Not upheld: PCP / HP mis-selling complaint against Evergreen Finance Limited

Decision detail

Summary

Mr E complained to the FOS about Evergreen Finance regarding a hire purchase agreement for a static caravan, raising multiple issues including delayed commencement of the finance agreement, caravan faults, prevention of use, repossession before a court order, and loss of personal items. The ombudsman found that many of Mr E's complaints related to the caravan park's actions rather than Evergreen Finance's conduct as a credit broker, and therefore fell outside the ombudsman's jurisdiction. The ombudsman upheld Evergreen Finance's actions regarding the default notice and court-ordered repossession, finding that Mr E's failure to pay was not justified by his dispute with the caravan park. The complaint was not upheld.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The ombudsman distinguished between Evergreen Finance's liability for the caravan park's actions as a credit broker versus other actions. Many of Mr E's complaints related to the caravan park's general actions (faults, access restrictions) rather than the credit broker function. The ombudsman found that: (1) the delayed start of the finance agreement caused no loss; (2) Evergreen Finance was unaware of faults until after repair; (3) Evergreen Finance was not responsible for access restrictions imposed by the caravan park; (4) Mr E's failure to pay was not justified by his dispute with the caravan park; (5) the caravan was repossessed only after a court order was obtained; and (6) Mr E's belongings were recovered on two separate occasions.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website