Taking your car in for a repair can be a costly exercise. Getting what you pay for, ie a car that is running properly and fully repaired, is the obvious outcome. However, there are times when vehicle owners have not been satisfied with the end result.
Vishal Premlall, Director of the Motor Industry Workshop Association (MIWA), says vehicle owners need to know that there is a dispute resolution process in place to assist them if they have been serviced by a MIWA workshop.
“It’s for this very reason that it’s important to use a MIWA accredited workshop. That way you can be assured that there will be repercussions for services not rendered adequately,” he says.
He explains that if you are dissatisfied with the job done, your first step should be to contact MIWA directly. “Give us a call. Register your dispute and once we have all the information we will engage with the workshop in order to find a resolution. We go through a process of mediation where we facilitate discussions between all parties,” he says.
Premlall says MIWA has a 94% success rate when it comes to resolving cases. “In most cases, disputes are resolved through the mediation process. If no suitable outcome can be reached, the vehicle owner can then escalate the case to the Motor Ombudsman – the statutory body for the industry.”
“We want consumers to know that they do not have to accept a service that is below par. We are an industry that believes in excellence. For this very reason, we conduct audits on our member workshops and they are graded accordingly. This ensures a level of accreditation that consumers can rely on,” he concludes.
Consumers can contact MIWA head office on 011 886 6300 for assistance with dispute resolution.
