To the reader of this report: The following is a letter that I sent to the Better Business Bureau, Ford Motor Company, and to the Mike Castrucci Ford Dealership located in Milford Ohio.
The 1/18/06 letter that I sent is as follows:
Re: Poor ServiceFalsification of Customer Vehicle Service Records
To Whom It May Concern:
Yesterday, while at Mike Castrucci Ford in Milford OH, I had the unfortunate experience of dealing with very poor service and what can only be described as the deliberate falsification of my vehicles service records by Ford Employees!
While waiting for my vehicle to be done, I had walked out to the showroom floor and listened in disbelief as the sales people and Ford employees joked that the reason the vehicles in the showroom were separated by color is because, You just have to keep the black vehicles away from the lighter colored vehicles. Then laugh because they had to have Vehicle Segregation. (The dealership had placed all of the black vehicles one side of the showroom and the white and silver vehicles on the other side of the showroom floor.)
It was at this point that I went back to the customer waiting room.
About thirty minutes went by when a service rep came out and claimed that the transmission fluid was due to be changed at 30,000 miles.
He stated that, Ford recommends that it be changed at 30,000 miles and it can't do its job if you don't do it. He also mentioned a few other items that I should consider having done, like replacing the coolant, despite Fords claim that it would last 100,000 miles.
I have learned a long time ago to always check out the claims of car dealerships.
I told the service rep that I did not want the transmission fluid changed.
After paying for the work, I went out to the vehicle and was looking over the invoice when I noticed that the dealership put down I had declined all maintenance required by Ford and that the transmission fluid was discolored and smelt burnt.
I was never told that the transmission fluid had a burnt smell and was discolored!
I opened up the hood, pulled out the Transmission Fluid Dipstick and checked it. It was not discolored nor did it smell burnt.
I then walked back in with the dipstick and asked them about the discrepancy the first thing that the service rep did was called for the service manager who immediately said You didn't talk too the service technician. (I never said I did and it would have been nice if he had introduced himself.)
After a short discussion, the service manager hand wrote on my invoice that the transmission fluid was not burnt, but recommended at 30,000 and then signed his name. (For the record, Ford recommends that it be changed at 100,000 miles not 30,000 miles!) I then went home and faxed off a complaint letter dated 01/17/06 to the Ford Motor Company and Mike Castrucci Ford.
Today, I called the Ford Customer Service at (800) 392-3673 and filed a formal complaint against Mike Castrucci Ford.
After talking with Ford customer service, I noticed that the multi-point inspection report card #10-25212883, which was filled out by the service technician, completely contradicts invoice #FOCS215935, and clearly shows that the transmission fluid was OK, that nothing out of the ordinary was noticed!
If there own mechanic reported everything was OK, why are they falsifying my vehicle service records and claiming that there was a problem? Why are they claiming service schedules that are not recommended by the Ford Motor Company? Why did Mike Castrucci falsely claim that I declined all maintenance required by Ford at 30,000? Why are they using scare tactics?
In closing, Mike Castrucci Ford demonstrated a complete lack of respect for the customer. Hopefully, the next time I visit this Dealership; I will encounter professionals who provide accurate information and quality service!
Sincerely,
To the reader of this report, if you made it this far, I would like to add the following comments:
1.) Sending a complaint to the Better Business Bureau is nothing more than a Formality! In a reality, it is a waste of time. If you don't believe me just keep in mind the following fact: Three weeks after I sent this complaint letter The Better Business Bureau never responded! For the consumer, writing to the BBB is a complete waste of time!
2.) My personal experience with the BBB shows that if they do get involved, they just keep sending company response letters until the consumer gives up. Once the consumer stops responding to BBB follow up letters, the complaint is listed as resolved.
3.) When I called the Ford Motor Company and made a formal complaint, I was told that the Ford Dealerships are independent of the Ford Motor Company and if the dealership chose not to respond, that there was nothing that could be done. My question then is, Then why do you have a Ford Customer Service Number?
4.) The reader should keep in mind that when you take a vehicle to a dealership, everything that is done goes to a central computer. Any Ford Dealership can pull up those records and read the comments.
5.) An oil change is part of the maintenance schedule as well as having a tire rotation, which was the reason why I was there. For the Dealership to put down that I refused all maintenance recommended by Ford is clearly false! (Those comments follow the vehicle for its entire life!)
6.) I went to the Ford Motor Companies website and checked by my vehicles VIN number for the recommended maintenance schedule Mike Castrucci Ford was 67,000 miles off on what the Ford Motor Company recommended!
7.) Any comment made by the dealership has the potential of affecting a vehicles resale value!
Private
Cincinnati, Ohio
U.S.A.
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