1:12 pm, December 15, 2011
ONE of the speakers at Car Dealer Magazine’s inaugural Profit Clinic was Motor Codes managing director Chris Mason who had some exciting news to share with his audience.
Mason was thrilled to hear in November that the Service and Repair Code had been given full approval from the OFT.
He told us why it means so much.
‘A couple of weeks ago, I received a call from the policy director at the Office of Fair Trading advising me that the Motor Codes Service and Repair Code had been awarded full approval status under its Consumer Codes Approval Scheme.
‘This call came after six years of industry hard work and wrangling. No straightforward task (the initial paperwork is 32 pages long before anything’s even been written in it!). This decision followed a whole lot of jumping through hoops, examining all aspects of consumer protection and trying to demonstrate the quality of our industry – one that government saw as existing in a 40-year black hole of consumer neglect.
‘Back in 2005, things were so serious that we faced a ‘supercomplaint’ and the threat of costly regulation. The Code was last-chance-saloon stuff and, in giving approval, OFT described this as one of the most important developments in consumer protection for many years.
‘As an industry, working together through Motor Codes, we’ve diverted government attention and proven that there are plenty of professional, responsible garages out there.
‘In no small measure, this has been a personal triumph for me. For the last decade I’ve been trying to put in place a mechanism that best reflects our business – to reduce complaints by directing people to the good guys.
‘Now we’ve got that rubber stamp, it’s more about success for you. What better endorsement of your business than to be able to put an OFT-approved logo on the sign over the door. Join us, and make the most of it.’
