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Delays and defects in repairs

If there is a delay in repairing your car, the repair shop must inform you. In this case, you must usually give the repair shop a reasonable extension to do the work. You do not have to pay the repair shop until the work has been done.

  1. Delay in car repairs
  2. A defect in car repairs
  3. Resolving disputes related to car repairs

Delay in car repairs

Car repairs have been delayed if they have not been completed by the agreed time. If no deadline for the work was agreed, the car must be assigned within a reasonable time period after the contract was made, considering the quality and extent of the repairs. Ordinary repairs, two weeks is considered a reasonable period of time.

If finishing repairs to your car is delayed, the repair shop must inform you.  You must usually give the repair shop a reasonable extension to do the work.

You have the right to withhold all or part of the payment for the service until the work has been completed. The amount you do not pay should respond roughly to the part of the work that has been delayed. You can only withhold the full contract price if the delay is so significant that it could entitle to cancel the contract.

  • You have the right to claim compensation for losses caused by the delay.

    If the repairs are delayed and you need a car, first check with the repair shop to see if they could give you a replacement car free of charge. If no replacement car is available, you can claim compensation from the repair shop for the necessary rental car costs during the delay.

    To get compensation requires that you have evidence of your losses. You must always have a receipt or other reliable explanation on the costs.

    You and the repair shop must make an effort to minimise the costs caused by the losses. For example, if you could rightly have done something differently to reduce your costs caused by the delay, the repair shop does not have to reimburse you for unnecessary costs.

    You cannot get compensation for distress or mental suffering.

  • You have the right to cancel the contract if the work is delayed and you have given the repair shop extension but they still do not finish the work during this period.

    If during the work appears that it will not be finished by the agreed time, you as the customer can cancel the contract. You can cancel the contract if you have weighty reasons to believe that there will be an essential delay in completing the work.

    The right to cancel the contract only concerns the part of the work that has not yet been done. You usually have to pay the full price for any work that has been made flawless. If the result of the repair work is basically not attained because of the delay, you may cancel the contract in its entirety.

A defect in car repairs

A repair service is defective if:

  • its  content, the execution and its results are not as agreed
  • the work was not performed with professional skill and care as well as taking the customer’s interests into account
  • its durability and otherwise do not conform what the customer could usually expect of similar services
  • it does not respond the requirements set by law, decree or official decision
  • the repair is not corresponding with the information provided by the repair shop (and the false information had an impact on the selected repair technique, for instance)
  • the repair shop has defaulted on its duty to provide advice, for example by not explaining to the customer the risks related to a failed repair.

 

  • If there is a dispute related to defective repair, it is usually up to the customer to show that the fault in the car was caused by the repair shop’s work or spare parts installed by it. However, the repair shop must be able to prove that the work was done with professional skill and care.

    Sometimes a fault in a car may be difficult to retrace, or it cannot be repaired even by a skilled technician.

    If a repair is useless because of the repair shop’s defective work or lack of professional skills, no fee may be charged. Distinguish these issues apart is not always easy. If the repair is not completely useless, the repair shop may charge a fee for the benefit the customer gets from it. These situations must be estimated case by case. Sometimes an external estimation of the repair shop’s actions is also needed.

    A skilled and careful repair shop

    • retraces the fault carefully to avoid unnecessary and repeated repairs
    • recognizes and complies with appropriate repair techniques and work phases
    • complies with working methods and repair techniques recommended in the instructions provided by the importer in question
    • is able to assess in advance if a certain repair measure is adequate
    • refuses to receive work that they cannot perform because they lack the professional skills or suitable tools for it.

  • When you notice or suspect a defect in a repair shop’s work, notify the repair shop about it as soon as possible. It is best to do this in writing, for example by e-mail, and keep a copy of the message.

    Filing a complaint with a company

    Stop using the car if you think that continuing to drive it could make the fault worse or cause more damage. If necessary, ask a repair shop if it is safe to drive the car. Your entitlement to compensation may be lost or reduced if your actions have caused additional damage.

    When the repair shop has found the defect, they must rectify it within a reasonable time period without additional cost.

    Repeated repairs must usually be entrusted at the repair shop which performed the initial work.  If the repair shop is unable to perform the repeated repairs within a reasonable time period, you can agree with them on a price reduction that corresponds to the defect in its amount.

    You can only have the repeated repair entrusted by a different repair shop at the initial repair shop’s cost for justifiable causes, for example if rectifying the defect cannot be postponed, or you cannot contact the repair shop. For example, the defect in the car repair emerges en route in another locality. In this case, too, you should contact the repair shop responsible for the initial repair as soon as possible.

    If you have had the repeated repairs entrusted elsewhere without a justifiable cause, you can only claim compensation from the initial repair shop for the costs that they would have had for repairing the defect.
    You may refuse to pay the part of the initial invoice that corresponds to the defect until the defect has been rectified.

  • You have the right to compensation for losses caused by the defect. You can only get compensation if you have evidence of your losses.

    For example, you may receive compensation for any travel, postage and telephone costs caused by the defect, and the costs necessary for troubleshooting the defect, if the initial repair shop did not do it.

    If you need a car while the defect is being repaired, first solve with the repair shop to see if you can get a replacement car free of charge. If no replacement car is available, you can claim compensation from the repair shop for the necessary rental car costs while the defect is being rectified.

    You must always have a receipt or other reliable explanation on the costs. You and   the repair shop must make an effort to minimise the costs caused by the losses. For example, if you could rightly have done something differently to reduce the costs caused to you by the defect, the repair shop does not have to reimburse you for any unnecessary costs.

    You cannot get compensation for distress or mental suffering.

  • If there is a problem with your car, you should always contact the service provider.  If you delay reporting the problem, you may lose the right to make any demands.

    Often the problem can be resolved when you notify the service provider as soon as possible.

    If the service provider does not react as you would like, submit a written complaint to the service provider with a detailed description of the problem and a list of your demands.

    Justify your demands and provide evidence to support your claim, if possible. For example, photographs, documents, e-mail correspondence, and other evidence (such as fault diagnoses) may help.

    You can use our Complaint Assistant to file a complaint. The Complaint Assistant also provides information about your rights and helps you assess what kind of demands you can make.

    Complaint Assistant – Filing a complaint with a company

  • If the opposing party is willing to resolve the issue, try to find a satisfactory solution through negotiation.

    Consider carefully whether you can accept the service provider’s proposal. Often there is not just one right solution. However, reconciliation is usually a better and more economical solution than a prolonged dispute.

  • If the complaint and the negotiation procedure do not lead to an amicable solution, you can contact the Consumer Advisory Services for instructions.

    The processing of your case usually requires information about the opposing party’s view.

    If the repair shop does not assent the defect and technical diagnostics are required to approve it, you will have to acquire them yourself. In disputes related to a defective repair, additional information may be required about such issues as the reason of the fault, or the causations of any neglected services or incorrect usage on the defect.

    Note: The Consumer Advisory Services and the Consumer Disputes Board do not deal with disputes over car sales if the car was bought from a private individual.

    Consumer Advisory Services 

  • If you cannot settle the dispute, you can take the issue to the Consumer Disputes Board. The Consumer Disputes Board will assign a proposed recommendation free of charge. The proposed recommendation is not obliged to the parties in the same way as a court’s judgment would be.

    You can also take the dispute to the court. If you take the issue to the court, you may have to pay legal costs. The losing party usually has to pay all or part of the other party’s legal costs. You can take the case to the court either directly or after the Consumer Disputes Board has assigned its recommendation, if the repair shop does not comply with it.

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