Proceedings Update : Brief re-cap : - Vinayak Skoda appeals to the court to allow them contest the case after 155 days of being placed as an ex-parte.
- The court surprisngly accepts their application and allows them to contest the case even though certain rules say that such an appeal cannot be made after 90 days of being placed as an ex-parte. Such a move by court alarmed me about someone taking a shortcut to glory.
- Upon a request by the Vinayak Skoda's lawyer, the court then referred my case to try for a resolution through mediation.
- Both, Skoda India or Vinayak Skoda had no Decision-making representatives present for any of the 3 mediation sessions which lasted over 2 months.
- The case was sent back to the court after a unsuccessful mediation which had just wasted the Judiciary time.
During the last hearing at the court :
After unsuccessful mediation through court, the case is back to be fought out at the court.
During the first hearing post the mediation sessions. My lawyer made valid points and also pointed out to the Judge about the opposition parties just wasting the court's time by requesting for mediation and what was later heard by my lawyer during the court proceedings was shocking.
The lawyer representing Vinayak Skoda makes a mid-conversation false statement to the Judge saying "
We gave them an offer of Rs.8 Lakhs and they declined that offer "
Later what the Judge said almost made it very evident that even the Judge was more or less likely pocketed by the opposition party.
The Judge stated directly to my lawyer that "
If your client is not ready to accept this offer then you will repent the judgement that I shall pass, So please talk to your client and get back by the next date "
Such a Hooligan-is-tic way of handling the case shows the
credibility of Skoda in India and how low it's dealer can stoop and how
distrustful the Judiciary system in India is.
Autocar India :
Post the whole scenario, I contacted Autocar India as suggested by a few people.
I wrote to them and Autocar being very responsible contacted me within an hour's time and Mr.Sergius got in touch with me to understand the whole problem.
Autocar then escalated the issue to Skoda India (which I had previously already done) and said they would help me resolve the issue.
Meanwhile, Skoda India tries skid away from Autocar by saying they had sold the car to me for just Rs.8 Lakhs and they were ready for a full refund. When Mr.Sergius communicated the same to me, I sent him all the documents and showed him the actual payment details and it was definitely not Rs.8 Lakhs
Simultaneously, The usually
very unresponsive Skoda customer care sends me an e-mail stating "
At the outset we understand your concern and regret for the inconvenience caused to you. We have taken up your concern with the respective dealership for further resolution at the earliest. Please feel free to speak with CRM from Vinayak Cars Ms. Kavitha on 9900XXXXX5 for any assistance required in this matter. Hope for your understanding on the same and assuring our best services at all times. Regards, Deepak K "
I further called the mentioned number to only understand that
Ms. Kavitha is not working with Vinayak Cars anymore and the person who answered the call has whatsoever no idea about my problem or what Skoda India has asked the dealer to do. She says "
give me 5 minutes and I will call you back " and disconnects the call and I'm still hoping for a callback which is most likely to never happen.
This clearly shows how well Skoda India is informed about their dealers' and its employees who are working and not working with them and with Skoda india passing on the responsibility of asking the customer to contact the dealer and not vice-versa shows the kind of concern they have for their customers even after their dealer has handled the issue in an ineffective/resolution-less manner till date. Moreover adding the cream to the cake was their dealer's representative having absolute no information about the issue or it's resolution shows the lack of communication between Skoda India and it's dealer and the company just washing off its hands by asking the customer himself to contact the CRM of Vinayak Cars by simply providing the contact number and not any details of what kind of resolution would be given is like the cherry on top of the creaming for Skoda India to simply skid away from the issue.
Such is the state of affairs between a
Multi-crore car manufacturer and
it's dealer principal who has been operating without any principles so far !
I'm yet to get back in touch with Mr.Sergius (which is most likely to happen by monday) and inform him about how bluntly Skoda has responded and the happenings of when I contacted their dealer as per Skoda India's e-mail.
I shall update the thread once I get in touch with Mr.Sergius or IF Skoda ever reverts to my e-mail or when the next proceedings happen.
Also, With Skoda India trying push customers based out of Bangalore to Vinayak Skoda is a fact as my very own neighbor experienced it and once I spoke to him about my Fiasco, He has Runaway from buying a Skoda