25/01/2012

Car Repair Complaints Increase

Complaints about botched car repairs are on the rise in Northern Ireland, according to Trading Standards.

The regulatory body said that complaints about cars have increased over a thousand in a year and also claim that a third of these complaints refer to servicing work or repairs.

While the number of complaints is a fraction of the overall repair jobs carried out, mechanics have to work on increasingly complex cars and rely on electronic diagnostic equipment.

Trading Standards' Damien Doherty told the BBC: "There is an expectation and onus on them to do the job properly, to identify faults, not to misdiagnose and certainly not to charge for work they haven't done."

Trading Standards said that there is an onus on garages to carry out servicing and repairs with a reasonable degree of care and skill.

(LB)

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