The Consumer Rights Act will all too soon be upon us and with it will arrive a whole new raft of “rights” available to the customer who becomes dissatisfied with their purchase.
One of the more onerous clauses in the Act will be the full right to reject the goods within the first 30 days for ANY fault, not just a serious fault.
This might just be a charter for Trivial Pursuits – but of a different kind! You may find, if you have not done your homework, that a perfectly sound car is rejected after the customer has completed their 5000 mile tour of Europe in 29 days, because they failed to notice a burn mark on the upholstery. The Act will entitle them to ask for a full refund, without discount for their usage, while denying you the defence of reasonableness.
Whereas such a scenario is unlikely, we would recommend you consider a better recording system to accurately establish exactly what is said at the point of sale and what is shown to the customer.
A full one minute video survey of the car, date-stamped, properly lit and in focus (of course!), showing the condition inside and out (do not forget the roof lining, door cards, bonnet and boot area) and if possible a view underneath, placed on a Jpeg file or similar, attached to the particulars of the car and stored in your Hard drive or a separate Cloud based system, would allow you to call the bluff of a bluffer!
As with all new Acts, it is not possible to say just how the Courts will interpret the intentions of Parliament, but you can bet there will be a new industry in claims for faults that previously were not countenanced.”
We are currently updating all our stationery and checklists to be compliant with the CRA 2015, please contact the Sales Team on 01480 455 500 to check when the updated forms will be available.
Octane Finance is the broker of choice for new and used car dealers nationwide. With our uncompromising service levels and our genuine and professional approach, you and your customers can trust us to deliver.
