Not upheld: Motor insurance, claim handling complaint against BPO Collections Limited

Decision detail

Summary

Miss K complained that UKI failed to inform her that her car was repairable and sold it on after settling her 2019 total loss claim. She claimed she had requested to retain the car but was told this wasn't possible. In 2024, she discovered the car had been repaired and was back on the road. She also complained about rude treatment from a call handler in 2024. The ombudsman found that system notes from 2019 indicated the salvage agent had permission to dispose of the car, making these contemporaneous records more reliable than Miss K's five-year-old recollections. The ombudsman upheld UKI's offer of £75 compensation for the poor call handling as fair and adequate, and did not uphold the complaint regarding the car retention.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The ombudsman applied the balance of probabilities standard, finding that contemporaneous system notes from 2019 were more reliable than Miss K's recollections five years later. The ombudsman noted that while it would be fair for an insurer to consider retention requests where the salvage category allows it, the available evidence supported that permission to dispose was given. For the call handling complaint, the ombudsman found UKI acted fairly by accepting Miss K's version of events despite lacking a call recording, and determined the £75 compensation was adequate for the distress caused.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website