Blow the whistle on non-compliance

Right to Repair South Africa is well known for advocating consumer choice.Developments across the industry since the coming into effect of the new Guidelines for Competition in July 2021 have supported consumer choice and made motorists think twice about the service they actually need.

“For most South Africans shopping around is natural, so why should this be any different when it comes to servicing your car?” says Kate Elliott, CEO of Right to Repair SA, an organisation especially formed to help drive compliance and protect consumer interests. The new Guidelines for Competition are opening up a whole new world of choice for consumers and are also in place to protect Independent Service Providers (ISP) so everyone can do business on a level playing field.

Right to Repair South Africa (R2RSA) is constantly looking for new ways to make it easier for those in the independent automotive aftermarket, as well as consumers, to report non-compliance with the Guidelines. “The more data we have on which brands are not in compliance, the easier it is for us to direct our efforts in order to achieve widespread fair competition in the South African Automotive Aftermarket,” says Elliott.

For this reason, R2RSA recently launched a Whistle Blower Hotline that can be found on their website. “In the event of any non-compliance, we encourage you to leave as much information as possible as this will enable us to ensure the concern is addressed by the authorities. However, even if you don’t have all the information, any information is helpful, so we can follow up on the lead,” she says.

Elliott says examples of non-compliance include the voiding of a warranty where the owner has made use of an ISP for servicing or the fitment of non-OEM-branded parts; failure to provide technical information to an ISP or to provide the information on unfair and unreasonable terms and the sale of a vehicle with a compulsory service/maintenance and/or motor plan.

“You are entitled to make an anonymous complaint, if you do not wish your identity to be disclosed. Unfortunately, these complaints will not be forwarded to the Commission, but will rather form part of our overall data picture to help direct our actions as an organisation going forward,” she says.

Elliott says it is important that the industry and consumers are proactive about their rights #seeitsayitsorted #itsyourchoice.Consumers who need help or want to check their rights in more detail can visit the R2RSA website on www.right2repair.org.za or visit the YouTube channel.