More turn to Motor Industry Ombudsman

The Ombudsman's Annual Report for 2007 says that the increase should be seen in the context of the rapid increase in the number of vehicles on the road. This placed enormous pressure on the existing road infrastructure and resulted in a large number of complaints relating to non-product related factors.

This pressure on the infrastructure has seen a rise in component failure due to wear and tear. Typical examples include clutch, brakes, wheels, suspension, cooling system and joints complaints.

However, poor service still heads the list of complaints though it stabilised rising only 0.1% to 12.3% of all complaints received.

Analysis of complaints show that poor service provided points to a number of factors - from just general poor service to waiting periods for spares (especially on some imported vehicles) and the shortage of skilled technicians which have greatly increased the annoyance factor for consumers.

The effects of the tighter economy on many households are also reflected in the fact that the complaints of a number of consumers were based on the desire to return their “unaffordable” vehicles.

Of the 14,440 requests for assistance made to the Ombudsman, 4,976 were resolved at first contact, 9,464 resulted in written complaints referred to the relevant manufacturers/importers and dealers.

For these the Ombudsman made 4,263 recommendations and adjudicated in 268 cases. The remaining 4,933 cases were resolved between the parties with facilitation and advice from the Ombudsman.

The value of the claims handled during 2007 by the Ombudsman increased by 21% to just over R92 million.

The importance of the Motor Industry Ombudman's Office as a centre for practical consumer advice and education in motor vehicle related issues increased to such an extent in 2007 that the call centre had to be significantly expanded to handle the volume of approaches.

The full annual report is available on the MIO website at www.miosa.co.za.