Car cosmetic repair complaint....help?

CocoDeNata

Hi all,

I am hoping for some guidance on next steps.. whether I have a leg to stand on really!

I purchased a car 11 months ago, the sales manager offered cosmetic repair policy with 3rd party company, claiming any scratches/paint chips/alloy wheel scrapes etc would be covered. I just needed to contact the company and they would sort. The usual spiel. I took it, as it was a year old car and want to keep it looking nice.

This was sold to me over the phone/email as a distance sale and I didn't receive information/policy details until around 3 weeks after I'd bought the car. Which I ended up having to request this myself, because no one contacted me.

It is a 3 year deal, I paid £699. I have claimed once, last year. The process was very difficult and time consuming, but a technician came out and did the work after about a month. That went ok in the end.

Cut to this year, I have found a number of chips/small scratches when cleaning my car. I made a claim for 2 back bumper, 1 front bumper, 1 alloy wheel, 1 under door, 1 above door, in the same way as I did the first time.

The service with the admin side of things left a lot to be desired, very slow, never replying, asking for photos again and again, different team members involved. When they finally sent it to the cosmetic repair company, most of the issues were denied. 1 above door is apparently the roof, the below door is also not part of the policy. The alloy they denied claiming 'corrosion'.. on a 2 year old car? Then the bumpers they claimed were over a 30cm space. I sent them more images with a tape measure to show the size. They again denied these saying it was over 30cm on a single panel, asking for more clear photos.

I made a complaint, and this is what I need help with. They have sent a final reply to the complaint saying they will only do the bumper repairs, and shock horror... they need more photos. They upheld the complaints about the service, but I still feel agrieved.

I am not happy with this at all, since the person selling it to me was quite blase in telling me they will repair any little scratches or chips. No words about exceptions, it is only door panels, bumpers and bonnet they will look at. The alloy repair has many exclusions too. I feel this was misold at the first point, and with not seeing the policy until 3 weeks after I didn't have an opportunity up front to really check it.

I could cancel but the policy states if it has been used at all, no partial refund can be given.

Do I have any leg to stand on raising this with the onbudsman? And would it be the original garage sales manager to blame for miselling, or is it the repair company? What can I do in this situation... anything, or do I just suck up the loss, what are my options?

Thanks for any words here.

Coco

CocoDeNata

Just wanted to add this wording, it was the only wording provided at point of sale.

Arctos

It looks as though you have "bought a pup". EMac have some pretty awful Trustpilot reviews [1 and 2 star] where it seems that your experience is not unique. Their responses look like a shrug of the shoulders.

Maybe getting back to the dealership that sold you the car is something to consider. They would probably value positive vibes from you if they are a local business. The prospect of a disgruntled customer not returning and talking about their experience to other locals is more likely to be acted on by them than by EMac.

Ectophile

I am not sure which, if any, ombudsman would be appropriate. It's worded as a maintenance contract, not any sort of insurance. That is deliberate to avoid it coming under the FCA.

CocoDeNata

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82000913#Comment_82000913

Thanks, that is interesting, i'll have a read up on that.

EMac have come back to the compliant and advised I can raise with the Motor Ombudsman. I feel like they would just say 'you should have read the policy before signing'. Which is fair, but obviously frustrating. I think it may just be a case of learning a huge lesson!

CocoDeNata

Thanks for your reply.

Unfortunately the garage is a national one, linked to Audi and VW. So I doubt a small fry complaining about lack of detail would make a difference.

Ideally i'd like to get a partial refund and then I can just repair what needs repairing without 'exclusions', but as I said in the OG post, they probably won't give me the time of day with that either now.

So irritating! :(