Not upheld: quality of goods - alleged unsatisfactory quality of second-hand car complaint against MONEYBARN NO.1 LIMITED (trading as Moneybarn)

Decision detail

Summary

Miss B purchased a second-hand car through a conditional sale agreement with Moneybarn in January 2023. The car was almost 8 years old with 47,000 miles and priced at £8,995. In August 2025, after nearly three years of use and approximately 18,000 additional miles, Miss B complained about a transmission fault requiring approximately £1,700 in repairs. The ombudsman did not uphold the complaint, finding that given the car's age, mileage, price, and the time elapsed since supply, the transmission fault was unlikely to have existed at point of supply and did not demonstrate unsatisfactory quality under the Consumer Rights Act 2015.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The ombudsman applied the Consumer Rights Act 2015 standard of satisfactory quality, considering what a reasonable person would expect given the car's age (almost 8 years old), mileage (47,000 miles), price (£8,995), and condition. The transmission fault occurred after nearly three years of use and approximately 18,000 additional miles driven, making it unlikely the fault existed at point of supply without persuasive expert evidence to the contrary. The ombudsman noted that at the time of the fault the car was over 10 years old, and combined with the lack of expert evidence and time elapsed since supply, the need for this repair did not demonstrate unsatisfactory quality. Early wear and tear issues were considered normal for an older vehicle.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website