Dear Madam/Sir,
I have purchased a new Hyundai Venue Turbo SX IMT from Popular Hyundai, Trivandrum and the vehicle was delivered on Thursday, 11 February 2021.
We have used the vehicle during the last few weeks and are very happy with the performance of the vehicle.
I am writing this email to highlight the tension and agony we have gone through, during the purchase of this vehicle. We have booked the vehicle on 28 January 2021 by paying Rs. 10, 000 as booking amount (please see the attached booking memo). While booking the vehicle, we confirmed that the much publicized 2021 price increase has already been effective, and fortunately the price of the model we have short listed Venue Turbo SX IMT has not been increased.
On Friday, 5 February, the Manager from Popular Hyundai called us and informed that the vehicle is out of production line and will be in transit soon, so we could pay the full amount due and block the vehicle against our booking. We had arranged for the release of our loan amount of Rs. 5 lakhs and cheque for the balance amount due (Rs. 645, 000) was handed over the same day.
We were very happy with the services provided by the Manager and Executive of Popular Hyundai during this difficult time, as almost all the services were provided at our door steps and we had to hardly go out of our home.
On Monday, 8 February, the Executive informed me that the vehicle has already arrived in their stock yard and asked me to provide the ID proof documents, so that he could arrange for the temporary registration on the same day. We were very happy with the prompt services of Popular Hyundai and early delivery of the vehicle.
But unfortunately our happiness was short liven, as a gentleman from the dealer contacted us, after one hour, and informed that the Ex showroom price of the vehicle has increased from 999, 990 to 1, 007, 742 and I have to pay an additional amount of around 37, 000 rupees, before they could assign the vehicle to me and do the temporary registration (please see the price comparison statement provided by Popular Hyundai, showing price difference happened between Saturday, 9 February and Monday, 11 February 2021).
We were so upset to hear this at the last moment, and asked the dealer to cancel the booking and refund the amount paid.
They informed that I will lose Rs. 3000 from the booking amount and will also incur heavy penalties for cancelation of my loan. However, we insisted that we didn’t want to take delivery of this vehicle, as we felt that genuine injustice has been done to us, by the last minute increase in the price of the vehicle, which was assigned to us, after making the full payment. Moreover we had already stretched our budget to own a vehicle of our liking, and we have to beg and borrow to raise the additional amount.
In fact this is our seventh vehicle we have purchased in India and we had very good experiences from Maruti, Tata and Honda while taking delivery of earlier vehicles. This time we were very keen to buy a Hyundai vehicle taking into consideration the brand name, reputation and after sales services.
We had short listed Toyota Urban Cruiser, Kia Sonet, Tata Nexon and Ford Eco sport, before zeroing on Venue. We had taken into consideration all aspects including the pricing before finalizing the make and model and also ensured that the 2021 price revision has already been reflected on the price offered. So the last minute increase in price was a shock to us.
On the same day, one Manager from Popular Hyundai showroom contacted me many times requesting us to give him an appointment to meet us at our home and explain the situation. However, we were so upset and annoyed with the whole situation that we refused to give an appointment and insisted on canceling our booking. However, in the afternoon he came to our house along with the executive without informing us, and requested us to give him a chance to talk with us. He spent more than one hour with us explaining the circumstances for the sudden increase in price from Hyundai and the limitations of the dealer to handle such situations. He however offered us the maximum discount from their side and convinced us to change our decision and we finally agreed to buy the vehicle. He personally assured us all the help and support in our future services related issues and gave us his personal contact number to inform him any issues related to the vehicle any time. We were so much moved by the commitment and dedication shown by a junior manager from the work force of Hyundai that we finally decided to take delivery of the vehicle.
But we are sorry to inform that the decision of a reputed company like Hyundai to increase the price overnight is not at all acceptable. At least customers who have made full payment of the vehicle should have been spared of the sudden price increase.
For cars in India, it is still a buyers market and as a customer we should be given the option to buy a vehicle of our choice. Cars are not an essential commodity, like petrol, where one is forced to buy it even if they increase the price at midnight.
Had Hyundai informed me about the possible price increase before making the full payment, I could have gone for my second option without causing any problems for the company and me.
I am forced to write this long email to highlight the tension and agony we have undergone while buying the Hyundai car.
The purchase of a new vehicle is always a happy occasion for any family, but for us it turned out to be one of the worst experiences in our life.
Apart from the monetary loss, it also gave us unwanted tension and frustration.
Request kindly to resolve the issues highlighted and arrange for the refund of excess amount charged, for no fault o[censored]s, while purchasing the vehicle.
Thank you.
Best regards.
Sincerely,
Anita Rajeevan
Mar 12, 2021
Updated by Anita Rajeev Attaching documents
