Not upheld: faulty goods and service responsibility complaint against Mercedes-Benz Financial Services UK Limited trading as Mercedes-Benz Finance

Decision detail

Summary

Mr H complained to MBFS about a car fault that developed after its first annual service in September 2025, claiming financial loss, loss of time, and distress. MBFS referred him to the dealership, stating the problem was unlikely to be a fault from point of sale. The ombudsman found that the service was not part of the finance agreement and was arranged directly between Mr H and the dealership, making the dealership responsible for any service-related faults. Although MBFS is responsible for the car's satisfactory quality under the Consumer Rights Act 2015, the dealership had already repaired the fault, leaving nothing for MBFS to remedy. The complaint was not upheld.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The ombudsman found that while MBFS is responsible for the satisfactory quality of the car under the Consumer Rights Act 2015, the service was not part of the finance agreement and was arranged directly between Mr H and the dealership. Therefore, MBFS was not responsible for investigating or remediating problems caused by the service. The ombudsman noted that even if the fault had been present from point of supply, MBFS would have had an opportunity to repair, but the dealership had already completed the repair.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website