BMW they really looked after me...

[AllanG]

I have to agree that Volvo UK seem to have appalling customer relations.

I bought my V50 2.0 SE last Sept with 3 years' free servicing but despite chasing the dealers (Marshalls Cambridge) several times (and they in turn chased Volvo), the paper work confirming the service deal never came through. Eventually, 4 months after I bought the car I received from Volvo not the Service deal but a "Welcome to Volvo" pack as if I had just bought the car last week. One month later, the service certificate eventually arrived and of course it was wrong. It showed diesel rather than petrol engine. A minor point maybe as the Reg No is correct but typical of Volvo's sloppiness.

In addition, I have had a niggling problem with my car since purchase in that there is an intermittent tapping sound from the climate control unit. Damper motors I believe. It's been back 3 times but the dealers say there is nothing wrong which is not true as far as I am concerned.

So I wrote to Volvo Cars at Marlow - which is the address they showed for customer relations on the docs they sent me - about both the delay and inaccuracies on the documentation and the climate control fault. I heard nothing for 3 weeks so then called them and was then put through to a department in Coventry who knew nothing about my correspondence. I said it was addressed to the person shown on my documentation as Volvo Customer Relations Manager and was told " he don't work here no more (sic)". So much for the quality of staff they employ.

I have since faxed all of the info to Coventry, had two different acknowledgements (incompetence again) but heard nothing more for 2 weeks.

I work in an industry (insurance) where we are obliged by law to acknowledge complaints within 5 days even for a £200 pound premium. Volvo on the other hand can just ignore complaints about a £20,000 car.

Pity really. I 've had V40s before and the V50 drives nicely and is more comfortable and once you get used to the rearlights it's not a bad looking car. But as I now realise it's not a Volvo anymore and the old Volvo service and standards seem to have gone.

[CTCNetwork]

Hi,

I can onlt sympathise with those affected by some dealers poor standards and service.
Volvo will ultimately loose out from this, particularly if Volvo UK is unable, or unwilling, to force their dealer network to comparable levels of service.

Dealers are, of course, their own boss in many respects and responsible for their own futures.... Or lack of future..

I am wondering whether this change has anything to do with the change of ownership.??
Afterall Volvo UK is resoposible for maintaining dealer standards, and is directly run by the parent - ford..

Des. . .

[pigapumbu]

Originally Posted by CTCNetwork

Hi,

I can onlt sympathise with those affected by some dealers poor standards and service.
Volvo will ultimately loose out from this, particularly if Volvo UK is unable, or unwilling, to force their dealer network to comparable levels of service.

Dealers are, of course, their own boss in many respects and responsible for their own futures.... Or lack of future..

I am wondering whether this change has anything to do with the change of ownership.??
Afterall Volvo UK is resoposible for maintaining dealer standards, and is directly run by the parent - ford..

Des. . .

Its funny how manufacturers will pay loads of money for marketing surveys like JD and so on just to see how their products are selling or perceptions of its customers. I can save them lots of money. Just need to pay a visit to this forum and read some of the complaints about the dealerships, problems, problem solving etc. Just read another thread about a customer being banned from the dealership just because his boots left an oil trail on their 'gold' floor. (just being sarcastic).

Do any VCUK people use this site for feedback on how they fair on the outside world? Maybe we should compile a few and post it to the top man at VCUK with a cc to Sweden.

cheers