Mis-selling of diesel cars

Trebor16

Ultrasonic wrote: »

I see your point. I think there does though come a point where a certain minimum standard of the quality of advice must reasonably be expected on behalf of a customer. Sales staff can't simply offer terrible advice and then claim it doesn't make any difference what they say as it was only advice.

While they work in an area that is unregulated then that is exactly what happens. Claims will be made, advice and opinions offered. Some of it good, some bad, some indifferent and some inaccurate. But the customer makes the final decision and if they chose to buy something without researching it, especially a car, which for many is the second most expensive purchase they will ever make, then they have to take responsibility for that and stop trying to pin the blame on others.

Ultrasonic wrote:

It's like a mechanic advising what part they think needs replacing to fix a fault. They don't have to be right, but their suggestion has to be reasonable. If a 'mechanic' suggested changing a tyre to help solve a problem with a car not starting I suspect we'd all agree that this was not acceptable and that the customer should be compensated for the lousy advice. Even if ultimately the customer made the decision to buy a new tyre, rather than them being forced to do so.

That's a poor analogy to make.

Ultrasonic wrote:

I suspect the majority of the general public expect that people working in car dealerships know more about cars than they do, and so take their advice seriously.

They may well do so, but it doesn't absolve them from the responsibility of researching things properly. With the internet as it is now it has never been easier. All it takes is a Google search and off you go.

Ultrasonic

Trebor16 wrote: »

While they work in an area that is unregulated...

Now that you mention it I wonder if that is the critical distinction to be made from the PPI situation?

arcon5

The whole PPI misselling scandal was a bit of a joke........ whilst many people was genuinely missold the service, such as the self employed or people whose age would have restricted any claim - many of the people who claimed refunds was doing nothing more than jumping on the bandwagon!

Trebor16

Ultrasonic wrote: »

Now that you mention it I wonder if that is the critical distinction to be made from the PPI situation?

I am of the opinion it is, as the banking industry is regulated and there is an ombudsman to act as the final arbiter when a banks complaints procedure has been exhausted.