Dear Sir/Madam
Firstly I am very unhappy with the customer service offered by TATA Vereeniging and TATA Head Office. My report has NOT been taken into account and I certainly want to take this matter further as I feel my consumer rights have been violated. I do not know who to approach any further on this matter and would like advice on where to proceed.
The following are responses received via email:
From: "Gerhard Mocke " <[email protected]>
Date: Tue, 2 Oct 2012 14:17:21 +0200
To: <[email protected]>
Subject: Telcoline
Hi Mrs Moore
Attached please find a copy of my reply to Tata SA which I think is self-explanatory, hence the phone call to you from Lise.
Please advise ASAPregarding the way forward, as standing fees will be charged @ R150.00 per day as we cannot have a dispute hanging without resolution and a vehicle occupying a work bay in my workshop for an indefinite period of time.
Regards
Gerhard
From: Gerhard Mocke [mailto:[email protected]]
Sent: 25 September 2012 03:09 PM
To: 'Customer Care - Schalk Lubbe' ([email protected]); Andriehet Hattingh - TATA SA ([email protected])
Cc: [email protected]
Report: Tata Telcoline 2.0 S/C
Reg: ZFF839GP
VIN: MAT37402159R33211
Claim #N/A
Mileage: 103747
Date: 25/09/2012
The following was found when vehicle came in for repairs:
- Vehicle was towed in by us after client requested our help because the vehicle wouldn’t start. According to client the vehicle had been to another repair center who advised they would have to strip the engine in order to ascertain the nature of the problem. I advised client that according to the description of the problem, the vehicle more than likely had a blown head gasket and that the head would indeed have to be stripped to determine the extent of the damage. Mileage at the time 102141km.
- Vehicle was repaired and client collected vehicle. At some stage client came in and spoke to my foreman about excessive black smoke, upon which she was advised that the vehicle had to be booked in to determine what caused the black smoke. This never happened.
- Client contacted us again on 14/09/2012 stating the vehicle had cut out whilst driving and requested we tow the vehicle in to attend to the problem.
- Vehicle was towed in – mileage 103747, a total of 1606 km’s travelled since the repair.
- Initial assessment indicated that there was no coolant in the vehicle’s radiator and a lack of compression indicated at least a blown head gasket. It is also evident that subsequent to the repair carried out on the vehicle, certain hose clamps on the water pipe going to the heater radiator, were replaced and the pipe was also rerouted and this caused the pipe to chaff through resulting in a coolant leak. This caused the vehicle to overheat and the resulting damage.
- I contacted Mr Moore and asked him to come in and see what I was referring to, and I also advised him that we could not honor a warranty in a case like this. The reason being:
- Someone had replaced the clamps and rerouted the water hose.
- Client’s wife indicated to me and my foreman when we went to tow the vehicle that they noticed there was a coolant loss and they topped up the coolant. According to her there was no visible leak and the vehicle never overheated. If the owner notices that there is a coolant loss it should be brought to the repairer’s attention to be attended to immediately – failure to do so is neglect on the owner/driver’s behalf. The owner is not absolved of any responsibility as to the proper maintenance of the vehicle just because there is a warranty on repairs carried out.
- The heat gauge would have indicated that the vehicle was running at a higher than normal temperature indicating a possible problem – why ignore it!?
We extend a warranty of 1 year or 20 000km on all repairs but as mentioned before this does not absolve the owner of all responsibility with regards XXXXX XXXXX proper maintenance and upkeep of the vehicle.
Should you have any queries please don’t hesitate to contact the writer.
Regards,
Gerhard Mocke
Service Manager
From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]]
Sent: 02 October 2012 02:40 PM
To: Gerhard Mocke
Subject: Tata Telcoline ZFF839GP
Good Day
Regretfully your attached document cannot be opened on my handheld so I am unable to see it. My question is why as a courtesy we were not kept informed?
As both parties require a speedy resolution because you can't have a vehicle occupying a work bay in your workshop for an indefinite period of time and we need our vehicle for business we will forward all matters on to the Motor Oumbudsman for their urgent attention.
Thank you
Debbie Moore
Sent via my BlackBerry from Vodacom
From: "Gerhard Mocke " <[email protected]>
Date: Tue, 2 Oct 2012 15:13:35 +0200
To: <[email protected]>
Subject: RE: Tata Telcoline ZFF839GP
Hi Mrs Moore
I am sorry you weren’t kept in the loop by Tata SA. Once a case is referred to them by you, the client, we communicate with them and not the client for obvious reasons.
We welcome your decision to refer the matter to the MIO ,as a matter of fact, we would prefer it.
I must stress however that standing fees as mentioned will be charged if the MIO finds in our favour!
Regards
Gerhard Mocke
Good Day Andriehet
Please can you update me at your earliest convenience on this matter. As you can see Tata Vereeniging has asked us to take the matter further and we will proceed accordingly.
Regards
Debbie Moore (Mrs)
Sent via my BlackBerry from Vodacom - let your email find you!
EMAIL RECEIVED 3 October 2012
Mrs Moore
Thank you for taking the time to write to our offices, your feedback enables us to improve our customer service.
We have investigated the matter and found that:
*The vehicle was towed to TATA Vereeniging for not starting the 29/06/2012 – mileage 102 141km
*TATA Vereeniging diagnosed the vehicle and found the head gasket blown
*The dealership replaced the cylinder head, head gasket, accelerator cable, battery (supplied by you) and starter
* You informed the dealership about excessive black smoke, dealership advised you to book vehicle in for further diagnosis which was not done
*You reported to the dealership on the 14/09/2012, the vehicle is cutting out while driving – mileage 103 747km
*Vehicle towed to TATA Vereeniging for diagnosis
*Dealer found that there was no coolant in the vehicles radiator and certain hose clamps on the water pipe going to the heater radiator were replaced
*The pipe was also rerouted, this caused the pipe to chaff through resulting in a coolant leak.
*The coolant leak caused the vehicle to over heat
*Gerhard advised that you were aware of the coolant leak as you reported it to the workshop foreman
Unfortunately from H/O side we cannot attend to the matter it needs to be taken up with TATAVereeniging directly
We do apologise for the delay and inconvenience
Kind Regards,
Andriëhet Hattingh
Customer Care Supervisor
Accordian Investments (Pty) Ltd
A Distributor of TATA Vehicles
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Fax: +27 11(NNN) NNN-NNNN/a>
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E-Mail: [email protected]
I received and opened the Report given by TATA Vereeniging dated 25/09/2012 and would like to comment on certain issues:
Point 2: We emailed Gerhard Mocke asking to make arrangements to bring the vehicle in as I was very ill with encephalitis. Our request was ignored.
Point 5: The radiator had been topped up the night before the incident by Mr Moore. As soon as the vehicle cut out, I switched off the engine and the vehicle was pushed to a property to stand until it could be collected.
Point 6: On Friday 21 September 2012I went in to see Gerhard Mocke about the vehicle. He made the insinuation to me that “someone else” had worked on the vehicle after it had left his workshop. This is not so and I challenge him to prove otherwise – stating the clamps have been replaced and the water hose re-routed as proof cannot be justified. Only Tata Vereeniging has worked on this vehicle and it is as we collected from them. At no time was there any indication that the engine was overheating – the temperature gauge read its half way (normal). There was no indication that there was anything wrong with the engine while driving it, except we complained about the excessive smoke.
Point 7: the heat gauge read normal (it was sitting between the C and H on the monitor) – at no time did we have any indication that the engine was running at a higher temperature than normal. With our sensitivity to the matter, we are more vigilant on monitoring the water and temperature of the vehicle.
I truly believe that our consumer rights have been violated and that now we are being “bullied” into removing the vehicle and to “go away”. We cannot meet the expense for the work to be re-done and we are concerned that the workmanship will once again be shoddy, with us footing yet another bill that we can ill afford. As I would like this matter finalized as soon as possible I look forward to a speedy resolution to the impasse.
My immediate question is - should I remove my vehicle from TATA Vereeniging (I am scared they will again falsely accuse me of having someone else tamper with their work). I need my vehicle for my business which is being severely hampered by me not using it so a speedy resolution would be appreciated. I also cannot download the form from the Motor Industry Ombudsman but again I am nervous that my case will not be heard fairly.
Kindest regards
Debbie Moore (Mrs)
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