The Motor Ombudsman is celebrating the tenth anniversary of the launch of its Motor Industry Code of Practice for Service and Repair.
The code was introduced in 2008 in response to the need to improve standards within the service and repair sector, and to reduce the number of complaints from consumers.
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Today, it is one of the four Chartered Trading Standards Institute (CTSI)-approved Codes to be offered by The Motor Ombudsman, which cover the entire customer purchase and vehicle ownership experience, and is the longest-running code of its kind. Over 7,500 independent garages, franchised car dealerships and vehicle manufacturer-authorised repairers across the UK are now accredited under the code.
The code was set up with the backing of the Office of Fair Trading (OfT), consumer groups and the service and repair sector, and was designed to ensure that individuals receive an honest and fair service when visiting an accredited business’ premises for work on their car.
Since its inception, the Service and Repair Code has evolved and been refined in its content during the last 10 years to accommodate the arrival of the Consumer Rights Act and Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) Regulations in 2015, as well as the transition from Motor Codes to The Motor Ombudsman the following year.
All businesses that are signed up to the code have agreed to, amongst other commitments, the use of honest and accurate advertising, open and transparent pricing, employing competent staff that act in the customer’s best interests, and having a swift and effective complaints handling procedure in place should a problem need resolving with a consumer.
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By GlobalDataIn the event that a dispute cannot be concluded directly with the vehicle owner, any accredited business can signpost them to The Motor Ombudsman’s impartial alternative dispute resolution (ADR) service to help reach a fair and swift outcome to the complaint.
With a growth in awareness of the code during the past 10 years, and the volume of businesses accredited to it, associated contacts and cases have also risen. These stood at 2,980 and 35 respectively in 2009, the first full year of the code being in force, and is forecast to reach over 13,000 contacts and 700 cases for 2018 alone.
Common breaches of the code during the last decade have related primarily to the quality of the work that was carried out on a vehicle, issues arising from the diagnostics process, and damage to a car whilst it was in for repairs.
Bill Fennell, chief ombudsman and managing director of the Motor Ombudsman, said: “The tenth anniversary of our Service and Repair Code is significant. It is not only an important milestone in the history of the code, but it’s also a cause for celebration of the sustained efforts that have been made by businesses, through the means of self-regulation, to reverse the negative image that tarnished the service and repair arena in 2008.
“The future of the sector is certainly looking bright based on the current trends,
and it remains our continued ambition for as many businesses as possible to be adhering to the code.”
In a separate move to increase consumer confidence in the industry, in June this year Alphera launched an accreditation scheme for motor finance providers.
