Freedom Ford

Great Customer Service Freedom Ford has always been there for me. They helped me get the car I wanted for the amount I was able to pay within my budget. Excellent service Freedom Ford has always been there for me. They helped me get the car I wanted for the amount I was able to pay within my budget. Excellent service as well so I will be a customer forever. More

Very Poor Customer Service My experience was most definitely not a good one. Very unorganized No call backs No updates Could not get shuttle I have had my new truck in a co My experience was most definitely not a good one. Very unorganized No call backs No updates Could not get shuttle I have had my new truck in a couple of times for the same issue. More

The business office is abusive and lacks accountability I kept holding back this review, in the hopes that Freedom Ford might show some degree of humility following their treatment of my wife and myself ove I kept holding back this review, in the hopes that Freedom Ford might show some degree of humility following their treatment of my wife and myself over the past two and a half months. Unfortunately, they have instead turned their latest of insulting and condescending employees on us, continuing to make us feel guilty for their need to fix mistakes of their own doing as well as the myriad of insults and threats that occurred by a result of leasing our new vehicle from them. While they are obviously not yet done with us, I can wait no longer. I have no reason to believe that anyone, after the sales department level, gives a xxxx about customers after they have signed the paperwork. I have never, in my 40 years of purchasing or leasing vehicles, had a dealer come back once, let alone 4 or 5 times, to make me feel guilty that they had made one mistake after another, then threatening me to fix it, before realizing that it was their mistake in the first place. This is definitely the first negative review I have made of a company in the past 3 years and it disheartens me to do so. First of all let me say that the salesman, “Jay” that we dealt with at Freedom Ford was Fabulous. He assured us that he would be able to get us a monthly payment that was at least $40.00 less than what we were offered at Ford in Whitecourt Alberta, who told us that we would not get a better deal, going to Edmonton. In fact, when the final numbers came in some $55.00 less, we decided to lease a car worth $2,000.00 more, being $44,500.00 for a Ford Escape Titanium; but then we were handed over to the Business department, beginning a two and one half month (so far) experience of abuse and intolerance at the hands of various Freedom Ford Employees. After three hours in the business office, we were on our way. We had turned in our leased Ford Edge as we had requested and we signed a lease for our new Escape for a price that was $12.00 less than what we had expected. Within Days, we were contacted by Arlene Bouza in the business office to inform us that we now owed another $922.00 as they had not used the correct amount in calculating the guaranteed purchase price of the lease return. The price in our documentation was $18,440.00, but they wanted $19,362.00. We argued back and forth over the next week with Arlene, who started making angered phone calls telling us that we had better deal with this soon or they would need to take back their car. We pointed out that this amount was exactly 5% of the lease return price. But Arlene Bouza, soon followed by one of her managers, Rumeet, told us that we were using the wrong number and that the $19,362.00 was the amount that Freedom Ford paid for the vehicle in purchasing it from Ford Credit. I pointing out to Rumeet that this was GST and that Freedom Ford, as a business would surely get this back when they sold the car, but he insisted that they would not, as the additional amount was not expressed as GST when they bought it from Ford. I also tried the logic that a deal had been signed and if the situation was reversed, there was no way in xxxx that we could approach Freedom Ford saying that we had made a mistake and we wanted another $922.00. But he insisted that this amount was still owed. After one week of this, while we continued to research and make our argument, we were contacted by Rumeet asking where the registration documents were. While we were told by Arlene at Freedom Ford that we had 14 days to provide them, he informed us that this was not the way that Freedom Ford does it, and if we did not have the registration document to him within two days, they would need to take back the car. A couple of days later we were able to meet with our insurance agent to finalize the paperwork (It is important to note what happened here, as this comes up again later). We noticed that the paperwork from Freedom Ford instructed us to register the car in their name and not in Ford Credit Canada’s name as was the case in previous leases. My wife contact Freedom Ford to question this. She was told by Arlene and Rumeet in very clear terms, that if that is what the paperwork from Freedom Ford said, then that is what it should be. Finally, 3 and a half weeks after arguing with Arlene, Rumeet and now the head of finance, Debra Rogers, over the GST that they paid for purchasing the car, Freedom Ford’s Manager, “Ben Shek” called and apologized emphatically for this error, saying that he was sorry that he had not been brought in on it earlier and that we did not owe this money. He also informed me that Rumeet was no longer with the company, a fact that was later referred to as quitting. At this point, we decided to let all of this go and simply get on with enjoying our new vehicle . . . but Freedom Ford was not done with us. One month after our purchase, we were contacted by Kristen. She had tried me on my cel phone, which was not notifying me that I had messages, rather than calling my wife’s number which was confirmed as the given contact phone number on our documentation. Having been unsuccessful in reaching me, she tried the listed contact number, literally ripping a strip off of my wife, exclaiming that “we” (Melanie and I) had used the wrong information in registering the vehicle; then telling her that if this was not taken care of immediately, that . . . you guessed it, they would need to take back the vehicle. I then contacted Kristin, having to prove to her that this was not our doing while telling her that we had even tried to remedy this ourselves, but where told to do as we were told. I also told her of all of the other things that had happened to us since our purchase. The following day, Kristin called and told us that they would be taking care of all of the re-registration details and would be forwarding us the new paperwork without charge. She also told us how sorry she was for all of our experiences and that she “wanted to do something” to try and make up for all of this unpleasantly. Having been in business ourselves, we are never the type to be looking for something as an apology, as the apology itself and a correction of this issue is typically fine; but what happened next was nothing short of insulting, if not comical. The following day, Kristin contacted my wife saying, “ I see here that you still owe us $922.00 . . . we have decided to take care of this for you”. My wife called her back to explain all over again about the $922.00 and that Ben Shek had already apologized for that and agreed that we did not owe it. I followed this up with a phone call, asking that a letter be written to assure us that we did not owe this amount, as we did not want this coming up again years later. Kristin informed me that a letter would not be necessary . . . . Really??? At this point, we decided to let all of this go and simply get on with enjoying our new vehicle . . . but Freedom Ford was not done with us. Seven days following the one month anniversary of our purchase, we contacted Freedom Ford to inform them that our payment had still not been taken from our bank account. In trying to reach Kristin, I was forwarded to a voice mail that identified itself with a number. Concerned that I was leaving my message for the correct person, I called back. Reception told me, “Oh yes, I believe they all share a voice mail”. I suggested that they might want to at least put a message on there saying “you have reached the business office” and then asked to talk to the General Manager, Ben Shek. I was then forwarded to a voice mail for “Keith”. Calling back again, I was told that Ben Shek probably hadn’t set up his voice mail yet, would I like to leave a [written] message”. I did leave a message, stating that if I hear one more time that they might take my vehicle back, they can have it. I never heard back from Ben Shek after that message, or from Kristin, but was contacted by Deborah Rogers again, Freedom Ford’s Head of Finance. Looking into the issue, it was determined that, “Freedom Ford had sent the void cheque and paperwork, but Ford Credit had not received it. Since they did not keep this information, I was asked to send another copy of the void check so that they would have it. I did so by email that evening. One week later, I was contacted by Ford Credit to inform me that my first payment had not come out as they did not have the information necessary to do so. This was the first of many times that I was informed that this could lead to a comment to my Credit Bureau report, even after I had been informed by one Ford Credit caller, that he would be putting a note on my account to be sure that this would not happen.. I contacted Deborah Rogers by email to ask here to be sure that she had sent the check and also left a voice mail (her voicemail is set up). She never got back to me. Today, another week later, I am still receiving phone calls from Ford Credit asking me to deal with this and reminding me of the possible effect to my credit rating. They were helpful in recommending that I make my overdue payment online, as I did, but then continued to get calls. One caller told me that they do not accept emails, though she was able to confirm that they had received yet another copy of the required withdrawal form from me two days previous, by email, to an address given to me by a caller from the very same number. I decided that I would try and call Ben Shek again as this has become so very exasperating. I was told by reception that he had just stepped out. When I suggested that I leave a message on his voice mail, I was told that he doesn’t check his voice mails . . . . I will admit. This time I left a written message of “more xxxxxxxxx”. There is probably a reason he doesn’t check his voice mails. It is the same reason that I didn’t expect a call back from him for my recent message. He is no doubt tired of putting out these types of fires and chooses to ignore them, as also practiced by his staff. We still have not heard further from Kristin, except that she refuses to write a letter to assure us that we do not owe the $922.00 that keeps coming up as owed, or used by them as if it is a wonderful surprise to us that we will no longer owe it. For the longest time, I was apt to believe that we were just a “Lemmon Customer” that nothing could or would go right for us, no matter how hard Freedom Ford tried, but as more and more challenges surfaced and in light of how very disorganized the folks at Freedom Ford are, I realize that I am probably not alone. October 12, almost 2 months after our purchase. I sent a copy of this diatribe, up to this point, in draft to Freedom Fords General Manager Ben. In returning my call, he was again apologetic and informed me that they had only recently taken over the company from the previous owners and that he knew that they had some work to do and that changes were already being made. This call was on the heels of Ford Credit Canada calling us to ask if we had talked to Freedom Ford about the “Buy Out”. Ben was not sure what they were talking about, and assured me that he would look into it and be sure that it was taken care of. At this point, we decided to let all of this go and simply get on with enjoying our new vehicle . . . but Freedom Ford was not done with us. On October 24, 2016, a new department head named Jordan called as they now needed a bill of sale signed for the Ford Edge and for some reason that still eludes me, the newly Leased Ford Escape. Having first talked to my wife, he was most apologetic for whatever had occurred to this point, though he obviously had little idea what that was. He added to his lack of empathy by pointing out that Freedom Ford has taken care of $922.00 on your behalf. He also commented that there was obviously nothing that Freedom Ford could do to have us come back as a repeat customer, so he wasn’t going to try. I pointed out to him that Freedom Ford has never tried to do anything. They just keep on telling us that they took care of $922.00 “on our behalf”, which was never part of the deal or the understanding and the bases of the first threat to take back the vehicle. His response was to ask me what we would like. Disappointed that he still didn’t get it after all this time, I informed him that I was never looking for anything and did not feel it was my place to tell him what is fair in attempting to keep a customer. “We are not the type to milk something like this for a return” I told him and that “the responsibility of any compensation or measure of empathy is theirs, should they so choose”. That being the case, they have always chosen to insult further and return with a new challenge two weeks later as if it is the only uncomfortable thing that has happened. So Jordan now wants to make it our fault or decision to choose rude and annoying over empathy and compassion. The Truth about the $922.00 and the mysterious bill of sale: I was able to dissect through this recent go around what all the fuss was about regarding the $922.00 in GST. When a lease is returned, Ford Credit then takes it into their inventory and according to a Ford Credit Representative, the car then goes to a type of auction, within which, Freedom Ford might have an opportunity to bid. This, I would add, is how Ford Credit profits from the disparity of the $18,440.00 return value and the actual blue book value of the car, which in this case was apparently $22,500.00. In order to get our price down below that which we had asked for to begin with, Freedom Ford had to buy the car from us, which intern meant that we needed to buy it from Ford Credit first. That is why Freedom Ford would not get the GST of $922.00 back and why we would have had to pay it. Unfortunately, nobody in the past two months was willing to explain this to us until their little secret was exposed recently, when they realized that there was no bill of sale created. Obviously in writing up the deal, someone forgot that they were doing this and never penciled $922.00 into the math to figure out the final lease price that they would be charging us. So someone came up with the plan to threaten to take our car away unless we came up with it after the fact. They are now sending a representative on Wednesday, two months and nine days after the sale, to get the bill of sale signed, but not without first explaining what great effort and cost they would have to go through to do so. If there is any humor in this recent go around, it would be their plan to send Arlene or Kristin to get the paperwork signed. We have never heard from either of these women since they dealt with us on two separate issues including threats and in Kristin’s case, an attempt to apologize that backfired on her as it was not an apology at all. I did finally give up and proposed something that would have helped us out, at what would seem minimal cost to them. Their response however, was not acceptable as it required our trusting them not to find ways to over-charge us, in order to get back this money that they seem to feel we still owe. Given their quick to blame, abusive nature, before reviewing the facts, and their propensity to try and back out of a deal already signed, there is no longer any room for trust. I can say, that we have received the General Managers Apology. We do love our Ford Escape, though our feelings are obviously overshadowed by the first time in 40 years that a dealer has ever threatened to take a car back prior to me having to prove that mistakes made during the process were theirs. We have now been abused or ripped off in two of our most recent dealings with Ford, so it may be time to reconsider our choices. Given two in a row, it may be that these problems don’t end at the dealer level. Perhaps this is more of a top down manner of thinking on the part of Ford Canada Dealers in general. A manner of thinking that cost us roughly $4,000.00 in our last lease return and a lot of ongoing pain and discomfort in this recent one. Add to this our experiences with the Ford Dealer in Whitecourt while trying to do a deal and it’s now three in a row. Having been a proud Ford Owner in the past, I now cringe when I see the Logo . . . a reminder of how poorly we were treated . . . and our greatest sin, was that we leased a car. I did try to leave feedback through the system that Ford Provides for new customers, but my ability to do so had been terminated apparently, owing to the date. I suppose Ford Canada, does not expect that the “New Car” experience should take this long to sink in. My final word. Buy a Ford if you have a mind to. They are great vehicles. Even try Freedom Ford if you want a great deal. But first, you may want to introduce yourself to the general manager (Ben). Perhaps when you read this, he will have worked his promised magic, and fixed a few things around the dealership . . . but then, if something ugly like this happens to you . . . you can’t say you weren’t warned. More

Times have changed I have bought two vehicles from freedom and have been completely satisfied( and recommended multiple people ) until an ownership change has changed e I have bought two vehicles from freedom and have been completely satisfied( and recommended multiple people ) until an ownership change has changed everything. They no longer go above and beyond ( Lisa in quick lube is still great!) but I have an issue with a vehicle - 2013 Ford Focus - where the audio cuts out while driving. Clearly a manufacturer problem with all the complaints online (. You can google it ) but they don't care anymore. Previous ownership would have performed whatever was necessary to fix it at no cost. They want to charge $165 just to run a diagnostic test. EVERY single sales person ( except for Rick ) has left the company and they are turning into your Cheesy typical dealer. If this issue isn't resolved my future purchases will be at heartland ford in fort Saskatchewan where the dependable giliwich brothers and Gord went to. More

Wonderful experience Freedom Ford helped me find the perfect vehicle. Thank you Linden and Arlene and everyone else on the team who helped make this experience of buying Freedom Ford helped me find the perfect vehicle. Thank you Linden and Arlene and everyone else on the team who helped make this experience of buying a new car easy and stress free. I would definitely recommend you guys to others. Thank you! More

Quick and painless A quick tire change to winter tires. No hassle and ready as promised. The dealership gave me a list of repairs that were priced and detailed enough to A quick tire change to winter tires. No hassle and ready as promised. The dealership gave me a list of repairs that were priced and detailed enough to make a decision when and what to do and how much it will cost approximately. Decided to bring back at a later date to have the repairs done at Freedom Ford. More

Block heater repair cori Slute is top notch and the drivers are excellent. A very trouble free experience! The price of a block heater cord is too much in my opinion. cori Slute is top notch and the drivers are excellent. A very trouble free experience! The price of a block heater cord is too much in my opinion. More

Oil change and vehicle serviceing! Freedom Ford has excellent customer service! Immediately willing to stop what they are doing and give you 100% full undivided attention. Everyone ther Freedom Ford has excellent customer service! Immediately willing to stop what they are doing and give you 100% full undivided attention. Everyone there was very professional and friendly yet also had some fun which is awesome to see! I can not wait until my next visit with them. Thank you Freedom Ford for a first experience that I will never forget! More

Management is willing to work with you The guys here have good customer service overall, especially the upper management. I have had my share of issues with our car not arriving in time The guys here have good customer service overall, especially the upper management. I have had my share of issues with our car not arriving in time as discussed. It arrived 1.5 months after its been sitting at usa parking lot for almost 1.5 months. That said, the dealership did compensate for their lack of leadership in following such issue. Overall, we are still very disappointed with the overall circumstances that was within the hands of the dealership but it would be unfair to leave a lower star rating because the dealership did admit their mistake and followed up with updating us everyday since we complained and did everything they possibly could to rectify the situation which is what matters the most. More

Fantastic!!! Eric was awesome in the service that I got with my old truck as well as my new one. He set out exactly what I wanted to do, as well as, foresight in t Eric was awesome in the service that I got with my old truck as well as my new one. He set out exactly what I wanted to do, as well as, foresight in the service that I needed. Was true to his word and honest about things he was unable to do. Thks very much Eric, I will be back! Tony More