Sewell Law Discusses Rise in AI-Assisted Complaints at Automotive Management LIVE

AI is making it easier for customers to raise formal complaints while increasing the time businesses spend investigating them.

LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM, November 13, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ -- Motor retailers, dealerships and lenders are fielding more detailed customer complaints as consumers use artificial intelligence tools to research their rights and draft formal correspondence, according to businesses that spoke to Sewell Law at Automotive Management LIVE. The East Yorkshire commercial solicitors exhibited at the NEC Birmingham on 11 November, where the team spoke with businesses about consumer disputes, regulatory matters and wider commercial concerns.

Much of the discussion about AI at the show centred on how retailers could use it to streamline their own operations. At the Sewell Law stand, businesses raised a different question. What happens when customers use the same technology to challenge a decision about a vehicle return, a repair or a finance agreement?

Retailers described receiving correspondence that cites legislation, sets out a proposed remedy and gives the business a deadline to respond. For customers who would struggle to put a concern into writing, that can make it easier for them to be heard. It can also give a customer increased expectations about the outcome before anyone has reviewed the transaction. The business still has to check the legal arguments and address the problem that prompted the complaint.

Jennifer Sewell, director and solicitor at Sewell Law, said “The advances in AI are helping dealer groups and retailers streamline their systems more effectively. It also means, however, that a customer can now draft a formal complaint or claim in minutes. Whilst this is a really helpful tool for customers with concerns, the difficulty is that AI does not always get it right.

We have seen letters to our dealership clients running to in excess of 20 pages and relying on legal authorities that do not exist (known as hallucinations) or are incorrect. This can be a result of AI misunderstanding the prompt used by the customer or it can be that the AI being used is drawing on American references.

These complaints still need to be properly dealt with and, as we have heard today, that is costing dealerships significant management time”.

A customer seeking to reject a vehicle can involve investigation time for a dealership, a workshop, a lender and a warranty provider. A disagreement about what was promised at the point of sale may turn on an archived advert, a handover document or an exchange with the sales team. Where a finance agreement is involved, the lender may hold information that the retailer needs to understand the complaint.

The work also grows when a letter bundles several issues together. A complaint about a recurring fault may include separate questions about how the vehicle was advertised, what a warranty covered and what the customer was told after the first repair. Each point can lead to a different set of records and a different person with the authority to make a decision. One email can become a job for sales, aftersales, finance and compliance.

That creates a commercial cost even where a complaint can be resolved without a formal dispute. A complaint or claim that could previously have been dealt with by a frank conversation with a customer and without the matter escalating, can now spiral quickly based on results that a customer is being provided by an AI search.

Sewell Law advises independent dealerships, dealer groups and franchise groups, lenders, manufacturers and specialist vehicle suppliers. Its motor retail work covers vehicle rejection and other consumer disputes, motor finance complaints and regulatory compliance, advertising and pricing challenges, Trading Standards matters and workshop and forecourt safety investigations.

Jennifer Sewell has worked across the motor industry for two decades. The exhibition generated strong interest in Sewell Law’s wider commercial practice. Visitors also approached the team for advice on issues outside automotive. The firm’s work includes commercial and property disputes, regulatory support, mediation and business protection, with sector practices in manufacturing, agriculture, marine and construction alongside motor retail.

The breadth of the conversations reflected the range of decisions business owners face when a dispute arises. A customer complaint might need a prompt investigation, while an overdue invoice or a disagreement with a supplier can raise a different question about how to protect cash flow and preserve a relationship the business still depends on.

Alfie Brown
The Terminal
+ +44 7876 586946
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