Not upheld: claim settlement and handling; storage charge reimbursement; repair estimate dispute complaint against Tesco Underwriting Limited

Decision detail

Summary

Mr F complained about Tesco's handling of a motor insurance claim following a non-fault accident on 11 November 2025. He sought reimbursement for storage charges from November 2025 onwards and disputed Tesco's decision that his car was repairable rather than a total loss, preferring an engineer's estimate of £9,909 over Tesco's estimate of £4,235. Tesco settled the claim with a cash-in-lieu payment of £2,985 and only covered storage charges from 12 December 2025 (when Mr F first informed it of them) to 19 December 2025. The ombudsman found Tesco's handling fair, as it was not informed of storage charges until mid-December, reasonably preferred the lower repair estimate after expert review, and fairly settled on a cash-in-lieu basis when Mr F declined its offer to use an approved repairer.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The ombudsman found that Tesco acted fairly throughout. Regarding storage charges, Tesco was not informed of them until 12 December 2025 and had no obligation to cover charges it did not know about and had not agreed to. Regarding the repair estimates, Tesco's engineer reasonably preferred the lower estimate after finding the higher estimate inflated, and the policy allowed Tesco to make this determination. The cash-in-lieu settlement was fair as Mr F declined Tesco's offer to use its approved repairer. While the settlement letter could have been clearer, Tesco had previously communicated the repair cost estimate to Mr F by phone.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website