Bonnet Paint Defect

[happypirate]

Hi,

 

First post I've made and unfortunately It's not a good one. Basically I'm at a sticking point with the paint warranty on my 15 plate Octavia Vrs and so I'm looking for advice and what, if anything, I can do.

 

I've had the car since new and when I first cleaned it I noticed a slight issue with the paint on the bonnet (see attached, a grey line under the lacquer.) Not a major issue and with moving house and jobs I really didn't want to do anything about it. Fast forward 18 months and there is an issue with with paint on the spoiler (known issue apparently) so I decided to get them both looked at by Skoda. They arrange to have someone come out from PVWI paint specialist to have a look at Faintree Skoda. They confirm the paint is thin across the front of the bonnet, roughly a third to half the depth of the rest of the car. Seems straight forward enough, they send the report off with a view to have the bonnet resprayed. They come back to me a couple of weeks later saying it has been accepted and wanting to arrange a date for a respray and to have the spoiler replaced.  A couple of weeks after this they turn around and tell me they wont cover the bonnet as the factory has no reports of a repair. I've spoken to Skoda customer service who were no help, it took them 12 days to say they wont do anything. They suggest I pay for my own paint inspection, which I'm obviously not keen on.

 

This just seems mad to me. They're suggesting that I've had the front edge of the bonnet buffed down to half the depth of the rest of the car. Some how this has caused a discolouration of paint under the lacquer... Surely this is impossible . I've spoken to Horton Skoda where I purchased the car who have no record of the bonnet being touched in the PDI so currently I'm stuck with it.

 

Where can I go from here? If anywhere. 

 

Has anyone else had something similar?

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Ootohere]

Just confirm with SKODA UK CUSTOMER SERVICES in a reply in writing from them  that they suggest you pay for an Independent Experts Report on the paintwork and when it is found to be a Manufacturing or Material Fault they will be paying for the Report & the Repair to Factory Spec, that is correct Factory Spec not as their Quality Control Failure you purchased.

 

Or they can get an Expert Report done ASAP and the repair / replacement panels or whatever.

 

Maybe the Factory has no record of a repair after manufacturing and maybe the Transport Company and Supplying Dealer never bothered submitting one, as sometimes happens, as they well know at SKODA UK CUSTOMER SERVICES.

Edited 18 April, 2017 by Awayoffski

[happypirate]

Thanks for the reply Awayoffski,

 

I've managed to speak to the person who did the original paint inspection and he doesn't know why they haven't approved the work. It'll cost me £180 to have him come back and write the same report but whether this will change Skoda's mind or not I don't know.

 

Skoda wont give the me the original paint report as it's now "in their internal system". 

 

Waiting for Skoda Customer Services to come back to say they'll reimburse me in writing but this could take a while. They wanted pictures and details of whats happens so far as they have no power to do anything apparently. 

 

I'll keep this updated with what happens next for anyone interested in reading or who find themselves in a similar situation. 

 

and another picture for fun. 

 

 

[Ootohere]

If some 'Communications Manager' @ Skoda UK is not paying attention to the report they already have no point you paying for that one to submit.

 

See what comes back after someone at SKODA UK get to see this thread, and if they reconsider.

 

So it was FAINTREE SKODA & PVWI Paint Specialist that have looked and inspected the car,

 

?

Who at SKODA UK CUSTOMER SERVICES knocked back the Warranty claim?  Did they sign the refusal?

Edited 18 April, 2017 by Awayoffski

[happypirate]

Aye, FAINTREE SKODA took on the warranty claim and got PVWI Paint Specialist inspect the defect (apparently this is who Skoda use for all paint inspections). Then the report was submitted through someone at Skoda Warranty called Rob. It then got approved initially but later rejected from by the Factory. As for SKODA UK CUSTOMER SERVICES I believe her name was Alisha who reviewed the case and said they can't do anything to overturn the warranty department. I've had no written refusal signed by anybody to knock back the claim. Just a phone call from the dealership and some reference numbers.

 

Also waiting for a call back from PVWI to see if they can make Skoda reconsider.  

 

[Ootohere]

Well that will be ALISHA @ SKODA UK Customer Services that maybe needs to go and get trained up a bit more do her job and getting speaking to the Warranty Department because since Skoda UK got Duncan Movassaghi as the CEO or Brand Director or head been counter they seem to forget that the Factory faults or Dealership after sales warranty claims need dealt with properly.

 

Alasdair Stewart as Brand Director was full of how good Customer Services was, Duncan Movassaghi seems to just be a believer in employees 'Just Say No.'

Lets see how long he stays in his position.

After Sales Care should be a doddle to someone with his skills, maybe just not in the UK car industry though.

[happypirate]

thanks Awayoffski , it sounds like you've had to do this before 

[happypirate]

Further developments. 

 

I've managed to get hold of the paint report from the very helpful PVWI Paint Specialists which states: 

• Quote

   

  • Vehicle immaculate. Dry and bright conditions

  • Defect is a colour difference on the swage line close to the front end of the bonnet.

    Not easily seen and difficult to take a picture but it is apparent..

  • Film weight shows that the front end of the bonnet has been worked on –in factory –and the film build is now down to 55 microns close to the Skoda badge.

  • This is way under specification and stone chipping and corrosion could occur.

  • In my opinion the bonnet should be repainted to the correct specification.

   

And the paint on the bonnet is 55 microns thick rather than the 90-120 everywhere else.

 

They have spoken to Rob Pratt at Skoda warranty who has dealt with the claim but this has just reiterated that because there is no record of a repair at the factory so they wont honour the claim. 

 

Zalica from Skoda Customer Services (Not Alisha sorry) Has been in touch with Faintree Skoda to see if they will foot the bill for the repair due to them saying the claim was approved before it was. This isn't something I really want to pursue though as they have been really helpful in another issue and it's not their fault there's a paint defect.

 

Zalica's now gone on holiday for a week so I imagine this will float around a desk till she's back. 

 

Chris from the Warranty Dept at Horton Skoda has been helpful in pulling out the original paperwork for the vehicle sale to see if there was anything on there that would indicate a repair, but that was a dead end. 

 

So as it stands I've sent pictures to Skoda Customer Services and I'm waiting to see if they will pay for a second paint inspection, although I can't see it helping much at this stage. 

 

 

I don't see how they could read that report and say it's not their problem 

 

 

Is there a financial ombudsman or something similar I could contact for paint warranty issues? Any suggestions on where to go next? 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[RapidPaul]

Yep: https://www.themotorombudsman.org

[happypirate]

Cheers Paul.

 

If Customer Services are no help i'll give them a try. 

[loveman]

When I had my Skoda I kept it in good condition, if you knew there was an issue 18 months ago with your bonnet common sense would dictate to take it back right away and raise this issue not wait a year and a half after finding the paint defect. The spoiler on the vrs is crap I had 6 new ones in 3 years of ownership, good luck with your bonnet complaint.

 

[happypirate]

Cheers.

 

Obviously in hindsight it would have been worth it to take it straight back. At the time though I was moving house and work, I didn't need or want the extra hassle. Only reason I decided to do something about it now is due to the issue with the spoiler, two birds with one stone and all. Not that it should matter though as it's a 3 year warranty.

 

Out of interest whats been wrong with your spoilers? Mines got small bubbles appearing under the paint which Skoda have heard of before. It's something to do with additional parts being fitted after they've been shipped here apparently.  

[Rodge]

This thread may be worth a read for someone else's experience of persuading Skoda to pay up on a disputed warranty claim.

[happypirate]

 Thanks Rodge, makes for an interesting read.

 

It's ridiculous that Orville had to put 4 months into getting their money back but I'm glad they got it sorted in the end.

[happypirate]

GOOD NEWS

After speaking with the very helpful Shannon at Skoda Customer Services and sending her all the details (photos and PVWI's paint report) they have agreed to pay for the respray. 

 

Just waiting for a date to have the work carried out now. Big relief 

 

 

 

[WayTooTall]

Great news.

[Auric Goldfinger]

On 18/04/2017 at 19:20, AwaoffSki said:

Well that will be ALISHA @ SKODA UK Customer Services that maybe needs to go and get trained up a bit more do her job

 

On 19/04/2017 at 18:21, happypirate said:

 

Zalica from Skoda Customer Services (Not Alisha sorry)

 

 

 

This might be the same Zalica who took on my warranty claim when my 230 was poorly.

 

She doesn't know what a gearbox or drive shafts are either.  More training I think George ? We got to the point of she wouldn't ring me anymore, she texted me instead, very unprofessional 

 

Edited 29 December, 2017 by Auric Goldfinger

[Ootohere]

At least some written record.

As to there verbals, not worth the paper / type not written on.

 

The Skoda UK Customer Services Communication Mangers do need pulled up on who makes the decisions, and if they are trained in knocking things back first, and again until customers give up.