Life’s no Palm Beach for these superbikers
Almost a dozen potential Kawasaki superbike customers have been waiting for delivery of their vehicles for months. With no bikes or refunds forthcoming, they’re contemplating legal action
In an ongoing saga that is sure to give potential superbike owners pause, over a dozen customers who booked and paid for Kawasaki motorcycles have been left hanging by their dealer, SNK Palm Beach in Navi Mumbai. The bikes in question cost upwards of Rs 8 lac and some were booked as early as April 2016.
Customers TGS spoke to had a repetitive tale to tell. They made payments — whether in full or financed through a bank — to the SNK Palm Beach Kawasaki dealership and were promised deliveries, usually within a month. While a few lucky customers have received deliveries or refunds due to delays, about 11 customers have been waiting upto three months for their motorcycles. More recently, the aggrieved customers have self-organised and created a WhatsApp group to coordinate among themselves.
Mandheer Singh, who works for Future Group sold his Ninja 650 in the hopes of upgrading to a Z800. He booked the motorcycle on 27 April with an initial payment of Rs 4 lac and transferred the balance some time later, including a remittance from his financier, HDFC Bank. On 22 June, after a considerable wait, Satyen Karandikar, proprietor of SNK Palm Beach informed him that they were unable to deliver the bike and would process a refund. Singh recounted his poor experience on social media on 29 June and received a refund cheque dated 7 July. He deposited it, and the cheque bounced. He’s currently on his third HDFC Bank EMI for a bike that was never delivered.
“After over 60 days of waiting for my delivery, I discovered that there were more customers like me. I connected to a few through Facebook and eventually found 11 such customers,” says Neil Shah, a manufacturer of parts and fixtures for the automotive industry. Shah booked his Kawasaki Z800 in May, and was promised delivery before June began. He continues to wait for a resolution.
Yet another customer, Amin Qureshi, 58, a civil, construction and development business owner, booked a Z800 for his son toward the end of May, paying Rs 3.7 lac by cheque and financing 5 lac from HDFC bank. He was promised a 5th July delivery, which did not take place. Qureshi requested and received a post-dated refund cheque, as did HDFC Bank for their loan amount. However, he was informed by the bank that the account from which the dealer issued the cheque did not have sufficient funds, and so Qureshi did not deposit it. Neil Shah also received a similar refund in the form of a cheque dated 21 July, which he was to deposit once instructed by SNK Palm Beach. Those instructions too, never came. HDFC Bank has started claiming an EMI from him as well.
TGS has contacted other customers, who have had their refund cheques bounce, or who hold post-dated cheques that they have not deposited for fear of being dishonoured.
When TGS reached out to India Kawasaki Motors, Sukhad Sangamnerkar, Manager, Marketing, had this to say: “Our customers are always our first priority. Several customers and banks have reached out to us regarding this issue. IKM also has certain claims on the dealer that remain unresolved. Our MD, Yutaka Yamashita is currently in Japan and will be back next week, but we are working night and day to resolve the situation.”
We also spoke to Satyen Karandikar, the proprietor of SNK Palm Beach. He acknowledged and apologised for the delays. “We are expecting a final decision from India Kawasaki Motors between in the coming week, and I assure all customers that their bikes will be delivered by the end of August, or they may opt for a full refund, including interest. We will also absorb any additional taxes that have become applicable for those customers who have insisted on this. As for the dealership, it continues to be open and we have an LOI with India Kawasaki Motors valid till 31 March 2017. We have had some challenges but we will bounce back,” he said.
Shortly after we began researching this story, in a news release dated 10 August on their website, India Kawasaki Motors maintains that SNK Palm Beach continues to be an authorised dealer and is responsible for sales and delivery of Kawasaki motorcycles to its customers. They add that they are reaching out to customers and are instructing SNK Palm Beach to “satisfy and resolve these issues at the earliest”.
Karandikar also confirmed that he was instructed by IKM to stop taking bookings in a letter dated 16 June 2016.
Originally published at thegoldensparrow.com.
