Upheld: unfair claims handling and damage caused during repair complaint against Domestic & General Insurance Plc

Decision detail

Summary

Mr H claimed for a faulty charging port on his laptop insured with D&G under a device protection policy. After D&G repaired the laptop in August 2025, Mr H discovered scratches on the screen that were not present before repair. D&G refused to repair the cosmetic damage, claiming it was excluded from the policy and that the scratches may have pre-existed beneath dirt on the screen. The ombudsman upheld the complaint, finding that Mr H's before and after photos demonstrated the scratches were caused by D&G's repair agent, and that D&G failed to provide adequate evidence to support its alternative explanation. D&G was ordered to repair the damage or pay for repairs, plus £100 compensation for distress and inconvenience.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The ombudsman found that while cosmetic damage is excluded from the policy, D&G's repair agent likely caused the damage during the first repair. The ombudsman was satisfied that D&G had reasonable time to provide evidence from its repair agent but failed to do so. Mr H's photos showed no scratches before repair and clear scratches after repair. D&G's photos were undated, not close-up, did not show the screen was dirty enough to hide scratches, and did not prove the scratches existed before repair. Therefore, it was more likely than not that D&G's repair agent caused the damage, making D&G responsible for remedying it.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website