Dealer posts key through someone elses letterbox

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Mon 28 May 2012 23:22
Dealer posts key through someone elses letterbox - Jase

Bit of a wierd one this.

Today was annual service and MOT day for the C-Max. I always send it to the local Ford main dealer using their collection and delivery service, because it helps take managing two small children out of the equation.

Anyway, to cut a long story short instead of my car turning up at the end of the day, a chap from the Ford main dealer rang my bell to ask if I had a spare set of keys? Why I asked? Because he had just posted the key, the new MOT certificate, the invoice (which includes registration number of car, it's address (nearby!) and presumably a credit card receipt for payment) through the letterbox of a house in a nearby road.

Quite why he would conclude this would ever be the correct course of action I cannot fathom. I would assume a sensible person would call back to the dealer and ask to confirm the address, or obtain a contact telephone number to call the customer to ask where they are. etc.


I plan to call the service manager tomorrow and complain, because whilst I do now have the car back, the key, invoice, new MOT certificate and all the associated personal information I would not typically want posted to a complete strangers house is still in that house because they appear to be away on holiday.

I'm pretty angry about this and feel exposed from a security perspective. I will continue to until I have the key back. I don't feel, having paid for the service/MOT over the phone (before the blunder), that it should be down to me to resolve this alone.

However, other than randomly ranting about treating long term customers this way (I bought the car there and have it serviced/MOT'ed every year), I am unsure exactly what I a calling the dealer for!

Essentially I want the risk of theft mitigated ASAP. I would accept a reprint of the docs etc. Can the car be reprogrammed to make the existing keys useless and issue me new keys? I would be satisfied if they came to collect it and performed this task promptly (i.e. tomorrow).

Any thoughts? What is a reasonable expectation? Paying mean dealer price for this experience is not what I call reasonable.

Like I said. It's a wierd one.

Thanks all.

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Mon 28 May 2012 23:52
Dealer posts key through someone else's letterbox - Avant

"Essentially I want the risk of theft mitigated ASAP. I would accept a reprint of the docs etc. Can the car be reprogrammed to make the existing keys useless and issue me new keys? I would be satisfied if they came to collect it and performed this task promptly (i.e. tomorrow)."

Nothing less than the above will do - that's what you'll be calling the dealer for. Demand to speak to the service manager and get the action you need immediately - politely and as calmly as you can but firmly, and listing your demands. You could do other customers a favour by demanding also that they never post keys etc through anyone's letterbox, even the right one. Someone stupid enough not to see the obvious security risks isn't fit to be driving customers' cars either.

And they must lend you a car free while they're reprogramming the keys.

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Tue 29 May 2012 00:19
Dealer posts key through someone else's letterbox - Jase

Thanks for the response Avant. It is appreciated. I will be pushing for that first thing tomorrow. I will also point out that their policy should be never to post keys through letterboxes as you rightly point out.
Wish me luck!

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