Consumer Rights Bill

Viscount Simon Excerpts

Wednesday 19th November 2014 Lords Chamber

I also take the opportunity to look forwards slightly to the Minister’s amendment to Clause 24, which has a bearing on this matter. The motor industry, through the SMMT, has told me that it supports the Minister’s Amendment 10 to Clause 24. It states that a deduction for use in the first six months would be permitted for motor vehicles and it removes the requirement for an active second-hand market. The industry acknowledges that this amendment may well encourage consumers to accept further repairs on a new vehicle rather than bear the cost of a deduction for use if they reject. However, in this instance, the trader would be reliant on the customer’s voluntary conduct in accepting further repairs. The industry believes that the Minister’s amendment alone does not go far enough in clarifying the law for consumers and traders alike on what “one repair” entails. Such clarification would increase certainty and protection for consumers and traders. I beg to move.

[Viscount Simon (Lab)]

My Lords, it had been my intention to speak. However, I, too, have been briefed by the SMMT, so I shall not repeat what the noble Lord has spoken about.

[Viscount Younger of Leckie (Con)]

My Lords, my noble friend Lord Clement-Jones makes an interesting point about extending the law to allow multiple repairs beyond repair one but within a defined period of time. It is still not entirely clear what this time period would be. I noted that he said that it would be a determinate end-point of repair.

It is a laudable proposition but for the fact that it could put undue cost burdens on small businesses. I give the example of a local business selling a complex piece of machinery. It comes in for repair once and then on a couple of other occasions before it dawns on the trader that the repair is as a result of the customer perhaps not using it properly or misusing it. However, up until this point, it is the trader who by law, under my noble friend’s amendment, would bear all the costs of the transport and the re-repair.

Therefore, although the trader could make the sale contractual to pre-empt or prevent this, I believe that it is more proportionate and less prescriptive to retain the one-repair proposal as laid down in the Bill.