Not upheld: Goods and services under S75 complaint against Moneybarn No.1 Limited

Decision detail

Summary

Mr X purchased a used vehicle through a conditional sale agreement with Moneybarn for £18,890 cash price. The four-year-old vehicle with 77,000 miles was used normally for six months and approximately 4,800-5,000 miles before suffering a catastrophic engine failure in February 2025. Inspection revealed the failure was caused by deterioration of the wet timing belt leading to oil starvation and engine damage. Mr X complained that the vehicle was of unsatisfactory quality at supply, but Moneybarn rejected the complaint as wear and tear. The ombudsman found that while the failure was genuine and premature, the evidence does not demonstrate the fault was present or developing at supply, and the deterioration is consistent with ordinary wear and tear for a used vehicle of this age and mileage. The complaint was not upheld.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The ombudsman applied the Consumer Rights Act 2015, which implies goods must be of satisfactory quality. For a used vehicle of this age and mileage, a reasonable person would not expect it to be fault-free or perform like a new vehicle, and some wear and deterioration would be expected. While the mechanic confirmed the failure was premature and not caused by poor maintenance, the key question was whether the fault was present or developing at supply. The ombudsman found that the inspection evidence explains the mechanism of failure but does not demonstrate the deterioration had reached an abnormal or advanced stage at supply that would make failure inevitable or imminent. The six months of use covering 4,800-5,000 miles without warning signs, combined with the fact that wet timing belts are known to degrade over time and may require replacement around 82,000 miles, supports the conclusion that deterioration progressed after supply rather than the vehicle being in unsatisfactory condition at supply.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website