Not upheld: goods not of satisfactory quality under hire purchase agreement complaint against CREATION CONSUMER FINANCE LIMITED

Decision detail

Summary

Mrs W complained that a used car supplied under a hire purchase agreement by Creation Consumer Finance Limited in September 2024 was not of satisfactory quality. The car, approximately 4.5 years old with 67,700 miles, developed a timing chain fault nine months after supply in June 2025, requiring repairs in July 2025. Mrs W subsequently experienced further issues and believed the dealership's repair caused additional faults. The ombudsman found the car was of satisfactory quality when supplied, as the timing chain fault developed after nine months and over 8,000 miles of driving, with no evidence it was present or developing at supply. The car passed its MOT and subsequent fault codes lacked evidence linking them to the point of supply. The complaint was not upheld.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The ombudsman applied the Consumer Rights Act 2015 standard of 'satisfactory quality', considering the car's age, price, mileage, and description as relevant factors. The key issue was whether the timing chain fault that developed nine months after supply was present or developing at the point of supply. The ombudsman found that Mrs W had driven over 8,000 miles across nine months before the fault occurred, and there was no evidence showing the fault was present or developing earlier. The car passed its MOT in September 2025 and the durability of a used car of this age and mileage was considered reasonable. Subsequent fault codes identified in December 2025 were not linked to the point of supply or the July repair, and lacked contextual information about their cause or timing. The ombudsman rejected Mrs W's assertion that the July repair caused additional faults due to insufficient evidence of causation.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website