The consumer’s issue:
“The rear of my car is corroding because of the bad design of the washers. I would like this issue to be repaired under my 12-year bodywork corrosion warranty, but the manufacturer rejected my claim because they believe the corrosion has been present for a considerable period.”
The accredited business’ response:
- After inspecting the corrosion on the customer’s nine-year-old car, our technical team believes that the extent and depth of the corrosion shows that it has been present for a long time.
- Therefore, we will not be covering the repair costs, because the customer has failed to report the issue in a timely manner.
The adjudication outcome:
- The Motor Ombudsman adjudicator found that the repairs were not covered under the 12-year warranty for perforation corrosion of the bodywork.
- However, the adjudicator did not agree that the corrosion had been apparent for some time because the manufacturer failed to submit sufficient evidence to support its position.
- Instead, the complaint was not upheld by them, because the 12-year warranty did not cover this type of corrosion.
- The 12-year warranty policy includes perforation corrosion of the bodywork – this is when the rust process starts from within the metal panel and punctures through the metal to the outside surface of the panel.
- This is different to surface corrosion, which sits on top of the metal panel, but does not perforate the metal panel.
- The adjudicator found that the car suffered from surface corrosion sitting under the paintwork, but above the metal, resulting in a “bubbling effect”. Therefore, it was concluded that the issue was not covered by the 12-year corrosion warranty agreement.
Conclusion:
- The customer and accredited business accepted the outcome as recommended by The Motor Ombudsman adjudicator and the case was closed.
