Jessica Walker: Acting Head of Research and Advocacy at Consumer NZ on car wash malfunction causing woman's life to flash before her eyes

A Christchurch woman believed she was going to die when a car wash malfunctioned while she was in it. 

The brushes hit her car so hard that the bonnet, roof and sides were crumpled and scratched, and her spoiler was completely ripped off. 

After making it out of the car wash, staff gave the woman a flyer with an 0800 number she never heard back from. The car wash was back in service later that night. 

Acting Head of Research and Advocacy at Consumer NZ, Jessica Walker tells Heather du Plessis-Allan the Consumer Guarantees Act requires reasonable care and skill is provided for a service, and this case clearly did not meet that standard. 

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Hither duplicy Ellen, eighteen past five. So what happens when
a car wash goes wrong?

Speaker 2 (00:05):
Eh?

Speaker 1 (00:05):
It's happened to a woman in christ shirt. She went
into the car wash Z car wash. She had her
spoiler ripped off, the bonnet, the roof, the sides of
the car crumpled and scratched by the brushes because the
thing was malfunctioning. Jessica Walker is the acting head of
Research and Advocacy of Consumer Hello, Jessica, hither, How I am?

Speaker 2 (00:21):
I'm well?

Speaker 1 (00:21):
Think you ever heard of anything like this happening before?

Speaker 2 (00:24):
Now? It's horrifying, isn't it. I was just getting up
to date with the case. How terrifying for that poor woman.
It's made me definitely put me off going in a
car wash. Ever again, there might.

Speaker 1 (00:35):
Be that as well. The weird thing about this is
that this happened. The staff saw that something had happened.
They gave the woman an O eight hundred numbers. She
called it three weeks later. Apparently nothing's been done about
it at all. What happens?

Speaker 2 (00:47):
Yeah? Yeah, I think that's terrible. I mean, from what
we've heard, it sounds like this could well be a
breach of the consumer guarantees AC so you know, when
you're paying for a goods or service, then it should
be provided with reasonable care and skill. That this woman's
car looks like it's been destroyed and she was fearing
for her life. What didn'tdicate that there was definitely not
reasonable care and skill executed on this occasion. And so

(01:10):
then there's a couple of problems here. One the response
that she got when she first went in to complain
about her awful experience, but to the fact that it's
taken so long for her to hear anything. And you know,
is it just because she's been to the media that
she's had a response. I'd like to think not. But overall,
you know, this is a really really appalling outcome for
the woman.

Speaker 1 (01:28):
You're too right, Hey, did you know that if you're
in a malfunctioning car wash Jessica, because now I know
you're freaking out about it, did you know that you're
supposed to if you need help because you can't get
out right then you die? No, you're supposed to your horn?

Speaker 2 (01:41):
Well, I think that's ludicrous. You know, yes, there's a
sign as you're driving, but can you imagine if something
feels like it's bearing down on you. You can hear
that your car's being bashed about. You're not thinking about well,
I'll just toot my horn and hope for the best.
I mean the reports that she thought her life was
flashing before her eyes, and I think, you know, if
that's the situation that you're in and you're not thinking
about punking your horn, you're just praying for it to

(02:04):
end so you hopefully you can get out of that.

Speaker 1 (02:05):
Well too, right. Actually, hey, Jessica, thank you very much.
Jessica Walker, acting here of research and advocacy consuming New Zealand.
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