Need to know
- CHOICE member Stephen paid VW Australia for a plan that included roadside assistance, but then the provider told him he wasn't covered
- Stephen assumed it would be an easy fix, but he has emailed back and forth with VW Australia for months with no resolution
- Only after being contacted by CHOICE did Volkswagen Australia explain how the error occurred
It's the kind of company runaround that would be comical if it weren't so infuriating.
CHOICE member Stephen Wise bought a Volkswagen Australia five-year service care plan from the dealer for his Passat in June 2023, about eight months after he had purchased the car.
The Passat came with 12 months of roadside assistance included when he bought it. The service care plan, which was on top of the manufacturer's warranty, cost $3100 and supposedly included an automatic extension of the roadside assistance for up to another 12 months every time the car was serviced at a VW dealership.
He was contacted by the third-party roadside assistance provider that VW had hired and told he needed to pay up
Stephen had the car serviced by the dealership where he bought it in July 2023.
But in late September 2023 he was contacted by the third-party roadside assistance provider that VW had hired and told he needed to pay up to renew the roadside assistance membership.
Something had clearly gone wrong.
He had paid Volkswagen Australia for the extended care plan, so that's who he got in touch with about the issue.
That didn't go so well.
Breakdown in communication
Stephen first contacted Volkswagen on 6 December 2023, saying "clearly the missing link is Volkswagen telling roadside assistance membership services of the renewal to be taken care of by Volkswagen".
Volkswagen got back six days later saying hold on, we'll figure this out soon.
Months went by.
Stephen contacted CHOICE on 22 February 2024.
"They have still not resolved the issue, I still don't have the cover promised and paid for, and I am a most unhappy customer," he told us.
'We hope this email finds you well'
The infuriating part comes out in the lengthy email chain between Stephen and a Volkswagen 'Customer Experience Ambassador'.
It is hard to believe that this is a difficult issue to sort out. It is so simple. I paid for a care plan
Volkswagen Australia customer Stephen Wise
There were seven emails from Volkswagen Australia, each ending with "your continued patience will be highly appreciated".
Each email promised a new date for a resolution of the issue, but the dates all just came and went.
Stephen didn't hold back on his feelings. Three days before Christmas he wrote:
"It is hard to believe that this is a difficult issue to sort out. It is so simple. I paid for a care plan. Now we are in holiday season, I am travelling, and if anything goes wrong with my car, the roadside assistance people will decline to assist. As far as they are concerned I let my membership lapse."
Still no resolution four months later
After CHOICE got in touch on 27 February, a Volkswagen Australia spokesperson told us the issue had to do with "both a new roadside assist provider being implemented and an inputting oversight".
VW Australia's new roadside assistance provider is a company called 365, the spokesperson said.
"While this took an unacceptably long time to be addressed, it is being done today and the team is reaching out to Stephen," the spokesperson said.
I have not received anything, not even the standard reassurance that they are looking into it
Volkswagen Australia customer Stephen wise
Yet when we contacted Stephen to follow up a few days later, there had been no reaching out.
"I have heard nothing from them. I have not received anything, not even the standard reassurance that they are looking into it."
The back and forth saga with Volkswagen Australia started on 6 December last year and was still not resolved at the time of publish (8 March). Stephen says his next move will be to contact NSW Fair Trading.
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Stock images: Getty, unless otherwise stated.
