09/06/2017
The Motor Ombudsman’s dispute resolution service successfully handled 95% of a record number of contacts relating to potential disputes between businesses and consumers in the first 4 months of 2017 without cases needing to be raised.
Enquiries relating to the Ombudsman’s four Chartered Trading Standards Institute-approved Motor Industry Codes of Practice comprised
- 11,300 contacts by consumers, equating to a 45% increase compared with the same period in 2016
- 484 enquiries from ‘accredited’ businesses represented a 231% increase
The Motor Ombudsman’s legally-trained adjudicators provide a free service that seeks to resolve disputes quickly and fairly between consumers and accredited businesses.
The latter comprise 39 manufacturers, 11 warranty providers and thousands of garages across the UK. They agree to accept the codes in their entirety and undertake to ensure their staff are aware of their responsibilities under them, as well as their statutory responsibilities.
‘Motor Ombudsman: Codes of Practice’ sets out the 4 codes, which are the New Car Code, the Service & Repair Code, the Vehicle Warranty Products Code and the Vehicle Sales Code.
The latter, which was introduced last September, allows the Ombudsman to adjudicate formally on issues relating to the sale of new and used cars. It generates more contacts than any of the other codes, averaging more than 50 a day since the start of the year and achieving a monthly record of 1,259 in April.