8:53 am, September 7, 2026
The Consumer Rights Act does not necessarily need wholesale reform – but car dealers do need greater clarity over how some parts of the legislation are applied.
That is the verdict of automotive legal expert Joel Combes, who says that who says dealers should focus on understanding the law and putting the right processes in place rather than waiting for it to be changed.
Appearing on the latest episode of the Car Dealer Podcast, the Lawgistics founder said the legislation has now been established in law for over a decade and dealers need to learn how to work within it if they are to be successful.
The Consumer Rights Act has been a hot topic of debate over recent months, with retailers recently telling Car Dealer it is the one piece of legislation they would most like to see changed.
Dealers have described the act as ‘not fit for purpose’ and have called for the introduction of a US-Style ‘lemon law’ that splits cover by mileage and is explicit in which parts are included.
Combes however, has a slightly different view.
‘You can say it’s not fit for purpose, but it is the law, and we’ve got to deal with it,’ he said.
‘It’s going to be here tomorrow and dealers need to deal with it today.’
Lawgistics deals with around 3,000 cases a year and Combes says around 80% of them involve the Consumer Rights Act.
He said the experience of handling thousands of disputes had given the firm a useful insight into where dealers can protect themselves.
‘The data we’ve collected means there are processes you can put in place that will help you deal with the problems you get,’ he said.
‘It is more in favour to the consumers, but there are things dealers can do to make sure that they don’t get hung up on that 30-day clause or the one right to repair that people are calling unfair.
‘I’m not saying it’s not unfair, but we’ve just got to deal with it.
‘It is what it is. It’s statutory so terms and conditions aren’t going to override the powers of it – it’s about understanding it.
When asked what improvements dealers could make in order to comply with the current regulations, Combes said traders should familiarise themselves with consumer laws.
He also encouraged dealers to make sure they have proof that cars are correct when they are passed over to customers, in order to protect themselves against future complaints.
He added: ‘You’re going to have to create evidence that the vehicle is correct before it goes out because the burden of proof is going to be on the customer to prove that it was wrong in that first 30 days.
‘They [dealers] need to understand the consumer’s statutory rights, and when the consumer challenges them, they will have the authority to say it’s not quite like that.’
Last month, the government defended the Consumer Rights Act, telling Car Dealer it ‘helps people buy with confidence’.
You can listen to the latest episode of the Car Dealer Podcast on Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.