E-Irritations

When we purchased an electric vehicle, one of the factors we considered was government incentives. In addition to the federal tax credit, our local government also offers an incentive; while smaller than the federal, it's still a significant amount of money for us. Significant enough that, depending on income and expenses, it could impact our tax filings.

So, last month I reached out to the dealership to find out what calendar year the incentive is considered part of, and what paperwork we might require.

[Light fuse.]

After repeated emails and a phone conversation, I learned the following:

1. The paperwork for the incentive must be submitted within a month of purchase.

2. The dealer did not submit the paperwork. 

I am not angry. I am not livid. I am beyond angry and well past livid, frankly damn gobsmacked and nigh on incandescent. 

The government's web site for the incentive clearly states, "Your dealer will complete and submit your ... application [for the incentive] at the time of purchase or lease of the eligible vehicle." 

A polite email sent last week outlining this situation and asking the sales manager to contact me to discuss this issue has gone unanswered.

[Yes. Light fuse. Incandescent.] 

(And yes, partly I'm angry at myself for not following up with the dealer earlier, for not knowing the time limit for submission. The information is buried deeper in the government website -- the first page is an "easy as 1, 2, 3" type of summation, with dealer submitting the application as step 2. Clearly, I should have been counting higher than 3.)

So, here is the plan -- 

1. Send via certified mail a letter to sales manager and dealership owner, restating situation and requesting contact by two weeks from mail date to discuss a solution.
2. Email copies of letter, with cc's to owner and car-manufacturer customer-help address, HyundaiNationalCustomerCare@hmausa.com⁠.
3. If no response after two weeks
• Submit complaint on car-manufacturer site
• Submit complaint to Better Business Bureau 
• Submit issue to Elliott Advocacy, a consumer advocacy site (if they choose to help, they will contact the dealer directly)
• Send certified mail to dealership owner notifying him of above
4. If still unresolved one month later
• Post negative reviews highlighting issue on Yelp, DealerRater, SureCritic, Google, AngiesList, and Cars.com, as well as dealership's Facebook page
• Via certified mail and email, notify dealership that reviews have been posted and will be updated or replaced weekly to ensure they appear as recent
• In same letter, notify dealership that next step is filing a claim in small claims court
5. Research attorney to determine if one is advisable for small claims court
6. If still unresolved one month after previous letter, file claim ($95 fee, plus costs of notifying dealership, plus attorney, if applicable)

I get that mistakes happen, and feel I should have followed up/been better informed, and honestly, they could even have offered me free windshield wipers for life in compensation and I'd probably have taken it. But to just not respond to a legitimate and polite complaint about their obvious negligence? Oh, no. I'm reaching whole new levels of peevishness.