Upheld: poor quality repairs and inadequate compensation complaint against Advantage Insurance Company Limited

Decision detail

Summary

Mr K complained about poor quality repairs to his van covered by his Advantage Insurance policy. Although Advantage accepted the repairs were substandard and agreed to rectification work, Mr K was unhappy with being required to pay upfront if using his own repairer. Advantage subsequently agreed to allow direct invoicing from Mr K's chosen repairer and offered £200 compensation, but Mr K appealed arguing this was insufficient. The ombudsman upheld the complaint, finding the revised repair arrangement fair but the compensation inadequate, and ordered Advantage to pay £300 total compensation for the considerable distress, upset and inconvenience caused.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The ombudsman found that while Advantage's offer to allow Mr K to choose his own repairer with direct invoicing was fair and reasonable, the initial compensation of £200 was insufficient. The ombudsman considered that the poor quality repairs, the time and effort required to resolve the issue, and the distress and inconvenience caused to Mr K warranted higher compensation. In line with FOS guidelines, £300 total compensation was deemed fair and reasonable for the considerable distress, upset and worry caused.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website