New Motor Industry Code of Practice for Service and Repair launched
Responding to consumer concerns over pricing, quality of work and customer service, the new voluntary code aims to promote and safeguard consumers’ interests by helping consumers identify garages with high standards, whilst encouraging subscribing garages to improve their standard of service.
It commits garages to:
Honest and fair services
Open and transparent pricing
Completing work as agreed
Invoices that match quoted prices
Competent and conscientious staff
A straightforward, swift complaint procedure
It offers motorists:
An online search facility allowing consumers to locate their nearest subscribing garage
A free consumer advice line
Free conciliation and low cost, legally binding arbitration.
Right to Repair Campaign
The Right to Repair campaign was launched in 2008. its mission is to protect vehicle owners' and operators' freedom to choose where they get their vehicles serviced or repaired. The campaign is run by independent garages, as well as body repair and roadside assistance specialists, tyre, battery and component distributors.
Block Exemption Regulations (BER) currently exist to give the consumers the freedom to choose where they have their car serviced without negating manufacturer’s warranties so long as original parts or parts of matching quality had been fitted by the repairer. To enable repairs to be made, the vehicle assembler under BER should make technical information freely available to the independent market.
But the current regulations are due to expire in 2010, and the European Union is not expected to renew it. Should this happen, thousands of independent garages will be affected.
This is because manufacturers will be allowed to restrict the technical information and diagnostic equipment they supply to independent garages. As cars become increasingly complex, expensive diagnostic equipment and software are required, even for the simplest of repairs such as changing a car battery. As a result, many independent garages will be limited to the vehicles that they can repair and consumers will be left with no option but to travel longer distances to a franchised dealer in order to have their car repaired, and at a significantly higher expense! (one survey found the hourly rate of the independent garages to be half that of the franchised dealers - source GIPA UK ltd Operation Rate Trends March 2007).
For more information, visit their website at: www.r2rc.co.uk
VOSA are tightening MOT checks on number plates
VOSA, the body responsible for the MOT test, have introduced new rules regarding number plate inspection at MOT time. These rules have been in existence since 2007, but VOSA will be enforcing them far more rigorously.
What are the new rules?
Registration plates must be present, secure and show the correct registration. They must also be the right colour, use the right character font and size and display only acceptable international flags or symbols. Characters must also be correctly spaced.
Features which have the effect of changing the appearance or legibility of any of the characters so that the vehicle's true identity is less easily established will also be unacceptable.
Plates fitted to vehicles first used on or after 1 September 2001 (51 reg onwards) are also required to display the British standard reference BS AU145d and the name and postcode of the plate supplier.
