Not upheld: satisfactory quality of goods / breach of Consumer Rights Act 2015 implied terms complaint against Carmoola Limited

Decision detail

Summary

Mrs G purchased a 2-year-old used car via hire purchase with Carmoola for approximately £18,700 in November 2025. A heating fault developed in December 2025, requiring repair at a main dealer that took approximately one month to complete, during which Mrs G was provided a courtesy vehicle. Carmoola initially advised it would support rejection if repairs were not completed by 21-23 January 2026 but changed its position when the repair was completed on 27 January 2026. The ombudsman found that while the repair timeframe was reasonable under the Consumer Rights Act 2015 and did not breach implied terms, Carmoola was wrong to renege on its commitment to support rejection. The ombudsman upheld Carmoola's offer of £800 compensation as fair and reasonable for this mistake and the resulting distress and loss of expectation.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The ombudsman applied the Consumer Rights Act 2015 which implies terms that goods must be of satisfactory quality. For a used car costing £18,700 that was 2 years old, a reasonable person would not expect major issues. While the repair took approximately one month (slightly longer than anticipated), this was not overly excessive, particularly as Mrs G was provided a courtesy vehicle. The ombudsman found Carmoola was wrong to advise it would support rejection by a certain date and then renege on that commitment when the repair was completed a few days later. However, the £800 compensation already offered was deemed fair to acknowledge this mistake and the resulting distress and loss of expectation.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website