hmm i dunno, i had and still have an EVAP purge vavle issue i spoke to Newmarket about it they seen the fault code cleared it and said nothing else apart from the gearbox is at fault, week later coming off the motorway at Glasgow "bing" EML light comes on limp to my mums call assistance at 5pm on a saturday guy came out yep fault was the EVAP he cleared it wrote a report and told me to hand it to the dealer next week as it was booked in for the gearbox, fast forward two weeks they hadn't repaired or even investigated it, at the weekend there the light came on again twice twice i read it with my code reader and yep that EVAP valve again.

At least when i had the BMW they actually repaired the car no just fob you off.

when you contact skoda assistance you will either get a) a dedicated vag patrol (usually a silver transporter van) or an rac patrol (an orange transporter van). we stock the vans that they use and there is a big difference between the two, the dedicated patrols are usually master tech quality and therefor much more knowledgeable when it comes to your car, sounds to me like you got one of the rac patrols which are yes vag trained but not usually upto the same standard, not all might i add but some.

hmm i dunno, i had and still have an EVAP purge vavle issue i spoke to Newmarket about it they seen the fault code cleared it and said nothing else apart from the gearbox is at fault, week later coming off the motorway at Glasgow "bing" EML light comes on limp to my mums call assistance at 5pm on a saturday guy came out yep fault was the EVAP he cleared it wrote a report and told me to hand it to the dealer next week as it was booked in for the gearbox, fast forward two weeks they hadn't repaired or even investigated it, at the weekend there the light came on again twice twice i read it with my code reader and yep that EVAP valve again.

At least when i had the BMW they actually repaired the car no just fob you off.

The EVAP Fault is the Charcoal Cannister. Check the pipe that runs from the top of the cannister to underneath the Coolant reservoir. I had the same problem on my vRS TFSi and it was the pipe on the top which was broken.

It is usually caused by brimming the tank so if you do that, don't. The pipe on the top is about £9 to replace from memory. The charcoal cannister complete is about £95.

The EVAP Fault is the Charcoal Cannister. Check the pipe that runs from the top of the cannister to underneath the Coolant reservoir. I had the same problem on my vRS TFSi and it was the pipe on the top which was broken.

It is usually caused by brimming the tank so if you do that, don't. The pipe on the top is about £9 to replace from memory. The charcoal cannister complete is about £95.

will do mate thanks for the advice.

I find it very hard to believe that the RAC guy managed that amount of damage just securing a window,the same thing happened to me on both of my fabias and it was easy to fix,how can you damage the motor?i think the dealer might be taking you for a ride.

Im sorry to hear about the situation and i hope somebody claims responsibility soon (not you of course).

Gadgetman, this is spooky! ...there are lot of similarities between your posts and mine...

1) Which dealer did my car come from? - Marlborough Skoda, Isleworth

2) Skoda blaming RAC and the RAC blamin Skoda.

3) RAC saying I signed a disclaimer, I only signed a form saying the work is complete and completing a questionnaire on his PDA.

Did you ever get any compensation from anyone?

Yup Marlborough as well.

IIRC got a tank of fuel and compensation from RAC/Skoda UK of a few £100 in lieu of the free service offered - was on a maintained lease so worthless to me.

I had the benefit of it being a lease car originally (who used them lots for cars), so I had 3 angles of attack to get it resolved.

I hope you get yours sorted.

Cheers Paully, will do.

P.S. I see you are from Dewsbury, I'll keep an eye out for you ;-)

I`ve got a Fabia Estate in Bruno Rosso red on a personal plate, not many about and am frequently in Batley...Will look out for yours as well..all the best

UPDATE...

Got the car back yesterday and the repairs done to the window. I also asked them to service the car as it needed one soon. The total bill came to £525. £220 for the service and £305 for the window repair. Job well done and pleased with the service provided by Hayselden Doncaster. They also said they would support me with the claim with the RAC/Skoda UK.

Later yesterday evening I got the dreaded email from RAC. Ironically it arrived at the same time they were on Watchdog. Their investigations have confirmed the damage was caused prior to the patrolman attending site and was caused by the window dropping.

So I have now lodged this with Skoda UK and they have said they will come back to me in the next 48 hours.

Here is a transcript of the email received from RAC...

RAC - Customer Care

RAC House, Brockhurst Crescent, Walsall WS5 4QZ

Tel 0800 9174184 Fax 01922 746528

[email protected] www.rac.co.uk

8 September 2011

Ref: xxxxxx

Thank you for your e-mail relating to the breakdown of your car on 3 September 2011.

Our customers' comments are taken very seriously and I was sorry to hear of the problems experienced following your call for assistance.

Please be assured I have spoken to the attending Patrol and have also reviewed the breakdown information.

Your call for assistance was placed due to the window in your car dropping down into the door.

Our Patrol has attended, removed the rivets to allow him to also remove the door panel. Raised the window pane and secured the glass in place. The damage to the cable would have taken place prior to our attendance and would have caused the window to drop initially.

As we were called out for this fault it is not possible for our Patrol to have caused this damage and as a result of this I am unable to agree to cover the required repair costs.

I would like to apologise for any inconvenience experienced at this time and thank you for bringing your concerns to our attention, as it is through our customers' comments that we are able to monitor and improve upon the service we deliver. I hope that in the event of you requiring assistance in the future, you will feel confident in our ability to provide an outstanding breakdown service.

Yours sincerely

Jennie Ford

Customer Care Manager

Last time i call Skoda Assist was when my alarm was playing up, was about 5.30pm on a Sat.

An Orange van turned up, RAC guy lives round the corner from me. Hooked his computer and read the code, and apologised that he couldn't do any more, Was told that you won't get a VW techie at this time of night as they don't work passed 6pm at the weekends and the skeleton staff on a Sunday, "Nice job if you can get it" were his words.

On a plus side he did stop a couple of days later to see if it had been fixed.

UPDATE...

Got the car back yesterday and the repairs done to the window. I also asked them to service the car as it needed one soon. The total bill came to £525. £220 for the service and £305 for the window repair. Job well done and pleased with the service provided by Hayselden Doncaster. They also said they would support me with the claim with the RAC/Skoda UK.

Later yesterday evening I got the dreaded email from RAC. Ironically it arrived at the same time they were on Watchdog. Their investigations have confirmed the damage was caused prior to the patrolman attending site and was caused by the window dropping.

So I have now lodged this with Skoda UK and they have said they will come back to me in the next 48 hours.

Here is a transcript of the email received from RAC...

RAC - Customer Care

RAC House, Brockhurst Crescent, Walsall WS5 4QZ

Tel 0800 9174184 Fax 01922 746528

[email protected] www.rac.co.uk

8 September 2011

Ref: xxxxxx

Thank you for your e-mail relating to the breakdown of your car on 3 September 2011.

Our customers' comments are taken very seriously and I was sorry to hear of the problems experienced following your call for assistance.

Please be assured I have spoken to the attending Patrol and have also reviewed the breakdown information.

Your call for assistance was placed due to the window in your car dropping down into the door.

Our Patrol has attended, removed the rivets to allow him to also remove the door panel. Raised the window pane and secured the glass in place. The damage to the cable would have taken place prior to our attendance and would have caused the window to drop initially.

As we were called out for this fault it is not possible for our Patrol to have caused this damage and as a result of this I am unable to agree to cover the required repair costs.

I would like to apologise for any inconvenience experienced at this time and thank you for bringing your concerns to our attention, as it is through our customers' comments that we are able to monitor and improve upon the service we deliver. I hope that in the event of you requiring assistance in the future, you will feel confident in our ability to provide an outstanding breakdown service.

Yours sincerely

Jennie Ford

Customer Care Manager

How does a damaged cable cause the window to drop? Surely it is only there to allow operation of the window and the runners keep the window in place?

So they'll still pay for the "... few clips, speaker housing and damaged window motor" , then?

You agree to pay for the cable

FURTHER UPDATE...

Had a call from Skoda UK and they have spoken to Hayselden Skoda and they have concluded the damage was clearly done by the RAC Patrolman. They will now contact the RAC on my behalf and chase this matter up.

Sounds promising, fingers 'n toes crossed!

When Skoda 'convince' the RAC that the damage was done by them remember to get on the phone to Jennie and ask her how many years free cover they are going to give by way of an apology for accusing you of lying.

Just as an aside - I locked my keys in my Citroen a couple of months back - when the RAC guy came out he had me sign a disclaimer (prior to starting any work) for any damage he may cause during retrieval.

So, if I was warned prior to the work being done that damage might occur. should you have been afforded the same courtesy/choice?

If you were not advised accordingly, maybe you have a case that you should have been made aware of this possibilty!

FURTHER UPDATE...

Had a call from Skoda UK and they have spoken to Hayselden Skoda and they have concluded the damage was clearly done by the RAC Patrolman. They will now contact the RAC on my behalf and chase this matter up.

Sounds promising, fingers 'n toes crossed!

:popcorn:

The email from RAC is flawed somewhat.

It said in the email damage was caused to the cable prior to the RAC attending.

Where does it say that the damage to the motor,speaker etc was not the result of the RAC tech.

Of course the cable was probably faulty prior to the RAC attending,that's the reason you had to call them in the first place,as it caused your window to drop,its the damage that happened whilst the RAC tech started drilling your door etc attempting to fix the window.

Had something similar myself recently.

Had the usual fault with the DPF and engine light being on and stopped at my local main dealer.

They told me they were busy for the next 4 days and couldnt fit me in. But they also told me to ring Skoda assist and get them out,If the ey could not repair the issue I would be towed in and a hire car found. Plus the dealer would put the job through as a priority to stop them being charged for the hire car.

Proper result as the Skoda assist guy was great and try as he might he couldnt fix the fault. Towed me in and bingo, hire car with me within the our and job done by my dealer in 24 hrs.

Happy Driver

Had Skoda assist really helpful guy, dealt with turned out to be a non problem, He said he was Skoda Audi and Volkswagen assist and said he covered Norfolk and Suffolk on his own. I use to be on the road and that is a big area, I think you must get a normal RAC at times , unless he is Superman, I did wonder why his pants were outside his overalls.

I am having fun and games today. I'm questioning Skoda's slogan ...'manufacturer of Happy Drivers'!

To cut the story short on Saturday whilst doing the weekly shopping I tried to open the rear driver side window and to my shock the window dropped to the bottom of the door. Tried bringing it up but no joy.

As it was the weekend I thought I'd ring Skoda Assistance instead of ringing a dealer direct. I explained the problem and they said they will get someone out in the next hour, which they did.

A RAC van pulled up outside the house and the breakdown guy had a look and tried his best to to get the glass out and he couldn't. So he took the door trim out and then noticed he still couldn't access the glass as the access was blocked by a metal cover which was rivetted in.

He asked for a drill so he could drill out the rivets and get access which he did. He then somehow forced the glass up and secured it using some gaffer tape.

He then advised I contact the dealer and get it fixed properly.

As I currently work in Doncaster, I rang the nearest dealer which happens to be Hayselden Skoda and booked the car in.

After about two hours they rang to say they have identified the problem. The window had come of the rail and normally is a simple fix. But as the RAC guy was trying to get the glass out broke a few clips, speaker housing and damaged the window motor. The repair for this would come to £300 including labour. They then dropped the bombshell that according to Skoda UK this ISN'T covered under the manufacturers warranty.

I was gobsmacked. I explained if the breakdown assistance is provided by Skoda UK why isn't any damages occured by them not covered by the Skoda UK. They explained the breakdown cover is provided by Skoda UK in conjunction with the RAC and I should raise the issue with them.

So I first rang Skoda UK Customer Services and explained the problem and they mentioned the same thing as the dealer.

So I then rang RAC Customer Services and explained my problem. They gave me a reference number and asked that I get the dealer to email them with a report and an estimate for the repairs. I rang the dealer and they advised they will email the RAC straight away.

Halfway through the day I rang both the dealer and the RAC for an update. The dealer said they haven't heard from the RAC yet. I also asked if I could have courtesy car but all of theirs were out at the moment.

The RAC said they had received all the necessary information and it will take up to 7/10 days for them to complete their investigation. I said I couldn't wait that long and needed my car back on the road as I need it for work. We then agreed that I instruct the dealer to go ahead and make the repairs and I initially pay for it. Also asked the dealer to keep hold of any damaged parts as they might require this as part of their investigation.

So here I am. The dealer have agreed to go ahead with the repairs and I now wait for RAC to come back to me.

SO ALL BE CAREFUL WHEN/IF YOU GET SKODA ASSISTANCE/RAC OUT. IF ANYTHING IS DAMAGED DON'T AUTOMATICALLY ASSUME IT WILL BE COVERED UNDER THE MANUFACTURERS WARRANTY LIKE I DID!

I'll keep you posted on how I get on.

Take them to the small claims court and sue both the RAC/Skoda assist and the supplying dealer.

They can blame each other, but one of them will have to pay.

Holy thread resurrection batman!

Holy thread resurrection batman!

Crumbs!

But he did not keep us posted to how he got on ! Lol