Consumer Direct complaint stats

Consumer Direct statistics time again - 'complaints' about used car sales from independent dealers made top of the pile once more. The Office of Fair Trading are a year into their market study of the sector and will be making final recommendations in the spring.

They have options from increasing consumer awareness and education through to self or enforced regulation open for consideration. OFT should ensure any move to change working practices centres around positive promotion of the reputable operators and negatively highlighting the rogue traders. This will then provide the mechanism by which consumers can be educated regarding where to go to make their used car purchase. Strong competition within a protected environment is what's required for a healthy and active used car sales market not further layers of burdensome regulation.

It doesn't have to be an all consuming change in the sector, more a clear method by which consumers are empowered to make a decision on who to do business with, within a protected environment. Lower levels of consumer detriment will follow thereafter.

Interestingly, CD complaints stats regarding the independent garage service and repair sector have plateaued, halting a year on year upward trend previously reported by CD.

With the National Consumer Council reporting some 43,000,000 million individual service and repair transactions per year ('at a crossroads' report 2005) - and around 30,000,000 vehicles in use on the roads of the UK, I would suggest that while 16,387 is a figure that can and should be improved upon, the question should be what was done to resolve the consumer concern.

This is where things start to get a little hazy as CD don't provide a dispute resolution service, they advise the consumer on what options may be available to them. Recently we have agreed with CD that they will start to provide Motor Codes information on their website.

Once through to the Motor Industry Codes Advisory and Dispute Resolution Service consumers receive advice from specialist advisors and where appropriate dispute resolution through our Fast Track, Conciliation and Arbitration services.

The Motor Codes results are interesting in comparison to CD's. During 2009 the team received 2,786 enquiries from consumers regarding service and repair which generated 74 Fast Track cases, 40 conciliation cases and 2 arbitration cases. So 96% of contacts to the service received the advice they were looking for regarding their enquiry, no compliant or dispute, just the provision of sector specific advice. 4% were verified as valid complaints and resolved via the appropriate channels.

I think the figures speak for themselves - The Motor Industry Code of Practice for Service and Repair is making significant progress in establishing which garages consumers should be looking to do business with - 6,200 to date and rising every day.

If you are a motorist looking for a reliable garage to look after your car, find one using the Motor Codes Garage Finder facility at www.motorcodes.co.uk

If you are a garage owner that wants to differentiate your operation from your local competitors and demonstrate your commitment to an OFT agreed, government backed approach to customer service, sign up here www.motorcodes.co.uk

All the best
Chris