What are Block Exemption Regulations (BER)?

What are block exemption laws and how do they save you money?

Block exemption regulations have the potential to save you a fortune, but many drivers remain unaware of them or unwilling to act on them. Read on to find out how you could be saving thousands.

Car services risk effecting your warranty- using inferior parts or unqualified labour can be a serious problem, and not just to your paperwork. Yet until recently car sellers often restricted drivers from using even reputable, reliable repair services- and forced them to use their own services, under threat of losing the warranty. This monopoly on servicing meant these sellers made huge sums of money from requiring drivers to pay high costs for the sake of protecting their car warranty. The European Commission judged that this monopoly on car repair was unfair- and that’s why in 2002 the law changed to stop this  practice.

Under the post-2002 rules you can use any service to repair your car- and as long as the parts are genuine and the staff are qualified, your warranty can’t be touched.

Unfortunately, a lot of car owners don’t realise this is the case, even 15 years after the rule change. Because of this, many people instinctively bring their cars to the franchised, branded garages who charge well over the average. If you find yourself paying a high bill for a small job at a main dealer garage, it’s probably because they think they can get away with it. But they don’t have to.

Your car is your property, and you can get it serviced anywhere. There are already extensive rules to ensure car owners receive proper treatment from all legitimate garages. But what’s most important is, you can’t lose your warranty for using a good non-main dealer garage. 

Many people are still unaware of this, or simply don’t think it’s worth shopping around. This unfortunately costs drivers a fortune as the main dealers still charge according to the monopoly they used to have. If you look around for non-branded garages, you can save thousands on work without risking your warranty. 

Walker Cutting is a perfect example of this. We always put our customers first, and go the extra mile to make sure drivers who come to us get the best customer service in the region, as our customer reviews show. Our mission is to provide the highest standard of car care- and our award-winning service shows we’re succeeding. Yet despite the premium service we offer, with extensive specialisation and the best equipment, parts and support provided by Bosch, our prices are well below those you’d pay at a main dealer garage. We charge just a third of the service costs these branded, franchised garages charge, for the exact same level of manufacturer servicing, if not to a higher standard.

If is doubt, get in touch to find out more about our service and the ways the law protects your warranty- and how our service meets the most demanding standards of specialist work that even main dealers struggle to match. Our team is always happy to answer any questions you may have, with no obligations or pressure.