Page 6 - Australasian paint & Panel Sep-Oct 2021

NEWS
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PAINT&PANEL SEPTEMBER / OCTOBER 2021 WWW.PAINTANDPANEL.COM.AU
SA WORKS TO PROVIDE ‘RIGHT TO REPAIR’
T
HE SOUTH AUSTRALIAN MEMBER
for Waite and former presiding member of the Economic and Finance Committee, Sam Duluk MP, introduced South Australia's Fair Trading (Motor Vehicle Insurer and Repairers) Amendment Bill 2021 into
the state's House of Assembly.
In his address to the assembly Duluk
noted, the crash repair industry had been vocal for many years in raising is- sues with a car owners 'right to repair'. He highlighted the following key issues:
• insurers steering customers to their
preferred repairer network
• insurers setting repair allowances for
altering a repairer's cost estimate
• insurers using 'funny time, funny mon- ey' to convert a repairer's estimate to their preferred estimation methodology
• insurers using a 'two-quote model' to
force a cash settlement
• insurers requesting repairers to use
non-authorised genuine parts or in-
correct repair methods without con- sumer knowledge.
Duluk also noted the findings of the
Royal Commission into Misconduct in the Banking, Superannuation and Finan- cial Services Industry, which provided a sobering snapshot of a serious discon- nect between community expectations and consumer experiences.
According to Hansard, during his ad- dress to the state parliament Duluk said the committee received 53 written sub- missions and heard from 35 witnesses across seven public hearings and two in camera hearings about issues encoun- tered while trying to get vehicles re- paired as part of an insurance claim. These issues included:
• difficulties in consumers accessing a re- pairer of choice and claims of insurers
steering consumers toward their pre-
ferred network
• the use of second-hand and/or non-orig-
inal equipment manufacturer parts in re- pairs and related safety, warranty and li- ability concerns when using those parts
• a lack of transparency of information, with consumers often not being made fully aware by insurers of all the de- tails related to their repairs and/or in- surance policies
• disagreements over the methodology used by crash repairers and insurers to assess the repairs needed, and the cost of said repairs, to restore the motor vehicle back to pre-accident condition, and the quote negotiation process
• insurers choosing to provide cash set- tlements to consumers instead of re- pairing their vehicles.
Eleven recommendations were made,
aimed at transparency, consumer choice and awareness, while maintaining con- sumer safety, ensuring all motor vehicles are restored to pre-accident condition.
Duluk noted that Western Australia, New South Wales and now the South Australian parliament have all prepared reports that demonstrate the need for ac- tion now. New South Wales has passed legislation, but without penalties, and it has shown that their legislation does not have the requisite teeth to assist con- sumers or small businesses.
In commending the Bill to the House, the Member for Waite thanked the Motor Trades Association for their assistance in driving the issue.
LEFT TO RIGHT: MTA Corporate Communications and Future Growth Manager, Daniel Forbes, Member for Waite, Sam Duluk MP, BRD Chair, Dario Tonon, BRD member, Jeff Williams and MTA Repair Division Specialist, Matthew Bezzina.
‘YOUR CAR YOUR CHOICE’ SAY VACC
THE VICTORIAN AUTOMOTIVE CHAMBER
of Commerce’s Body Repair Division has launched a multi-media campaign that aims to raise motorist awareness on the importance of choice of repairer.
'Your car, your choice' will engage mo- torists in Victoria and Tasmania by offer- ing up the chance to win one year’s free comprehensive car insurance, while using the opportunity to educate entrants on the
reasons they should choose who repairs their vehicle in the event of an accident.
“Choice of repairer is important, what- ever the make and model; and using a specialist can give them peace of mind, knowing their car is being expertly re- paired,” said VACC CEO, Geoff Gwilym.
“VACC wants motorists to regain control of their rights.
“After all, it’s your car, your choice.”