If you check back to other Fuel Card Offers / Promotions, 

 

You will find members here and elsewhere that seemingly missed out, came to Social Media found out they were entitled to the Fuel Card 

and when they went to Skoda to get what they were entitled to, the card had been issued and used, by some Dealership Employee or AN-OTHER.

 

So get in writing from SKODA UK what you are going to get, because a verbal over the phone from a 'Call Handler / Communications manger' 

is not worth the paper it is not written on.

http://skoda.co.uk/about-us/contact-us 

Edited 13 March, 20188 yr by AwaoffSki

But why stipulate an end date? As long as the order is placed before the end of March then I can't see why it would make a difference when the car arrives.

 

Generally the customer wants it on their drive ASAP, the dealer wants it on their books and off their forecourt ASAP and Skoda want the factory build slot freed up for the next order ASAP.

 

By stipulating an end date all Skoda are doing is creating a potential excuse to not honour a deal they used to incentivise an order 3 months earlier. If they can't guarantee that they can build and deliver a car in 12 weeks then extend the deadline or better still don't bother stipulating one. If they don't want to be accused of trying to wriggle out of a deal then don't impose unnecessary caveats that the customer has no influence over.

 

To say I should have ordered the car earlier is daft, if the deal is open until the end of March and they're insistent on stipulating an end date then they should set the two dates that guarantees all orders can be fulfilled.

 

I'd also dispute being made aware of the terms, sure they're on the website but I had to go look for it. The fuel offer is actually detailed on multiple locations on Skoda UK's website, not all of which make mention of the end date.

 

Some dealers even tried to bake the £1,000 into the PCP deal. I'd liked to have seen how they'd then try and increase the monthly payments if the car arrived after the end of June.

 

All it creates is unnecessary confusion and potential customer dissatisfaction.

2 hours ago, AwaoffSki said:

If you check back to other Fuel Card Offers / Promotions, 

 

You will find members here and elsewhere that seemingly missed out, came to Social Media found out they were entitled to the Fuel Card 

and when they went to Skoda to get what they were entitled to, the card had been issued and used, by some Dealership Employee or AN-OTHER.

 

So get in writing from SKODA UK what you are going to get, because a verbal over the phone from a 'Call Handler / Communications manger' 

is not worth the paper it is not written on.

http://skoda.co.uk/about-us/contact-us 

 

Wow, does this really happen?

 

I've made contact with Skoda UK already and will let you know what they say.

3 minutes ago, silver1011 said:

But why stipulate an end date?

 

So that people don't order a car in March for September delivery (which you can do) in order to benefit from the deal. The deal is there to get more Kodiaqs ordered, built, delivered and registered by the end of June.

 

4 minutes ago, silver1011 said:

To say I should have ordered the car earlier is daft

 

Not really. I agree that it shouldn't be the case, but I would also argue that if you want to make damn sure you're getting the deal then the earlier you order the better.

 

5 minutes ago, silver1011 said:

Some dealers even tried to bake the £1,000 into the PCP deal

 

I assume by taking £1,000 more off the price (or adding £1,000 more onto the deposit) and then pocketing the card themselves. If a dealer tried that with me, then I would walk away if it wasn't explained clearly why they were doing that, and more importantly if they didn't give me any choice in the matter. However, on the flip side, that might actually work for you if you'd rather pay less each month and don't need the £1,000 card (yes, it's always nice, but with the saving in interest it is actually worth more to have it added to the deposit over the course of the 3 or 4 years!).

 

8 minutes ago, silver1011 said:

All it creates is unnecessary confusion and potential customer dissatisfaction.

 

You could argue that about any deal. Take the £1,000 test drive allowance - that was the same thing, you had to register the vehicle by 31 Dec. So when I started looking and ordered at the start of December, I had to discount that. Yes, a bit unfair, and I could have waited until the new deals in January, but I wanted to make sure I had the car for 1st March, and I beat the price increase at the start of January.

I understood these time limited promotions are to encourage customers to take stock that is already on the factory queue - i.e. the pre-emptive orders already placed by the dealerships.  If you want to customise your own order rather than take one from the queue, you risk missing out on the promotion.

But even orders that are already allocated a build slot on the production line are at risk of being delayed therefore they aren't guaranteed to arrive earlier than my order. If the incentive was aimed at unregistered cars already in the country then fair enough, they could then add this into their terms and conditions too and exclude factory orders from the offer.

 

We hear all the time of component shortages leading to extended lead-times. I've added some options to my car such as the heated screen and tow bar etc. all of which have been known to result in build date delays in the past.

 

All it takes is the bad weather recently, rough seas and delayed ships, snow and closed roads. It doesn't take much to add a few weeks onto a delivery date.

 

There has to be some leeway here. I've ordered 2 weeks before the end of March, I've been provided a provisional lead-time of 12 weeks to delivery at the dealer which takes me into the second week of June, 2 weeks before the deal ends.

 

That's 1 month surplus.

 

I don't think it is unreasonable to be able to factor in the extra £1,000 incentive, a significant influence on the overall price of the car, with the information provided to me at the point of ordering.

 

It'll be what it'll be, but I'll be annoyed if the offer isn't available when my car arrives, it seems Skoda UK want their cake and eat it too.

I got a response from Skoda UK today, it has to be said they were very friendly and helpful.

 

Translate this as you wish but it reads to me as though they'll be honoring the £1,000 fuel card for cars ordered before the 31st March but not delivered until after the 30th June.

 

As it happens this will probably be unnecessary given the shortened (quoted) lead-times for the Kodiaq recently!

 

 

A weight off my mind 

 

On 13/03/2018 at 07:56, zamitaka said:

Like silver1011, i was counting on the £1000 fuel card to make my Kodiaq a bit sweeter. I spoke before with the customer services of the free fuel website, the lady on the phone said as long as order/purchase is before 31 March, they will have that on their register, and i should get the card even if car is delivered after the end of June

 

Hmmm. this is not what my local deal (Mitchell Skoda) told me when i ordered mine.. Car has to be physically registered by June 30th e.g. DVLA registration number allocated.

 

also have a look at FAQ which seems to confirm.. https://www.skodafreefuel.co.uk/About/FrequentlyAskedQuestions/KodiaqFreeFuel_Jan2018

My dealer said the same as yours, I also made specific reference to the T&C's you linked, in my live chat to Skoda UK above.

 

Despite this as you can see they've told me not to worry, I have the transcript as proof.

 

Given that my order was placed and accepted by the factory 2 weeks before the 31st March I'm pretty sure I'll be getting the £1,000 in some shape or form.

 

Edited 30 March, 20188 yr by silver1011

Skoda UK being as bad as usual then. Some parts of their website suggest that the 1st January to 31st March (quarter 1) £1,000 Free Fuel offer has simply changed back to the £1,000 Test Drive incentive for quarter 2 (April to June) with a reduced APR of 5.5% (from 6.3%).

 

 

But then click in further and the Q1 deals remain on show, albeit without mention of the £1,000 fuel card. Clear as mud then.

 

As expected though, the £2,000 deposit contribution remains.

 

Edited 31 March, 20188 yr by silver1011

15 hours ago, silver1011 said:

My dealer said the same as yours, I also made specific reference to the T&C's you linked, in my live chat to Skoda UK above.

 

Despite this as you can see they've told me not to worry, I have the transcript as proof.

 

Given that my order was placed and accepted by the factory 2 weeks before the 31st March I'm pretty sure I'll be getting the £1,000 in some shape or form.

 

 

 

I doubt very much whether the transcript from a web chat carries any weight whatsoever in the event of a dispute between Skoda UK and an individual.

I asked for proof of what he was telling me for the very reason you point out, he said to save the transcript at the end of the chat for that very purpose.

 

And of course him advising me to save it in the event of a potential dispute, is saved too.

 

Stop being so doubtful. What would be helpful is you making contact with Skoda UK and gaining some assurances yourself, and then sharing them here to support others.

On 13/03/2018 at 12:14, WiggosSideburns said:

 

So that people don't order a car in March for September delivery (which you can do) in order to benefit from the deal. The deal is there to get more Kodiaqs ordered, built, delivered and registered by the end of June.

 

 

Not really. I agree that it shouldn't be the case, but I would also argue that if you want to make damn sure you're getting the deal then the earlier you order the better.

 

 

I assume by taking £1,000 more off the price (or adding £1,000 more onto the deposit) and then pocketing the card themselves. If a dealer tried that with me, then I would walk away if it wasn't explained clearly why they were doing that, and more importantly if they didn't give me any choice in the matter. However, on the flip side, that might actually work for you if you'd rather pay less each month and don't need the £1,000 card (yes, it's always nice, but with the saving in interest it is actually worth more to have it added to the deposit over the course of the 3 or 4 years!).

 

 

You could argue that about any deal. Take the £1,000 test drive allowance - that was the same thing, you had to register the vehicle by 31 Dec. So when I started looking and ordered at the start of December, I had to discount that. Yes, a bit unfair, and I could have waited until the new deals in January, but I wanted to make sure I had the car for 1st March, and I beat the price increase at the start of January.

Looks like the £1,000 test drive is back rather than the £1,000 fuel card. plus the £2,000 deposit contribution.

Anything on the two free services?

 

I use the word 'free' loosely as nothing in life is for free.

 

If they are still included then the value of the Q2 deal is the same as we've seen in Q1.

 

Except for the lower APR.

FINANCE OFFER

7 Seat

• 6.3% APR Representative 
• £2,000 towards your finance deposit with a Solutions PCP*
• Plus 2 services included^

*With Solutions Personal Contract Plan. 18s+. Subject to Status. Excludes SE Technology. T&Cs apply. Indemnities may be required. ŠKODA Financial Services.

Point proven, clear as mud. The screen grab above (from www.skoda.co.uk) that I posted shows the APR at 5.5% and the £1,000 test drive incentive.

 

Click further in from the headline page and the deal reverts back to the one from Q1 (6.3% APR, £2,000, 2x services, and the £1,000 fuel card detail largely hidden away).