Recall checks rise 80%

The Motor Ombudsman has recorded an 80% rise in the usage of its online Vehicle Recalls tool.

The online function allows motorists to find out whether a participating car manufacturer has recalled a specific make and model under the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA)’s safety recall scheme.

Some recalls slip through the net – if the car has been sold or customers fail to respond to notifications.

The Motor Ombudsman’s Vehicle Recalls portal logged 109,000 page views between 1 January and 30 April, equating to a 60,000 rise in traffic compared to the same four-month period in 2016.

The largest referrers of traffic to the Vehicle Recall portal are influential consumer advice websites and vehicle manufacturers. The tool is also widely used by garages and car retailers who are accredited to The Motor Ombudsman’s Chartered Trading Standards Institute-approved Service and Repair Code and Vehicle Sales Motor Industry Codes of Practice. It allows them to look up any outstanding recalls for remedial work and provide consumers with relevant information that could influence a purchase.

In 2016, around 11% of searches showed an outstanding recall.

Bill Fennell, chief ombudsman and managing director of The Motor Ombudsman, said, ‘The Vehicle Recalls portal has consistently proved a popular page on our website as it’s a one stop resource for motorists and businesses where all the essential information can be found quickly and easily at the touch of a button. However, the ultimate aim of this tool is to help keep motorists safe by alerting users to any outstanding recalls and where repairs are necessary for a specific vehicle, which should always be completed as a priority.’

 

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