Not upheld: Section 75 claim rejection (misrepresentation) and Section 140A unfair credit relationship claim complaint against Shawbrook Bank Limited

Decision detail

Summary

Mr and Mrs R purchased a timeshare membership for £8,500 financed by Shawbrook Bank Limited on 17 October 2017. They complained on 10 April 2025 (over 7.5 years later) alleging misrepresentation by the Supplier and claiming Shawbrook was party to an unfair credit relationship. The ombudsman rejected the Section 75 misrepresentation claim as time-barred under the Limitation Act 1980, finding no evidence to invoke the fraud/concealment exception. The Section 140A unfair relationship claim also failed as the ombudsman found no evidence that information failings caused Mr and Mrs R to make a different purchasing decision or suffer loss, and the lending was not unaffordable. The complaint was not upheld.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The ombudsman found that the Section 75 misrepresentation claim was made outside the six-year limitation period (claim made 10 April 2025, more than 7.5 years after 17 October 2017 Time of Sale), and the PR failed to provide persuasive evidence of fraud, concealment, or mistake to invoke Section 32 postponement. Regarding Section 140A, the ombudsman examined the Supplier's sales practices, information provision, and credit checks. While acknowledging possible information failings regarding maintenance fees, the ombudsman found no evidence that Mr and Mrs R were deprived of information that would have changed their purchasing decision or caused financial loss. The lending was not demonstrated to be unaffordable. Therefore, the credit relationship was not rendered unfair.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website