Upheld: unsatisfactory quality of goods - premature cambelt failure complaint against BMW Financial Services (GB) Limited trading as Alphera Financial Services

Decision detail

Summary

Mr J purchased a used car through a hire purchase agreement with BMWFS in July 2023. In May 2025, the cambelt failed when the car had done 45,191 miles, approximately 21,566 miles after supply and four years and eight months after first registration. The car was undrivable for five months while repairs were completed under the manufacturer's warranty. BMWFS rejected the complaint, arguing the cambelt failure was not present at supply and was likely due to poor servicing. The ombudsman upheld the complaint, finding the car was not sufficiently durable as the cambelt failed well below the manufacturer's replacement schedule, and ordered BMWFS to refund payments for the undrivable period, reimburse recovery costs, and pay £250 compensation.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The ombudsman applied the Consumer Rights Act 2015, which requires goods to be of satisfactory quality, including being sufficiently durable. Although the cambelt failure occurred outside the six-month presumption period, the ombudsman found the car was not sufficiently durable because the cambelt failed at approximately four years and eight months and 15,000 miles below the manufacturer's minimum replacement threshold. The ombudsman rejected BMWFS's argument about poor servicing, noting the manufacturer's warranty approval indicated proper maintenance. The ombudsman concluded the car was of unsatisfactory quality when supplied, and as it was successfully repaired under warranty, BMWFS should refund payments for the period the car was undrivable, reimburse recovery costs, and pay compensation for distress and inconvenience.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website