All kinds of tricks in the auto repair industry make the car more and more hurt
With the continuous improvement of people's living standards, my country has entered the era of automobiles. Automobile production and sales have ranked first in the world for 11 consecutive years, and the number of civilian automobiles has exceeded 260 million.
The auto repair industry is also prospering day by day, and auto repair factories and shops have mushroomed, and the subsequent fraud, slaughter and other dishonest business problems also occur from time to time.
In 2019, the “Analysis of the Acceptance of Complaints by the National Consumers Association” released by the China Consumers Association showed that complaints related to automobiles and parts ranked first in the commodity complaint list, with a total of 34,335.
Most car owners don’t have a deep understanding of the auto repair industry. Once they send their car to a repair shop that has dishonest management or poor repair skills, not only the original problems of the vehicle may not be effectively solved, but the more it is repaired, the more it hurts. A lot of time, energy and money.
After a summary and analysis of related cases, the Beijing Shunyi Court found that auto maintenance disputes were mainly concentrated in contract traps, unqualified institutions, “hidden rules” of parts fraud, and opaque prices.
Explain the various tricks of the auto repair industry with case interpretation, and at the same time address the dilemma of consumer rights protection.
Case number one
"Stealing beams and replacing posts" by auto repair factory, not using original parts constitutes fraud
In the process of auto repair, some designated service stations or repair shops will "stealing the merits" during the repair process in order to pursue higher profits and purchase products at lower prices than the original factory.
However, since the repair list received by consumers often only contains codes without specific textual descriptions, they rarely deliberately check.
Moreover, consumers cannot always monitor the repair process. After the car is repaired, most consumers cannot tell whether they have used original parts.
A light truck of Ms. Dong was sent to an auto repair shop due to a traffic accident. The auto repair shop was a designated service station for the car brand. The auto repair shop claimed that the original parts were not used when the vehicle was repaired. The person did not explicitly propose to use original parts, but told to save costs as much as possible.
Ms. Dong said that the vehicle is insured, and original parts are required when sending it for repair.
The court held that as a designated service station for the car brand, the court did not submit evidence to prove that Ms. Dong explicitly requested not to use original parts when sending the car for repair, and did not prove that it would not use the original factory for repairs. The accessories inform Ms. Dong.
It cannot be inferred from the difference in prices that Ms. Dong had clearly known that the replacement parts of the vehicle involved in the lawsuit were not made by the original factory when the car was picked up at the checkout, and it was difficult for ordinary consumers to distinguish. Therefore, the auto repair company should be determined to constitute a fraud.
The court finally supported Ms. Dong's request for a refund and double the damages.
Judge Revealed
There is a lot of fraud in accessories, but the customer did not discuss it
Niu Jiawen, President of the Second Civil Division of the Shunyi Court, said that due to the large number of auto parts and miscellaneous categories, ordinary consumers cannot distinguish clearly, which provides the repairer with an opportunity for fraud. The number of vehicle repair and maintenance items continues to increase, and the quality of repairs has decreased. , The fault cannot be eliminated and effectively solved in time, and there are often two or multiple repairs.
She introduced that the more common parts "fraud" in the repair process mainly fall into the following three categories:
One is making a fuss and over-maintaining.
Some repairers adhere to the unspoken rule of "no disease, small disease, big doctor", regardless of the size of the failure of the parts, the parts can only be replaced without repair, so as to earn high profits.
In addition, the phenomenon of the repair party "seeing the dishes under the car" also often occurs. Some luxury cars are repaired and maintained, and even sky-high repair orders will appear.
The second is bundled consumption and mandatory service.
Some repairers will induce consumers to order packages and make them pay more for repairs through bundled consumption. They even make it clear that "replacement of spare parts, no warranty", requires consumers to choose higher-priced original parts , Or it is mandatory for consumers to go to the store for maintenance on a regular basis, otherwise the three guarantees will not be given.
The third is to charge a shoddy good, steal the merit and change the post.
Some repairers will repair the old parts repaired by the customer and then replace them with the next customer. The phenomenon of replacing old parts with new ones, using domestic parts as imported parts, and sub-factory parts as main factory parts occurs from time to time.
Some products from the "three noes" subsidiary factories leave the factory without inspection and lack a certificate of conformity. As for the warranty period and other contents, the buyer and the seller will negotiate privately, and some do not even have a warranty period.
Many contract traps make car owners easy to step on thunder
When consumers send their vehicles to repair shops or repair shops for maintenance or beauty, they first need to sign a maintenance "three guarantees" contract. However, in practice, in most cases it is an "verbal" agreement between the consumer and the repairer, and there is no The specific repair items, repair parts, etc. are implemented in writing. Some repairers will replace the contract with a repair slip. However, the agreed content of the repair slip is relatively simple and the agreed repair items are not clear enough. For example, only "replace engine" is stated, but it is not It is not stated whether to replace the original parts or the secondary parts, how to deal with the replaced old parts, etc.
Some repairers will issue a pre-drawn standard contract, requiring consumers to sign.
Such pre-drawn terms for repeated use are called standard terms. Such contracts unilaterally drafted by operators are often unfair, and the content of the contract is not clear. Some repairers replace repair parts, add or delete repairs without authorization. The project has led to a significant increase in maintenance costs, and the maintenance quality is difficult to guarantee.
Case two
It took 300,000 half a year to find unqualified personnel to repair the car.
Compared with the ubiquitous auto repair shops and maintenance points, professional car sales service 4S shops account for only a small number, and because the cost of 4S shops is relatively high, some customers will choose to go to the repair shop or maintenance point after the vehicle is out of warranty. Auto repair.
However, some repair units do not have complete facilities and maintenance techniques. They even hire personnel who are not qualified to repair automobiles. This not only causes losses to consumers, but also brings many difficulties to continued repairs.
A trading company sent the vehicle to Xie for repair and paid more than 300,000 yuan for repairs.
However, Xie did not have the qualification for maintenance and operation, and his technical level was not high. After half a year, Xie did not repair the vehicle.
After the trading company took the vehicle away, it sued Xie and demanded the return of more than 300,000 yuan in repair fees and other losses.
Xie said that the trading company had approved the cost of 296,000 yuan, and the counterclaim required the trading company to pay for accessories, hire senior technicians, and venue rental fees totaling 150,000 yuan.
The court found that Xie was engaged in motor vehicle maintenance operations without permission and should stop the operation and bear the losses caused thereby.
The trading company knew that Xie was not qualified for maintenance and commissioned the maintenance. There was also a certain fault.
The court considered the responsibilities of both parties in the case and the current status of vehicle maintenance, and determined Xie's repaired part of the cost, and ordered Xie to return part of the repair cost to the trading company.
Xie's counterclaim was not supported by the court.
Judge Revealed
Maintenance of "guerrillas" without qualifications
Niu Jiawen explained that professional car sales service 4S shops provide better services, but the higher charging standards have discouraged many consumers.
This provides an opportunity for those "guerrillas" who are relatively inexpensive to repair roadsides.
However, such mobile repair shops generally lack operating qualifications, and some repair shops pretend to be special repair points, or have already been disqualified from special repair points, but they have been hanging the original signs to attract consumers.
Some unlicensed repair shops have poor repair technology, chaotic parts supply channels, and illegal operations such as the use and sale of fake and shoddy products and artificial faults.
At the same time, the threshold of the auto repair market is low, and the professional level of auto repair workers varies. In order to save labor costs, some repair shops only provide simple training for workers and require them to be employed.
When consumers go to these places to repair their cars, not only the original problems may not be solved, but sometimes minor problems are repaired into major problems, and the more they repair, the more they hurt.
When consumers advocated for rights protection, they discovered that the "guerrillas" had already gone to empty buildings and disappeared.
The price is opaque, and the price is chaotic
As the auto repair industry sets prices independently by the market, some repairers have bad behaviors of price fraud, do not clearly mark the price of parts, or set prices at will for individual parts.
Some repairers do not separately list the specific costs of each repair item, saying that all repair items will be aggregated and discounted to charge a preferential price in order to dispel the car owners' concerns.
In the repair process, it is necessary to calculate the working hours according to the length of the repair and maintenance. The longer the service time, the higher the labor cost. Therefore, some repairers will deliberately delay the repair time in order to charge high working hours.
In addition, some vehicle maintenance costs are ultimately borne by insurance companies, which also makes consumers not sensitive to prices. However, the costs will eventually be transmitted to vehicle insurance premiums and increase them year by year. In fact, it will ultimately harm the interests of consumers.
Text/Reporter Song Xia
Tips for avoiding pits
Car owners are in trouble
Senior judges "weapon"
Niu Jiawen analyzed that the reason for the frequent occurrence of maintenance disputes is the asymmetry of professional knowledge and information between the repair party and the consumer, whether it is the maintenance standards, rules, or the quality of auto repair parts and the way of identification.
Moreover, when consumers pick up the car from the repair shop, except for some problems that can be directly seen from the appearance, in most cases, the problem occurs again after driving for a period of time. At this time, they learn that the previous maintenance has a problem. It was too late, and the evidence could not be effectively fixed.
In addition, consumers often need to communicate with the repairer to solve the problem. If the two parties cannot reach an agreement and enter the litigation process, it will consume more time and energy.
Niu Jiawen explained, “As far as Beijing is concerned, there are only four motor vehicle appraisal institutions shortlisted. The motor vehicle appraisal cycle is long, resulting in a slow litigation cycle. The high appraisal cost even exceeds the repair price itself, which also makes car owners fall into The dilemma of the high cost of litigation rights protection."
In order to avoid unnecessary losses for consumers during the repair process, she made the following tips:
(1) Do your homework in advance and choose regular shops
Before sending the vehicle for repair, consumers should first understand the scope of repair and master the basic knowledge of vehicle repair to avoid losses due to lack of understanding of vehicle repair technology.
Secondly, learn to identify the qualifications of the business. When choosing a repair party, try to choose those regular repair shops that emphasize credibility and pay attention to whether the business license, business license and other documents are complete. It is cheaper to go to an unlicensed maintenance point on the street.
If you have questions about the service, quality, and price of the merchant, make more inquiries and comparisons, and make a cautious decision.
(2) Pay attention to all links, and there are evidences to follow when disputes occur
Before the start of the repair, the consumer must sign a repair agreement with the repairer, and clearly ask the repairer about the doubtful part. If it is found that there are clauses restricting the rights of consumers and reducing or exempting the repairer’s responsibilities, it should be revised. Keep the relevant evidence.
When negotiating, it is best to negotiate the price in advance, clarify the specific items and specific amounts, such as labor costs, testing fees, unit price of accessories, quality level, etc.
It is necessary to see the "manufacturer, telephone number, registered trademark" and other items on the outer packaging of the replacement parts, and specify the product model, place of origin, and specifications in detail on the repair sheet.
In addition, consumers often communicate with the maintenance master during the maintenance process, and can monitor replacement parts nearby.
The state of the vehicle before and after the repair can be recorded by taking photos or videos. At the same time, pay attention to ask for the receipts, so that there is a basis for disputes.
(3) Don't shrink back when you encounter problems, and actively defend your rights to claim compensation
In the event of a dispute, you must dare to take up legal weapons to protect your legitimate rights and interests. Consumers’ rights protection suggests a “four-step”: The first step is to negotiate with the repairing party to resolve it. If the two parties can reach an agreement, it will save time, money, and effort. Intensification of conflicts can be avoided; the second step, if the negotiation fails, you can apply to the road transportation management agency to organize technical appraisal and mediation; the third step: complain to the consumer association or the industrial and commercial department; the fourth step: go to the court to file a lawsuit.
Article 55 of my country’s "Consumer Rights Protection Law" stipulates that “If a business operator commits fraud in providing goods or services, he shall increase compensation for the losses suffered by consumers in accordance with the requirements of consumers, and the increased amount of compensation shall be the purchase price or Three times the cost of receiving the service; if the amount of compensation is less than 500 yuan, it is 500 yuan." Once it is proved that the car repair has been fraudulent, consumers can claim compensation from the repair agency under the provisions of "refunding one for three." Undertake punitive damages.