The Motor Ombudsman launches 2021 ‘Garage Stars’ Awards

• Following the success of the inaugural Garage Star Awards in 2020, The Motor Ombudsman has launched the second year of its search to find the next Garage Stars
• The 2021 competition sees the addition of 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
• Online customer nominations to be shortlisted by The Motor Ombudsman to the top three entries for each award, which will then be passed to the judging panel to choose the recipients of this year’s trophies

London, 07 September 2021: The Motor Ombudsman, the Ombudsman dedicated to the automotive sector, tells us that it is pleased to announce the launch of its 2021 Garage Star Awards. It follows the success of the inaugural recognition programme last year, which saw over 800 online customer nominations for Motor Ombudsman-accredited garages and dealerships across the UK, and Cornwall-based Dukes AutoTech crowned the first national winner.

During the next six weeks, consumers can 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. As part of this, 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.

To encompass the broad range of businesses accredited to The Motor Ombudsman’s long-standing Chartered Trading Standards Institute (CTSI)-approved Motor Industry Codes of Practice, the 2021 Garage Star Awards sees the addition of two new Customer Service Star Awards. This will allow motorists to also nominate 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.

Similarly, judges will pick the very first Customer Service Star Award winners and highly commended entries for the vehicle manufacturer and warranty provider categories from a shortlist of three nominations compiled by The Motor Ombudsman for each of these awards.

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. Therefore, 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. We look forward to announcing the winners in a couple of months’ time, and we expect it to be a very close contest.”