Hi everyone! First of all - thank you to this community! It’s been really helpful to help me plan my upcoming trip to Italy.

My partner and I really want to hike the Tre Cime loop. We have set aside 11th and 12th May for this. However, when I tried booking parking and toll - it says that the slots are available only from the end of May. The site also doesn’t seem to be loading at my end.

We’d really like to drive from Cortina d’Ampezzo to Tre Cime and back - so don’t want to take the bus options.

Could you please suggest how to book this? Or can I simply go without any pre-booking? I’m assuming that the loop will be open right now.

Hi everyone, first of all - big thank you to this community - used it heavily to submit my visa application.

Now, as evident from the title - how do I expedite my visa? Documents were submitted on 14th April to VFS and reached the consulate on the next day. (I know that the dates are too tight - I had no other option)

Visa type - Short term tourist visa - first issuance
County - Italy
Dates - 8th May to 24th May (16 days)

As of today, 4th May 2026 there’s no update - it just shows it’s in process. I went through an agent for this (I know I should have done it myself - thought this would be easier to get an appointment) and he says that he will get his contact at VFS to nudge the consulate if there’s no update by today.

For context - I have my onward flight on 8th May. Travelling with my partner (who holds a valid Schengen visa and US visa).

I have less bank balance (50-60K INR, but income is 2L+ per month and have shown investments - combined with my partner - mutual funds, savings, stocks as proof - this is upward of 20L). Have added my partner as Co-sponsor in the cover letter and self sponsored in the form.

To make up for the financial issue - have shown credit card available credit, booked and paid for all hotels, flights, internal travel and major attractions.

Have submitted all other necessary documents. Past travel history - been to 7 countries including UK and Canada.

Is there anything I can do to expedite my visa? Travel is in 4 days!
Any help will be appreciated! Please let me know if you need any other detail

Hey everyone, long post but need some help - this has been a nightmare 45 days and I’m quite confused on what to do here.
I own a **Skoda Kushaq Monte Carlo 1.0 TSI AT**, purchased **October 2024, \~24,000 km**, well maintained. Last serviced at TAFE Access, Kudlu Road, Bangalore in September 2025 - no issues flagged.

# What happened:

March 10, 2026 - while coming back home I faced a bump on the road. This is typical for Haralur Road. While parking at home, the car suddenly wouldn’t shift into Park mode. I used the manual key release to secure it, called Skoda Roadside Assistance the next morning, and had it towed to **TAFE Access, Kudlu Road**. I was not there when they towed the vehicle or at the service centre to receive it.
The car had been running perfectly — I’d driven to Hyderabad and back just 2-3 days before this happened.

# What TAFE said:

Over the next 6 weeks, they told me that there’s an underbody damage on gearbox side, gear oil sump issue. Can’t proceed without insurance surveyor. Then said full gearbox needs replacement. Price quote was around 7.4L.
This week (after we pushed for diagnostic report): Email from their Aftersales team saying “diagnostic log shows selector lever issue” - but still recommending gearbox replacement.

Regarding the diagnostic report - On April 27, after significant difficulty - the executive first refused to share it saying I wasn’t entitled to it, then claimed it was deleted, then searched 6 different systems saying he couldn’t find it - we finally got the ODIS diagnostic report (dated on 16th March) through his manager. At one point he googled the part to show us what it meant and then was surprised that it was just a micro switch and didn’t indicate a problem with the gearbox. He showed us screens of a system they use - Autadex and randomly pointed to the screen and said gearbox is damaged (screen didn’t indicate any such thing)

# The diagnostic report shows:

Address 0002 — 6-speed automatic gearbox — ZERO faults. Not one.
The only gear-related fault: B116229 — Selector lever park position lock switch, implausible signal.

Their own diagnostic report, from their own system, on their own ODIS said that it was a micro switch problem and not gearbox as a whole.
We also drove the car forward and reverse in their yard on April 27. It moved fine. Video recorded.

# The insurance situation:

We filed a claim with Digit Insurance. Their field surveyor came, saw underbody rust, and rejected the claim — saying the rust indicates old damage and owner negligence. He never asked for or reviewed the ODIS diagnostic report. Made the decision based entirely on visual inspection and TAFE’s verbal word.
When we visited Digit’s office, the Karnataka State Manager verbally told us that there’s are two damage pattern and one of them looks “horizontal not vertical” and implied we may have caused it intentionally. Because only vertical dents are possible while driving - horizontal are not. When we asked for this in writing, he refused.
He also told us TAFE had asked if Digit could pay 40-50% as a settlement — and concluded we must be colluding with TAFE. We had no knowledge of this suggestion whatsoever.

Further, I has asked Digit to come with me to see the car - had an altercation there - they refused to see the diagnostic report or even listen to me. I kept requesting them to listen to me but they kept shouting.
They said that there’s rust is 1 year old+ - whereas I didn’t receive any such info from TAFE when I got the car serviced last year.
He keeps saying I have purposely caused damage to my own vehicle and the proof is the horizontal damage. He refuses to listen to anything.
Infact the service guys also tried talking to them and asking that if it’s just an oil sump issue will you pay for anything and he said he won’t pay for anything at all and walked off.

Now TAFE guys are telling me (not the executive who didn’t want to share the report - the manager I spoke to this time) that maybe it’s not such a big issue - they can open the oil sump and check the issue from inside. They won’t know much without opening. But the moment they open it my warranty will be void and I won’t be able to claim anything in insurance

What I know from research: **B116229** seems to be a known VW Group issue - affects all VW group AT models.

# Where we are now:

\- Car still at TAFE (45+ days)
\- This week got a low battery voltage notification on Skoda Connect
\- Planning to move the car to another authorized Skoda service center
\- Digit claim is formally rejected twice — I’m thinking of mailing Digit Grievance and asking for help or I’ll raise to Ombudsman

# What I’m asking:

\- If the second service centre also says that they won’t know anything until they open the gearbox and the insurance has already rejected my claim twice - should I wait to get help via Ombudsman? Or should I open it anyway - and see what the issue is. Chances that it’s minor (given the report) or even if it’s major - get it repaired locally.

\- If I do end up opening it and getting it repaired locally - is my warranty on the car as a whole void? What will happen to my insurance?

\- What are the chances that Ombudsman will listen to my issues and make Digit pay for this? Also how much time can this take?

\- Any way I can get Škoda to help here? Seems to me that the service centre guys were lying.

\- I’m taking it to Raja Škoda Mahadevpura now - if you have any other recommendations for a service centre that can give the right advice pls suggest

\- Also, has anyone faced any such thing? Or you happen to know what the problem could be? Could the road impact have dislodged things inside the gearbox?

Also for context - I drive the car daily to and from work. 30 Kms atleast daily. And live in Haralur - bumps and bad roads are quite common. Never faced any other issue. In the absence of the car - I’ve had to rely on other means and costs are running high + frustrated at not having my own car

Please suggest what I can do - really need any help I can get. Please let me know if any of you want any details to understand the situation better.

Hey everyone, long post but need some help - this has been a nightmare 45 days and I’m quite confused on what to do here.
I own a Skoda Kushaq Monte Carlo 1.0 TSI AT, purchased October 2024, ~24,000 km, well maintained. Last serviced at TAFE Access, Kudlu Road, Bangalore in September 2025 - no issues flagged.

What happened:

March 10, 2026 - while coming back home I faced a bump on the road. This is typical for Haralur Road. While parking at home, the car suddenly wouldn’t shift into Park mode. I used the manual key release to secure it, called Skoda Roadside Assistance the next morning, and had it towed to **TAFE Access, Kudlu Road**. I was not there when they towed the vehicle or at the service centre to receive it.
The car had been running perfectly — I’d driven to Hyderabad and back just 2-3 days before this happened.

What TAFE said:

Over the next 6 weeks, they told me that there’s an underbody damage on gearbox side, gear oil sump issue. Can’t proceed without insurance surveyor. Then said full gearbox needs replacement. Price quote was around 7.4L.
This week (after we pushed for diagnostic report): Email from their Aftersales team saying “diagnostic log shows selector lever issue” - but still recommending gearbox replacement.

Regarding the diagnostic report - On April 27, after significant difficulty - the executive first refused to share it saying I wasn’t entitled to it, then claimed it was deleted, then searched 6 different systems saying he couldn’t find it - we finally got the ODIS diagnostic report (dated on 16th March) through his manager. At one point he googled the part to show us what it meant and then was surprised that it was just a micro switch and didn’t indicate a problem with the gearbox. He showed us screens of a system they use - Autadex and randomly pointed to the screen and said gearbox is damaged (screen didn’t indicate any such thing)

The diagnostic report shows:

Address 0002 — 6-speed automatic gearbox — ZERO faults. Not one.
The only gear-related fault: B116229 — Selector lever park position lock switch, implausible signal.

Their own diagnostic report, from their own system, on their own ODIS said that it was a micro switch problem and not gearbox as a whole.
We also drove the car forward and reverse in their yard on April 27. It moved fine. Video recorded.

The insurance situation:

We filed a claim with Digit Insurance. Their field surveyor came, saw underbody rust, and rejected the claim — saying the rust indicates old damage and owner negligence. He never asked for or reviewed the ODIS diagnostic report. Made the decision based entirely on visual inspection and TAFE’s verbal word.
When we visited Digit’s office, the Karnataka State Manager verbally told us that there’s are two damage pattern and one of them looks “horizontal not vertical” and implied we may have caused it intentionally. Because only vertical dents are possible while driving - horizontal are not. When we asked for this in writing, he refused.
He also told us TAFE had asked if Digit could pay 40-50% as a settlement — and concluded we must be colluding with TAFE. We had no knowledge of this suggestion whatsoever.

Further, I has asked Digit to come with me to see the car - had an altercation there - they refused to see the diagnostic report or even listen to me. I kept requesting them to listen to me but they kept shouting.
They said that there’s rust is 1 year old+ - whereas I didn’t receive any such info from TAFE when I got the car serviced last year.
He keeps saying I have purposely caused damage to my own vehicle and the proof is the horizontal damage. He refuses to listen to anything.
Infact the service guys also tried talking to them and asking that if it’s just an oil sump issue will you pay for anything and he said he won’t pay for anything at all and walked off.

Now TAFE guys are telling me (not the executive who didn’t want to share the report - the manager I spoke to this time) that maybe it’s not such a big issue - they can open the oil sump and check the issue from inside. They won’t know much without opening. But the moment they open it my warranty will be void and I won’t be able to claim anything in insurance

What I know from research: **B116229** seems to be a known VW Group issue - affects all VW group AT models.

Where we are now:

\- Car still at TAFE (45+ days)
\- This week got a low battery voltage notification on Skoda Connect
\- Planning to move the car to another authorized Skoda service center
\- Digit claim is formally rejected twice — I’m thinking of mailing Digit Grievance and asking for help or I’ll raise to Ombudsman

# What I’m asking:

\- If the second service centre also says that they won’t know anything until they open the gearbox and the insurance has already rejected my claim twice - should I wait to get help via Ombudsman? Or should I open it anyway - and see what the issue is. Chances that it’s minor (given the report) or even if it’s major - get it repaired locally.

\- If I do end up opening it and getting it repaired locally - is my warranty on the car as a whole void? What will happen to my insurance?

\- What are the chances that Ombudsman will listen to my issues and make Digit pay for this? Also how much time can this take?

\- Any way I can get Škoda to help here? Seems to me that the service centre guys were lying.

\- I’m taking it to Raja Škoda Mahadevpura now - if you have any other recommendations for a service centre that can give the right advice pls suggest

\- Also, has anyone faced any such thing? Or you happen to know what the problem could be? Could the road impact have dislodged things inside the gearbox?

Also for context - I drive the car daily to and from work. 30 Kms atleast daily. And live in Haralur - bumps and bad roads are quite common. Never faced any other issue. In the absence of the car - I’ve had to rely on other means and costs are running high + frustrated at not having my own car

Please suggest what I can do - really need any help I can get. Please let me know if any of you want any details to understand the situation better.

Hey everyone, long post but need some help - this has been a nightmare 45 days and I’m quite confused on what to do here.
I own a Skoda Kushaq Monte Carlo 1.0 TSI AT, purchased October 2024, ~24,000 km, well maintained. Last serviced at TAFE Access, Kudlu Road, Bangalore in September 2025 - no issues flagged.

What happened:

March 10, 2026 - while coming back home I faced a bump on the road. This is typical for Haralur Road. While parking at home, the car suddenly wouldn’t shift into Park mode. I used the manual key release to secure it, called Skoda Roadside Assistance the next morning, and had it towed to TAFE Access, Kudlu Road. I was not there when they towed the vehicle or at the service centre to receive it.
The car had been running perfectly — I’d driven to Hyderabad and back just 2-3 days before this happened.

What TAFE said:

Over the next 6 weeks, they told me that there’s an underbody damage on gearbox side, gear oil sump issue. Can’t proceed without insurance surveyor. Then said full gearbox needs replacement. Price quote was around 7.4L.
This week (after we pushed for diagnostic report): Email from their Aftersales team saying “diagnostic log shows selector lever issue” - but still recommending gearbox replacement.

Regarding the diagnostic report - On April 27, after significant difficulty - the executive first refused to share it saying I wasn’t entitled to it, then claimed it was deleted, then searched 6 different systems saying he couldn’t find it - we finally got the ODIS diagnostic report (dated on 16th March) through his manager. At one point he googled the part to show us what it meant and then was surprised that it was just a micro switch and didn’t indicate a problem with the gearbox. He showed us screens of a system they use - Autadex and randomly pointed to the screen and said gearbox is damaged (screen didn’t indicate any such thing)

The diagnostic report shows:

Address 0002 — 6-speed automatic gearbox — ZERO faults. Not one.
The only gear-related fault: B116229 — Selector lever park position lock switch, implausible signal.

Their own diagnostic report, from their own system, on their own ODIS said that it was a micro switch problem and not gearbox as a whole.
We also drove the car forward and reverse in their yard on April 27. It moved fine. Video recorded.

The insurance situation:

We filed a claim with Digit Insurance. Their field surveyor came, saw underbody rust, and rejected the claim — saying the rust indicates old damage and owner negligence. He never asked for or reviewed the ODIS diagnostic report. Made the decision based entirely on visual inspection and TAFE’s verbal word.
When we visited Digit’s office, the Karnataka State Manager verbally told us that there’s are two damage pattern and one of them looks “horizontal not vertical” and implied we may have caused it intentionally. Because only vertical dents are possible while driving - horizontal are not. When we asked for this in writing, he refused.
He also told us TAFE had asked if Digit could pay 40-50% as a settlement — and concluded we must be colluding with TAFE. We had no knowledge of this suggestion whatsoever.

Further, I has asked Digit to come with me to see the car - had an altercation there - they refused to see the diagnostic report or even listen to me. I kept requesting them to listen to me but they kept shouting.
They said that there’s rust is 1 year old+ - whereas I didn’t receive any such info from TAFE when I got the car serviced last year.
He keeps saying I have purposely caused damage to my own vehicle and the proof is the horizontal damage. He refuses to listen to anything.
Infact the service guys also tried talking to them and asking that if it’s just an oil sump issue will you pay for anything and he said he won’t pay for anything at all and walked off.

Now TAFE guys are telling me (not the executive who didn’t want to share the report - the manager I spoke to this time) that maybe it’s not such a big issue - they can open the oil sump and check the issue from inside. They won’t know much without opening. But the moment they open it my warranty will be void and I won’t be able to claim anything in insurance

What I know from research: B116229 seems to be a known VW Group issue - affects all VW group AT models.

Where we are now:

- Car still at TAFE (45+ days)
- This week got a low battery voltage notification on Skoda Connect
- Planning to move the car to another authorized Skoda service center
- Digit claim is formally rejected twice — I’m thinking of mailing Digit Grievance and asking for help or I’ll raise to Ombudsman

What I’m asking:

- If the second service centre also says that they won’t know anything until they open the gearbox and the insurance has already rejected my claim twice - should I wait to get help via Ombudsman? Or should I open it anyway - and see what the issue is. Chances that it’s minor (given the report) or even if it’s major - get it repaired locally.

- If I do end up opening it and getting it repaired locally - is my warranty on the car as a whole void? What will happen to my insurance?

- What are the chances that Ombudsman will listen to my issues and make Digit pay for this? Also how much time can this take?

- Any way I can get Škoda to help here? Seems to me that the service centre guys were lying.

- I’m taking it to Raja Škoda Mahadevpura now - if you have any other recommendations for a service centre that can give the right advice pls suggest

- Also, has anyone faced any such thing? Or you happen to know what the problem could be? Could the road impact have dislodged things inside the gearbox?

Also for context - I drive the car daily to and from work. 30 Kms atleast daily. And live in Haralur - bumps and bad roads are quite common. Never faced any other issue. In the absence of the car - I’ve had to rely on other means and costs are running high + frustrated at not having my own car

Please suggest what I can do - really need any help I can get. Please let me know if any of you want any details to understand the situation better.