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UAE: Will I lose warranty if my car is serviced from a workshop that’s not affiliated to the dealer?

Ministry of Economy changed conditions around compulsory servicing in 2016

Question: My vehicle has developed a major snag. Its repair is covered under the terms of warranty. However, I am now being told that since I serviced my vehicle from a workshop that’s not affiliated with the dealer, my warranty may have been compromised. Is this legal? I serviced my car from a reputed workshop that has all relevant approvals.

Response: Pursuant to your queries, we assume that you have signed the terms of warranty, where it is stated that the servicing of the car must be conducted in the service centre of the dealer. Therefore, the provisions of Federal Law No. 15 of 2020 on Consumer Protection (the ‘Consumer Protection Law of UAE’) are applicable.

In 2016, the UAE Ministry of Economy stated that conditions related to compulsory servicing of the vehicle in the dealer’s service centre is abolished. Owners may service their vehicles in any of the centres approved by Emirates Authority for Standardizations and Metrology (the ‘ESMA’). The Committee for Consumer Protection had approved amendments relating to vehicle warranty conditions, whereby the vehicle dealers should not cancel the warranty if the vehicle has been serviced at a centre which is not affiliated to the dealer.

The term ‘Warranty’ is defined in Article 1 of the Consumer Protection Law of UAE, which reads as: “A written or implicit acknowledgement made by the supplier or his representative that the goods or service, subject-matter of the Warranty, is free from defects or malfunctions and conforms to standard specifications and that he undertakes to repair any defect or malfunction affecting the good, replace the defective good or re-perform the service, within a specified period of time.”

Further, it is the obligation of the supplier of a product or service to enforce the warranty. This is in accordance with Article 10 of the Consumer Protection Law of UAE, which states: “1- The supplier shall implement all warranties, provide the required spare parts and maintenance, replace the good, or refund its monetary value, and commit to after-sales service as regards the sold goods, within the specified time limit.

2- The supplier shall guarantee the service he provides and that it is free from defects and malfunctions within a period of time commensurate with the nature of that service, otherwise he shall return the amount paid by the consumer or a part thereof, or he shall re-perform the service properly.

3- The implementing regulation of this law shall determine the controls for implementing the provisions of this article.”

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Based on the aforementioned provisions of law, if the warranty is valid and if you had serviced your car in an ESMA-approved centre in the UAE, then your dealer may have to accept the warranty. In the event the dealer does not, you may approach the Consumer Rights Department at the Ministry of Economy and file a complaint.

Ashish Mehta is the founder and Managing Partner of Ashish Mehta & Associates. He is qualified to practise law in Dubai, the United Kingdom and India. Full details of his firm on: www.amalawyers.com. Readers may e-mail their questions to: news@khaleejtimes.com or send them to Legal View, Khaleej Times, PO Box 11243, Dubai.