I have just come off the phone after a long and interesting (and polite but firm) conversation with Will Fisher at Skoda UK. He phoned initially to give me the good news about £250 off the non-folding mirror option, so I also took the opportunity to ask about the changes to the rough road package - not least the fact that the rear door foils now appear to be a standard fitment and therefore should not be paid for twice! He claimed not to be aware of this but is going to look into it. He also confirmed - a little reluctantly - that 'goodwill gestures' should be available after the car has been on order for 14 weeks with no prospect of delivery (today is, coincidentally, that 14th anniversary for my order) although he wouldn't be specific about what these gestures might be and said he would speak to my dealer about it.

He is going to see if he can find out anything about when my car might be built but told me not to expect any firm news - the old story about Skoda UK's hands being tied, unprecedented level of orders, build week allocations meaning nothing until the last minute, etc., etc.

I'll keep you all informed if I hear anything substantial about the RRP or 'goodwill gestures' on delayed orders. The wing mirror saga illustrates the effectiveness of joint action - Will as much as admitted that the MD of Skoda UK had been quite p****d off to receive a flood of emails and was happy to make financial restitution to get his quiet life back!

An update on the above message - Will has just come back to me and has confirmed that the 'goodwill gesture' kicks in after 18 weeks (not 14) and apparently only on cars ordered before 21 August (so I make it by 3 days!). This 'gesture' is to be discussed with the dealer but Will's understanding is that it is £150 per week for delivery beyond week 18, towards servicing or accessories. He also told me that the problem with my vehicle is probably the high level of demand for the 170 bhp diesel engine and that lead times are now quoted as 29 weeks for vehicles with that power train, so it could be the beginning of April when I get mine - by which time, together with the £250 refund on the electric pack, I should have enough servicing credit to last me until I die!

He made the interesting - if true - comment that it is actually a good sign if the vehicle is not allocated a build week because that means it is in the queue of vehicles being juggled/considered for build. Sounds daft to me, but essentially the message is - it could be April but it might be sooner.

Don't know whether to laugh or cry, really.

I'm still waiting for my call.....

Mike

Just had the call... £250 towards accessories/servicing.

It's at Emden and could take 14 days to get on a ship to Sheerness, then to dealer then to me.....

Mike

Bet it gets to you quicker than that Mike, least I hope so.

An update on the above message - Will has just come back to me and has confirmed that the 'goodwill gesture' kicks in after 18 weeks (not 14) and apparently only on cars ordered before 21 August (so I make it by 3 days!). This 'gesture' is to be discussed with the dealer but Will's understanding is that it is £150 per week for delivery beyond week 18, towards servicing or accessories. He also told me that the problem with my vehicle is probably the high level of demand for the 170 bhp diesel engine and that lead times are now quoted as 29 weeks for vehicles with that power train, so it could be the beginning of April when I get mine - by which time, together with the £250 refund on the electric pack, I should have enough servicing credit to last me until I die!

He made the interesting - if true - comment that it is actually a good sign if the vehicle is not allocated a build week because that means it is in the queue of vehicles being juggled/considered for build. Sounds daft to me, but essentially the message is - it could be April but it might be sooner.

Don't know whether to laugh or cry, really.

Clearly, there was, or maybe still is, a period at Skoda's Head office when the email inbox must have glowed red hot. I did feel though when I had a call from Will Fisher, that management must have taken note and it is doubtful in the extreme that just an odd call or email about it, would have elicited the same response from them. That, from the owners point of view, is good and I personally appreciated getting a call and having things explained......in my case that the car I order won't have them and at least it's clear and definite now, and I would like to thank Will Fisher for that. I also think that Will has done / is doing all that he can and is doing so with a sound, polite and serious sense of purpose and I think that is being acknowledged here and does confirm, in my mind at least, that the vast majority of us/you who complained were right in pursuing it ...particularly in view of Skoda UK agreeing as much ie. ........ "I appreciate that the information provided on the website configurator was not clear, as it implied that the mirrors would fold electronically". That's pretty unequivocal in my book!

Might it, perhaps, be good if Skoda had a representative who could post on Briskoda? But it is a busy site with quite a few forums and it might be a full time job keeping in regular touch with it all. Other forii do have manufacturers reps on board though. Certainly, though, there was strength of feeling on our behalf with what must have been 97.8% behind it and most here would probably feel it was worth it and hopefully Skoda might just have a good look to see whether improvements in the brochure and it's specs and even it's approach to listening to us customers who are buying the products.

If Will is looking in (and I do know he has been) I would like to make the point that despite all the aggro that Mr Hazelwood has had over this (and I gather he did get the 'ump) it is the case that the site must undoubtedly be of benefit to them with regard to the number of sales instigated through people looking here. Almost everyone enthuses over their Yeti (haven't studied the other sections but would imagine they're the same) and viewers to the site can't help be encouraged to buy if they were in two minds and so Mr Hazelwood may, perhaps, balance any temporary disgruntlement he may have with the prospect of a good number of sales generated here. (Me for one!)

For those still awake I propose to close with one final observati.... :yawn: .... :zzz: :zzz: :zzz: :zzz: :zzz: z z z z z z z z z z z z z z z z z z loud snoring coming from oldstan's little room.

Edited 24 November, 201015 yr by oldstan

................. but Will's understanding is that it is £150 per week for delivery beyond week 18, towards servicing or accessories.

£150 per week????....... I ordered a Fabia Estate 1.2TSI DSG on 24 June for my wife. It looks like she may get it around Xmas or in the New Year. That's going to be well over 6 months so Skoda are going to shell out over a grand??? That can't be right surely :S

£150 per week????....... I ordered a Fabia Estate 1.2TSI DSG on 24 June for my wife. It looks like she may get it around Xmas or in the New Year. That's going to be well over 6 months so Skoda are going to shell out over a grand??? That can't be right surely :S

That's what I understood but £150 in total might seem more likely - as I said before, I'd never get a chance to spend £150 a week before I go to the great car showroom in the sky if the SM is as slow in arriving as is now being suggested!

I still await Will Fisher's email confirming all this, with interest (pun absolutely intended).

It'll be good to hear what they have to say! I must admit after reading your post I was persuaded to contact SCS myself. Apparently, their " goodwill gesture " person will be speaking with me within 48 hours. We will have to compare notes!!

I have just come off the phone after a long and interesting (and polite but firm) conversation with Will Fisher at Skoda UK. He phoned initially to give me the good news about £250 off the non-folding mirror option, so I also took the opportunity to ask about the changes to the rough road package - not least the fact that the rear door foils now appear to be a standard fitment and therefore should not be paid for twice! He claimed not to be aware of this but is going to look into it. He also confirmed - a little reluctantly - that 'goodwill gestures' should be available after the car has been on order for 14 weeks with no prospect of delivery (today is, coincidentally, that 14th anniversary for my order) although he wouldn't be specific about what these gestures might be and said he would speak to my dealer about it.

He is going to see if he can find out anything about when my car might be built but told me not to expect any firm news - the old story about Skoda UK's hands being tied, unprecedented level of orders, build week allocations meaning nothing until the last minute, etc., etc.

I'll keep you all informed if I hear anything substantial about the RRP or 'goodwill gestures' on delayed orders. The wing mirror saga illustrates the effectiveness of joint action - Will as much as admitted that the MD of Skoda UK had been quite p****d off to receive a flood of emails and was happy to make financial restitution to get his quiet life back!

Good work! I too was told that anyone whose lead time goes beyond 18 weeks is treated as a "special case"... I shall now revert to Citygate/SUK and find out what that really means.... thanks for leading the way!

This 'gesture' is to be discussed with the dealer but Will's understanding is that it is £150 per week for delivery beyond week 18, towards servicing or accessories.

Well, well... I do hope that Will is correct on this one. I've waited, wait for it, THIRTY THREE WEEKS, for my car. Thus, minus the 18 weeks it is 15 times £150 = £2,250 in compensation coming my way. This car will have paid for servicing until 2050!

But I'm not holding my hopes up for that. Ironically I sent the email off regarding my Gesture of Goodwill mere hours ago (before reading this alas). I brought it up in September but they said I have to have taken delivery of my car first before they can act.

Well, well... I do hope that Will is correct on this one. I've waited, wait for it, THIRTY THREE WEEKS, for my car. Thus, minus the 18 weeks it is 15 times £150 = £2,250 in compensation coming my way. This car will have paid for servicing until 2050!

But I'm not holding my hopes up for that. Ironically I sent the email off regarding my Gesture of Goodwill mere hours ago (before reading this alas). I brought it up in September but they said I have to have taken delivery of my car first before they can act.

I'm still waiting for Will to email me and confirm in writing the information given verbally yesterday - I'm sure it must be a one-off £150 for delivery delay.

Incidentally, he is also supposed to be looking into whether we should get a partial refund on the RRP since the rear door foils are apparently now a standard fitting.

I haven't had a confirmation email from Will yet about the £250....

Mike

I have just received my email from Will Fisher, confirming the £250 servicing/accessories credit against the £500 electric driver's seat/mirrors option and a ONE-OFF (as suspected) payment of £150 for any car delivered more than 18 weeks after ordering. He says that he is still looking into the rough road package, so I have referred him to documentary evidence (including photographs) on this site to show that a further refund should be made, as some of the package is now standard, some is of different materials, and some is probably no longer fitted at all! I have again copied this email to the Skoda UK MD since that produced quick results before.

Good luck to everyone else who has been overcharged!

I too have just received my email from Will. Thanks Will.

Mike