Not upheld: unsatisfactory quality and misrepresentation (omission) complaint against BMW Financial Services (GB) Limited trading as Alphera Financial Services

Decision detail

Summary

Mr A purchased a three-year-old used car with 61,700 miles via a PCP agreement with Alphera in September 2024. Over a year later, in October 2025, he complained that the cambelt failed, causing catastrophic engine damage with a £9,000 repair estimate, and that the dealership failed to disclose the manufacturer's cambelt replacement schedule or provide service history. The ombudsman found no evidence of a pre-existing fault given the vehicle's satisfactory operation for 13,000 additional miles, and determined that dealers have no obligation to proactively disclose future maintenance requirements or service history documentation not expressly represented as included. The complaint was not upheld.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The ombudsman applied the Consumer Rights Act 2015 satisfactory quality test, noting that for a used car with 61,700 miles, a reasonable person would have different expectations than for a new vehicle. Since the complaint was raised over a year after purchase and the vehicle had operated for 13,000 additional miles without issue, there was insufficient evidence that a fault was present at the point of supply. Regarding misrepresentation, the ombudsman found no express representation that a full service history was included, and dealers have no obligation to proactively disclose future maintenance requirements such as cambelt replacement unless specifically asked or where a known defect exists. The absence of this information therefore did not constitute misrepresentation by omission.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website