The Motor Ombudsman launches 2021 Garage Star Awards

The Motor Ombusdman is looking for entrants to its 2021 Garage Star Awards, which has been expanded with new categories.

Following the success of the inaugural awards in 2020, The Motor Ombudsman has added new dedicated Customer Service Star Awards for Motor Ombudsman-accredited vehicle manufacturers and vehicle warranty providers, bringing the total number of winners in the contest to 11.

Last year, more than 800 online customer nominations crowned AutoTech as the first national winner.

Bill Fennell, chief ombudsman and managing director of The Motor Ombudsman, said: “Following the popularity and high level of engagement with our inaugural awards in 2020, we are growing the competition to allow every one of our accredited businesses to be nominated across our four Codes of Practice.

“As we cast the net wider in terms of eligible entries, it will be exciting to see what this year’s submissions bring in terms of the exceptional work and service delivered to customers by our accredited businesses and individuals up and down the country.”

During the next six weeks, consumers are invited to put forward an individual or accredited business via the nomination form on The Motor Ombudsman website (TheMotorOmbudsman.org/Awards) to win one of the eight regional trophies on offer.

Customers will be asked to write a short account of how a person or organisation, such as an independent garage or car dealership, went the extra mile to assist them on one or more occasion during the past 12 months, and why they think their chosen nominee should be considered for a prize. 

Nominations will also be accepted for one of the 40 vehicle manufacturers accredited to The Motor Ombudsman’s New Car Code, and one of the 13 businesses that are part of the Vehicle Warranty Products Code, in recognition of outstanding customer service.

The four-strong judging panel, which counts two new members for the 2021 contest, will have the task of jointly selecting a total of 11 winners in this year’s competition from a shortlist of three entries per award compiled by The Motor Ombudsman according to pre-defined criteria.

For the Garage Star Award categories, the panel will select eight regional winners and the highly commended honours in each of these geographical areas.

The national Garage Star Award trophy recipient, which can be a business or individual, will then be chosen from this pool of eight regional winners, and they will also receive a £500 voucher in recognition of their achievement.

Customer nominations can be submitted until October 15, 2021, and the winners of the 2021 Garage Star Awards will be announced in November.