Not upheld: Goods and services under S75 complaint against MI Vehicle Finance Limited (trading as Mann Island)

Decision detail

Summary

Mr S purchased a used car via hire purchase from Mann Island in October 2023. From January 2025, the car experienced electrical and DPF issues, eventually requiring repairs costing approximately £7,500 including battery, turbocharger, and DPF replacement. Mr S complained that the car was not of satisfactory quality and was insufficiently durable for a three-year-old premium vehicle. The ombudsman found that the battery failure was due to normal wear and tear at the end of its natural lifespan, and that the DPF and turbocharger failures were caused by the car being driven in urban start-stop journeys rather than the manufacturer's intended long uninterrupted journeys, combined with insufficient servicing intervals for this driving style. The complaint was not upheld.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The ombudsman applied the Consumer Rights Act 2015, which requires goods to be of satisfactory quality and sufficiently durable. For the electrical issues, the evidence showed the battery had reached its natural lifespan (five years old, with recommended replacement at four years), making this expected routine maintenance rather than a premature failure. For the DPF and turbocharger issues, the ombudsman found these were caused by how the car was driven (urban start-stop journeys rather than the manufacturer's intended long uninterrupted journeys at 50mph+), evidenced by the need for manual regeneration and chemical cleaning. The ombudsman concluded these issues were not present or developing at supply, nor were they premature failures, but rather the result of usage patterns and insufficient servicing intervals for the driving style employed.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website