Private Offer escalation path other then dealer?

[RockHoundTX]

I know that there are 50+ Private Offer threads and I have read (and participated) in just about all of them over the last 10 months. Trying to figure out if anyone was able to find "the magic Ford person" that can actually assist if the dealership will not.

After 19 months, I finally received the "you are scheduled for production" e-mail for an XL Hybrid. Back on October 1, 2021, I had placed the order with a small-town dealer that got practically no allocation. Last summer, the dealer basically said "go find another dealer". In September, I found a larger local dealer but my Private Offer was not showing up at the time the order was placed. I spent sever weeks trying to fix this with no results (see my MTC posts from August/September 2022). I could not get my COVP confirmation # from my original dealer (since they now wanted nothing to do with either me or the Maverick) and the new dealer claimed there was nothing they could do on their end and that I should "just wait and see if it eventually pops up". Ultimately, I figured that my '23 XL Hybrid would likely never get built so just gave up.

Now that I have a production date, this lit a fire under me since $2750 is a LOT of money for my family!!! I spent 40 minutes on the phone with Ford Marketing. They were able to confirm four main things:

1) There was a '22 XL order in my name that had been balanced out at some point after September 2022
2) The balanced out '22 order was listed as "COVP: Certified". However, the agent said only a dealer has access to the actual COVP certification number.
3) My address, phone number, and e-mail address all looked consistent (and I have been getting my "45 day" letters for the last 2 years)
4) I had 13 active Ford Rebates but none were a $2750 Private Offer (the highest one was for $750)

So what is next? My current dealer has supposedly already tried all the "normal" hacks to bring up the Private Offer. They are also very reluctant to send a request to their "regional inventory specialist" (per the Ford Private Offer Dealer memo) unless I have a COVP certification number. My old dealership (who is 300 miles away) originally sent me a message saying "Ford took down the COVP system" and then has pretty much ghosted me since then.

So now that I verified that I had a valid COVP on my '22 order, how do I go about getting the COVP cert # when the dealerships won't assist? Who can I contact at Ford that is capable of providing this information? Is there a way for my current dealer to see the Cert # from the old dealer (or does Ford intentionally prevent this for security/competition reasons?)? There MUST be someone at Ford that can assist. This is driving me crazy.

Thanks.

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[Dude84]

That's weird that Ford Marketing (1-800-334-4375, right?) wouldn't give you the private offer certificate number. That's actually how I fixed it with my order; my dealer couldn't find it, I called Ford Marketing and they gave me the certificate number over the phone. Once I relayed that to the dealer, I was good to go.

You may want to try calling back and hopefully you'll get a different and more helpful rep.

 

[Joe Mac]

I just called Ford marketing after reading this. They gave me my certificate number and told me to call the dealership for the dollar value.

 

[RockHoundTX]

That's weird that Ford Marketing (1-800-334-4375, right?) wouldn't give you the private offer certificate number. That's actually how I fixed it with my order; my dealer couldn't find it, I called Ford Marketing and they gave me the certificate number over the phone. Once I relayed that to the dealer, I was good to go.

You may want to try calling back and hopefully you'll get a different and more helpful rep.

I have called Ford Marketing no less than 6 times since August. Ford Marketing would absolutely have given me the Private Offer Certificate number if it were in their system (they were happy to give me the number for my $750 offer that was in their system). Unfortunately, it is NOT in their system even though it 100% should be. That is the issue that I have been trying to resolve since mid-August last year.

When Ford created the Private Offers back in August, I am guessing that somewhere between 20%-30% (maybe more) that were supposedly eligible did not get them entered into the system correctly by Ford (Even Ford Video Guy said that he had something like 15 orders that were missing Private Offers back in September). Some where due to the dealer having not entered a COVP (but I have confirmed this was not the case with mine), others were fat-finger typos, and some were just cases where a Ford Intern just skipped someone by mistake when creating the Private Offers.

Ford sent out an e-mail to all dealers on how to resolve issues with Private Offers not showing up. Basically they just need to send proof (usually in the form af a COVP Cert #) to their "Regional Inventory Specialist" and this person would validate and send a message to Ford Marketing to create the missing Private Offer.

Unfortunately, I currently have no viable way of getting the COVP Cert # so that my current dealership can send it off to be Inventory Specialist. If I can find someone at Ford that can get me a COVP #, then my current dealer can do the rest. Even better if I could find someone that could actually create the Private Offer for me (but I think that is asking for too much ;-/ ).

 

[Dude84]

I have called Ford Marketing no less than 6 times since August. Ford Marketing would absolutely have given me the Private Offer Certificate number if it were in their system (they were happy to give me the number for my $750 offer that was in their system). Unfortunately, it is NOT in their system even though it 100% should be. That is the issue that I have been trying to resolve since mid-August last year.

When Ford created the Private Offers back in August, I am guessing that somewhere between 20%-30% (maybe more) that were supposedly eligible did not get them entered into the system correctly by Ford (Even Ford Video Guy said that he had something like 15 orders that were missing Private Offers back in September). Some where due to the dealer having not entered a COVP (but I have confirmed this was not the case with mine), others were fat-finger typos, and some were just cases where a Ford Intern just skipped someone by mistake when creating the Private Offers.

Ford sent out an e-mail to all dealers on how to resolve issues with Private Offers not showing up. Basically they just need to send proof (usually in the form af a COVP Cert #) to their "Regional Inventory Specialist" and this person would validate and send a message to Ford Marketing to create the missing Private Offer.

Unfortunately, I currently have no viable way of getting the COVP Cert # so that my current dealership can send it off to be Inventory Specialist. If I can find someone at Ford that can get me a COVP #, then my current dealer can do the rest. Even better if I could find someone that could actually create the Private Offer for me (but I think that is asking for too much ;-/ ).

Gotcha. I wish I had something, other than annoying the hell out of your salesman and sales manager until they break down and help you.

 

[Old Man]

Send a note to @fordvideoguy and ask him how to bypass your non-cooperative dealer to get the number.

 

[RockHoundTX]

Been a week and still have heard absolutely NOTHING from @Ford Motor Company (who I directly sent a PM to last week), current dealership (e-mail sent to Sales Agent as well as Sales Manager), and old dealership (sent to both Sales Agent and Sales Manager). Phone calls have gone to voice-mail with no response.

THIS is why dealing with Ford is so frustrating. Absolutely, positively no customer service if things are even slightly "out of the norm". I am sure that somewhere within Ford there is someone that could fix my issue in a matter of 2-3 minutes. Yet, I have no way of knowing whom that is or how to contact them.

I highly respect @fordvideoguy (he has been a huge help to this community) and since he has no dog in the fight, not a direction I want to take.

At some point next week, I plan to show up at my current dealership (about 40 miles away) and do a face-to-face with the Sales Manager. Guessing they are still going to claim it is either a "Ford issue" or just blame my older dealer. If that does not produce results, then plan to go to the old dealership (300 miles away) and try my luck.

 

[fordvideoguy]

I know that there are 50+ Private Offer threads and I have read (and participated) in just about all of them over the last 10 months. Trying to figure out if anyone was able to find "the magic Ford person" that can actually assist if the dealership will not.

After 19 months, I finally received the "you are scheduled for production" e-mail for an XL Hybrid. Back on October 1, 2021, I had placed the order with a small-town dealer that got practically no allocation. Last summer, the dealer basically said "go find another dealer". In September, I found a larger local dealer but my Private Offer was not showing up at the time the order was placed. I spent sever weeks trying to fix this with no results (see my MTC posts from August/September 2022). I could not get my COVP confirmation # from my original dealer (since they now wanted nothing to do with either me or the Maverick) and the new dealer claimed there was nothing they could do on their end and that I should "just wait and see if it eventually pops up". Ultimately, I figured that my '23 XL Hybrid would likely never get built so just gave up.

Now that I have a production date, this lit a fire under me since $2750 is a LOT of money for my family!!! I spent 40 minutes on the phone with Ford Marketing. They were able to confirm four main things:

1) There was a '22 XL order in my name that had been balanced out at some point after September 2022
2) The balanced out '22 order was listed as "COVP: Certified". However, the agent said only a dealer has access to the actual COVP certification number.
3) My address, phone number, and e-mail address all looked consistent (and I have been getting my "45 day" letters for the last 2 years)
4) I had 13 active Ford Rebates but none were a $2750 Private Offer (the highest one was for $750)

So what is next? My current dealer has supposedly already tried all the "normal" hacks to bring up the Private Offer. They are also very reluctant to send a request to their "regional inventory specialist" (per the Ford Private Offer Dealer memo) unless I have a COVP certification number. My old dealership (who is 300 miles away) originally sent me a message saying "Ford took down the COVP system" and then has pretty much ghosted me since then.

So now that I verified that I had a valid COVP on my '22 order, how do I go about getting the COVP cert # when the dealerships won't assist? Who can I contact at Ford that is capable of providing this information? Is there a way for my current dealer to see the Cert # from the old dealer (or does Ford intentionally prevent this for security/competition reasons?)? There MUST be someone at Ford that can assist. This is driving me crazy.

Thanks.

PM me your name and information including dealer information with sales manager name and information. I will see what I can do. I'll have my Sales and Inventory Manager reach out to your dealer's Sales and Inventory Manager.

 

[uga]

fordvideoguy is the best !

 

[RockHoundTX]

PM me your name and information including dealer information with sales manager name and information. I will see what I can do. I'll have my Sales and Inventory Manager reach out to your dealer's Sales and Inventory Manager.

Thank you. I greatly appreciate the help. I am going to try and do the face-to-face first and see if I get anywhere. I want to make sure that I in no way mess things up with my current dealership. If I make no progress in the next two weeks, then I will absolutely take you up on the offer.

From your comment, it sounds like one dealership is not able to see a COVP Cert # that was issued to another dealership. Guessing that only a Ford Regional Sales and Inventory Manager has that ability (or do even they have that ability since my current dealer wants the '22 COVP Cert # prior to sending anything to their Sales and Inventory Manager?)?

 

[fordvideoguy]

Thank you. I greatly appreciate the help. I am going to try and do the face-to-face first and see if I get anywhere. I want to make sure that I in no way mess things up with my current dealership. If I make no progress in the next two weeks, then I will absolutely take you up on the offer.

From your comment, it sounds like one dealership is not able to see a COVP Cert # that was issued to another dealership. Guessing that only a Ford Regional Sales and Inventory Manager has that ability (or do even they have that ability since my current dealer wants the '22 COVP Cert # prior to sending anything to their Sales and Inventory Manager?)?

Only the dealer and the COVP team at Ford can see that information. It is actually pretty easy to submit for a certificate number for a missing one like you have. They will need the 22MY COVP approval number which they should be able to find in COVP if they got an approval.

 

[FlyinAtlas]

Only the dealer and the COVP team at Ford can see that information. It is actually pretty easy to submit for a certificate number for a missing one like you have. They will need the 22MY COVP approval number which they should be able to find in COVP if they got an approval.

I am another MY22 to MY23 rollover and am still struggling to get the private offer issue resolved, even though I met all of the criteria. When I was at the dealership purchasing my Maverick, I did find out that there was a typo in my address for the new 2023 order. The dealer fixed it in their system, but still weren’t able to generate a code. I waited about a week before taking delivery, so they could try to sort out the private offer issue. They told me they couldn’t get in touch with anyone at Ford to resolve it, so I reluctantly took delivery, as I had read many of the horror stories on here of some dealers selling them out from under original customers. The dealer has not been responsive in person, although they did show me the COVP. I sent a certified letter to Ford Customer Care detailing the entire ordeal, and they responded and said my feedback had been documented and would send it to the dealer, as well. They said “we recommend that you continue to work with the dealer” to resolve the issue. The dealer has not done anything and will not even answer any of my email requests for an update. This whole process has been frustrating and disheartening. Needless to say, I am very disappointed by all of this. @fordvideoguy is there anything else I should be doing to try to resolve this? Is there any hope I could still get this resolved?

Thank you.

 

[RockHoundTX]

In the end, I got my Private Offer but 100% certain that I would not have if I had not pushed the issue. In my case I did a 600 mile drive to my previous dealership. They had already "purged" their system so could not give me the COVP ID which is what I went there for. I had the GM call the Ford area rep while I was in the room. She indicated that it was a common problem and that she had filled out dozens of forms and sent them to Marketing to get Private Offers. Unfortunately, since my new dealer was not in her region (she had North Texas and Arkansas), she could not do a form for me. She gave me the name of the Southern Texas Region person and told me that my new dealer would have to have them do it. She indicated that the form was pretty straight-forward and included name, address, dealer ID, and Order ID. She said it also had space for COVP ID but less than 10% of the forms she filled out had that information.

I took all the information I had, bundled it in a huge e-mail with all the back-story, and sent it to my current dealer. This included everything I could think of: multiple spellings of my name, multiple phone numbers, my previous dealer's name/address/phone-number, screen-shots of my original DORA and purchase order, screen-shots of my multiple Chat messages with Ford, screen-shots of my 45 day e-mails, etc......

I gave it a week (with no response from my dealer) and then went physically to the dealership and did a face to face. The sales-person was pretty clueless but the GM was actually helpful. He tried looking things up but of course nothing showed up. I then asked if he could try and call his Ford Area Rep (and I already had her name) which he did. She basically said the same thing as the first Rep. She indicated that if I sent everything in she would see what she could do. I then resent my orginal e-mail (now with my VIN since my truck had just gone into production) to the GM to get it forwarded to the Rep.

Over the next 4 weeks all I heard was crickets and the GM was ghosting all my e-mails. The day my truck came in I finally got an e-mail from him saying "Your truck is in. By the way, I got the Private Offer.". Alls well that ends well but it was a super frustrating process.

The GM did make one comment that was extremely interesting: "I am not sure what the Area Rep did but it was not the normal process. Your Ford Private Offer code looks nothing like any of the ones I have seen before.". Ultimately, I think everything comes down to if the Area Rep wants to help you or not. If so, then good chance of getting it. If not, then you are screwed. The dealership is just your means of getting the attention of the Area Rep. My suggestion is to go back to the dealer and sit in the room while he puts the Area Rep on speaker phone. Specifically ask "since I met all the criteria, can you explain why it has not arrived?". My bet is that the response is going to be something like "oh. Let me check my e-mails. Here it is. Woops. Let me fill out the form and send it in. Should be about 2 weeks.:. That is likely your best bet.

Best of luck to you.

 

[FlyinAtlas]

Thanks for wishing me luck, but I think I’m out of luck. The dealer has no interest in trying to help me with this. I’m not sure what else I could do at this point. It’s very disappointing.

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