Not upheld: unsatisfactory quality of goods / fitness for purpose complaint against Moneybarn No.1 Ltd.
Financial Ombudsman decision DRN-6298090 of 2026-06-09T00:00:00+00:00. unsatisfactory quality of goods / fitness for purpose complaint against Moneybarn No.1 Ltd.. Outcome: Not upheld.
Decision detail
| Reference | DRN-6298090 |
|---|---|
| Decision date | 2026-06-09T00:00:00+00:00 |
| Firm | Moneybarn No.1 Ltd. |
| Product | Motor finance (PCP / HP) |
| Claim type | unsatisfactory quality of goods / fitness for purpose |
| Outcome | Not upheld |
| Remedy | No remedy ordered. Moneybarn's offer of £100 for complaint handling delays was noted but the ombudsman stated it could not consider complaint handling as an unregulated activity. |
Summary
Mr C purchased a used car aged 8.5 years through a conditional sale agreement with Moneybarn in September 2023. The supplying dealership repaired injector and fuel rail faults before delivery. After driving the car for almost two years and 23,000 miles, Mr C experienced further injector issues in 2024 and complained to Moneybarn in August 2025, claiming the car was not of satisfactory quality. Moneybarn arranged an independent inspection which found no diagnostic evidence of injector malfunction, though it noted further testing could be needed. The ombudsman found Mr C had not provided sufficient evidence that faults were present or developing at the point of supply, and rejected the complaint as the issues appeared consistent with normal wear and tear on a vehicle of that age and mileage.
The Ombudsman's reasoning
The ombudsman applied the Consumer Rights Act 2015 standard of satisfactory quality, which requires goods to meet the standard a reasonable person would consider satisfactory taking into account the description, price, and relevant circumstances including the car's age and mileage. Given that Mr C had owned the car for almost two years and driven over 23,000 miles before complaining, the burden was on Mr C to provide evidence that faults were present or developing at the point of supply. The ombudsman found the pre-delivery repairs were successful (evidenced by 11,000 miles of trouble-free driving), the 2024 injector issues occurred at 80,000+ miles (within the typical 50,000-100,000 mile lifespan of injectors), and the independent inspection found no diagnostic evidence of injector malfunction. The ombudsman rejected Mr C's arguments that the inspector's inability to confirm injector faults constituted evidence of pre-existing faults, and noted that the high-pressure fuel pump was functioning properly one year after purchase.
How this compares
| Group | Decisions | Uphold rate |
|---|---|---|
| Moneybarn No.1 Ltd., all decisions | 5 | 0% |
| Motor finance (PCP / HP), all decisions | 18,521 | 38% |
Source
Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website