Hello members, it’s been quite a while since I came to this page to tell you I was about to Destroy My Jeep, due to the appalling response I got from the dealer and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) Australia when I experienced ongoing problems with my Jeep and demanded a refund or replacement.
I put together a campaign to destroy my Jeep to raise awareness, while ensuring that no one would ever become the owner of a vehicle that had caused me and my family so much stress with its unreliability.
I received both negative and positive responses and took on all feedback from you.
Since I came to you, I have been joined by many others in similar situations (some from this page) and together we have lobbied the government for a change to the Australian Consumer Law and pushed the ACCC to take action on behalf of the consumers.
In July 2016, the ACCC told me they would not be providing me with any updates on the FCA Redress Program, and in August 2016, FCA Australia appointed their 3rd CEO in as many years.
With no support from the ACCC, I wrote to this new CEO, as I had done with his predecessors, and asked for a meeting.
Long story short, I personally met with him in Melbourne in October and December 2016 and he has approved nearly $800,000 in refunds or replacements in the past 4 months.
He has also put in a number of improvements to ensure that owners get a much better experience if things do go wrong.
I put up a live video last night to announce this, and am telling you as I know a lot of people on this page have been frustrated with the previous Jeep customer care experience, as I was.
If you have any issues with your Jeep, ensure you call their customer care number on 1300 133 079 FIRST (before you call the dealer), so that FCA corporate can get visibility of the issues and monitor the way the dealer is handling your complaint.
Obviously, if you don’t get any joy, come and tell me via my Facebook page and I will escalate for you, as my Destroy My Jeep page will remain active for consumers to vent.
For those who want to see it, the link to my live video announcement last night is here
www.facebook.com/destroymyjeep
Alternately, you can read about the news release here:
http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/subscribe/news/1/index.html?sourceCode=DTWEB_WRE170_a_GGL&mode=premium&dest=http
2F%2Fwww.dailytelegraph.com.au%2Fnews%2 Fnational%2Fashton-wood-who-destroyed-his-jeep-now-believes-parent-fiat-chrysler-will-fix-dodgy-cars%2Fnews-story%2F8a54add6624bf24d90cf5eea3507ff00&memtype=anonymous
Lastly, I can assure you I have not been paid (or threatened) to say anything nice about FCA and their Jeep brand, I have always said I would tell everyone they’re starting to do the right thing once I have proof that this is happening… and I think you’ll agree that $800,000 in refunds and replacements is a good start.
Lets hope you all get a much better after-sales experience going forward.
Ashton Wood.