Not upheld: Goods and services under S75 complaint against MotoNovo Finance Limited

Decision detail

Summary

Mr O purchased a used car via hire purchase agreement with MotoNovo Finance Limited in July 2024. The eight-year-old vehicle with 55,845 miles subsequently developed suspension issues, loss of power, infotainment faults, and other problems between August 2024 and August 2025. Mr O complained that the car was of unsatisfactory quality and that engine tuning had been misrepresented by omission. An independent inspection report concluded the issues were due to wear and tear commensurate with the vehicle's age and mileage. The ombudsman upheld the independent inspector's findings and rejected both the unsatisfactory quality complaint and the misrepresentation claim, finding no evidence that the vehicle was defective at the point of sale.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The ombudsman applied the Consumer Rights Act 2015, which requires goods to be of satisfactory quality, fit for purpose, and as described. For a used car of eight years old with 55,845 miles, it is reasonable to expect parts may have suffered wear and tear. The independent inspector's opinion that suspension issues would have manifested within the first 1,000 miles if present at sale, combined with the vehicle having travelled nearly 7,000 miles before issues emerged, persuaded the ombudsman that the faults were due to normal wear and tear rather than inherent defects. The aftermarket compressor failure, while unfortunate, did not demonstrate the vehicle was of unsatisfactory quality, as there was no evidence it was substandard or faulty inherently. The infotainment fault and intake manifold issue were similarly attributed to age and mileage-related wear.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website