Not upheld: contract interpretation and reasonableness of firm's actions in paying third-party charges complaint against Tesla Financial Services Limited

Decision detail

Summary

Mr O complained that Tesla Financial Services Limited unreasonably paid 17 private parking charge notices on his behalf between January and March 2025 without notifying him or transferring liability, depriving him of the opportunity to challenge them at his place of work. Tesla argued the agreement made Mr O responsible for such charges and that as registered keeper it was entitled to deal with them and recover costs. The ombudsman found the agreement explicitly made Mr O responsible for parking charges and contained no requirement for Tesla to transfer liability before taking action, and that there was insufficient evidence the charges would have been cancelled if challenged.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The ombudsman found that the agreement explicitly made Mr O responsible for parking charges. As the registered keeper, Tesla was entitled to receive and deal with the notices, including paying them and recovering costs from Mr O. The agreement contained no requirement for Tesla to transfer liability to Mr O before taking action. While Mr O was not given the opportunity to challenge the charges, there was insufficient evidence that the charges would likely have been cancelled had they been passed to him. Tesla had already reduced the amount owed through waivers.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website