Not upheld: Unknown / needs review complaint against Evergreen Finance Limited
Financial Ombudsman decision DRN-1402563 of 2015-05-12T00:00:00+00:00. Unknown / needs review complaint against Evergreen Finance Limited. Outcome: Not upheld.
Decision detail
| Reference | DRN-1402563 |
|---|---|
| Decision date | 2015-05-12T00:00:00+00:00 |
| Firm | Evergreen Finance Limited |
| Product | Motor finance (PCP / HP) |
| Claim type | Unknown / needs review |
| Outcome | Not upheld |
| Remedy | None. The complaint was not upheld. The ombudsman encouraged Mr S to engage with Evergreen to find an appropriate outcome and suggested seeking free money advice from StepChange. The ombudsman reminded Evergreen of its obligations to treat Mr S positively and sympathetically if he is experiencing financial difficulties. |
Summary
Mr S purchased a caravan via hire purchase from Evergreen Finance Limited in 2013, claiming the salesman promised he could live on site year-round and upgrade to a more expensive model later with minimal loss. Evergreen denied these assurances and pointed to the signed HP agreement and licence documents which explicitly prohibited year-round residence and contained no upgrade option. The ombudsman found that on the balance of probabilities, the salesman would have needed to guarantee future prices and financing to make such promises, which was unlikely, and that Mr S's own actions (providing a separate main residence and agreeing to let the caravan out) showed he should have understood the restrictions. The complaint was not upheld.
The Ombudsman's reasoning
The ombudsman applied the balance of probabilities test, finding that while a future upgrade may have been discussed, the salesman would have needed to guarantee future prices and financing terms, which was unlikely. The documents explicitly prohibited year-round residence, and Mr S's own actions (providing a separate main residence and agreeing to let the caravan out) demonstrated he should have reasonably understood this restriction. The ombudsman could not safely find Mr S was told he would definitely be able to upgrade or live year-round as promised.
How this compares
| Group | Decisions | Uphold rate |
|---|---|---|
| Evergreen Finance Limited, all decisions | 8 | 0% |
| Unknown / needs review, all decisions | 4,876 | 28% |
| Motor finance (PCP / HP), all decisions | 19,455 | 38% |
Source
Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website