Watchdog requests to help with owner disputes are on the rise. It needs to change

EVERY week we feature at least one case on these pages where we’ve tried to assist one of our readers to resolve an ongoing dispute with a manufacturer, garage or dealer.

In the past 12 months we’ve tackled everything from worn leather seats to faulty sat-navs, and from crash-damaged purchases to rental car woes.

The good news is, we’ve had a success rate of 75 per cent, saving owners upwards of £20,000 in repair costs through refunds and goodwill gestures. That’s not to mention the dozen or so rejection cases that we’ve successfully fought where owners were given new cars or money back.

The not-so-good news is that these figures highlight how companies need to up their game. Many of the problems we deal with should be sorted before they reach the point where an owner has to contact outside help. And if we can convince a maker to change its mind, why isn’t it just doing so anyway?

What you see on these pages is just the tip of the iceberg of the correspondence we receive on a weekly basis from readers needing advice about a range of issues.

Granted, the manufacturer or dealer isn’t always at fault and is often doing what it can to help, but on the whole, things need to improve.

So, what can you do? Firstly, if you’re experiencing issues, get in touch and we might be able to assist. If you’ve recently had a problem and been treated poorly – or, conversely, customer services has gone above and beyond for you – let us know via our annual Driver Power survey.

Have your say in our 2017 poll, at www.autoexpress.co.uk/driver-power.

“If we can convince a maker to change its mind, why isn’t it just doing so anyway?”