Not upheld: claim decline - exclusion for wear and tear damage complaint against AWP P&C S.A.

Decision detail

Summary

Ms H claimed under her motor extended warranty after her car failed to start due to a snapped pin in the Digital Motor Electronics unit. AWP declined the claim citing both the wear and tear exclusion and Ms H's failure to service the car regularly. The ombudsman found that while AWP could not rely on the servicing breach without evidence linking it to the fault, the claim was properly declined under the wear and tear exclusion. The engineer's report supported the conclusion that the pin failure resulted from gradual deterioration (corrosion or thermal cycling) rather than a sudden mechanical failure. The complaint was not upheld.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The ombudsman agreed that while AWP could not decline the claim based on the servicing breach without evidence that it caused the fault, the claim could be declined on the basis that the damage was caused by wear and tear. The engineer's report supported the conclusion that the pin failure was due to deterioration over time (corrosion from vibration, brittleness from thermal cycling, or moisture corrosion) rather than a sudden mechanical failure. Since no evidence suggested the DME unit had been interfered with, and the only realistic explanation for the pin failure was gradual deterioration, the warranty exclusion for wear and tear damage applied.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website