Upheld: supply of unroadworthy/illegal goods; misrepresentation; unsatisfactory quality complaint against Lendable Ltd trading as Autolend

Decision detail

Summary

Mr O purchased a used car via hire purchase with Autolend in November 2024. In March 2025, the car developed engine problems and was found to have a faulty turbo. An independent inspection revealed the Ad Blue emissions system had been deliberately removed and remapped prior to sale, rendering the car illegal and unroadworthy. Autolend's response was inadequate, only reinstalling the system without resolving the underlying issues. The ombudsman upheld the complaint, finding the car was not of satisfactory quality when supplied and Mr O had the right to reject it. Autolend was ordered to end the agreement, refund the deposit and all monthly payments from 21 March 2025 with interest, pay £700 compensation, and remove adverse credit information.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The ombudsman found that the car was not of satisfactory quality when supplied because it was unroadworthy and illegal due to the deliberate removal and remapping of the Ad Blue system. Under the Consumer Rights Act 2015, the supplier is responsible for goods being of satisfactory quality. The car was misrepresented to Mr O as he had a right to assume a car supplied to him was road legal. The deliberate removal of the Ad Blue system was likely done to hide failings in the exhaust emissions area. Mr O used the car until 21 March 2025 when it broke down, so he should be refunded all payments from that date onwards as he could not use it after that point. Autolend's argument that Mr O should bear repair costs was rejected because he was supplied an illegal, unroadworthy car that should never have been supplied in that state. The £400 compensation offered was inadequate given the severity of the breach and the prolonged lack of resolution.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website