Today I was horrified to find out Volvo has made a serious blunder and a decision they have not shared ahead of time with their VOCP customer base (at least I've not had advance notice). They have cancelled their OnCallPlus service with the OnCall service provider.
The rest of this is a rant so please excuse and stop reading if you've no further interest. However, I'm appealing to other Volvo customers who have the VOCP feature in their car(s).
My current VOCP service expires June 25 and sure enough at the -30 day point my car's display indicated my "On Call Plus will soon expire". I pressed the OnCall button to have it renewed and was told that Volvo has cancelled their OnCall service feature and that after June 25 I will no longer have the luxury/use of VOCP. I was understandably shaken by this news. How could this be as Volvo had not sent me any advance notice of this and they sure knew I had purchased this with my car when new.
I find this Volvo action inexcusable and a HUGE black mark against it for customer satisfaction and involvement etc etc etc. If Volvo has sent out advance notice about this cancellation I did not receive it - has anyone ? I knew about a year ago the analog Integrated phone in my S60R may become obsolete and Cingular (was AT&T) may decide to drop servicing this type of phone, but so far haven't.
I bought VOCP mainly for the Emergency aspect of it. The Integrated phone was also very nice as it was a true hands-free phone which is a must-have for me with a 6-speed transmission.
I'm a lone occupant in my S60R for the most part and drive at night quite a bit and tend to drive fast out in the sticks on long runs at times. The OnCall and SOS features of the VOCP system are my protection to a large degree in the event I come a cropper one night; heart attack, sudden cramp in leg, diving into a black hole, swerving off road into ditch or while driving and having fun out in the sticks on my lonesome. Laying semi-unconscious on a dark night in pouring rain out in the sticks after swerving to avoid a Deer and ending up in the ditch now means my SOS cannot help me. How could Volvo be so unkind me thinks.
No matter - it appears I now have no recourse other than to contact Volvo about this matter to understand what my options are. What will others do I ask ?
My S60R is still under full warranty and this includes my VOCP hardware. Volvo has without notice made this hardware inoperative come June 25 for me. Under the warranty I believe I have a good reason to seek some form of $relief from Volvo.
What are other VOCP customers doing about this ?
Shoud we band together in some manner and speak with a single group voice to Volvo ?
Will Volvo be sympathetic and provide an acceptable soln ?
Under full Volvo warranty what are our legal options with Volvo ?
Has anyone been given advance notice about the VOCP cancellation ?
Will my integrated hands-free phone continue to work after June 25 ? I believe it will so long as Cingular doesn't discontinue supporting analog phones.
Sigh - I will be speaking with my local Volvo dealership tomorrow about this whole sorry affair and have them look into what my options are. After finding out the details and correcting any of my misunderstandings in this matter I will also be writing to Volvo to express my outrage and that this could very well interfer with me continuing my 30 years of Volvo ownership along with my family and extended family if I have my way.
Sorry for the rant but felt compelled to post my feelings to others in the Volvo family.
Hmmmm - "Volvo for life" takes on a whole new meaning for me now.
Regards... Barry
The rest of this is a rant so please excuse and stop reading if you've no further interest. However, I'm appealing to other Volvo customers who have the VOCP feature in their car(s).
My current VOCP service expires June 25 and sure enough at the -30 day point my car's display indicated my "On Call Plus will soon expire". I pressed the OnCall button to have it renewed and was told that Volvo has cancelled their OnCall service feature and that after June 25 I will no longer have the luxury/use of VOCP. I was understandably shaken by this news. How could this be as Volvo had not sent me any advance notice of this and they sure knew I had purchased this with my car when new.
I find this Volvo action inexcusable and a HUGE black mark against it for customer satisfaction and involvement etc etc etc. If Volvo has sent out advance notice about this cancellation I did not receive it - has anyone ? I knew about a year ago the analog Integrated phone in my S60R may become obsolete and Cingular (was AT&T) may decide to drop servicing this type of phone, but so far haven't.
I bought VOCP mainly for the Emergency aspect of it. The Integrated phone was also very nice as it was a true hands-free phone which is a must-have for me with a 6-speed transmission.
I'm a lone occupant in my S60R for the most part and drive at night quite a bit and tend to drive fast out in the sticks on long runs at times. The OnCall and SOS features of the VOCP system are my protection to a large degree in the event I come a cropper one night; heart attack, sudden cramp in leg, diving into a black hole, swerving off road into ditch or while driving and having fun out in the sticks on my lonesome. Laying semi-unconscious on a dark night in pouring rain out in the sticks after swerving to avoid a Deer and ending up in the ditch now means my SOS cannot help me. How could Volvo be so unkind me thinks.
No matter - it appears I now have no recourse other than to contact Volvo about this matter to understand what my options are. What will others do I ask ?
My S60R is still under full warranty and this includes my VOCP hardware. Volvo has without notice made this hardware inoperative come June 25 for me. Under the warranty I believe I have a good reason to seek some form of $relief from Volvo.
What are other VOCP customers doing about this ?
Shoud we band together in some manner and speak with a single group voice to Volvo ?
Will Volvo be sympathetic and provide an acceptable soln ?
Under full Volvo warranty what are our legal options with Volvo ?
Has anyone been given advance notice about the VOCP cancellation ?
Will my integrated hands-free phone continue to work after June 25 ? I believe it will so long as Cingular doesn't discontinue supporting analog phones.
Sigh - I will be speaking with my local Volvo dealership tomorrow about this whole sorry affair and have them look into what my options are. After finding out the details and correcting any of my misunderstandings in this matter I will also be writing to Volvo to express my outrage and that this could very well interfer with me continuing my 30 years of Volvo ownership along with my family and extended family if I have my way.
Sorry for the rant but felt compelled to post my feelings to others in the Volvo family.
Hmmmm - "Volvo for life" takes on a whole new meaning for me now.
Regards... Barry