Not upheld: quality of goods supplied under hire purchase agreement complaint against RCI Financial Services Limited trading as Mobilize Financial Services

Decision detail

Summary

Miss J purchased a used five-year-old car with 31,886 miles through a Hire Purchase agreement with RCI in October 2024 for £13,824. She reported issues with the oil light, engine management light, and noise within two weeks, but dealership inspections found no faults initially. After six months of continued use, the dealership found only low oil levels (which they topped up) and a lodged stone in the brake assembly. Miss J obtained informal comments from a mechanic suggesting fault codes but no formal diagnosis. The ombudsman concluded the car was of satisfactory quality at supply, finding insufficient independent expert evidence of an inherent fault, noting the significant mileage driven since supply and the MOT pass with no advisories supported this conclusion.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The ombudsman applied the Consumer Rights Act 2015, which requires goods to be of satisfactory quality. For a used car of this age and mileage, a reasonable person would expect it to be free from major defects and provide trouble-free motoring, but with lower expectations than a newer vehicle. While the ombudsman acknowledged an oil light issue likely existed, there was insufficient independent expert evidence of an inherent fault. The dealership found only low oil levels (topped up) and a lodged stone, not mechanical defects. The informal mechanic comments lacked formal diagnosis and did not clearly identify a root cause. The significant mileage driven since supply (over 16,000 miles) meant issues could result from wear and tear. The MOT pass with no advisories supported the conclusion that no inherent fault existed at supply.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website