Warranty Vs Legal Rights – Do You Know The Difference?
Saturday, 15. October 2011
As most of my readers know there are some things that cause me to shout, scream and throw things out of my pram, one of which is when dealers or manufacturers try to mislead customers. Especially so when the manufacturer refuses to take responsibility when customers exercise their legal rights. This often happens when a customer makes a claim for faulty goods just after the warranty has run out as though we should all accept that the expected life of a car is 3 years, after which there is no such thing as manufacturer’s responsibility.
It’s a bloody nonsense but even worse is a blatant attempt by Hyundai to stop customers from having their cars serviced and maintained by non franchised dealers.
A group set up by independent garages to police such wrongdoing, called Right to Choose, identified the issue. They claim that many drivers of cars covered by manufacturers’ warranties still believe that they must have their cars serviced and repaired by main dealers if they are to maintain the warranty.
Of course, as I’ve pointed out on many occasions, it simply isn’t true. In a case taken up by Right to Choose they found that a claim made by a driver of a Hyundai was rejected by the manufacturer because the repairer was not registered for VAT.
In fact Hyundai even provided this advice on their website but under the new competition rules issued last year VAT is not relevant when determining whether an independent garage is qualified to carry out a service or repair.
Hyundai have admitted their mistake and agreed to change their web site as well as their service books. This really does make my blood boil. Have you experienced problems over warranty claims? By Graham Hill
Related articles
- Warranty Payout Refused? Check Your Legal Rights (thebestcarfinanceblog.co.uk)
