How to get a Motor Ombudsman Decision

Tiger_Tony

My clutch went when my car was just one year old and had done just 12,000 miles. My local Skoda dealer said it was wear and tear so was not covered by warranty. I pointed out that I normally keep my cars until around 80,000 miles and have never previously had a clutch fail. Therefore, in my view, the clutch must have been faulty or not manufactured robustly enough. But the local dealership would not change their mind.

I took the case to Skoda Head Office but they backed the local dealer.

Then I went to the Motor Ombudsman and completed their forms. Fairly soon afterwards I got a reply saying that they thought I had a case. It was likely to be a few months before they took it on as they were very busy. I waited …and waited. I tried emailing them but they don't read the emails. Instead I received a completely standard response which did not address the lengthy wait. I tried this several times but got the same standard response.

After about eight months I rang them and was told I was still in the queue but it should not be much longer. After nearly a year I rang again and was told the wait would be about a further four or five months.

At eighteen months I rang again. This time I was told my case would be elevated and would shortly be dealt with. At 21 months, still nothing so I rang again and was just told that I was in the queue. When I told them I had waited 21 months they agreed that it was an exceptionally long wait but they were very busy. I've now been waiting two years!

I have wanted to change my car for quite some time due to a constant string of problems with it but the Ombudsman says that if I no longer own the car, they will close the case. What should I do?

tacpot12

If you have home insurance, check to see if you have legal expenses cover. If you do, you can call the legal helpline offered by your insurer for advice.

sheslookinhot

Regarding “what should I do “?

What outcome do you want ?

MyRealNameToo

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82068346#Comment_82068346

LE cover is almost certainly going to require the OP to commission their own engineers report to confirm the cause of the failure and opine on if this was reasonable. My guess is that the hasn't got such a report and presumably the car has sat for 21 months with its failed clutch and so its possible that it won't be conclusive if they commissioned one now. Even if they engineer did say it was unreasonable holes will be picked in the report without them having actually seen the clutch in situ

Tiger_Tony

Thanks for your replies. I can't work out how to reply to individual comments.Sorry, I should have made clear that I paid for the clutch repair straight away but the outcome I have been and still am looking for is partial reimbursement at least. The garage did not keep the damaged clutch so nobody had a chance to examine it. Curiously, when speaking to the garage the other day about the replacement clutch which has been clunky ever since it was fitted, they told me it was covered by a two year warranty. This had just expired! But why was a replacement clutch covered for two years when the original clutch was less than two years old but was not covered?

born_again

 But why was a replacement clutch covered for two years when the original clutch was less than two years old but was not covered?

Different manufactures?

A warranty is down to the manufacture.