The consumer’s issue:
“I purchased a brand-new SUV, and found that there were levers in the boot that appeared to have no function. I therefore contacted both the manufacturer and the dealership that sold me the car to enquire about this, and they confirmed that these parts were carried over from a previous seat design, and were in fact redundant.
As the levers were not needed, and to avoid them being damaged by anyone thinking that they could be used to drop the rear seats, I requested that they were removed and covered with trim plates, but both the seller and manufacturer declined to do this, and no solution was offered to me apart from contacting The Motor Ombudsman with my complaint.
However, to resolve my dispute, I am still looking for the levers to be removed, and for new trim plates to be installed at no cost to myself.”
The accredited business’ response:
- Having looked into this complaint, and compared the customer’s car with a like-for-like vehicle, we can see the levers that the customer is referring to, and accept that the levers do not have any function.
- The consumer’s vehicle was provided to us directly from the factory with these levers in place, but there is nothing we can do with them, as it is a part of the design.
- Additionally, we do not accept that the levers in any way interfere with the use of the vehicle or otherwise increase the risk of accidental damage occurring.
- Therefore, we are unable to assist the customer further with the resolution of their complaint.
The adjudication outcome:
- The Motor Ombudsman adjudicator explained that the consumer had the burden of demonstrating that the vehicle was defective or unfit for purpose.
- The adjudicator noted that, since the seller had accepted that the levers in the boot were redundant, they concluded that, at the point of sale, the vehicle contained levers with no function, which could therefore be seen as a defect of build.
- With regards to the consumer’s concern that the levers could cause accidental damage if someone tried to use them to put the rear seats down, the adjudicator explained that it was unlikely that that this would happen, particularly because they had no function.
- The adjudicator also remarked that the presence of the levers had not inhibited the function of the vehicle, but had only affected its aesthetics.
- Whilst this was a consideration as to whether the SUV was deemed to be of satisfactory quality, the adjudicator said that the presence of the levers would not render the car of unsatisfactory quality in the eyes of a reasonable consumer.
- As a result, due to the location and nature of the issue, the adjudicator concluded that the presence of the levers was not sufficient to warrant any remedy being provided to the consumer, meaning that their complaint could not be upheld in their favour.
Conclusion
- The consumer did not respond to the adjudication outcome in the allocated timeframe, and the case was closed.
