Man lodges complaint against dealer
Benjamin Tjiane has had, in his own description, the worst service of his life when his car broke down one random morning and he turned to Associated Motor Holdings, Nelspruit Multifranchise, for help.
MBOMBELA – Benjamin Tjiane has had, in his own description, the worst service of his life when his car broke down one random morning and he turned to Associated Motor Holdings, Nelspruit Multifranchise, for help.
According to Tjiane, the vehicle’s electrical windows, air conditioner, and the radio stopped functioning whilst traveling to work with children to school. “On my first stop, the vehicle failed to pull-up, I organized my own towing truck and the vehicle was towed to the dealer but keys left behind,” he said.
He has reportedly been in and out of the garage since then, the employees have been giving him a runaround and he has been popping out large amounts of money, this according to him.
“I was informed that the vehicle is repaired and I need to pay R11600.00, which I did, I fetched the vehicle from the workshop, keys were handed to me by the Work Manager himself, and he assured me that the vehicle is well repaired,” he added.
“A few days later, I was informed that I have paid surplus amount as the dealer has charged me only R10300.00. I was informed that I will be refunded the balance.”
According to Tjiane, the dealer demanded payment of R6300.00 to repair the alleged radiator and after a lengthy discussion, Benjamin gave them authorization to call his insurer to claim the authorization for repair.
“I was then told that the insurer has disputed amount claimed, indicating that it is too high for radiator repairs and only payment authorization of R1500.00 will be approved. The dealer then demanded that I pay R551.00, that the initial charged amount is reduced as I was incorrectly charged,” he added.
While the dealer has confirmed some of the allegations insinuated by Tjiane, Marlise Morgan, Service Manager for the Nelspruit Multifranchise said she did inform Benjamin of the exact progress of his vehicle and has reiterated that the vehicle will be ready before the end of that week.
“We contacted Mr. Tijane to advise the vehicle is ready, he did not answer, voicemail FULL,” she said.
Benjamin has also indicated that he would like his vehicle returned as it was when towed, refund of all cash payments made R11600.00 and claims authorised by the insurer SA Warranties of R1500.00 “I would also like for the dealer to reimburse all the insurance premiums I have been paying as the insurers are not accepting request to suspend nor to reduce the premiums,” he added.
However, Marlise on the other hand says the dealer does not agree with Mr. Tjiane on this matter.
“I definitely do not agree with some of the facts given through by Mr Tijane, however, I will first have to contact my Legal Department on the correct manner in which to address the matter without prejudice,” she added.
