Not upheld: Goods and services under S75 complaint against Zopa Bank Limited (trading as Zopa)

Decision detail

Summary

Miss C purchased a 9-year-old car with 98,665 miles under a hire purchase agreement with Zopa on 28 April 2025 for £7,244. She experienced cooling system problems in May-June 2025 which were repaired by the dealer, and later reported transmission issues. She complained to Zopa in January 2026, approximately 8 months after purchase, seeking rejection of the vehicle or a replacement. Zopa commissioned an independent inspection which found the transmission fault had only recently developed in December 2025 and was not present or developing at the point of sale. The ombudsman upheld Zopa's position, finding the vehicle was of satisfactory quality at supply given its age and mileage, and that the transmission fault developed after supply.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The ombudsman applied the Consumer Rights Act 2015 standard of satisfactory quality, considering the age (9 years), mileage (98,665 miles), and cash price (£7,244) as relevant circumstances. The cooling system issue was resolved through repair by the dealer with no subsequent failure. The transmission fault, based on the specialist's independent inspection and freeze frame data analysis, was found to have developed recently in December 2025, not at the point of supply in April 2025. The ombudsman found the specialist's evidence credible and noted Miss C did not raise the transmission issue when the cooling system was being addressed, suggesting it was not a problem at that time. The ombudsman concluded there was insufficient evidence to show the vehicle was not of satisfactory quality at supply.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website