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AFCA finding protects consumer’s and motor body repairer rights

Details: Published: Monday, 26 August 2019 13:12

A finding of the Australian Financial Complaints Authority (AFCA) has been welcomed by the Motor Trades Association of Australia (MTAA) and the Australian Motor Body Repairers Association (AMBRA) as validation of the need for an independent consumer complaint handling authority for those experiencing difficulties with financial and insurance firms.

In this benchmark ruling, AFCA found that an insurance company was bound, under the terms of its policy, to settle a policyholder’s claim in accordance with the consumer’s preferred car repairer’s quote.

The car insurance policy entitled the policyholder to choose their own car repairer, but the policy also gave the insurer a discretion to determine how much it would pay for those repairs.

MTAA welcomes Government commitment to Mandated Code of Conduct for access to automotive service and repair information and technical data

Details: Published: Tuesday, 12 February 2019 09:52

The Motor Trades Association of Australia (MTAA) Limited, representing thousands of automotive businesses and tens of thousands of Australians employed in automotive industries, today welcomed the Government's announced commitment to develop and implement a mandated Code of Conduct to guarantee access to car manufacturer's service, repair information and technical data.

MTAA said the release of a consultation paper outlining principals and key elements of a proposed Code of Conduct is a positive step in the right direction, but reiterated that there must be an increased sense of urgency to implement the regulatory solution.

The decision to implement a Mandated Code of Conduct fulfills a recommendation of the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) to implement 'a scheme' to guarantee consumers and all repairers access to essential car manufacturer information, allowing consumers greater capacity to exercise freedom of choice on who services and repairs their vehicle.

Details: Published: Thursday, 07 February 2019 10:52

The Motor Trades Association of Australia (MTAA), representing thousands of automotive businesses and tens of thousands of Australians employed in the automotive sector, has expressed disappointment with elements of the final report of the Banking and Financial Services Royal Commission impacting some automotive industries.

MTAA said it was disappointed the Commission's final report appeared to target new car retailing and the provision of add-on finance and insurance products, while at the same time; ignoring completely potential misconduct in the car insurance and repair industry.

'Matters raised in the Royal Commission final report regarding car retailing have been under investigation by regulators for some time, with significant changes already implemented and industry working cooperatively on resolving remaining matters with some dealers already adopting proposed standards. The implementation of government endorsed recommendations to unilaterally remove the exemption of retail dealers from the National Consumer Credit Protection Act, adopt a deferred sales model and cap commissions, will need to be carefully considered . The car retailing industry is already under significant pressure from other powerful market participants and it is important that such changes do not result in unintended consequences detrimental to consumers/ said MTAA.

Media

AFCA finding protects consumer’s and motor body repairer rights

MTAA welcomes Government commitment to Mandated Code of Conduct for access to automotive service and repair information and technical data

Banking Royal Commission a missed opportunity for automotive sector

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