Not upheld: failure to notify of provider change and alleged service failure complaint against Avantia Insurance Limited (trading as Homeprotect)

Decision detail

Summary

Mr H complained that Avantia Insurance Limited failed to inform him that his home emergency cover provider had changed from D to A, and that the phone line he called to report a leak was not working properly. Avantia's policy documentation contained inconsistencies, with the schedule naming D and the policy document naming A. However, the ombudsman found that Avantia, as an intermediary, was only responsible for selling the policy and providing documentation, not for operating the phone line or handling claims. Since the same telephone number was provided in all documentation and provider A accepted responsibility for the service failures and compensated Mr H £150 reimbursement plus £100 compensation, the ombudsman determined it would be unfair to require Avantia to also compensate for the same failures. The complaint was not upheld.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The ombudsman determined that Avantia's role was limited to selling the policy and providing documentation as an intermediary. The actual claim handling and phone line operation were the responsibility of the home emergency provider (D, then A). While the policy documentation contained an inconsistency regarding which provider was responsible, this did not have a practical impact on Mr H's ability to log a claim, as the same telephone number was provided throughout. Since provider A accepted responsibility for the failures and compensated Mr H, it would be unfair to require Avantia to also compensate for the same failures. No separate breach by Avantia was identified.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website