CONSUMER RIGHTS
CONSUMER COMPLAINTS AND PROFESSIONAL DILIGENCE
This is a fictitious example that is typical of the issues The SMTA have come across over the years
M
r Smith purchased a nearly new vehicle from PPP Motors for £15,995 on 1 October 2019.
On the way home he noticed
that the car was misfiring. He looked under the bonnet and noticed that there was an oil leak. He returned it to the garage the following day and the vehicle was repaired correcting this and other faults. The next week the ECU unit was causing a number of warning lights to flash. Mr Smith again returned the car to the garage and said he wanted to return the car and obtain a refund. PPP Motors insisted on sending the car to the main dealer for examination. Mr Smith sent a letter on 18 October confirming his wish for a refund.
The main dealer took nearly two months to fix the ECU problem at which point PPP Motors wanted to return the car to Mr Smith saying that as it no longer had any faults he had no choice to take it back and in any case as the
30 day period had passed he can no longer reject the vehicle.
Three issues arise from this case. Firstly, the consumer exercised his short-term right to reject within 30 days and as the vehicle had a serious fault is entitled to a full refund. Secondly, the dealer is giving false information to the consumer about their cancellation rights, this is an unfair practice which is an offence under the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008. Thirdly, as PPP Motors do not carry out any documented checks of the condition of their vehicles for sale prior to selling them. This and refusing the consumer the right to reject are examples of breaches of professional diligence.
The enhanced rights that consumers now have with the Consumer Rights Act 2015, together with the requirement to use professional diligence make it vital that businesses ensure they have such a system.
Having worked in the trading standards profession for thirty years and sat on the SMTA complaints committee for the last fifteen years I have come across many cases where if the business had an appropriate professional diligence system in place it is highly unlikely that the problem would have occurred in the first place. We can help with either setting up such a system or by fine tuning your current system to ensure that it enhances the customer journey and complies with the requirements of professional diligence.
For more information: 07817033469,
chris@ipdcompliance.co.uk or
www.ipdcompliance.co.uk
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