PF
Philippe Fouché
Active since Oct 2019
2
Reviews
0
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Reviews
2 reviews3 weeks ago
lovely staff team, but take your car somewhere else
I want to give a fair but honest review of my experience with Farber Coachworks Paarden Eiland. My vehicle, a Nissan Magnite, was sent to Farber Coachworks on 23 March 2026. My insurer approved the repair claim on 1 April 2026. Despite the approval being granted, I received no proactive communication from Farber Coachworks. On 4 April, I phoned to follow up and was told they would look into it because their system showed that the claim had been approved. I still received no update. I had to phone again on 9 April, 8 days after approval had been granted, only to be told that although the approval was visible on their system, nothing had actually been passed on internally to begin the repairs. In other words, a full week had effectively been lost because of a breakdown in their internal process. I sent a formal complaint email on 9 April raising the lack of progress and communication. I did not receive a reply to that email, but after sending it the vehicle was eventually moved into the repair process. On 11 April, I received a WhatsApp update saying my vehicle was in the “Panel Beating” stage and that I would be kept informed as the vehicle moved through each department. After that, there was silence. From 11 April until 30 April, a period of 19 days, I received no further update at all. On 30 April, I sent another follow-up email because I had still received no communication and they were not answering their telephones, I attempted to call numerous times over 2 days between April 29-30. Again, I received no reply. Finally, on 4 May, I managed to get someone to answer the phone. I was then told that they had not yet received the parts and that my vehicle was still in the stripping phase. This was extremely frustrating, because by that point my car had been with them for 42 days, and the repair approval had been granted 33 days earlier. It also meant that after being told on 11 April that the vehicle was already in the panel beating stage, I was now being told on 4 May that it was still at an early stage of the repair process. Only after that phone call did WhatsApp updates begin coming through. Then, on 12 May, I received an SMS saying: “Dear client, as discussed the expected completion date of your vehicle has changed to 2026/05/19.” The wording “as discussed” was also frustrating because no such discussion had taken place with me. I had simply received an SMS stating a changed completion date. To their credit, the vehicle was completed earlier than that revised date, on 15 May. I do appreciate that. However, the overall experience was still very poor from a customer communication and process management perspective. In total: * Vehicle sent in: 23 March 2026 * Insurance approval granted: 1 April 2026 * I had to follow up on 4 April because there was no update * I had to follow up again on 9 April and discovered nothing had been passed on internally * WhatsApp update received on 11 April * No further update for 19 days * Follow-up email sent on 30 April with no reply * Finally reached them by phone on 4 May * SMS with revised completion date received on 12 May * Vehicle completed on 15 May From the date the vehicle was sent in to completion, the process took 53 days. From insurance approval to completion, it took 44 days. I want to be clear that when I went to the branch in person, the staff I dealt with were lovely, kind, and pleasant. This review is not aimed at individual staff members who were friendly face to face. However, based on my experience, and after reading many similar reviews from other customers, it seems there are fundamental flaws in the company’s internal communication and workflow. Departments do not appear to communicate properly with one another, customers are left to chase for updates, emails go unanswered, phones are not answered, and delays are not properly explained. The result is that the customer loses time and money while being left in the dark. In my case, I incurred additional transport costs and had to repeatedly follow up just to get basic information about my own vehicle. The repair may have eventually been completed, but the communication, transparency, and internal coordination were extremely disappointing. Farber Coachworks needs to seriously improve how it communicates with customers and how it manages approved insurance repairs internally.
1 reply
6 months ago
Extremely Poor Service and Constant App Errors
The FNB app constantly gives errors. For the entire month, I was unable to access the Navigate Money tab due to a system error stating it was “being investigated.” Because of this, I couldn’t complete the tasks needed to earn my monthly eBucks points. I contacted FNB via Secure Chat at 09:46. At 10:09 I was told someone was preparing to assist me. Only at 10:20 did the agent respond, and then immediately said they were transferring me to another department. Two minutes later, I still hadn’t been transferred, and the agent asked if I was still there. I rep**** immediately at 10:22 — yet at 10:23 the system claimed the chat was paused because I “wasn’t responding.” Seconds later, the agent ended the chat. I then waited again for assistance, but no one rep****. At 10:54 (over an hour later), someone finally connected, but by then I was in a meeting and unable to respond. This is not an isolated issue. In April, I asked my private banker for help with my Tax-Free Savings Account, which was also giving errors. My emails went unanswered, my calls were ignored, and only after threatening to leave the bank was the issue finally resolved — three months later, at the end of August. It took FNB three months to transfer money into my Tax-Free Savings Account. FNB’s service has declined dramatically. At this point, I genuinely don’t see the value of paying for private banking, and I am seriously considering leaving the bank.
1 reply
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