Not upheld: misrepresentation of hire purchase agreement terms complaint against RCI Financial Services Limited trading as Mobilize Financial Services

Decision detail

Summary

Mr B complained that RCI misrepresented his hire purchase agreement by verbally advising him he could pay all 36 monthly instalments immediately at a discount, leaving only a final payment due in 2028. When RCI failed to honour this arrangement, Mr B complained. The ombudsman found no evidence on the balance of probabilities supporting Mr B's claim of misrepresentation, noting that the signed documentation contradicted his account, the arrangement was highly unusual, and he had not sought written confirmation of the alleged verbal advice. The complaint was not upheld.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The ombudsman applied the balance of probabilities test and found insufficient evidence to support Mr B's claim of misrepresentation. Key factors included: (1) the ability to pay all monthly instalments immediately at a discount is very unusual in the ombudsman's experience; (2) the signed documentation does not support Mr B's account of what he was verbally advised; (3) Mr B signed clear confirmation statements without apparent objection; (4) Mr B did not seek to document the alleged verbal advice in writing despite it contradicting the signed terms; (5) RCI's treatment of overpayments does not breach the agreement terms.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website