ACCC to launch Federal Court action against Ford Australia in win for women
THE consumer watchdog will launch Federal Court action over tens of thousands of dodgy Ford vehicles in a major win for women.
EXCLUSIVE
THE consumer watchdog will launch Federal Court action over tens of thousands of dodgy Fords in a major win for women told by the car giant that the problem was their “driving style”.
News Corp Australia can reveal the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission is in the final stages of preparing to allege the motoring giant misled owners over their legal rights. It follows a year-long investigation into Ford’s handling of a transmission fault in as many as 70,000 cars sold since 2011.
The ACCC has been examining whether owners of models including Focus and Fiesta were unlawfully denied refunds or replacements and instead only offered repeated — but often unsuccessful — repairs or the option of paying thousands of dollars extra to get a flaw-free car.
The commission has also been contacted by women whose complaints to Ford dealers about defects were dismissed as being an issue was their “driving style”.
“I was told that many times,” said Taylor Morgan, whose Focus repeatedly lost power without warning in traffic. It would also surge.
“It’s appalling on so many levels,” said owner Leanne Scudds. “The ACCC should be taking Ford to court. The cars are hazardous and so many people have been affected.”
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The ACCC is already at war with automakers and dealers. It has:
*FORCED Jeep to reopen two years of customer complaints;
*TAKEN VW and Audi to court over “defeat devices” used to game emissions testing; and
*PROBED the entire industry over concerns customers are routinely denied their legal rights, known as consumer guarantees.
Ford is also facing a class action from frustrated owners. The firm running the action said it had been in contact with the consumer commission.
“And there are a number of our class members who have also made complaints individually to the ACCC,” said Bannister Law solicitor Diane Chapman. “We would be very happy for the commission to file a matter.”
The lead applicant in the class action, Billie Capic, was told several times there was nothing wrong with her Focus despite it repeatedly losing power in traffic. In court documents she says she was told shuddering, jerking and harsh gear changes were a result of her “driving style”, which the car’s transmission had to adjust to.
ACCC chairman Rod Sims said he would not comment and neither confirmed nor denied it would be taking Ford to the Federal Court.
ACCC spokeswoman Elise Davidson said it was investigating “a number” of carmakers’ handling of consumer guarantee issues “including in the context of particular faults identified in certain models”.
“The ACCC is currently prioritising two investigations with a view to concluding them by midyear,” Ms Davidson said.
Ford spokesman Martin Gunsberg said “Ford has no comment”.
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