Upheld: unsatisfactory quality of goods supplied under hire purchase agreement complaint against Lendable Ltd trading as Autolend
Financial Ombudsman decision DRN-6279906 of 2026-04-21T00:00:00+00:00. unsatisfactory quality of goods supplied under hire purchase agreement complaint against Lendable Ltd trading as Autolend. Outcome: Upheld.
Decision detail
| Reference | DRN-6279906 |
|---|---|
| Decision date | 2026-04-21T00:00:00+00:00 |
| Firm | Lendable Ltd trading as Autolend |
| Product | hire purchase agreement |
| Claim type | unsatisfactory quality of goods supplied under hire purchase agreement |
| Outcome | Upheld |
| Remedy | Lendable must: (1) arrange for and cover the cost of repair to the timing belt, any residual oil contamination, and the spare key if appropriate; (2) refund monthly payments for 24 November 2025 to 6 January 2026; (3) refund additional hire costs incurred for the same period; (4) refund £246.50 for diagnostics and oil repair; (5) pay simple interest at Bank of England base rate + 1% on all refunded amounts from date of payment to settlement; (6) remove adverse credit file entries relating to the agreement; and (7) pay £250 compensation for distress and inconvenience. |
Summary
Mr P purchased a used car under a hire purchase agreement with Lendable in September 2025. The car had multiple defects including a missing parcel shelf, non-functioning spare key, and critically, an incorrectly fitted oil filter causing an oil leak and a damaged timing belt discovered during repair. Mr P paid for the initial repairs himself and incurred hire car costs while the vehicle was off the road. Although Lendable agreed to cover the timing belt repair in January 2026, Mr P complained that the remedy was insufficient and sought to reject the car. The ombudsman upheld the complaint, finding the car was not of satisfactory quality when supplied, but determined that repair was the appropriate remedy under consumer rights law. However, the ombudsman ordered Lendable to refund monthly payments for the period the car was undrivable, reimburse repair costs, cover additional hire expenses, and pay £250 compensation for distress and inconvenience.
The Ombudsman's reasoning
The ombudsman found that the car was not of satisfactory quality when supplied, as confirmed by undisputed evidence of the incorrectly fitted oil filter and damaged timing belt. Under the Consumer Rights Act 2015, Lendable had the right to repair the car as the first remedy, and the ombudsman was satisfied they authorized repairs within a reasonable time (approximately five weeks). However, the ombudsman found that Lendable should have offered to cover additional consequential losses beyond the repair itself, including refunding monthly payments for the period the car was undrivable, reimbursing repair costs Mr P paid, and covering additional hire costs. The ombudsman rejected Mr P's request to reject the car, as Lendable had complied with the requirement to authorize repair within a reasonable time, and Mr P retained the right to reject if the repair attempt failed.
How this compares
| Group | Decisions | Uphold rate |
|---|---|---|
| Lendable Ltd trading as Autolend, all decisions | 15 | 33% |
Source
Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website