Motor Industry Code of Practice for Service and Repair
What is the Code of Practice?
The Motor Industry Code of Practice for Service and
Repair (the Code) commits garages to an open, transparent
and fair way of doing business.
By subscribing to the Code, a garage is demonstrating its commitment to operate as a responsible business.
All garages that subscribe to the Code have commited 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 complaints procedure
The code itself provides you with:
- a free consumer advice line
- free conciliation and low cost independent arbitration
- more rights than required by law
You can download a copy of the Code in full from www.motorindustrycodes.co.uk
What to do if there’s a problem
If you have a complaint arising from service or repair work carried out to your vehicle, you should fi rst speak to the garage’s
Customer Relations Representative, whose name should be on the back of this leaflet.
If they are unable to resolve your complaint, you can call the Code’s Consumer Advice Line (CAL) on 0800 692 0825 or submit your complaint online at www.motorindustrycodes.co.uk
will assess your complaint and provide advice and assistance to help resolve it. If your vehicle is still with the subscriber, CAL
may contact them directly to try and achieve a swift resolution to the situation.
If the subscriber appears to be in breach of the Code, CAL may refer the case to the Conciliation Service for further investigation. If Conciliation are still unable to resolve the complaint to your satisfaction, you may request that the case be referred to independent arbitration. Arbitration offers you a quick and low cost alternative to taking legal action through the Courts and the outcome of arbitration is legally binding upon you and the subscriber.
You are, of course, under no obligation to refer your complaint to the Code Advisory and Conciliation Service and are free to seek redress through the Courts.
For further information on the complaints process and disciplinary action – as well as more information on the Code, a subscriber
search tool, and general advice and guidance – please visit www.motorindustrycodes.co.uk
Breaches of the Code
Subscribers who do not correct a breach or who are seen to be in persistent breach of the Code will be referred to the Independent
Compliance Assessment Panel (ICAP). Depending upon the severity of the breach ICAP can impose a variety of sanctions upon subscribers,including expulsion from the Code scheme.
The Consumer Satisfaction Survey
To assist us in monitoring subscribers, we’d be grateful if you could spare a few minutes to complete and return the consumer satisfaction survey opposite.
Pre-contractual information
What you should know before we start work on your vehicle
Motor Industry Service and Repair Code of Practice
We subscribe to the Motor Industry Service and Repair Code of Practice (“the Code”) which sets out our obligations to you our customer. The Code provides a free consumer advice line and conciliation service in the event that our service falls below your expectations.
Estimates and quotations
If requested, we will provide you a written estimate or quotation for the work to be carried out. All estimates will include a description of the work to be completed, a breakdown of the cost, the duration of work, details of our guarantee and any parts warranty and a copy of our terms and conditions. All estimates and quotes will be inclusive of parts, labour, VAT and any other additional
charges.
Our terms and conditions
Our terms and conditions of business, including our cancellation policy, will be
written in clear and intelligible English, displayed within our premises and are
available upon request.
Diagnostic (exploratory) work
We will advise you of our terms and charges for carrying out diagnostic or
exploratory work during the booking process.
Cancellation rights
You have a right to cancel the service or repair at any time in writing, subject to your legal liability, for any work done up until the time of cancellation, including diagnostic work, labour and parts ordered or used that cannot be cancelled, returned or resold. We will however, seek to minimise these costs.
Accepted methods of payment
Accepted methods of payment will be confi rmed prior to work commencing.
Guarantees and warranties
We undertake to guarantee all service and repair work against failure. We will inform you where parts are provided with a manufacturer’s warranty. We will also explain the duration of any warranty, what is covered and how to claim under it. Your final invoice will include a statement about these matters.
If while carrying out the work agreed with you we discover that in the interest of safety or satisfactory completion of the work requested additional repair work is necessary, we will contact you as soon as we become aware of this to discuss the work, any additional costs and any revised delivery. We will not start any additional work without your consent.
Customer Relations Representative
If you are dissatisfi ed with any aspect of our service please contact our customer relations representative. Their contact details can be found on the back of this guide.
Complaints procedure
If our customer relations representative is unable to resolve your concerns you may contact the Consumer Advice Line (CAL) for further advice and information. If further investigation is needed, CAL may refer your complaint to the conciliation service.
For further information please refer to the Motor Industry Service and Repair Code of Practice.
Contacts
Chalex Industrial Estate,
214 Manor Road
Southwick
West Sussex
BN42 4NH
Call: 01273 412345
