[Bravefart]

Hi All,
As many of you know I am elated with my Sage Grey Ultimate here in Canada (Edmonton, AB), but I ran into a problem with a dealership. I initially ordered through my closest dealer a Preferred Trend in Hampton Grey, and when the demo units came in, the wife and I took an Ultimate for a run, and we loved the extra features in the Ultimate (the extra camera system and driving assists are fantastic!). I tried to change my order with the dealer but he said it would set me back months, and he gave me a false VIN - started with a K (built in Korea) rather than a 5 (built in USA) - to say mine was en route but it was still 3 weeks away. I kept looking at other dealers in my area and found an Ultimate ready to go, and bought it immediately from the other dealership. However, my initial dealer is now refusing to refund my initial $500 deposit that I made in July, claiming they don't have it and Hyundai Canada has it, and making me go to them to get a refund of the $500 bucks. This they tell me after about 3 weeks of emails stating that they are trying to find the refund money, and then they were going to write a cheque, and then they gave up and told me to go call Hyundai or the company they use to get payments online, I believe he called it Stride Payments. Needless to say, this was a big mistake on their part as I get pulled over by people seeing the trucklet and wanting to know who to talk to, and although I was going to give them the local dealer info as he seemed rather honest throughout the preorder process and he's closer to where people see me, I find that I can't with their inability to refund my deposit, even though the preorder email says clearly that it would be refunded by the local dealer if for any reason a proper deal wasn't made. Needless to say, the referrals are going to the other dealer farther away.

I emailed last week and also called Hyundai Canada this morning on their customer service line 888-216-2626 and they said they are going to talk to the dealer and will get back to me hopefully in the next 5 days. My question... Is there anyone here or does anyone know somebody at Hyundai Canada with some clout to get this fixed? I love the SC but this preorder system and/or the "Click to Buy" system seems rather screwed up. I believe I'm entitled to my deposit back and since I bought a car from Hyundai, you'd think they would have some sort of method to make sure this gets done. I won't mention dealerships yet as I have to believe that the sales manager there is not lying to me about not having the funds from Hyundai, but if I find out that he or somebody at the dealership is lying to keep my money, I have no problem with publicly shaming them in the future..... ;-)

Any contact/info as to who may have the clout to put this to bed quickly would be appreciated.

Cheers! Roger.

 

[Walking Black Bear]

Check your credit card where the deposit was taken. Mine was listed directly in my dealer's name - and THEY held the funds. Hyundai corporate had zero hands in that cookie jar. In fact, they forgot to apply the deposit when we did the financing, and the dealer called me themselves to let me know and process the refund themselves. THE DEALER has the deposit. Not Hyundai Canada.

The dealer certainly can change the order, but depending on what stage of completion the order was, yeah, it could set you back time-wise. I changed my order from Trend to Ultimate a couple of days after placing it and there were no issues. Sounds like the dealer is trying to give you the runaround. It's also why the dealer you bought through wouldn't have access to that deposit ... it was made TO THE SPECIFIED DEALER - not Hyundai.

Worst case, talk to your credit card company and tell them it's a fraudulent charge ...

 

[Bravefart]

Interesting... yes, my credit card statement said clearly the dealer's name, but they claimed when I told them that, that the payment's processor puts their dealership's name on it, but the money doesn't actually go to them. All sounds a bit sketchy. I actually checked with the credit card processor and they claimed I couldn't reverse the payment more than 60 days after the payment was issued, so I have to deal with the vendor. I guess the dealership is probably a bit pissed I went somewhere else, but hey, I got what I wanted... ;-) Sage Grey Ultimate like you!

It's only $500 but I don't want to just give let them keep it. Maybe I'll stop in and make some noise in the showroom... ;-)

 

[Solkuter]

Interesting... yes, my credit card statement said clearly the dealer's name, but they claimed when I told them that, that the payment's processor puts their dealership's name on it, but the money doesn't actually go to them. All sounds a bit sketchy. I actually checked with the credit card processor and they claimed I couldn't reverse the payment more than 60 days after the payment was issued, so I have to deal with the vendor. I guess the dealership is probably a bit pissed I went somewhere else, but hey, I got what I wanted... ;-) Sage Grey Ultimate like you!

It's only $500 but I don't want to just give let them keep it. Maybe I'll stop in and make some noise in the showroom... ;-)

I don't know how things are in Canada but sounds like theft of money to me. you must have signed an agreement when you put down the deposit and it should clearly state terms. I hate lawyers but a simple letter from one threatening suit should do the trick. IF you can get a laywer to write such a thing for free. and $500 is $500 of YOUR money. don't let them keep it.

 

[Bravefart]

It really does feel like they are running me around, hoping I'll give up on it. I'll give Hyundai Canada a couple of days to see if they resolve it, but then I'm going to sit in their showroom and be obnoxious until they deal with me. I agree with the lawyer route as well... that would be the next tactic. Sad that they do business like this.

 

[Walking Black Bear]

Most dealers wouldn't waste the time to defend themselves in small claims court. Plus you could always add some expenses for lost time/wages/suffering. PITA, but it's one way if they don't want to play ball and have to defend their moves in front of a judge ... in public.

Sadly, since they're no longer pre-orders, the 'legal' of the deposit are gone. But gosh darn it if I didn't screenshot it when I placed my deposit!

Those terms are VERY clear that you can cancel for a refund any time "prior to entering into a definitive vehicle purchase or lease agreement with your dealer.."

In short, their butt's in a rut. @$$ is grass. Thing's in a sling. Threaten legal action, in the showroom, loudly. Pick a day when you see a lot of people in there too. Don't waste it on staff. Good luck.

 

[Bravefart]

Yeah, the email they send at the time of deposit has all this legalese on the bottom, and I sent it to him last week again to show that it says clearly the dealer will refund it, and I've never signed any agreement with the dealer on the trucklet, but still got the runaround from him claiming it was a Hyundai Canada order and they never got the money, no matter what it says on the email. I'll visit them later this week and make some noise if Hyundai Canada doesn't get back to me pretty quick and see what happens when I get in their face...

It's a shame for them that they chose to do this, as I would have sent referrals their way and I get a lot of people asking about the SC. Had a guy in a Baja on Sunday pull me over just to ask about it, and I would have passed along their info if I thought they were doing honest business.

 

[bellermb]

Roger I'm also from Edmonton and when the first SC's arrived as demo vehicles I went around to most every local dealer because they all had different colours and interiors just to get a feel for what I wanted when I started dealing with 2 of the dealerships one was $2000 over MSRP and one was $4000 over both saying take it or leave it...of course I left it and made a mental note never to return to them.

I did however go to a northwest dealer and was treated fairly and was able to by a sage green ultimate at MSRP, their service was excellent and beyond reproach in my mind. They never tried to push me into any extras I did not want and it was an enjoyable experience to say the least.

I would be interested to know who is giving you this grief so I can file it to the memory bank whenever making recommendations to friends and family.

 

[CvPec]

Hi All,
As many of you know I am elated with my Sage Grey Ultimate here in Canada (Edmonton, AB), but I ran into a problem with a dealership. I initially ordered through my closest dealer a Preferred Trend in Hampton Grey, and when the demo units came in, the wife and I took an Ultimate for a run, and we loved the extra features in the Ultimate (the extra camera system and driving assists are fantastic!). I tried to change my order with the dealer but he said it would set me back months, and he gave me a false VIN - started with a K (built in Korea) rather than a 5 (built in USA) - to say mine was en route but it was still 3 weeks away. I kept looking at other dealers in my area and found an Ultimate ready to go, and bought it immediately from the other dealership. However, my initial dealer is now refusing to refund my initial $500 deposit that I made in July, claiming they don't have it and Hyundai Canada has it, and making me go to them to get a refund of the $500 bucks. This they tell me after about 3 weeks of emails stating that they are trying to find the refund money, and then they were going to write a cheque, and then they gave up and told me to go call Hyundai or the company they use to get payments online, I believe he called it Stride Payments. Needless to say, this was a big mistake on their part as I get pulled over by people seeing the trucklet and wanting to know who to talk to, and although I was going to give them the local dealer info as he seemed rather honest throughout the preorder process and he's closer to where people see me, I find that I can't with their inability to refund my deposit, even though the preorder email says clearly that it would be refunded by the local dealer if for any reason a proper deal wasn't made. Needless to say, the referrals are going to the other dealer farther away.

I emailed last week and also called Hyundai Canada this morning on their customer service line 888-216-2626 and they said they are going to talk to the dealer and will get back to me hopefully in the next 5 days. My question... Is there anyone here or does anyone know somebody at Hyundai Canada with some clout to get this fixed? I love the SC but this preorder system and/or the "Click to Buy" system seems rather screwed up. I believe I'm entitled to my deposit back and since I bought a car from Hyundai, you'd think they would have some sort of method to make sure this gets done. I won't mention dealerships yet as I have to believe that the sales manager there is not lying to me about not having the funds from Hyundai, but if I find out that he or somebody at the dealership is lying to keep my money, I have no problem with publicly shaming them in the future..... ;-)

Any contact/info as to who may have the clout to put this to bed quickly would be appreciated.

Cheers! Roger.

Don't you have provincial ministry that handles those matters? Like in NYS we have an attorney general office.

 

[kayakangler]

I emailed last week and also called Hyundai Canada this morning on their customer service line 888-216-2626 and they said they are going to talk to the dealer and will get back to me hopefully in the next 5 days.

Hyundai will likely bring the issue to closure within the 5 days they told you, but if they don't consider using the might of social media. Post a concise message describing 1. who and how you gave the deposit to, 2. when you asked for a refund and who you asked, 3. when you escalated to Hyundai, 4. when and what did Hyundai reply, and 5. you have not gotten resolution and feel emotionally distressed because the refund offer is not been honored. While you can afford $500, Hyundai is a value brand and many people will resonate with $500 loss. In the US a social media campaign can cause a lot of grief for the other parties, but not sure what the culture is like in Canada or your specific location. If you really want to cause them grief, post the story on Hyundai USA's social media also and ask for help getting your money back. They can't help you, but the intent is to generate drama and American's love drama, and drama will motivate Hyundai to take action.

The key thing is to let Hyundai Canada have their 5 days. Once you start a social media campaign you'd be effectively starting a fire on the proverbial bridge.

 

[Bravefart]

Thanks all! Some great ideas here... I actually took to sending the dealership a quick email with a link directly to this thread, making it clear to them I'm giving them a chance to make it right. I would hope they actually value their name both here on the fan forums and on other review sites.

 

[CvPec]

With all due respect, unleash the dogs of the law on them. That will get a quicker resolution (hopefully) as opposed to threatening a mean tweet. Whatever governmental agency handles Canadian consumer complaints is better equipped to make life miserable for that dealership and set a precedence for future incidences. Just sayin'.

 

[Bravefart]

Yeah, the more I think about it, I need to put more pressure on them if they don't resolve this themselves this week. I'll give Hyundai Canada the week to resolve it and otherwise file a complaint on AMVIC - How to file a complaint - Alberta Motor Vehicle Industry Council (AMVIC) . All auto dealers need to adhere to this regulatory board and there is a simple way to register the complaint on their site and have their watchdogs chase them.

Also, if they don't resolve it this week before I lodge the complaint (not a smart thing in my humble opinion for a measly $500), I have no difficultly letting people know who it was and making sure we protect others from these kinds of shady practices. Unfortunately, I was going to use them for service as they are only a few blocks away from my office, but if I register a complaint, I will definitely steer clear or they might just spit in my seats or something... ;-) It also means that when my wife is ready to upgrade her 2011 Sportage to a nice new Hyundai Palisade, we'll be avoiding this dealer.

Thanks to all of you for your input! I appreciate all the advice!

Cheers, Roger.

 

[CvPec]

Is AMVIC this a gov't entity?

AMVIC cannot look into:

• Motorcycles
• Manufacturer complaints
• Changes to vehicle status (salvage, write-off)
• Warranty disputes
• Deposits
• Complaints about finance companies

Look here File a consumer complaint against a business

 

[Bravefart]

Hmm. Hopefully they or Hyundai Canada fixes it before the weekend and we don't have to worry about it. It's silly of them to take the deposit and run and hope I just go away. I'm just asking for what they said in their own documentation when the deposit was made. I guess we'll see what their next move is.

 

[TJNY65]

Update?

 

[Bravefart]

Ok, an update. I was quiet on this as there was movement on this back and forth, and eventually the dealership did issue a cheque for the full deposit back to me, as long as I would sign a paper that if somehow Hyundai Canada sends the money back too, that I would give the dealer their money back. No problem. I'm not trying to steal their money, just get my own money back. They did eventually come through so I can't badmouth them. And if anybody in Edmonton is looking for a Hampton Grey Preferred with Trend, last I saw the one I ordered is sitting on their lot now. Thanks for all the help, everyone! I did send him a link to this thread and they came through soon after that - not sure if the thread made them move along, but I'm sure it didn't hurt!

Cheers, Roger.

 

[bellermb]

Ok, an update. I was quiet on this as there was movement on this back and forth, and eventually the dealership did issue a cheque for the full deposit back to me, as long as I would sign a paper that if somehow Hyundai Canada sends the money back too, that I would give the dealer their money back. No problem. I'm not trying to steal their money, just get my own money back. They did eventually come through so I can't badmouth them. And if anybody in Edmonton is looking for a Hampton Grey Preferred with Trend, last I saw the one I ordered is sitting on their lot now. Thanks for all the help, everyone! I did send him a link to this thread and they came through soon after that - not sure if the thread made them move along, but I'm sure it didn't hurt!

Cheers, Roger.

Thanks for the update Roger....now I know which dealer it is and it will go on my list with two other local Hyundai dealers never to do business with...never should have been an issue from the start and the refund returned the day you went in to ask for it

 

[Bravefart]

Agreed. If you see me in my Sage Grey Ultimate around town, be sure to wave! I saw a black one in a west edmonton parking lot (McD's by Lowes on Stony Plain) and honked and waved... we are a small number yet, and I don't regret having to go through the crap on the deposit as I'm glad I got the Ultimate rather than the preferred... I'm getting very used to the camera system, especially as there seems to be a fairly big blind spot without it.