Not upheld: misrepresentation - provision of incorrect settlement figure complaint against Tandem Motor Finance Limited

Decision detail

Summary

Mr A complained that Tandem provided an incorrect settlement figure of £390.82 for his hire purchase agreement and confirmed it by telephone, leading him to make payment before being told two days later that a substantial balance remained outstanding. Tandem accepted the error and offered £100 compensation, but Mr A sought a full write-off of the remaining balance, arguing he reasonably relied on the confirmed figure and subsequently committed to higher rental costs. The ombudsman upheld Tandem's £100 offer as fair, finding that while the misrepresentation was serious, the underlying liability existed independently, the error was corrected promptly, and insufficient evidence showed Mr A became irrevocably committed to the higher rent because of the misrepresentation.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The ombudsman accepted that Tandem provided incorrect information amounting to misrepresentation. However, the underlying liability existed independently of the error and would have remained payable regardless. While Mr A took reasonable steps to verify the figure before payment, the error was corrected promptly (within two days). The ombudsman found insufficient evidence that Mr A became irrevocably committed to the higher-rent property because of the misrepresentation, or that he would have avoided the increased costs had correct information been provided on 6 January 2026. The ombudsman concluded that £100 compensation fairly reflects the distress and inconvenience caused, given the prompt correction and absence of demonstrated consequential financial loss.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website