TMO’s Knowledge Base exceeds 110,000 article views in Q2

The Motor Ombudsman’s Knowledge Base exceeds 110,000 article views in the second quarter of 2021

 

The Motor Ombudsman’s popular online Knowledge Base, a reference tool designed to provide motorists with responses to some of the most common queries on car ownership, vehicle maintenance and consumer rights, has recorded more than 100,000 article views for a single quarter since launching at the beginning of 2019. Between 01st April and 30th June 2021, the Knowledge Base’s Q&As, which cover a wide array of topics, were referred to during these three months a total of 110,490 times, up 137% versus the same period the year before (46,713).

 

Two new categories were introduced to the Knowledge Base in the second quarter of 2021, covering the subjects of mediation and dispute resolution. The short Q&As offer insight for consumers into their role and benefits, amongst other key information. The addition of these sections to the resource brings the total subjects covered to 10, and the number of articles on the tool to over 180.

 

The Q&A in the New and Used Car Sales category about whether owners are able to return a car within the first 14 days of ownership, as well as the implications of buying a vehicle at a distance and at physical premises, retained its top spot as the most referred to question during the second quarter of 2021 (12,011 views), which was followed by Can I get a deposit refund? in second place (7,818 views). What is the Consumer Rights Act, and how does it affect my vehicle purchase? (4,273 views) rounded off the top three most consulted articles in the second quarter. The service and repair article relating to what action a consumer can take if a garage is taking to long to repair their car, was the most read article in this category between April and May 2021 (2,684 views).

 

There were also two new service and repair entries in the top ten articles in quarter two versus quarter one. These were namely around whether a garage is obliged to provide a warranty after repair work (2,004 views), or supply a vehicle owner with a courtesy car during maintenance (1,948 views).

 

In terms of search traffic, this has also reached its highest level for the second quarter of the year at just over 24,000 enquiries, exceeding last year’s volume for the same period by more than 14,000. Amongst other subjects, consumers looked up information relating to oil leaking from the engine, whether compensation can be claimed for a timing chain failure, and what to do about warning lights on the dashboard following a vehicle purchase. The most frequently used generic terms in the search bar were “warranty”, “faulty” and “deposit”.