The Motor Ombudsman Anmeldelser 3 565

Very helpful in the beginning but it's now over 1 year and 7 months since The Motor Ombudsman said they would investigate my complaint. I understand that they are busy, however, no reply to emails when I ask for updates. I've phoned them a few times and in March I was told by a helpful customer advisor that she would highlight the case as it had been waiting in a queue to be seen by an Adjudicator for over 6 months. I phoned a month later but it was still waiting to be allocated. In August this year it will be 2 years since I put the car back to the garage I bought it from 2 weeks earlier and I feel very let down.

The way the consultant showed empathy toward my situation even though they couldn’t help me directly but advised me and sent email of what I can do

The Ombudsman could do nothing about breakdown cover included with our insurance which didn’t work.

I had the most shocking service from these people, it took over a year to get a conclusion. They didn’t bother reading half the evidence I submitted, they used several different people to investigate my case, none of them reading through what I was saying. I even offered to phone them if they couldn’t be bothered to phone me. In the end they went in favour of the motor company even though the company had gone under now as it had taken so long. The company said they had no record of me and I’d even submitted letter headed receipts from this company. Farcical!!!

I found them to be very understanding of my situation and very informative. They gave me good advice and pointed me in the direction I needed.

This is an updated review as many more months have passed without any reponse from TMO. My case has now been with TMO for 16 months and still hasn’t been allocated to an agent. Regular chasing of my case has achieved nothing so recently I used the TMO formal complaint process which guarantees a response within 15 working days - that came and went! In my view, TMO is not a fit for purpose service and if I could give it 0 out of 10 I would. If you have a problem, sue in the small claims court rather than relying on any help from TMO.

Pointless as a voluntary scheme. The crooks are not in their scope and are not required to affiliate.

This review follows an initial conversation for a potential 6 month process.

Good clear explanation of process, followed by help putting the correct information onto a claim form. Polite positive and helpful customer service rep.

Despite confirming my original complaint , all the ombudsman could offer is to request an apology from Simon Graemes garage of Hampsthwaite , North Yorkshire.There was no monetary compensation despite obvious overcharging.
It took 14 months of continuous work from myself to get this far and so it was very disappointing indeed.
It is pretty clear that as Motorombudsman member garages pay a fee to become a member , the whole philosophy of the ombudsman is to support their member.Mostly they give you only 3 working days to respond to any enquiry they raise with you or they say they will close the case..so you get the picture.
If my experience is anything to go by, motor ombudsman is used by the motor member as their complaints handling process procedure and in no way does the MO support the complainant. This is a disastrous ombudsman to become involved with

The representative was very clear, calm and concise in answering my questions about the service and what my options are.Although he was unable to give me specific advice about my case he explained the process and gave me a realistic time frame to help me decide if I should take my case forward .

Extremely slow! Took over a year to look at this! Evidence was not sufficiently looked at. Before the ombudsman even looks at it there “receptionist” try’s to give you a decision, I’m sorry I came to the ombudsman not the Receptionist! 1 year to look at a claim is an absolute joke and to not look at it properly even after additional information was supplied which backed everything up. Don’t waste your time with these jokers just go legal and save yourself a year of nothing but there unprofessional service.

Professional, proficient and friendly service

The little guy will always get shafted by the big companies.

Booked in my car to have all the disks/pads replaced. However, Ancaster MG decided for some reason to leave the original rusted, pitted & scored rear disks but still took the money - they made me pay online before carrying out the work. The manager admitted he'd made a mistake but was unwilling to rectify it! I complained to The Motor Ombudsman & despite providing a screenshot of the work requested they did not uphold my complaint - on the basis that Ancaster was cunning enough to call me back instead of responding on their messaging system. I would suggest people avoid using Ancaster by all means; there a lots of complaints about them on this review site. The Motoring Ombudsman is a complete waste of time & its real purpose is to protect the car repair industry from culpability; not to protect the public from exploitation. This is an organization funded by the car industry to 'self regulate' & is backed by the government to do so - make sense of that! More people need to demand an end to 'planned obsolescence' and support the right to repair movement. Cars should be built to last with minimum service requirements and should be repairable if needed by the owners using common tools. The only need for mechanics would be if one did not want to do it themselves for whatever reason but we should not be at the mercy of repair garages large or small. I urge all people to research 'planned obsolescence'. The original Ford Model T was built to last one lifetime, however, car manufactures at the request of governments reduced the lifespan to 8 to 15 years with service/repairs included to increase economic growth. We must demand an end to this.

I sent my vehicle to West Porsche London for repairs. It was returned to me in a worse condition than when I handed it over. I paid substantial sums for work that was never properly carried out, with no photographic or video evidence provided to justify any of the charges.
I raised a formal complaint with The Motor Ombudsman. Two years later, after deliberate and systematic delays — long enough to exhaust my legal options and allow limitation periods to expire — they concluded that everything was "normal." Normal. A destroyed vehicle, unjustified invoices, zero accountability, and two years of my life wasted.
This organisation presents itself as impartial and consumer-focused. In reality, it functions as a procedural shield for the automotive industry. Multiple consumers report the same pattern: cases dragging on for 18 months to 2 years, outcomes favouring garages, and consumers left with no enforceable remedy.
The Motor Ombudsman holds no real enforcement power and applies no genuine accountability to its accredited members. My case is proof of that.
My advice: do not waste your time here. Go directly to County Court. Proceedings there are legally binding, genuinely independent, and your rights are protected by law — not by a self-regulatory body funded by the very industry it is supposed to scrutinise.

They need to talk directly with people
People are using them because they have a complaint
They need to communicate directly

Inefficient, incompetent and completely toothless.

Contacted early 2023, no decision received until Aug 24 - and no response to further complaints about them having missed key facts of the case until Apr 2026!

Found themselves and the dealership (who failed to respond in any way to the investigation) beyond any reproach whatsoever!

'We don't see any evidence of a fault', the MTO claimed. Correct, because the dealership avoided responding - and providing the 'test data' they had claimed proved otherwise.

MINI then further delayed their response - until the warranty ran out. Then, after eventually re-testing, hey presto, there is a fault after all! Charged approx £2.5k to get the 'no fault' fixed.

Motor Ombusdman does not hold the motor industry to account. Funnily enough though, they are funded by them...

I've been waiting over 3 months for a case officer to be assigned. I've just rang them to find out what is going on and have been told the wait time just to be assigned a case officer is about 5 months. Just not acceptable.

I would like to have to been constructive ! However after taking 5 months to assign me a case number and then another 6 months for the adjudicator to say that I didn't have a case, even though she stated that the vehicle was not fit for purpose when sold to me, most inefficient and frustrating organisation I have ever dealt with in my 74 years of life !.