Not upheld: quality of goods supplied under consumer credit agreement complaint against Tandem Bank Limited

Decision detail

Summary

Mrs D purchased a used 8-year-old car with 80,000 miles through a hire purchase agreement with Tandem Bank Limited in May 2024. Shortly after acquisition, the engine management light illuminated and the car developed issues including engine rattle and misfire. An independent inspection in July 2025 confirmed faults relating to camshaft sensors and recommended timing chain replacement. Mrs D complained that the car was not of satisfactory quality when supplied. The ombudsman rejected the complaint, finding that while faults existed, they were consistent with wear and tear on a vehicle of that age and mileage, not pre-existing defects, and therefore the car met the satisfactory quality standard required by law.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The ombudsman applied the Consumer Rights Act 2015, which requires goods to be of satisfactory quality. For a used vehicle, satisfactory quality must be assessed considering its age, mileage, and history. While a fault was confirmed to exist, the independent inspection report concluded the faults were due to wear and deterioration consistent with an 8-year-old vehicle with 80,000+ miles, not pre-existing defects present at supply. The timing chain replacement recommendation at 88,000 miles is not unreasonable given wear factors. The engineer explicitly stated the engineering evidence alone would not support the condition was pre-existing. The car's MOT pass without engine advisories after additional miles further supported this conclusion.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website