The consumer’s issue:
“I purchased a new ’14-plate hatchback in March 2014, and in August 2018, it was struck by another car whilst parked in a car park. My breakdown assistance recovered the vehicle to a dealership. Unfortunately, because of all the shattered glass caused by the accident, it was unsafe for me to remove my personal belongings before the car was taken away.
When the vehicle was returned to me in November 2018 after being repaired, I immediately noticed that my personal belongings had been removed, and during the drive home, the air conditioning, rear wiper and rear parking sensor were not working. As such, I immediately informed the dealership of all these issues.
The business decided to repair the rear parking sensor and rear wiper, but said that the air conditioning was faulty before they worked on the car, so they wouldn’t rectify it at no cost, and I had to pay for the work.
As a resolution to my complaint, I want my personal belongings returned, or to be given a financial award to cover the value of these, and I would also like the dealership to reimburse the £617.80 it cost me to repair the air conditioning fault, which I believe was caused by the business.”
The accredited business’ response:
- As per our terms and conditions, we do not take responsibility for any items left in a vehicle during the recovery process or whilst it’s on our premises.
- Additionally, the car was stored with the recovery agent before it was brought to us, and there is no record of it arriving to the dealership with any personal items. Therefore, we have nothing we can return, nor do we think we are liable for covering their value.
- The diagnostic report we carried out on the vehicle showed fault codes for the air conditioning unit that were present before we worked on the car, so we are also not responsible for this issue.
The adjudication outcome:
- Whilst the adjudicator did not agree that the dealership could completely refuse to cover the cost of any personal items because of their terms and conditions, as it would be unfair for a business to take possession of a customer’s personal belongings whilst they worked on the car, they also found no evidence to demonstrate that there were any items in the vehicle belonging to the customer when it arrived at the dealership.
- Since the car had been stored with a third party before it was recovered to the business, it was difficult to hold them liable for this, so the adjudicator could not agree that the dealership had an obligation to return the personal belongings, or to cover the cost of them.
- Also, the evidence did not demonstrate that the fault with the air conditioning unit was linked to the actions of the dealership, because the fault codes were shown to have existed before the start of the repairs, so the business was not found liable for the repair costs.
- Overall, the adjudicator found that there was no breach of the Service and Repair Code by the business for either element of the dispute.
- Therefore, the complaint could not be upheld in the consumer’s favour, and no further action was required from the business.
Conclusion:
- Neither party responded to the adjudication outcome, and the case was closed.
