WOW! What a Day!

Tuesday, July 20, 2004
A little background first. Frank had left us a couple of voicemails on Fri Jul 16 and Mon Jul 19 asking us to call him about returning our loaner van. We were away from home for almost that whole period of time and simply did not have a chance to return his calls. We woke up this morning to find that our loaner van was gone. They had come to our house sometime after 1am and taken it right from our driveway. In fact, they drove it over our lawn and left big tire marks in our grass.

Now, that just seems a little extreme to me. Does Frank think that we're going to run away with it? He has our $45,000 vehicle sitting on his lot, and he's all worried about the $15,000 loaner van that we have in our driveway? And, we're not criminals here. I'll admit that I didn't really want to give the van back because that would have left us without a second vehicle - and our van was still sitting at MacIVER Dodge while we continued to fight for repairs to be done. But, a simple, calm phone call from Frank indicating that he needs the van back by a deadline or it will be re-possessed would have done the trick. I would have driven it up to MacIVER Dodge myself.

Well, this little incident has got us fuming mad! We have been waiting now for about three weeks while our case is being reviewed. They have given us no indication when it will be done. They expect us to just sit around and wait... possibly for months. And, now we're without a loaner vehicle.

I decide that I am going to push forward with this web site - donotbuydodge.ca. I print out some simple business cards that advertise the site, and we set out to visit MacIVER Dodge to pick up our belongings from the loaner van. (This web site was not yet done at that point, but I was willing to stay up all night to finish it if I had to.)

We arrived at the dealership and started handing out business cards to customers. Many customers were quite interested and we started to explain our situation to several of them. We started putting the business cards under the windshield wipers of vehicles parked in the showroom. We went down into the service department - where, of course, the largest concentration of customers was - and handed out business cards there.

One of the sales reps saw what we were doing, grabbed one of the business cards, and made a run for Frank's office. We decided to follow because that's where we wanted to go anyways. He had our belongings that were in the loaner van.

Frank read the business card and became irate. He threw us an envelope containing some of our belongings. We were told that the keys to "our" van were in the envelope and that the rest of our belongings (child seats, CDs, etc.) could be found there. We proceeded to our van to retrieve our belongings. However, 2 things were missing - one of my wife's CDs and my PocketPC computer.

We found Frank and complained about our missing items. He thought that maybe they were left in the loaner van and made a phone call to have it returned from where it was being cleaned. While waiting for the vehicle to be returned, we decided that we would hand out some additional business cards. As I walked down towards the service department, I was stopped by Randy (whom I believe is one of the senior sales guys). He was quite irate and told me that I am no longer welcome on the property and that I need to leave. I refused and asked to speak with Frank.

I met Frank up in the main showroom. He also asked me to leave the property and not to return. I refused. He indicated that the police were being called. I replied that this was good because then I could file a stolen property report for my PocketPC computer. He continued to yell for me to leave the property. I continued to respond that I would like my PocketPC returned. This continued for several minutes while customers and sales staff looked on.

The loaner vehicle arrived back at the dealership. We searched through it for the missing CD and PocketPC. The CD was found still in the CD player. The PocketPC could not be located. Frank asked me to double-check at home to ensure that it was not accidentally left there. I agreed - even though I knew for a fact that it was in the van.

At that point, Frank started to pretend to care about us again. "There must be something else I can do here. How can I help?". My wife replied with "You want to help? Get in your big fat car (Chrysler 300) and come with us to the Mississauga office!". Frank responded with "I can't do that". "Why not?". "Because, I just can't".

So, we hopped into our car and drove to the Daimler Chrysler regional office in Mississauga. At least we knew how to get there this time. When we arrived, I went straight to the phone and dialed Phil - the district manager who is reviewing our case. No answer. Then I dialed Phil's manager, Charles. No answer. Then I dialed another district manager and another. I finally managed to get someone to answer the phone. I explained that I was out front and demanded to meet with someone who would help me. He indicated that he would ask Phil to come out to meet me shortly. I waited for over ten minutes and no one came out to meet me. So, I picked up the phone again and dialed another manager. He agreed to come out and meet me momentarily... and he did. I got about five minutes into my story when someone else came out to meet me. It was Phil. Finally! At last!

I started my story again for Phil's sake. He did listen to everything I had to say, but there were some things that REALLY concerned me. When I gave him all my documentation, that was the first time he had seen it. How is that possible? I was told that he had reviewed them when they were faxed in and that he found no reason to re-open the case. He also was not aware that we were complaining of mold, mildew, rust, and corrosion inside the vehicle. How is that possible!?!?!? That's what we've been fighting over for the past two months and the guy who has closed my case and is refusing to re-open it doesn't even have most of the facts!!!

He was extremely concerned about the web site that I was planning to launch. "There is no need to go to that extreme", he said, "I'll take care of things for you." He was also very surprised that MacIVER Dodge decided to take back our loaner van in such a harsh manner. He promised to call Frank immediately and arrange for us to get another loaner vehicle. He promised to review the list of items that I was seeking to be re-imbursed for. And, we scheduled to meet next Tuesday, July 27, at MacIVER Dodge to review the issues with our van and to agree on a plan to have them repaired.

Wow! Could things actually be turning around? Might our van actually get repaired properly? Nothing has happened yet, so we're still a little skeptical, but we'll wait and see.

Within minutes of leaving the Mississauga office, Frank called me on my cell phone to let me know that a rental vehicle was waiting for me. We made our way back to Newmarket to pick it up. The manager of the rental location was getting quite curious at this point as to what was happening. This was probably the third rental that MacIVER Dodge had arranged for us over the past couple of months. But, this time, it was Frank, the General Manager, who called personally to arrange it. That is unheard of, and he knew that something big was happening.

Wednesday, July 21, 2004
I received a phone call from a constable in the York Region Police force. MacIVER Dodge did actually call and file a complaint against me yesterday. I was told by the constable that if I set foot on the MacIVER Dodge property again, without prior arrangement, that I will be charged with trespassing.

Right on! So, let me just make sure I have this straight. I lease a vehicle from MacIVER Dodge and now, just over a year into a four year lease, I can no longer visit their premises without prior permission. I don't remember seeing that in the service handbook. "Hi there. I was just wondering if I can get permission to bring my van in for an oil change?"

Friday, July 23, 2004
I decided to file a stolen property report for my PocketPC. It's not much good though. MacIVER Dodge denies that it was ever in the loaner van, so it's their word against mine. I am exploring small claims court as an option.

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