The Motor Ombudsman not trusted by users

The Motor Ombudsman has more than doubled the number of staff in its Customer Service section after getting a rating of just 1/10 on the Trustpilot user review website following scores of complaints about the scheme.

TMO, which acts as a go-between in a dispute between a dealer or garage and a customer, says it is `disappointed’ by the negative reviews. Some people accused it of taking months to deal with an issue and others cannot even be repeated on legal grounds.

Around 7,500 businesses are accredited to one or more of the Codes of Practice it regulates, covering car sales, vehicle warranties, servicing and repair.

Bill Fennell, Chief Ombudsman and Managing Director of The Motor Ombudsman, said:

“Since 10 May 2017, when the first Trustpilot review of The Motor Ombudsman was published, we have been aware of the ongoing feedback left by consumers and it is always disappointing for any organisation to hear when individuals are not satisfied with the service that has been provided.”

Defending the scheme and the staff, he added:

“For the full 2018 calendar year and January to April 2019 period combined, the volume of Trustpilot reviews represented only 2.2% of the cases that we worked on and just 0.14% of the total contacts made to The Motor Ombudsman during this time.

Increased headcount

“Despite these reviews accounting for a very small proportion of our contacts and cases, any feedback that we receive helps us to continually drive the standard of our service even higher.

“In response to the concerns raised, we have made significant changes to our organisational structure during the past 12 months and increased our headcount by 122%, all of which was focused within the Customer Service department in order to achieve an improved experience for customers and businesses.

“It is inevitable however that due to some cases being more complex than others and taking a longer amount of time to resolve, there will be consumers who will express their dissatisfaction whilst we are actively working on their dispute, or publicly lodge a complaint about our service if they did not receive the desired outcome at the end of the process. For either eventuality, we will always seek to contact them to directly address any queries that they may have.”

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