Refuse to service my vehicle as they claim they were always open during lockdown as ESSENTIAL SERVICES

I was advised by Seth Smith from FORD SA when I spoke to him yesterday that I should follow this route as FORD will not assist with the last service, I hope that I can have the matter resolved as I have approached both FORD SA and the dealership without any solution.

My name is Nathanael Hamilton I am the owner of a ford ranger and ford fiesta which I bought at Mekor Ford Claremont. Yesterday when I took the fiesta in to be serviced I was told that the last service can’t be done due to the expiry date being the 13 July 2020.

The Vin number is: MILAGE:

When I emailed during the so called lockdown period asking if I could bring the vehicle in for a service I was getting no response from that mail box I have then tried calling and there was still no response I have the call log to prove it along with the e-mail. Which led me to believe that this branch is closed. When I called in after the president announced level 2 thinking these stores are open now I got through to Charmaine Hoorn who said I can come through and made the booking for me telephonically.

I still had to call in again to confirm for both vehicles whereby the lady said she does not recall and put me through to Mandy Hulbert very rude lady that said I must bring it in and they will sort it out on that day, later that day I get called to say that they cant service the vehicle as it has expired.

To top this off I went in to pick it up and called in today to Ford Protect and spoke to Tryphosa today at 13h35 I also have the recording for this whereby she said it can’t be done but I can e-mail in as the branch it will be taken off from their system and you guys can possibly help.

What baffled me was when I spoke to Layla at Mekor Claremont she is the service advisor she said I was supposed to know that they are open as this Car dealership is an essential service and did I not see Ford’s adverti*****t on TV on the 14 May 2020. I know I don’t have the luxury of watching TV whole day if that is what they were trying to imply that this is the only form of communication that would be used to inform clients during lockdown as I had to be working and tending to my sick family Grandmother, kids, wife that landed up in hospital due to COVID 19 and us all being bed bound during these times as we all have underlying health issues which made our recovery time also even longer.

So now that the country and province is facing a pandemic I am led to believe that Ford SA does not take this into account when it comes to the way in which they do business and that if the client has been inconvenienced by this it is my own fault I do believe that if proper communication was done I would have made sure that I would get the vehicle there even when I was sick to make sure that I infect all the staff and put their lives at risk too.

I am really not happy with the service and No service delivery and I do believe that other people should also be made aware of this policy of your company so that they do not fall short due to the same ill service being offered and miscommunication from your company.

I will make sure that I share my opinion on other social media platforms: Facebook, Twitter, Hellopeter and last resort the ombudsman if I do not get a proper solution or remedy for this before Friday the 21st at 3pm for the latest.

Very angry and disappointed Loyal customer.

Regards,

Nathanael Hamilton