Not upheld: unsatisfactory quality of goods (car supplied under hire purchase) complaint against STARTLINE MOTOR FINANCE LIMITED

Decision detail

Summary

Miss B purchased a used eight-year-old car with 70,000 miles under a hire purchase agreement with Startline Motor Finance Limited in December 2024 for £10,750. In October 2025, after approximately 8,000 miles of driving, the vehicle broke down with a timing chain failure. Miss B complained to Startline seeking repair costs, but Startline declined based on an independent inspection concluding the fault was not present at supply. The ombudsman upheld Startline's position, finding the independent engineer's report reliable and concluding the fault developed during Miss B's ownership due to engine overheating rather than representing unsatisfactory quality at the point of supply. The ombudsman declined to order any remedy beyond Startline's £100 compensation offer for distress and inconvenience.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The ombudsman applied the Consumer Rights Act 2015, which implies that goods supplied under hire purchase must be of satisfactory quality at the point of supply. For used cars, satisfactory quality is assessed considering age, mileage, and price. Since the fault was identified after six months, Miss B bore the burden of proving it was present at supply. The independent engineer's report, based on observable mechanical evidence and professional inspection, concluded the faults developed during operation and were not present at supply. The engineer's conclusions were reliable despite not requiring full engine dismantling, as engineers routinely form professional opinions based on available evidence. The vehicle's progression of 8,000 miles without presenting an inherent fault, combined with the total mileage of 78,000 miles, supported the conclusion that any underlying defect would have manifested earlier.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website