DOHA: The government has asked automobile agents to review terms and conditions of the warranty they provide to customers and change warranty and service record booklets accordingly.
The Ministry of Economy and Commerce has said it has noticed that terms and conditions of warranty for new cars sold are different in Arabic booklets from those in English. “Terms and conditions must be the same in both languages,” the ministry told car agency representatives in several meetings convened to discuss this and other issues recently.
In a statement yesterday, the ministry said that it had asked car agents to invite all buyers whose vehicles are within the warranty period and hand them new warranty and service record booklets with changed terms and conditions.
“This must be done,” said the ministry stressed and asked the agencies to not put the condition to buyers that warranty will cease for cars repaired in undesignated garages or service centres within the warranty period.
“You should in no way put such terms and conditions that smack of monopoly. We are all for allowing fair competition in the market,” the ministry said. The only concession that can be given to an agency is that if within the warranty period a car is repaired outside and a spare part is damaged during repair, the agency would not need to replace it, said the ministry. It said it had surveyed vehicle warranty booklets of nearly all agents and found clauses that violate Qatar’s anti-monopolistic trade practices law.
The Anti-Trade Monopolies and Market Competition Protection Committee has been informed of the findings of the survey and it has taken a serious note. Terms and conditions contained in these booklets violate Article 4 of Law No. 19 of 2006 which bars monopolistic trade practices, said the committee, according to the ministry statement. The Peninsula
