Upheld: Home insurance claim disputes complaint against Brooklin Claims Consultants Ltd
Financial Ombudsman decision DRN-2972475 of 2021-08-12T00:00:00+00:00. Home insurance claim disputes complaint against Brooklin Claims Consultants Ltd. Outcome: Upheld.
Decision detail
| Reference | DRN-2972475 |
|---|---|
| Decision date | 2021-08-12T00:00:00+00:00 |
| Firm | Brooklin Claims Consultants Ltd |
| Product | Other regulated product |
| Claim type | Home insurance claim disputes |
| Outcome | Upheld |
| Remedy | 1. Pay £350 for loss of expectation regarding replacement windows and doors guarantees. 2. Pay £350 for worry, distress and inconvenience caused by poor service and delays. 3. Instruct independent decorator to assess previous contractor's decorating works and provide schedule of works. 4. Pay any balance on schedule of works after deducting £1,000 already received. 5. Payment within 28 days plus 8% simple interest per annum if paid late. |
Summary
Mr S and Ms S appointed Brooklin Claims Consultants Ltd to handle an insurance claim following a burglary and fire at their home in September 2018. Brooklin arranged for windows and doors to be replaced by an installer without insurance-backed guarantees; the installer subsequently went into administration. After Mr S and Ms S returned to their home in June 2019, they identified multiple unresolved issues including a poorly fitted front door, non-working alarm, shower drainage problems, and poor decoration. Despite raising complaints in August 2019 and August 2020, these issues remained largely unresolved until February 2021, causing considerable worry and distress, particularly given their recent burglary. The ombudsman upheld the complaint, requiring Brooklin to pay £700 compensation and arrange an independent decorator assessment for the disputed decorating works, with balance payment after deducting £1,000 already received.
The Ombudsman's reasoning
The ombudsman found that Brooklin failed to use an appropriately registered installer for the windows and doors, which was reasonable to expect for an insurance claim and constituted poor practice. The ombudsman determined that the considerable delays in resolving issues first raised in June 2019 until February 2021, combined with the particular vulnerability of the complainants following a recent burglary, caused significant worry and distress. The ombudsman rejected the £150 compensation as insufficient and determined £350 was appropriate for both the loss of expectation regarding guarantees and for the distress caused by poor service and delays. For the decorating issues, the ombudsman found the quote provided was insufficient to determine responsibility and ordered an independent decorator assessment with balance payment after deducting the £1,000 already received.
How this compares
| Group | Decisions | Uphold rate |
|---|---|---|
| Brooklin Claims Consultants Ltd, all decisions | 8 | 75% |
| Home insurance claim disputes, all decisions | 25,340 | 38% |
| Other regulated product, all decisions | 51,105 | 30% |
Source
Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website