We thought this seemed a little unreasonable – products in those days were supposed to be built to last - but when we wrote to the member company asking them to explain, the facts they provided led the Council to uphold the member’s decision. We don’t have a record of this reply, but it must have shown that the product had been misused, or something else not the fault of the manufacturing company. This was our very first ‘customer complaint’ investigation.

A Trade Association represents its members and is often a place for end users to check what they have been told or complain about a service they have received with a more independent body that represents the company. All FIA members sign up to a Leadership Statement that includes a complaints process, should a complaint arise of a member company.