I had my car repaired by a non-Ford dealer due to a lack of available appointments at my local dealer but was told that I could be reimbursed. I followed the process at the repair shop, and then reached out to Ford for help. They told me that I had to go to the dealer and fill out the request, so I did that. I hadn't heard anything back about my refund, so I called the company to check on it. I don't know if it's just a temporary problem, but the phone service just didn't work for me. I attempted to try to talk to someone twice.
Obviously, there are a lot of reasons why people might end up calling Ford. The most likely reason based on my phone call is recalls, but there can be repair issues, dealer problems, and just general questions. A lot of people drive Ford vehicles in this county, so it's disappointing that the company's customer service line isn't set up better to help customers. In fact, with so many limited options, it's hard to see how anyone who doesn't have a recall is really going to get help.
When I called, a recorded message stated, "Thank you for calling Ford Corporation. For English, press 1." There was then a long message about what to do about recalls and information provided on a few websites the caller could visit to learn more. Then, the automated voice gave me a few choices including, "If you are calling in response to a recall or a customer satisfaction survey, please press 1. To hear about recalls for your vehicle using your 17-digit number, please press 2. To locate your nearest dealer, please press 3. If you are calling about a refund for a repair that has already been completed, please press 4. To repeat these choices, please press 5."
The obvious choice was four, but when I pressed it, the voice instructed me, "To submit a refund request, please contact your dealership. You will need to wait 6 to 8 weeks on average for the refund to be completed. If you have already reported it to a dealership and are still experiencing a concern, please press 1." I pressed one and there was just dead silence. After a few seconds a voice said, "Thank you for calling the Ford Motor Company," and then the line went dead. I thought maybe I had made a mistake, so I called again and followed the same pathway. I was hung up on again. I'm not sure what happened, but I wasn't able to talk to anyone. I'll just have to go down to the dealer and talk to them.