The Motor Ombudsman has announced the winners of its 2026 Star Awards at a special event in London commemorating The Motor Ombudsman’s tenth anniversary
Eight Regional and two Customer Service Star Award trophies were formally presented at the prestigious ceremony
Graham Clark, the co-founder of Anderson Clark Motor Repairs in Inverness, who enjoyed a career in the motor trade spanning nearly 50 years, became the first recipient of The Motor Ombudsman’s Outstanding Achievement Award
The Motor Ombudsman has named the winners of its 2026 Star Awards at a prestigious event in London commemorating a decade of the Ombudsman driving high standards across the automotive sector. Now in their seventh year, the Star Awards invite customers to shine the spotlight on Motor Ombudsman-accredited businesses and individual team members who have gone above and beyond the call of duty during their vehicle purchase and ownership journey, whether these are one-off or repeated acts of altruism and kindness.
With the annual accolades attracting nearly 12,000 consumer nominations since their inception in 2020, they have fast become established as respected recognition for excellence in the motor industry, and are divided into two main areas. These are namely the Regional Star Awards – open to independent and franchise vehicle retailers and repairers, and the Customer Service Star Awards, which highlight the exceptional efforts made by Motor Ombudsman- accredited vehicle manufacturers and warranty providers respectively.
From the submissions received by consumers for the 2026 contest, a final shortlist of just 30 entries was drawn up by The Motor Ombudsman, before these were passed to a panel of industry judges to determine the winners and finalists for each of the 10 categories.
From the three former National Star Award winners in contention for another Regional trophy, two tasted victory once more in 2026. These were namely, A J Fleetcare – an independent garage in Leeds, that repeated their success from 2024 to reclaim the title for the North after coming to the rescue of a stranded hospital surgeon, and Roadside (Garages) Ltd. KIA, the Coleraine-based dealership, which added a third Star Award for Northern Ireland to their cabinet, as well as a back- to-back win. This was thanks to the retailer’s owner handing over keys to his own vehicle to keep a customer mobile in their time of need.
One of the other ‘star performers’ in this year’s awards was Randeep Reehal, Operations Director at Courtwood Car Services, an independent garage in Uxbridge, Greater London, who picked up a second individual trophy for the South. She also became the first person to personally ‘do the double’, meaning four trophies now also bear the name of her business following two other Star Award victories in 2024 and 2025.
For the remaining five regions, the silverware debuted a brand-new set of winners despite some also facing competition from previous winners and runners-up. In the East, Lakeisha McManus, Service Advisor at Mouths Motor Company Ltd. (Newmarket, Suffolk), emerged triumphant, with Vertu Honda Exeter in Devon also picking up a well-deserved award for a ‘five-star’ experience.
In the Midlands, QCD Autocentre in Brackley, Northamptonshire, took the honours, whilst Lewis Campbell – Sales Executive at the Barnetts Honda Dundee car dealership was the ‘Star of Scotland’. Finally, to Wales, and JMP Performance – a previous Star Award finalist, went one better in this year’s contest – earning a win after a customer put them forward for re-arranging the day’s workload to accommodate their car’s repair and keep inconvenience to a minimum.
For the two Customer Service Star Awards, sponsored by Autotech Group, which were open to both customers and head office colleagues for the first time, Warranty Solutions Group picked up their first trophy in the competition for the outstanding service provided to a customer, and going beyond the call of duty to support them through a highly stressful period of consecutive vehicle failures.
Similarly, Matthew Leek at JLR secured the vehicle manufacturer Customer Service Star Award after embracing his Team Leader secondment in the company’s Customer Relationship Centre with professionalism and enthusiasm. His consistently positive and approachable manner, readiness to support colleagues with their queries, and dedication to the role earned him the respect of both his colleagues and the wider team.
Furthermore, this year’s ceremony witnessed the presentation of The Motor Ombudsman’s inaugural Outstanding Star Award to Graham Clark, co-founder of Anderson Clark Motor Repairs in the Scottish city of Inverness. The new accolade, sponsored by Delphi, recognised Graham’s exceptional contribution to his business and the automotive sector as a whole during a career spanning nearly 50 years. This was in addition to a long-standing commitment to championing the importance of Codes of Practice to drive high standards of work and service.
Bill Fennell, Chief Ombudsman and Managing Director of The Motor Ombudsman, said: “We would like to congratulate all our 2026 Star Award winners and finalists. The nominations from motorists up and down the country once again demonstrated the many thoughtful, generous and practical ways in which accredited businesses and their teams support motorists when it matters most.”
Bill added: “As The Motor Ombudsman marks its tenth anniversary, the Star Awards provide an important opportunity to recognise the positive impact that our accredited network continues to make across the UK.
The stories behind the winning nominations underline the trust that can be built when businesses listen to their customers, understand their individual circumstances and go the extra mile to help.”
Kerry Nicol, External Affairs Manager at the Chartered Trading Standards Institute (CTSI), a judge for the 2026 Star Awards, said: “It was a privilege to be part of the panel, and to read so many inspiring examples of businesses and individuals putting motorists at the heart of everything they do. The quality of the entries was very impressive, and a consistent theme which stood out across the board, was the empathy, professionalism and care shown to customers, which is very positive to see.
“The winners and finalists should be extremely proud, and it is great that we have the Star Awards to showcase these brilliant stories of excellent customer service that may have otherwise gone untold. Congratulations!”