Not upheld: Goods and services under S75 complaint against Santander UK Plc

Decision detail

Summary

Mr M purchased a used car from company B in July 2024, paying a £200 deposit by Santander credit card. After repairs in January 2025 failed to resolve a cylinder misfire, further damage was discovered in July 2025 requiring £11,000 in repairs. Mr M claimed under Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act 1974, but Santander declined the claim because B had not been given the opportunity to inspect and rectify the faulty repairs. The ombudsman upheld Santander's decision, finding that under the Consumer Rights Act 2015, Mr M should have first requested that B perform the service again before escalating to the credit card provider, and that B appeared capable of doing so within reasonable timeframes.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The ombudsman found that Santander was entitled to decline the Section 75 claim because Mr M did not give the merchant B an opportunity to inspect the car and attempt to rectify the repairs they had carried out in January 2025 before escalating the matter. Under the Consumer Rights Act 2015, a consumer has a right to require repeat performance of services, which must be carried out within a reasonable time and without significant inconvenience. The ombudsman considered that B appeared capable of carrying out repairs within a reasonable timeframe and that arrangements could have been made for inspection. Therefore, Santander did not act unfairly in requiring Mr M to exhaust this remedy before considering the Section 75 claim.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website