Friday, July 31, 2009
Car issues head list of consumer complaints
Second hand cars bought from independent dealers remained at the top of the list of complaints received by Government-funded advice service Consumer Direct in the first half of this year.
In total, the Office of Fair Trading-managed service took more than 414,000 consumer complaints in the six month period to the end of June 2009, down 3% on the same period last year.
In May, in response to the high volumes of complaints about second hand cars, the OFT launched a study into the market to understand the reasons for the high levels of dissatisfaction and to consider whether existing consumer protection legislation is sufficient and effective.
Consumer Direct recorded a total of 24,672 complaints from purchasers of used car cars in the first half of 2009, 1.22% up on the same period last year. The figure was more than double the second placed complaint, which was 11,530 complaints about mobile phone service agreements.
Meanwhile, a further 8,047 complaints, down 4.16% year-on-year, were received by Consumer Direct in relation to car repairs and servicing issues at independent garages.
Finally, in seventh spot in the top 10 list of complaints were issues around second hand car purchases from franchise dealers, which totalled 7,431 but down 6.43% year-on-year.
DATED: 31.07.09
FEED: AW
