Not upheld: end of contract damage charges / fair wear and tear dispute complaint against Volkswagen Financial Services (UK) Limited trading as Audi Financial Services

Decision detail

Summary

Miss S complained about end of contract damage charges of £792 (later reduced to £492) applied by VWFS when she returned a hire purchase car in May 2025. Miss S disputed the charges, arguing she had not been provided with a pre-delivery condition report and that the damage may have been present when the car was supplied in October 2020. The ombudsman found that the damage was visible in collection photographs and that Miss S's failure to report it to VWFS during the five-year agreement period, despite reporting door handle damage in November 2020, indicated the damage occurred during her possession. The complaint was not upheld, and no remedy was ordered.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The ombudsman applied the Consumer Rights Act 2015 and BVRLA guidelines to assess fair wear and tear. The key reasoning was that Miss S had possessed the car for almost five years and driven approximately 38,200 miles without contacting VWFS about any damage during the agreement period. The ombudsman found that if the damage had been present at supply, Miss S would likely have reported it when she reported the door handle damage in November 2020. Since Miss S did not raise concerns about the other damage until the end of the agreement, the ombudsman concluded the damage occurred during her possession. Under the CRA, the burden would be on Miss S to prove damage was present at supply if raised after six months, which she failed to do.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website