Not upheld: unfair refurbishment charges on vehicle return complaint against Mitsubishi HC Capital UK PLC trading as Novuna Vehicle Solutions

Decision detail

Summary

E complained about refurbishment charges imposed by Novuna when returning a hired car. The charges covered damage to various parts including door seals, seat covers, bumper, alloy wheel, and tailgate. The ombudsman assessed each charge against BVRLA guidelines and found all charges to be fair and reasonable, as the damage exceeded normal wear and tear. The insurance payment for accident damage also exceeded Novuna's charges for those panels. The complaint was not upheld.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The ombudsman applied the BVRLA fair wear and tear guidelines to assess each charge. For accident-damaged panels, the insurance payment exceeded Novuna's charges, indicating fairness. For other damage, the ombudsman found each charge was justified: door seal cuts exceeded acceptable scratches, interior damage violated cleanliness standards, centre post scratches penetrated to primer beyond the 25mm threshold, rear bumper scuffing exceeded 25mm, alloy wheel spoke damage was explicitly unacceptable under guidelines, and tailgate corrosion violated the no-rust requirement.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website