Mr John Elkann – President Fiat Chrysler Automobiles

By email – john.elkann@fcagroup.com By email - simona.magnarelli@fcagroup.com By email – aucustomercare@fcagroup.com By email – terry.fitzpatrick@fcagroup.com By email – rmoss@eastcc.com.au By email – workshopmanager@eastcc.com.au

Complaint about Fiat Roadside Assistance Australia – Fiat Doblo Registered No purchased from East Coast Commercials Brisbane

The fiat.com.au website states:

Fiat Roadside Assistance Provides support 24/7 for 3 years/150,000 kms It only takes a flat tyre in driving rain, in the middle of nowhere to make you swear never to be without a roadside assist service. With Fiat Roadside Assistance (FRA) help is just a phone call away.

Fiat Roadside Assistance is a reliable and secure roadside assistance program that is provided free of charge to you for the duration of your vehicle’s manufacturer's warranty period. Fiat Roadside Assistance is available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. With Fiat Roadside Assistance, you can get help with:

• Towing/transportation costs • Car rental • Vehicle relocation coordination • plus many other services

This information is incorrect and not factual and should read:

Fiat Roadside Assistance is a totally unreliable and useless roadside assistance program that wastes a huge amount of your time for the duration of your vehicle’s manufacturer's warranty period each and every time you call. Fiat Roadside Assistance are poorly trained staff, provide consistent inconsistent advice and information 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. With Fiat Roadside Assistance, you can get help with:

• Frustration • Unprofessional service • Wrong and misleading information • Numerous transfers and being placed on hold • Useless call recording system that is not used for staff training and development.

A brief account of my experiences on Friday March 17, 2017 with Fiat Roadside Assistance after my car stopped 3 times while driving home on Thursday March 16. The car has been returned to the dealer on two other occasions this year (in the dealer repair workshop for 4 weeks out of the last 8 weeks since the initial fault). I refused to drive the car for safety reasons as this car electrics system failed on 3 occasions on Thursday March 16 - one of which as I was approaching a busy intersection with any power or control over my vehicle.

The experience today (Friday March 17) is similar to my two previous warranty tows and I am still awaiting re-imbursement for hire car costs from the first breakdown call despite several requests to the dealer to refund the money. I spent over 1 hour on the phone today trying to arrange to have the car towed to Brisbane. After driving my wife’s car to work – a Kia Sportage (that has never let us down in almost 2 years), I phoned Fiat Roadside assistance and got the usual message about calls being recorded for training purposes. Please take the time to go back and listen to my 4 or more calls today as the knowledge and information provided was of a inaccurate and unprofessional.

• Around 11.00 am I phoned FRA and spoke to a staff member who politely took down all the details about the car and told me they would contact me if the car could not be towed within the hour (unfortunately you have to order the tow truck for that to happen) as I found out later that she did not make the booking. I also asked the same person to book a loan car and was told that the dealer arranges this and NOT FRA. I explained that as per the website and the FRA PDF document, they need to book the loan/hire car and FRA had done this a few weeks ago. I was told the dealership booked the loan/car and the told the operator that FRA need to book the loan car NOT the dealership. I was told that I would be transferred to Fiat Customer Service (FCS) who would book the car. I was transferred to FCA who told me that FRA need to book the loan car. The operator asked if the car was new and under warranty (obviously not read the extensive notes in the system about the history of the car) and I gave him the dealer name. The person then told me he had to check and see if they were an Authorised Fiat Dealer. The operator indicated that FRA should order the loan car and not FCA. I was then transferred to another person back at FRA and I gave him the details and he indicated that he would do what he could to arrange a car today. • Around 2.00 pm my wife contacted me to say that the car had not been picked up. Another call to FRA and I was advised that the operator this morning had not ordered the tow and the car would have to be stored over the weekend now and would not be delivered to Brisbane until Monday. The operator wanted all sorts of information including the length of the wheelbase and other details about the car that I did not know. He obviously was not familiar with the Fiat fleet of vehicles or read the file notes. The tow truck he ordered was that big it could not get into my street, they sent two drivers and in the end one of them started the car and drove it to their tow yard. • At about 3.15 pm, I was contacted by someone from FRA to confirm they had found a loan/hire car and it would be ready in around 1 hour. Only problem was it was about 2 klms away and I had no way of getting there before they closed at 5.00 pm. When I collected the car the next day, the company told me they told FRA that the car was ready for collection when they called at 3.00 pm.

This whole experience was like my two previous breakdown calls – numerous people who have been poorly trained and are unable to provide any assistance at a time when the car has failed under warranty. In the end I bought a new FIAT Professional vehicle for my business that has 3 year 150,000 klm warranty and I did not BUY a loan car or numerous hours of telephone calls to have it fixed under warranty. It seems that the only difference between FRA Australia and a circus is that you get a program when you walk into a circus. Fiat Roadside Assistance are unable to tell you anything correctly. I should not have to follow up each week when the car is still not repaired as the dealer sends regular reports to Fiat about the progress but no one bothers to be pro-active and provide any customer service. A new company moto should be- FIAT Unprofessional – when they go, they go well, but when they stop you go to HELL with Fiat Roadside Assistance Australia. Based on my experience I could not recommend any vehicle distributed by Fiat Chrysler Automobiles.

After several attempts to repair this vehicle, I want a guarantee in writing that this can be repaired and a firm date for the return of the vehicle. If this guarantee in writing cannot be given, I want alternative solutions discussed as this car is unsafe, unreliable, and unable to do the job that it was sold. I have no confidence in the assistance program of any FCA Australia car brand based on my experience over the last 6 or so weeks. I cannot imagine the hassles that this car will cause and cost to me once it come out of warranty in 2019. The car is unable to be serviced or repaired locally and is not suitable for the purpose it was originally purchased. If the car cannot be repaired, I want a refund of the price paid plus all additional accessories fitted to date.

Your prompt attention to the matters raised in this letter is expected.

Sincerely