Not upheld: unfair termination of finance agreement; validity of default notice; failure to reinstate payment arrangement; enforcement action during complaint consideration complaint against ADVANTAGE FINANCE LIMITED

Decision detail

Summary

Mr A complained about Advantage Finance Limited's termination of his hire purchase agreement for a car, alleging unfair termination, invalid default notice, failure to reinstate payment arrangements, and improper enforcement action during complaint consideration. Mr A had fallen into arrears from mid-2024 and failed to maintain full contractual payments after September 2024, despite Advantage's repeated contact attempts and agreed reduced payment arrangements. The ombudsman found that Advantage was entitled to terminate the agreement under its terms, had provided appropriate forbearance, had issued a valid default notice, and was not obliged to pause recovery action. The complaint was not upheld and no remedy was ordered.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The ombudsman found that Advantage was entitled to terminate the agreement under its terms given the significant and sustained arrears and failure to maintain payments. Advantage provided appropriate forbearance by making repeated contact attempts and agreeing to reduced payment arrangements, but was not required to continue accepting arrangements that did not resolve arrears sustainably. A valid default notice was issued and served, and the delay in recording the default actually benefited Mr A by allowing additional time to bring the account up to date. Advantage was not obliged to pause recovery action while the complaint was being considered given the level of arrears and breakdown of payment arrangements.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website