Upheld: Goods and services under S75 complaint against BMW Financial Services (GB) Limited trading as Alphera Financial Services

Decision detail

Summary

Mrs R purchased a used car via hire purchase agreement with Alphera on 3 July 2025 for £98,339 plus a £50,000 deposit. The car had multiple faults from the point of supply including brake issues, water build-up, and defective child locks that persisted despite repair attempts. Mrs R complained on 10 September 2025. The ombudsman upheld the complaint, finding the car was of unsatisfactory quality at supply. Alphera must end the agreement, refund the deposit, refund payments at 100% for periods without any vehicle and 45% for periods with an inferior courtesy car, pay £300 compensation, and apply 8% interest on all refunds.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The Consumer Rights Act 2015 requires goods to be of satisfactory quality at supply. Faults identified within six months are presumed to have been present at supply unless the supplier proves otherwise. The car had multiple faults from the point of supply that persisted despite repair attempts, making it unsatisfactory. While Mrs R had some use of the car and was provided with courtesy cars during some repair periods, she should not pay for periods when she had no vehicle at all. For periods with courtesy cars that were substantially inferior to the financed vehicle, a 45% refund fairly reflects impaired usage. A full refund is not appropriate as Mrs R had some use of the car.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website