Dispute Resolution

What do I do if I have a complaint about The Motor Ombudsman?

Customer feedback is very important to us and, if you let us know your concerns, we can try and put things right as well as use this to learn and improve for the future.

We always want to provide the highest level of customer service to our consumers and accredited businesses – no matter what the outcome of the case.

As such, if you believe that the service provided has fallen short of your expectations, please let us know. For example:

• There have been delays with your complaint;
• You haven’t been kept updated with progress; and
• Member(s) of staff have communicated with you inappropriately.

If you’re not satisfied with how we’ve dealt with your case, the first step is to let us know what’s happened. It’s helpful for us to have your concerns in writing, but we’re also happy to discuss things over the phone. You can do so at any point whilst we’re handling the complaint, or within three months of the complaint being closed.

Please click here to read further information about how to submit a Service Complaint to us.

What is The Motor Ombudsman’s remit?

We can only consider a complaint against a business that is accredited to one or more of our Codes of Practice and have failed to uphold their commitments.

We currently only cover businesses based in the UK – however, as long as the transaction you are complaining about happening in the UK, you do not need to be a UK resident to use our service.

The areas we cover are new vehicle warranties, extended warranties, vehicle sales and service and repair.

We will be unable to consider a complaint if:

• It concerns physical injury, illness, stress/nervous shock or their consequences, criminal activity or claims of negligence;
• The award would exceed £10,000 and/or, where appropriate, the value of the vehicle; and
• A legally-binding judgement has already been made, although we may record details for monitoring purposes

We may be unable to consider a complaint if:

• I has been more than six years since the event occurred orit has been more than 12 months since you either complained to the business or received their final response;
• It has already been investigated by another ombudsman scheme or provider of alternative dispute resolution;
• You have accepted an offer in full and final settlement;
• There are no demonstrable financial losses;
• The vehicle was bought in or is registered in the name of a business, or is primarily used for business purposes; and
• We believe the complaint raises an important or novel point of law and therefore the complaint would be better considered by a court, taking into account: whether the point of law is key to the outcome of the case; the significance of the complaint for consumers and the industry; the amount at stake and possible remedies.

You can find more information about how to check if a business is accredited to one of our four codes of practice here.

How does The Motor Ombudsman’s ADR process work?

If you’ve been unable to resolve your complaint directly with a Motor Ombudsman-accredited business, either because you’ve received their final response and are unhappy with it, or haven’t received an answer at all within eight weeks of making your complaint, you can get in touch with us to raise a case.

How do I tell you about my dispute with an accredited business?

The best way to do this is to complete our short web form. This allows you to provide details about the vehicle which your complaint is about, to tell us about the reason for the dispute, and the resolution that you’re looking for from the business (e.g. money off the cost of the repair or a refund). We will also need to see a copy of the final response from the business, as well as any other documentation or evidence that’s relevant, such as photographs, sales invoices or e-mails between you and the business – we’ll ask you to provide this once we’ve confirmed we’re able to help.

Once the form has been submitted, a case file will be created on our system, and you will receive a six-digit case number from us, as well as a longer tracking reference. From this point onwards, all information will then be attached to this number so that your documents and correspondence are kept safely in one place. Make sure you use the long tracking number on any e-mails you send to us to keep everything on one case file.

How we investigate your dispute 

The next stage of the process will see our case administrators gathering information from the business so that we have both sides of the story, thereby enabling us to deliver a fair outcome based on the evidence provided.

Early resolution

Once we have all of the required evidence, we will look to see whether the case can be resolved more quickly through an early resolution, meaning that it will not need a formal review. This is normally when the business makes an offer to settle the dispute or carry out an action, like repairing the vehicle.

Mediation

Your case may be eligible for mediation, which allows both parties the space to talk and work through what has happened with a mediator, to try to reach a mutually beneficial solution, without needing to go to formal adjudication. You can find out more about this here.

Adjudication

If we have not been able to informally resolve the dispute, an adjudicator will review the entire case file from a neutral point of view and see what’s happened.

Based on the evidence provided, the Code of Practice and any applicable law, they will reach a fair and reasonable outcome and, if they think your complaint should be upheld, they will let you know what the business needs to do to put things right. For more information on the possible awards we could make, please take a look at our guide.

If you accept the adjudication outcome, and the business also agrees, and has been asked to take any remedial action – for example, repairing the car or providing you with a refund, we will ensure this is carried out before closing the case.

Final decision

If either yourself or the business disagrees with the adjudication outcome, you can request a final decision from an ombudsman.

It’s their job to review the case once again, and to look at any other information and evidence that has come to light since the adjudicator delivered their outcome. They might agree with the adjudicator, or the ombudsman might reach a different conclusion.

Whatever happens, it’s up to you, the consumer, to decide if you’d like to accept the ombudsman’s decision or not. If you accept it, it will be binding on both you and the business. If you disagree with the final decision, which is the last stage of our ADR process, you have the right to pursue your case in a court of law. In this scenario, the judge may take into account the decision(s) delivered by The Motor Ombudsman when coming to their judgment.

I need you to adapt the way you communicate with me – what can you do to help?

We are committed to making sure everyone can access our service when they need.

For further information on how we can help, please click here or if you’d like to get in touch with us, please contact us and we’ll be happy to assist.

What languages is your service available in?

All of our documents are available in English, but our teams would be pleased to work with a translator if required.

How do I get in touch with The Motor Ombudsman if I can’t find the answer or information that I am looking for on the website?

If you would like to raise a dispute with us, you may be able to find all the information you need to do this through our online form, which can be found at the bottom of this webpage.

If you would like to speak to us, please call our Consumer Contact Team on 0345 241 3008. Lines are open between 9am to 4.30pm Monday to Friday excluding bank holidays. Our phone lines can be very busy at times, but we’re doing our best to reduce wait times.

You can also write to us at:

The Motor Ombudsman Ltd
71 Great Peter Street
London
SW1P 2BN

Please note: in light of the situation with COVID-19, we are currently operating a remote working policy, which may incur some delays with processing physical documents.

What kind of award can I expect?

The Motor Ombudsman can make awards ranging from an apology to up to £10,000 compensation, or the value of the vehicle where applicable. Our goal, though, is to put you in the position you would have been in had the problem not occurred.

If the value of your complaint is over £10,000, and this is not due to the vehicle’s value, we would recommend looking to pursue it elsewhere.

You can find useful information on the type of award you can expect to receive if your complaint is upheld, in this guide.

Can I still go to court if I have gone to The Motor Ombudsman with my dispute?

Yes. If you reject an ombudsman’s final decision, you can still take your complaint to court, but they can take the decision into account when they deliver their ruling.

You and the accredited business in question may be liable for any legal fees associated with the case.

Do I need a lawyer to represent me during the ADR process?

No. Our service is intended for use without legal representation. We can work directly with you, and we’ll explain anything you’re not sure about.

If you like, we can talk to a member of your family, a friend or someone else who’s helping you – like Citizens Advice. We will just need you to put something in writing to show that you give your permission for them to discuss your complaint with us.

Within what timeframe must I submit my complaint about a business to you?

You need to contact us within 12 months of the date of the accredited business’s final response to your complaint, or from the date you made the complaint if no response was received.