Not upheld: unfair charges for vehicle damage at end of conditional sale agreement complaint against Tesla Financial Services Limited

Decision detail

Summary

Mr L complained about refurbishment charges levied by Tesla Financial Services after he returned a car financed through a conditional sale agreement in July 2025. TFS charged £610 for spoiler replacement and £100 per wheel for damage to all four alloy wheels. Mr L argued the spoiler had been repaired under warranty and the wheel charges were excessive. The ombudsman applied BVRLA industry guidance and found the spoiler showed flaking paint (not acceptable under guidance) and all wheels had scuffing well exceeding the 50mm threshold. The ombudsman upheld TFS's charges as fair and reasonable, noting Mr L should have raised concerns about the spoiler repair before returning the vehicle.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The ombudsman applied BVRLA industry guidance to assess whether the damage exceeded fair wear and tear. For the spoiler, the photographs showed flaking paint which is explicitly not acceptable under BVRLA guidance, and the charge was reasonable given the car was supplied in new condition. For the wheels, all four showed scuffing well in excess of the 50mm threshold permitted under BVRLA guidance. The £100 per wheel charge was consistent with comparable companies. Mr L should have raised concerns about the spoiler repair quality with Tesla before returning the car if he wished to avoid end-of-term charges.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website