Not upheld: quality of goods / unsatisfactory quality complaint against BLUE MOTOR FINANCE LIMITED

Decision detail

Summary

Miss W complained about the quality of a used car supplied by Blue Motor Finance Limited under a hire purchase agreement in May 2023. The car was approximately seven years old with 62,500 miles when supplied. Over the following three years, Miss W incurred various repair costs for suspension issues, brake fluid replacement, and engine management problems. Blue Motor declined to uphold her complaint, citing the six-month threshold under consumer rights law. The ombudsman agreed with Blue Motor's position, finding that the issues identified were consistent with normal wear and tear for a vehicle of that age and mileage, and that Miss W had not provided sufficient evidence to prove the faults existed at the point of sale.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The ombudsman applied the Consumer Rights Act 2015, which requires goods to be of satisfactory quality when supplied. For used cars, satisfactory quality is assessed considering age, mileage, history, and durability. Since faults were identified after six months, the burden was on Miss W to prove they existed at the point of sale. The ombudsman found that for a car of this age and mileage, suspension issues and wear are not uncommon and represent normal wear and tear rather than evidence of unsatisfactory quality. Without an independent engineer report or other evidence linking the faults to the point of sale, there was insufficient evidence to conclude the car was not of satisfactory quality.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website