Jump to content

Question regarding X-Plan doc fees


J-Hop

Recommended Posts

I was looking at a truck from a national dealer with 300 dealerships so they tell me.  I asked if they wold take X-Plan and they said yes, but when I received the quote there was a $250.00 doc fee and a $50.00 convenience fee.  I told the salesman it was my understanding there was a flat $100 doc fee and under plan rules they couldn't charge more.  He said I was dead wrong and even he has to pay it, so I looked up the rules and sent them to him.  In response I received a message this from the sales manager.

 

"In response to you question regarding the documentation fee, AXZD plan rules allow a dealer in Ohio to charge up to $250.
The convenience fee was recently added due to additional Covid expenses.
I hope this information helps."
 
I then sent him direct quotes from the X-Plan rules from 5-1-21 that says the exact opposite.....and his response was this....
 
"John,
 
I understand, but we have been charging $250 as a company across the board for all AXZD plan customers.
We are very careful to follow the rules as a publicly traded company.  We also are required to be fair and consistent to charge everyone the same amount as to not make exceptions from one to another.
 
The decision to purchase is entirely yours and if you feel that it would not be in your best interest to move forward we would fully understand.
 
Regards
 

XXXXX XXXXXXXXX
Sales Manager Retail"

 

 

 

 

Am I reading the X-Plan rules wrong?  Between this and the fact they insist I pay $299 for wheel liners and $499 for a bed liner I don't want I have decided to just stick with my retail order and wait it out but his just leaves me scratching my head.
cust# 81908367

 
 
 
Link to comment
Share on other sites

27 minutes ago, J-Hop said:

I was looking at a truck from a national dealer with 300 dealerships so they tell me.  I asked if they wold take X-Plan and they said yes, but when I received the quote there was a $250.00 doc fee and a $50.00 convenience fee.  I told the salesman it was my understanding there was a flat $100 doc fee and under plan rules they couldn't charge more.  He said I was dead wrong and even he has to pay it, so I looked up the rules and sent them to him.  In response I received a message this from the sales manager.

 

"In response to you question regarding the documentation fee, AXZD plan rules allow a dealer in Ohio to charge up to $250.
The convenience fee was recently added due to additional Covid expenses.
I hope this information helps."
 
I then sent him direct quotes from the X-Plan rules from 5-1-21 that says the exact opposite.....and his response was this....
 
"John,
 
I understand, but we have been charging $250 as a company across the board for all AXZD plan customers.
We are very careful to follow the rules as a publicly traded company.  We also are required to be fair and consistent to charge everyone the same amount as to not make exceptions from one to another.
 
The decision to purchase is entirely yours and if you feel that it would not be in your best interest to move forward we would fully understand.
 
Regards
 

XXXXX XXXXXXXXX
Sales Manager Retail"

 

 

 

 

Am I reading the X-Plan rules wrong?  Between this and the fact they insist I pay $299 for wheel liners and $499 for a bed liner I don't want I have decided to just stick with my retail order and wait it out but his just leaves me scratching my head.
cust# 81908

 

 

You are dead right and he is dead wrong.   Report this dealer immediately to Ford including the requirement to purchase wheel liners and bed liner.

 

Call the plan admin number:  1-877-975-2600

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I called the plan admin, but I didn't feel the lady I spoke with really gave a rats ass.  Honestly I was super nice but she really left me with a bad taste in my mouth with her condescending attitude.  I quoted her the following rules, specifically regarding the part about if you are in a state that all customers must be charged the same, dealers may charge the $100 and indicate additional fees have been paid by Ford.  She said since it says "may" they can charge whatever the state allows as long as everyone is charged the same.  I also asked her about the bed liner and wheel liners, but she didn't seem to want to hear about it.....her advice was "If you are not comfortable with this dealer find another one".

 

I am actually sitting here still in shock as to at how the conversation went, so much so I'm considering canceling my retail order and buying something other than Ford.  I'm ok with being wrong, and if that what is is...so be it.  It's just the lack of respect I felt through the entire conversation was very disappointing.

 

 

 

Unless otherwise provided by state or local laws or regulation: In states where dealers are not permitted to charge as much as $100 for doc fees, dealers would be capped at the lesser amount as provided by the state. In states that permitted more than $100, dealers would be permitted to charge the Plan customer $100. In states that permitted more than $100 and also required that all customers be charged the same amount, dealers may charge the Plan customer $100 and indicate any additional fees have been paid by Ford Motor Company or Lincoln Motor Company as part of the AXZD-Plan Program dealer reimbursement on the buyer's order

Link to comment
Share on other sites

8 hours ago, J-Hop said:

I called the plan admin, but I didn't feel the lady I spoke with really gave a rats ass.  Honestly I was super nice but she really left me with a bad taste in my mouth with her condescending attitude.  I quoted her the following rules, specifically regarding the part about if you are in a state that all customers must be charged the same, dealers may charge the $100 and indicate additional fees have been paid by Ford.  She said since it says "may" they can charge whatever the state allows as long as everyone is charged the same.  I also asked her about the bed liner and wheel liners, but she didn't seem to want to hear about it.....her advice was "If you are not comfortable with this dealer find another one".

 

I am actually sitting here still in shock as to at how the conversation went, so much so I'm considering canceling my retail order and buying something other than Ford.  I'm ok with being wrong, and if that what is is...so be it.  It's just the lack of respect I felt through the entire conversation was very disappointing.

 

 

 

Unless otherwise provided by state or local laws or regulation: In states where dealers are not permitted to charge as much as $100 for doc fees, dealers would be capped at the lesser amount as provided by the state. In states that permitted more than $100, dealers would be permitted to charge the Plan customer $100. In states that permitted more than $100 and also required that all customers be charged the same amount, dealers may charge the Plan customer $100 and indicate any additional fees have been paid by Ford Motor Company or Lincoln Motor Company as part of the AXZD-Plan Program dealer reimbursement on the buyer's order

I read the "may charge" portion of the fine print as giving the dealer authorization to charge 100 even though a state requires that all customers get charged the same. Based on the context of the fine print, Ford is able to authorize a dealer to charge the plan customer only 100 because "any additional fees have been paid by Ford Motor Company or Lincoln Motor Company as part of the AXZD-Plan Program dealer reimbursement on the buyer's order." It would be wild if that dealer charges 250 then sends Ford a bill for 150 (assuming that's how it works).

Edited by succeed23
Added parenthetical statement
Link to comment
Share on other sites

What Ford is saying is that the customer only pays $100 and if the dealer is forced to collect more than $100 by state law then the extra comes out of the spiff check that the dealer gets from Ford.   In other words the dealer has to eat it but because Ford pays the dealer they can word it that way and still be in compliance.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Well I called back and the lady I spoke with agreed with me but said I needed to speak with someone in the Customer Relations Center so she transferred me.  The lady I got on the line from this group was clueless as to why they transferred me there so I hung up and called the plan admin number again.  The gal I got this time also agreed I was right but again transferred me but this time I got someone from the awards program.  This lady was super nice, but again had no clue about X-Plan....so she stayed on the line and got someone from general customer support.  This guy didn't know anything of how the plan worked either and kept trying to tell me the dealers are independent and they don't have to honer X-Plan.  I kept telling him I agree with him a dealership doesn't have to take X-plan but if they agree to take X-Plan they have to follow all the rules, but he was just over his head and didn't get it.  I asked to speak to a supervisor so he transferred me back to the plan admin number.   Sigh.....I give up!

  • Angry 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...