Not upheld: Travel / life insurance claim disputes complaint against Close Brothers Limited (trading as Close Brothers Motor Finance)

Decision detail

Summary

Miss A purchased a used car through a dealership under a conditional sale agreement with CBMF in March 2022. In September 2025, she discovered the car had previously been listed as salvage in January 2022, which reduced its resale value. She complained that the dealership had failed to disclose this information prior to the sale. The ombudsman found that an HPI check conducted at the time of sale showed no adverse information about the car and was an adequate tool for identifying such issues. Since the dealership had no knowledge of the salvage history based on the checks performed, the ombudsman concluded there was no misleading omission and did not uphold the complaint.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The ombudsman applied CTSI guidance which states that a misleading omission occurs when a dealer fails to disclose information about a car's accident or write-off history if aware of it. The key issue was whether the dealership should have been aware of the salvage history. The HPI check provided was clear and showed no adverse information. The ombudsman concluded that the HPI check is an adequate tool for assessing such matters and, since it revealed nothing, the dealership had no reason to conduct further enquiries. Therefore, the dealership was not aware of the salvage history and could not have misled Miss A through omission.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website