should I dispute bill & who to complain to?

[bigasotonuk]

Hi,
Everybody seems to want you escalate this to MB Head Office, but keep it within the dealer, and give him an opportunity to answer and resolve the issues first, only use MB Head Office as a very last resort, and even then word your letter very carefully and accurately.
All the best, hope you get it sorted.

 

[mercmadjim]

Mr Dermot Kelly,
Managing Director,
Mercedes-Benz UK Limited,
Tongwell,
Milton Keynes,
MK15 8BA

Tel; 01908 245000

Mr Wilfrieid Steffen,
President & CEO

Ditto Address


Mr Neil Williamson,
Managing Director,
Mercedes-Benz Direct

Ditto address

When/if you write to these people, mark the envelope PRIVATE AND CONFIDENTIAL, almost sure they will open it themselves then, otherwise their secretary will deal with it.

 

[robertjrt]

Hi,
Everybody seems to want you escalate this to MB Head Office, but keep it within the dealer, and give him an opportunity to answer and resolve the issues first, only use MB Head Office as a very last resort, and even then word your letter very carefully and accurately.
All the best, hope you get it sorted.

Good advice. As it would seem once your letter reaches MB Milton Keynes it is then out of the dealers responsibility and will follow a well worn path.

Put a time limit on any correspondence and always be reasonable, but, firm.

Remember all correspondence can/will be disclosed in Court, so keep that fact always in mind.

 

[SQ_W211]

Hi,
Everybody seems to want you escalate this to MB Head Office, but keep it within the dealer, and give him an opportunity to answer and resolve the issues first, only use MB Head Office as a very last resort, and even then word your letter very carefully and accurately.
All the best, hope you get it sorted.

I agree with Andy, Dealer should be your first resort to resolve the issue, if he is not able to resolve issue or keep messing you around then you may wish to write to MB HQ.

I am sure if they find your issue to be valid (which it most certainly is) then they will definately take it serously and might even re-imburse you with the monies charged so far as a good will.

No harm in trying this but as everyone said, be reasonable and make sure you are polite and word it carefully as you still want them to think that you are MB enthusiast who is disgusted with the service from your local dealer but still want to stay with MB in future.

 

[mr. shr]

No harm in trying this but as everyone said, be reasonable and make sure you are polite and word it carefully as you still want them to think that you are MB enthusiast who is disgusted with the service from your local dealer but still want to stay with MB in future.

True.
I've written to MB in the past and used words such as "........this experience gives me reason to consider other brands when I next change my car.........."
But they don't car about any of that.

As everyone says, it's important to be polite, reasonable and keep to the facts only. Things like your loss of earnings and inconveniences should be included, but don't go overboard as they'll thinking you're milking it. Try to keep your letters short and to the point. Waffle on and they'll think you're an old moaner. (That might be a mistake I made in one of my letters in the past).

But don't lose heart. This forum is excellent for advice on how to approach things.

Good luck.

 

[Rory]

I said earlier that I doubted MB UK would get involved - the car is 9 years old and there's no warranty / goodwill etc connection back to MB.

I would be pretty amazed if they said anything other than it's an issue to resolve directly with the dealership.

 

[centaurtherapies]

Thanks again all

Well the saga so far is that they found a crack in the fuel pipe today which they admit to missing. However as yet haven't paid back any money but have given me a car to use (and much nicer than mine!) though had to force them on that one as they claimed not to have one. they said it'll be ready end of today but they want to use it for a few days to be sure it doesn't happen again.

I've told them as far as I'm concerned I am owed the full amount back from the second bill also that I'm seriously considering disputing the second and if anything ever even was wrong originally other than the cracked pipe.

In light of this have told them the the total that comes back had better be good. They are delivering my car back tomorrow or the day after as far as I am concerned they can sit in the driveway with my car and get the keys back for theirs and leave once money has been put back in my account! Also have asked for the 3 original bits back of mine that they have removed. Have have got the managers mobile so can plague him until it's sorted.

So will let you know what happens, and many thanks again

 

[Rory]

Sounds like they're getting there. Give them a chance and you may reach an amicable agreement.

 

[SQ_W211]

Beware in future and steer clear of dealers and use a good indie instead. you will be amazed in the difference of service and quality of repairs

 

[D1gger5]

WRT writing to companies, always send it recorded delivery - you can track it and can prove it was delivered.

I hope the dealer fixes it and addresses the un-necessary work!!!!

For what its worth a mate has a Bora 1.9TDi - it has a stutter in tickover until it reaches about 72'. Dealer has replaced several components (sensor, valve) without correcting it. They claim it is now the ECU @ £1000 which requires ordering. No money has passed hands yet as it has not being fixed!!!

Right, if that was an old car I'd look to the auto/manual choke first as at normal temp there is no RPM fluctuation.

Diggers

 

[centaurtherapies]

thanks digger 5 but hopefully they've found it now so just my money I've already paid to get back for all their messing arond and unneeded parts. I'm guessing they're playing up about this (as wouldn't settle it they said until my car was fine ) is because if they give me back the money it's an admission they were wrong.

 

[centaurtherapies]

Ha ha just had a call from the manager as he's just spoken to the MD. They're giving me ALL the money back as there's a still a small misfire so they are keeping the car until it is 100% right. They say there will be no further bills until fixed unless there's a part that needs paying for in which case they'll give me a call. So all's well that ends well. At a guess they think there might be an air blockage in the fuel pipe that's in the actual fuel tank.

 

[Cnics]

If they've put a new fuel pump on and the old one is not faulty, and you request a refund, it's at their discretion what to do with it. If they've missed a fault and the change was un-necessary then they can usually do 1 of 2 things. They can leave things as they are and refund the parts and labour for a new fuel pump (they still have to pay for the part and the wages of the staff that fitted it so you can clearly understand why they wont' like this option), or, they can take the new fuel pump off and put your working old one back on and refund the money, thus not costing them the price of parts, but costing a little extra in labour for the 2nd change. The next person gets a "new" fuel pump that's actually done a few mile.

They're well within their rights to give you your car back with the original fuel pump if you haven't paid for it (or paid and then been refunded) providing they do of course fix the problem.

The same goes with everything, you should not really pay for anything that doesn't cure the problem, but you cannot expect them to leave brand new parts on your car costing hundreds of pounds if you are not to pay for them.

Under certain circumstances they'll do this. For example. the cost between putting your old unit back paying labour and the price of the new unit may be close enough for them to leave it (especially if by putting the old part back on it would delay other jobs).

It's possible there is air in the system somewhere, a split pipe when starting the vehicle is going to draw air in. It may not be a massive job.

 

[centaurtherapies]

They've already said there was nothing wrong with the original fuel pump so not bothered if they put it back on as if it works it works. They've not mentioned the sensor but have refunded that money anyway. Just hoping not any big bills for parts now and definatly making sure they don't put on bits that aren't needed this time!

 

[SQ_W211]

good result after all.

Well done for fighting your corner