Some car dealers misleading consumers over safety ratings, ANCAP tells ACCC.

By Amy Bainbridge.

Some car dealers are peddling misinformation about the safety ratings of new cars in order to secure a sale, an independent vehicle safety advocate says.

The Australasian New Car Assessment Program (ANCAP) cited examples in its submission to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission’s (ACCC) market study of new cars.

“Our concern is that people are deceptively using the ANCAP ratings or deceptively misleading consumers in relation to the rating,” ANCAP CEO James Goodwin told the ABC.

“Some information given out to consumers is just wrong.”

ANCAP tests new cars for safety, and cars must rate five stars to be at the top of the range.

Mr Goodwin said some dealers are leaving the star rating off car advertisements when it rates poorly.

“It’s selective use, so where the car has a good safety rating they’ll use it, but when it doesn’t they won’t use it,” he said.

“We also see some misleading or deceptive advertising where the manufacturers will make their own claims about how safe the vehicle is, such as it having high-tensile steel or energy-absorbing steel.

“Or even saying things like it’s standard with electronic stability control, well that’s misleading because that’s a regulation.”

The Australian Design Rules cover standards for new cars, such as vehicle safety, anti-theft and emissions.

But while labels for fuel consumption and emissions are compulsory, the safety rating is not.

Mr Goodwin said that is leaving the door open for the system to be exploited, to the detriment of car buyers.

“We’re concerned that perhaps people are using the wrong information to make that sale. This becomes particularly important when different models of that car have different ratings,” he said.

“Perhaps the top-rated model might be five star and the others are three star, and it’s important that the consumer knows the car they are buying has the correct safety information.”

The CEO of the Australasian Automotive Dealer Association (AADA), David Blackhall, said its members were aware of their obligations to be truthful with their advertising.

“Casting my mind back, I’m not sure I’ve seen [misleading advertising] but I’m not saying it hasn’t happened,” he told the ABC.

“It can happen as an act of omission perhaps, a mistake, but we would say to our members to avoid that kind of behaviour because it’s only going to cause you problems.”

Mr Blackhall said the idea of mandatory labelling for the safety ratings of cars has merit.

“It’s hard to see the downside. I mean why wouldn’t you have that if everybody’s interested in doing the right thing both by the dealers and the consumers?”

But Tony Weber, the chief executive of the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries, does not support compulsory ANCAP labelling.

“ANCAP is just one of the safety measurement tools used by consumers around the world to purchase cars, there are many other providers of safety information,” he said.

“My members, the brands themselves, actually provide a lot of information on safety.

“I think that there’s a lot of information out there for consumers and there’s no great need to mandate a safety labelling form, and if there was there would have to be negotiations on what went into that.”

The ACCC launched its market study into new car retailing in June.

It is looking at four key areas, including compliance with consumer rights and guarantees, as well as false, misleading and deceptive practices in performance, fuel efficiency, fuel consumption and emissions.

It is also assessing whether post-sale arrangements such as servicing are competitive, and whether consumers and businesses could be affected by any restrictions on vehicle access to data.

The ACCC and other consumer law agencies are receiving a record number of complaints about new car sales.

The ACCC’s study will be completed early in 2017.

This post originally appeared on ABC News.