GARDEN CITY MOTORS - APPALLING CUSTOMER SERVICE / DAMAGE TO MY MOTOR VEHICLE

1. We contacted the service booking agent at Garden City Motors via telecom on 14 December 2021 at 10h21 in order to book our vehicle for a scheduled A7 service. To this end, the service booking agent scheduled the service for 20 December 2021.

2. We arrived at Garden City Motors at approximately 07h45 on 20 December 2021. The Service Advisor assigned to us was Mr Percy Madwe. Upon inspection of our vehicle, he found no faults. This was marked as such on the job card form referenced as 231045. I wish to advise that I purchased the vehicle during July 2020, at which time the mileage was recorded at 33,000kms. To date, the mileage at the time of servicing on 20 December 2021 was 38,235kms. This represents overall usage of approximately 4,325kms or an average of 270kms per month. In addition thereto, we ensure that our vehicle is thoroughly cleaned and/or detailed whenever necessary. Consequently, it was in immaculate condition at the time of delivery to Garden City Motors, as aforesaid. Mr Madwe advised via telecom at 11h16 on the same day that service parts would be obtained from Port Shepstone and Garden City Commercial. On this basis, our vehicle would only be available for collection on Tuesday or by Wednesday morning at the latest.

3. We contacted Garden City Motors on 21 December 2021 at 15h29 in order to determine the status of the work related to the aforementioned service. The receptionist advised that Mr Madwe was not at work, and she then proceeded to transfer our call to Candice. Candice informed us that the gearbox oil arrived a short while ago from the South Coast, and that the technician would continue working on our vehicle once he finishes with the vehicle he was busy with at the time. We queried the completion timeframe once more and we were advised that our vehicle would be ready during the morning of 22 December 2021.

4. We did not receive any communication from Candice on 22 December 2021. We therefore made three attempts to contact her at 13h23, 13h24 and 13h36. During the last call, we informed the receptionist of the urgency of this matter, as we made arrangements to fetch the vehicle during that morning as per our telecom from the previous day. The receptionist responded that she would submit an email to Candice to contact us as a matter of urgency. We were at the Liberty Midlands Mall when a hailstorm began at approximately 15h00. Candice had still not returned our call. We proceeded to call Garden City Motors again at 15h00, 15h10 and 15h13. Candice answered the phone on the last call and we proceeded to enquire whether the vehicle was parked safely undercover and when it would be ready for collection. To the former, she indicated that the vehicle was parked safely undercover and to the latter, that we would receive a call from the Service Manager as the file was submitted to him. The Service Manager, Mr Imraan Varachia called us at 15h47 in this instance. He advised that the technician was still busy with the car and that we would receive a call to collect it the following day. We then proceeded to make arrangements for the collection of the vehicle accordingly.

5. We received a call from Mr Nilen Ramsay at 10h21 on 23 December 2021, at which time he informed us that the technician was still busy with the vehicle; however, this was not the intended purpose of his call. He proceeded to advise us that our vehicle was damaged during the hailstorm and that he was instructed to inform us that Garden City Motors would not be held liable for the costs of repair, as the damage was caused by an act of God, and such event was not covered by the insurers of Garden City Motors. I proceeded to contact Mr Varachia to request a meeting with him so that we would be afforded an opportunity to view footage of where our vehicle was parked at the time of the hailstorm and we wished to query the issue of liability and repair on the part of Garden City Motors.

6. My wife and I arrived at Garden City Motors at approximately 15h00 on 23 December 2021. We proceeded to engage Mr Madwe, who made contact with Mr Varachia, who instructed that Mr Ramsamy attends to us. Our vehicle was brought to the foyer area of the workshop and I was left flabbergasted after viewing the damages. It is utterly and sincerely repugnant for an organisation such as Garden City Motors to shirk responsibility from the liability associated with the damages caused to our vehicle. In actual fact, it is rather disgusting for customers to be treated in this manner. I know full well that our vehicle was presented to Garden City Motors in perfect condition and whilst in their care, it was damaged. Frankly, the details of what transpired to cause the damage are none of my business and have nothing to do with me. Our vehicle should have been returned to us in the same condition that we delivered it to Garden City Motors. Section 65 of the Consumer Protection Act is explicitly clear on the liability of companies/dealerships in this specific instance.

7. Whilst Mr Ramsamy was mandated to make it clear to us that Garden City Motors would not be held liable for the costs of repairs resulting from the damages, all he could do was show us the damage to our vehicle. He could not specify where the vehicle was parked. He claimed that the dealership does not have cameras installed at all areas in order for us to view the location of our vehicle at the time of the hailstorm. In addition thereto, Mr Ramsamy could not provide us with the detailed insurance policy schedule of Garden City Motors in substantiation of his assertion that hail-damage to vehicles would not be covered by the insurers. Both Mr Ramsamy and Mr Varachia indicated that the was unfair on us but they are merely acting on instructions received from the powers that be. Mr Ramsamy confirmed that he’s a salesman, but was tasked with contacting customers to inform them of the decision of management to absolve the organisation from any liability for vehicles that were damaged during the hailstorm. Mr Varachia advised that it would be in our best interest to submit written communication to him via email so that he could escalate this matter for a decision to be taken. We wish to assert that we reject any reason by Garden City Motors that the insurers do not cover such events. They represent a global luxury brand and would therefore not compromise their reputation by way of improper insurance cover. On face value, it appears that they do not want to pay excess costs on insurance and/or costs of repairs to our vehicle. The sad reality is that we are forced to maintain our vehicles (four of them) with Garden City Motors due to warranties and motor-plans; however, the most recent events have shown that they are not concerned with the delivery of services to their clientele.