Not upheld: pricing error and contract terms dispute complaint against Mitsubishi HC Capital UK PLC trading as Novuna Vehicle Solutions

Decision detail

Summary

Mrs S complained that Novuna changed the purchase price of a car she was financing through a hire agreement, increasing it from £10,250 to £11,550 after she had accepted the original quotation. Novuna acknowledged the error was genuine, apologised, and offered £268 in compensation (£150 price reduction plus £118.26 refund). The ombudsman found it would not be fair to require Novuna to honour the mistaken quotation and determined that the compensation offered was fair and proportionate given the circumstances. The complaint was not upheld.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The ombudsman found that while the situation was frustrating and inconvenient for Mrs S, it would not be fair or reasonable to require Novuna to sell the car at a mistakenly quoted price. The ombudsman considered that Novuna's response—reducing the revised price by £150 and refunding £118.26 in rental payments—totalling approximately £268 in compensation and redress, was fair and proportionate given the inconvenience, disappointment and loss of expectation caused. No persuasive evidence of additional financial losses was presented that would justify a greater award or require honouring the original quotation.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website