The consumer’s issue:
“I took my car in to the business for MOT repairs. However, they insisted on carrying out a vehicle inspection in order to scare me into agreeing to future unnecessary repairs. Plus they failed to have the parts ready for our pre-booked appointment.”
The accredited business’ response:
- We conducted a free vehicle health check on the vehicle, and we informed the consumer that their tyre wear was approaching the legal limit, that there was an oil leak and that the brake pads were slightly corroded.
- Additionally, warranty repairs were conducted on the vehicle four days after inspecting it. Therefore, there was no excessive delay in conducting them and the consumer was not charged for any of this work.
The adjudication outcome:
- The Motor Ombudsman adjudicator found that the results of the free vehicle health check did not constitute high pressure selling and did not rule in the customer’s favour.
- Additionally, the adjudicator recommended that when a warranty repair is requested, the repairer should conduct an investigation in order to confirm that the repair work will be covered by the warranty.
- This prevents disputes where a retailer conducts warranty repairs based on the diagnosis from a different business, only to find out at a later date that the work did not resolve the original problem, or the manufacturer has declined the warranty claim and the customer is now liable to cover the cost of it.
- Therefore, the business acted correctly by requesting their own inspection of the vehicle before ordering the parts to remedy the issue.
Conclusion:
- The customer and accredited business accepted the outcome as recommended by The Motor Ombudsman adjudicator and the case was closed.
