VW Commercial Dealers Poor Communication

[ArunAlec]

Anybody had dealings with vw Hatfield ?
Having a really bad time with them at the moment !
Just bought a 12 month old vw crafter paid 30k it was delivered to me on the 3rd of November 2018 with a large dent in the side (not there when I went for a test drive ) two weeks earlier, before I got the keys and inspected the vehicle I asked the delivery driver what the dent was and he said he never noticed it before , I signed for the vehicle and reported on the signed document about the dent and immediately sent an email to the garage manager , I had to take it back to the garage for them to inspect it and was told “don’t worry we will sort it out “ this was nearly 3 weeks ago so I’ve asked for my money back , they have now denied this damage was done before and have said that it was done after I did the walk around and signed for it !! I’m so disappointed been in touch with customer care and they say it’s down to sales and not a defect ? So I’m stuck waiting for there head of business Paul Weldon to get back to me .
I know this is not Cali related but been a member here for 4 years and did not know where to turn .

Just to clarify.. You signed for receipt of the van, with a written comment on the form stating that there was dent and the form went back to the garage with the delivery driver.
Are they saying the dent occurred after you paid for it but prior to delivery, ie in their premises but under your ownership?

 

[Logi Bear]

Thanks for you reply ,
No they are saying that it must have happened after my walk around at my house , I had to pay for the van in full before they would deliver it . I pointed out that before I had a chance of getting the keys to inspect the van in full ( inside and out I pointed to the dent and said to the driver “what’s that dent” he said he hadn’t noticed it before he got in the van to deliver to me . I signed for the van and pointed out on the paperwork about the dent but they are twisting this and saying I was talking about the wood protection panels on the inside ? How can dent wood ? I sent a email with photos back to the dealership for my protection on the same day as hand over .
I’m awaiting head of business to get back in touch a Mr Paul Weedon but been waiting 3 days now .

Just wondering if anybody has had dealings with them as I know they sell California,s .

 

[VW Guru]

There was a problem with the side panels sucking in at speed does it look like it’s been hit ? If not I wonder how fast it has been driven as this may have caused the problem I will look up the technical info

 

[westfalia]

That is one hell of a dent.

 

[Meoncoast]

I know were to add a window

 

[Logi Bear]

There was a problem with the side panels sucking in at speed does it look like it’s been hit ? If not I wonder how fast it has been driven as this may have caused the problem I will look up the technical info

Thanks for your reply
Don’t think it has been hit , if you get close up and look at it face on its very hard to see but side on it looks really bad, very interesting to hear about the panels sucking in at speed as the front panel on the other side is very slightly convex but not heard of panels sucking in at speed maybe a production defect ? As this is the New generation crafter maybe they are using thinner metal ?

 

[VW Guru]

Thanks for your reply
Don’t think it has been hit , if you get close up and look at it face on its very hard to see but side on it looks really bad, very interesting to hear about the panels sucking in at speed as the front panel on the other side is very slightly convex but not heard of panels sucking in at speed maybe a production defect ? As this is the New generation crafter maybe they are using thinner metal ?

It was a problem with the new crafter when it come out and there is some technical info on it I will look it up in the morning

 

[Logi Bear]

It was a problem with the new crafter when it come out and there is some technical info on it I will look it up in the morning

Thank you for your help VW Guru

 

[VW Guru]

Thank you for your help VW Guru

Hi the technical information relates to a strengthening bonder being placed between the side panel and the reinforcement but this depends on age of the vehicle. How old is the crafter ? Also has the vehicle been ply lined ?

 

[Logi Bear]

Hi the technical information relates to a strengthening bonder being placed between the side panel and the reinforcement but this depends on age of the vehicle. How old is the crafter ? Also has the vehicle been ply lined ?

Hi there , the crafter is just 12 months old 67 plate and yes it has been ply lined but I don’t know how long for ?
When I first saw the vehicle and had a test drive I inspected the rear and noticed that the ply lining adjacent to the damaged panel was loose but was told that it would be reattached before hand over I never noticed the dent but the vehicle was parked close to other vans so I could not view from afar so I think now that the damage was already done and they had removed the ply line to try to fix it !

 

[Logi Bear]

Hi there , the crafter is just 12 months old 67 plate and yes it has been ply lined but I don’t know how long for ?
When I first saw the vehicle and had a test drive I inspected the rear and noticed that the ply lining adjacent to the damaged panel was loose but was told that it would be reattached before hand over I never noticed the dent but the vehicle was parked close to other vans so I could not view from afar so I think now that the damage was already done and they had removed the ply line to try to fix it !

I don’t trust this company one bit especially since the manager Michael Shults states that the damage was done after hand over ! Just a blatant lie . That’s why I have asked for a refund and I have told them to pick the van up from my house as it’s been sat there now since the 6/11 .

 

[westfalia]

noticed that the ply lining adjacent to the damaged panel was loose but was told that it would be reattached before hand over

It was loose because the door had been whacked on the outside
with a giant rugby ball.
Hopefully you will get it resolved by the dealer.

 

[westfalia]

I don’t trust this company one bit especially since the manager Michael Shults states that the damage was done after hand over ! Just a blatant lie . That’s why I have asked for a refund and I have told them to pick the van up from my house as it’s been sat there now since the 6/11 .

Is the time limit not 2 weeks on a contract ?

 

[Logi Bear]

It was loose because the door had been whacked on the outside
with a giant rugby ball.
Hopefully you will get it resolved by the dealer.

Well they are not wanting to play ball now!

 

[Logi Bear]

Well they are not wanting to play ball now!

I don’t know about the two weeks but I did put a complaint from day one , hope to get it resolved in the end will keep you posted , just to warn others really about this company .... VW HATFIELD!
Thanks .

 

[VW Guru]

So It would have been effected by the bonding issues. If the ply lining was screwed into the reinforcement bar behind the damage it’s possible the ply has exaggerated the weakness

 

[westfalia]

So It would have been effected by the bonding issues. If the ply lining was screwed into the reinforcement bar behind the damage it’s possible the ply has exaggerated the weakness

What a star you are guru.
Looking at the pic it makes sense that the outer panel has been
pulled in by screwing the ply on.

 

[Logi Bear]

What a star you are guru.
Looking at the pic it makes sense that the outer panel has been
pulled in by screwing the ply on.

Wow ! well done Guru , this should help my case now , thank you so much

 

[Logi Bear]

Wow ! well done Guru , this should help my case now , thank you so much

As I said before I have been a member on this site for 4 years now and I knew I would get good advice from you good people , all the best from Logi Bear

 

[Logi Bear]

As I said before I have been a member on this site for 4 years now and I knew I would get good advice from you good people , all the best from Logi Bear

Hi vw guru , been in touch with vw Hatfield about this panel damage due to panels sucking in at speed due to bonding issues and they say they have never heard of it but are not denying it either , looks like I am going to take it to a vw commercial closer to me for an inspection would you be able to let me know where I can get the information on this bonding issues so I can point it out to them or maybe even print it off and give them a copy anything to help my case please .
Logi bear .

 

[VW Guru]

Hi vw guru , been in touch with vw Hatfield about this panel damage due to panels sucking in at speed due to bonding issues and they say they have never heard of it but are not denying it either , looks like I am going to take it to a vw commercial closer to me for an inspection would you be able to let me know where I can get the information on this bonding issues so I can point it out to them or maybe even print it off and give them a copy anything to help my case please .
Logi bear .

Hi unfortunately we are not allowed to print information off however there is a technical bulletin on it and when the problem first occurred it was released to all the vw dealers via hub which is our internal communication platform. Unfortunately I’m on leave for the next two weeks how ever I will try and help if I can

 

[Logi Bear]

Hi unfortunately we are not allowed to print information off however there is a technical bulletin on it and when the problem first occurred it was released to all the vw dealers via hub which is our internal communication platform. Unfortunately I’m on leave for the next two weeks how ever I will try and help if I can

If you could please that would be great

 

[Logi Bear]

Hi VW Guru ,
Really good news , I sent an email to head of business at VW Hatfield Mr Paul Weedon explaining about the dent in the van side panel and that it was a known fault on the vw crafter due to bonding issues ! And that vw knew all about it I also told him that i got the information off a vw club site where i had posted about his garage and the bad customer service that i had received , he explained that he had never heard of this bonding issue but he would look into it and get back to me , Well the next day he called to say that VW bradford had not only heard of this but had fixed many with the same problem and apologised profusley. He got bradford to get in touch with me and it was in fixed by their other branch in Birstall who informed me that they are correcting 2 a day the guy there did an excellent job and the panel just popped out no damage at all.

Well chuffed and the van looks brilliant now and something to be proud of .
So thanks so much for your information it would never have got resolved without your help .
Logi Bear .

 

[Logi Bear]

I would also like to thank Head of business at VW Hatfield Mr Paul Weedon who once he had this information he took prompt action and thanked me for pointing the problem out to him . Great guy

 

[VW Guru]

Hi VW Guru ,
Really good news , I sent an email to head of business at VW Hatfield Mr Paul Weedon explaining about the dent in the van side panel and that it was a known fault on the vw crafter due to bonding issues ! And that vw knew all about it I also told him that i got the information off a vw club site where i had posted about his garage and the bad customer service that i had received , he explained that he had never heard of this bonding issue but he would look into it and get back to me , Well the next day he called to say that VW bradford had not only heard of this but had fixed many with the same problem and apologised profusley. He got bradford to get in touch with me and it was in fixed by their other branch in Birstall who informed me that they are correcting 2 a day the guy there did an excellent job and the panel just popped out no damage at all.

Well chuffed and the van looks brilliant now and something to be proud of .
So thanks so much for your information it would never have got resolved without your help .
Logi Bear .

Hi @Logi Bear im so glad that you managed to get this problem rectified and that the dealership apologized for there mistakes. I hope they learn a lesson form this and look at the technical information supplied by vw more from now on. Hope that you enjoy driving your crafter for meany years to come,for a large vehicle they are so comfortable and easy to drive.