The Motor Ombudsman crowns 2026 Star Award winners at landmark 10th anniversary celebration
- The Motor Ombudsman has announced the winners of its 2026 Star Awards at a special event in London commemorating The Motor Ombudsman’s tenth anniversary
- Eight Regional and two Customer Service Star Award trophies were formally presented at the prestigious ceremony
- Graham Clark, the co-founder of Anderson Clark Motor Repairs in Inverness, who enjoyed a career in the motor trade spanning nearly 50 years, became the first recipient of The Motor Ombudsman’s Outstanding Achievement Award
The Motor Ombudsman has named the winners of its 2026 Star Awards at a prestigious event in London commemorating a decade of the Ombudsman driving high standards across the automotive sector. Now in their seventh year, the Star Awards invite customers to shine the spotlight on Motor Ombudsman-accredited businesses and individual team members who have gone above and beyond the call of duty during their vehicle purchase and ownership journey, whether these are one-off or repeated acts of altruism and kindness.
With the annual accolades attracting nearly 12,000 consumer nominations since their inception in 2020, they have fast become established as respected recognition for excellence in the motor industry, and are divided into two main areas. These are namely the Regional Star Awards – open to independent and franchise vehicle retailers and repairers, and the Customer Service Star Awards, which highlight the exceptional efforts made by Motor Ombudsman-accredited vehicle manufacturers and warranty providers respectively.
From the submissions received by consumers for the 2026 contest, a final shortlist of just 30 entries was drawn up by The Motor Ombudsman, before these were passed to a panel of industry judges to determine the winners and finalists for each of the 10 categories.
From the three former National Star Award winners in contention for another Regional trophy, two tasted victory once more in 2026. These were namely, A J Fleetcare – an independent garage in Leeds, that repeated their success from 2024 to reclaim the title for the North after coming to the rescue of a stranded hospital surgeon, and Roadside (Garages) Ltd. KIA, the Coleraine-based dealership, which added a third Star Award for Northern Ireland to their cabinet, as well as a back-to-back win. This was thanks to the retailer’s owner handing over keys to his own vehicle to keep a customer mobile in their time of need.
One of the other ‘star performers’ in this year’s awards was Randeep Reehal, Operations Director at Courtwood Car Services, an independent garage in Uxbridge, Greater London, who picked up a second individual trophy for the South. She also became the first person to personally ‘do the double’, meaning four trophies now also bear the name of her business following two other Star Award victories in 2024 and 2025.
For the remaining five regions, the silverware debuted a brand-new set of winners despite some also facing competition from previous winners and runners-up. In the East, Lakeisha McManus, Service Advisor at Mouths Motor Company Ltd. (Newmarket, Suffolk), emerged triumphant, with Vertu Honda Exeter in Devon also picking up a well-deserved award for a ‘five-star’ experience.
In the Midlands, QCD Autocentre in Brackley, Northamptonshire, took the honours, whilst Lewis Campbell – Sales Executive at the Barnetts Honda Dundee car dealership was the ‘Star of Scotland’. Finally, to Wales, and JMP Performance – a previous Star Award finalist, went one better in this year’s contest – earning a win after a customer put them forward for re-arranging the day’s workload to accommodate their car’s repair and keep inconvenience to a minimum.
For the two Customer Service Star Awards, sponsored by Autotech Group, which were open to both customers and head office colleagues for the first time, Warranty Solutions Group picked up their first trophy in the competition for the outstanding service provided to a customer, and going beyond the call of duty to support them through a highly stressful period of consecutive vehicle failures.
Similarly, Matthew Leek at JLR secured the vehicle manufacturer Customer Service Star Award after embracing his Team Leader secondment in the company’s Customer Relationship Centre with professionalism and enthusiasm. His consistently positive and approachable manner, readiness to support colleagues with their queries, and dedication to the role earned him the respect of both his colleagues and the wider team.
Furthermore, this year’s ceremony witnessed the presentation of The Motor Ombudsman’s inaugural Outstanding Star Award to Graham Clark, co-founder of Anderson Clark Motor Repairs in the Scottish city of Inverness. The new accolade, sponsored by Delphi, recognised Graham’s exceptional contribution to his business and the automotive sector as a whole during a career spanning nearly 50 years. This was in addition to a long-standing commitment to championing the importance of Codes of Practice to drive high standards of work and service.
Bill Fennell, Chief Ombudsman and Managing Director of The Motor Ombudsman, said: “We would like to congratulate all our 2026 Star Award winners and finalists. The nominations from motorists up and down the country once again demonstrated the many thoughtful, generous and practical ways in which accredited businesses and their teams support motorists when it matters most.”
Bill added: “As The Motor Ombudsman marks its tenth anniversary, the Star Awards provide an important opportunity to recognise the positive impact that our accredited network continues to make across the UK. The stories behind the winning nominations underline the trust that can be built when businesses listen to their customers, understand their individual circumstances and go the extra mile to help.”
Kerry Nicol, External Affairs Manager at the Chartered Trading Standards Institute (CTSI), a judge for the 2026 Star Awards, said: “It was a privilege to be part of the panel, and to read so many inspiring examples of businesses and individuals putting motorists at the heart of everything they do. The quality of the entries was very impressive, and a consistent theme which stood out across the board, was the empathy, professionalism and care shown to customers, which is very positive to see.
“The winners and finalists should be extremely proud, and it is great that we have the Star Awards to showcase these brilliant stories of excellent customer service that may have otherwise gone untold. Congratulations!”
“As The Motor Ombudsman marks its tenth anniversary, the Star Awards provide an important opportunity to recognise the positive impact that our accredited network continues to make across the UK.”
Bill Fennell
Chief Ombudsman and Managing Director at The Motor OmbudsmanFor more information on The Motor Ombudsman’s Star Awards, visit www.TheMotorOmbudsman.org/Awards.
ENDS
Notes to editors
2026 Regional Star Award winners and finalists
- NORTH: A J Fleetcare (Leeds, Yorkshire), for travelling 35 miles to take an exhausted surgeon home after their vehicle broke down, and repairing their car outside of normal hours the very same weekend to ensure it was ready ahead of the customer’s next hospital shift.
Finalists: Napoleon Garage (BD4) Ltd. (Bradford, Yorkshire) and Speed Industries (Chester, Cheshire)
- SOUTH: Randeep Reehal at Courtwood Car Services (Uxbridge, Greater London), for swiftly and economically repairing a customer vehicle involved in a hit and run, creating an accessible and approachable environment for female customers, and personally returning the car back to the individual’s home in Reading.
Finalists: CCM Cranleigh (Surrey), and McKenzie Repairs Ltd. (Abingdon, Oxfordshire)
- EAST: Lakeisha McManus at Mouths Motor Company Ltd.(Newmarket, Suffolk), for her courteous and respectful approach when assisting a customer whose car had broken down, arranging a same-day inspection, and supplying a courtesy car to keep them mobile during the repair in an area that had limited transport links.
Finalists: Kymberley Cant, John Banks Honda Ipswich (Suffolk) and Wings Škoda Peterborough (Cambridgeshire)
- WEST: Vertu Honda Exeter(Devon), for a five-star experience enjoyed by a customer who had brought their vehicle in for a major service. The dealership ensured the vehicle owner was comfortable with how their courtesy car worked, shared a detailed video health check with direct technician access, and completed a satellite navigation update at no additional charge to the customer.
Finalists: Cadley Garage (Marlborough, Wiltshire), and Hannah Carthew at Devonshire Motors (Barnstaple, Devon)
- THE MIDLANDS: QCD Autocentre (Brackley, Northamptonshire), for supporting a customer more than seven months after diagnosing a serious transmission fault, and voluntarily providing a further written professional opinion and diagnostic findings to help progress their finance dispute.
Finalists: Callum Knox at Eden Tyres & Servicing Lichfield (Staffordshire) and Jenko’s Automotive Ltd (Shrewsbury, Shropshire)
- NORTHERN IRELAND: Roadside (Garages) Ltd. KIA(Coleraine, County Londonderry) for the dealership’s personal approach when assisting a customer from Belfast, and business owner David Boyd lending his own car to keep them on the move whilst their vehicle was in for repairs.
Finalists: JC Campbell (Newry, County Down), and Kaja Majewska at Shelbourne Motors (Newry) Renault & Dacia (County Armagh)
- SCOTLAND: Lewis Campbell at Barnetts Honda Dundee(Angus), for sensitively guiding a family through a Motability purchase, understanding their son’s disability-related needs, and ensuring everything was handled smoothly, professionally and at their pace.
Finalists: Brown Brothers Honda (Peebles, Peebleshire) and MacInnes Motors (Dingwall, Ross-shire)
- WALES: JMP Performance (Gwent), for a compassionate approach, and going above and beyond by rearranging their workload to repair the new driver’s broken exhaust on the very same day, recognising that they could not be without their car.
Finalists: Bassetts AION Swansea (Swansea), and DL Mobile Tyres Bridgend (Bridgend)
2026 Customer Service Star Award winners and finalists
- Vehicle manufacturer: Matthew Leek at JLR, for embracing his Team Leader secondment in JLR’s Customer Relationship Centre (CRC) with professionalism and enthusiasm, consistently supporting colleagues with queries, remaining positive and approachable, and earning the respect of both his team and the CRC’s leadership.
Finalists: Jasmine Harris at Mazda Motors UK Ltd, and Jennifer Russell at Hyundai Motor UK Ltd.
- Vehicle warranty provider: Warranty Solutions Group, for the outstanding service provided to a customer, and going beyond the call of duty to support them through a highly stressful period of consecutive vehicle failures. They took total control of the situation, dealing directly and seamlessly with the customer’s local garage, where the entire claim was paid for, sorted quickly, and completely hassle-free from beginning to end.
- Finalists: Caery Brandreth at Warranty First, and The Motoring Organisation
The eight Regional Star Award winners highlighted above are in contention to win the overall 2026 National Star Award, which will be announced at the beginning of December 2026.
Judging panel for The Motor Ombudsman’s 2026 Star Awards
Bill Fennell: Chief Ombudsman and Managing Director, The Motor Ombudsman (Host Judge)
Neil Barlow: Head of Vehicle Policy and Engineering, the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA)
Kerry Nicol: External Affairs Manager, the Chartered Trading Standards Institute (CTSI)
Tim Rose: Editor, Automotive Management / AM Online
