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The TSO told our member that the consumer ought not to have experienced a failure given the age and mileage of the car.

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Trading Standards Jump the Gun Again!

This article’s author is a former Trading Standards Officer (TSO). 

One of the main prerequisites of this position is being trained to undertake a reasonable and proportionate investigation into a complaint before putting that complaint to a business.

Standards have slipped, if the letter a member received from a senior TSO (whose identity we won’t reveal), is anything to go by.

The TSO told our member that the consumer ought not to have experienced a failure given the age and mileage of the car. And that under the Consumer Rights Act, they were entitled to a free repair.

Clearly, the TSO hadn’t bothered undertaking the most cursory of factual checks.

Lawgistics did though. And we took great delight in telling the TSO that:

  1. The car is 15 years old.
  2. It was sold with 116,000 miles on the clock.
  3. A further 4000 miles had been travelled in the car.
  4. It was 16 months after the sale before the issue arose.
  5. It was still under warranty and the warranty would cover the replacement part – just not the diagnostic cost.

If your business gets an equally questionable letter from Trading Standards, let Lawgistics know. We are happy to set them straight.

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Jason WilliamsLegal AdvisorRead More by this author

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