Not upheld: Goods and services under S75 complaint against Lendable Ltd trading as Autolend

Decision detail

Summary

Miss J purchased a used car in July 2025 financed through Autolend for £13,995. The seven-year-old car with 69,000 miles developed faults in December 2025 (within five months of purchase), requiring £1,782.16 in repairs to the fuel pump drive module and fuse box. Miss J complained that the car was not of satisfactory quality, relying on the Consumer Rights Act 2015 presumption that faults within six months indicate pre-existing defects. The ombudsman rejected this complaint, finding that the faults only manifested after Miss J had driven the car over 2,000 miles, indicating they resulted from wear and tear rather than being present at supply. The ombudsman acknowledged Miss J's vulnerability and difficult circumstances but found these did not alter the factual assessment of when the faults arose.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The ombudsman applied the Consumer Rights Act 2015 standard of 'satisfactory quality' taking into account the car's age (seven years old) and mileage (69,000 miles) at supply. The ombudsman found that given these circumstances, a reasonable person would expect the car to require maintenance sooner than a newer or less travelled vehicle. The key finding was that the faults only presented after five months and over 2,000 miles of use by Miss J, which on balance indicated the faults were not present or developing at the point of supply but rather resulted from wear and tear during her use. The ombudsman acknowledged Miss J's vulnerability and difficult circumstances but found these did not change the factual assessment of when the faults arose.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website