Not upheld: Goods and services under S75 complaint against Toyota Financial Services (UK) Plc trading as Redline Finance

Decision detail

Summary

Mr C purchased a used five-year-old car with 26,000 miles under a hire purchase agreement with Redline Finance in January 2023. The car experienced multiple issues including an exhaust sensor fault in October 2023, a crankshaft leak discovered during servicing in December 2024, and catastrophic engine failure in January 2026 at approximately 55,000 miles. Mr C claimed the car was of unsatisfactory quality and sought engine replacement or contract termination. The ombudsman found that the oil leak only appeared approximately two years after purchase and the engine failure occurred almost three years into ownership, and without an independent inspection confirming the exact cause of failure, there was insufficient evidence that the fault was present or developing at the point of supply. The complaint was not upheld.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The ombudsman concluded that the engine failure occurred almost three years into Mr C's ownership after he had driven approximately 29,000 miles. The oil leak only became apparent around two years after purchase, after Mr C had already driven approximately 20,000 miles. The ombudsman found that without an independent inspection confirming the exact cause of failure, it was not possible to establish that the fault was present or developing at the point of supply. The ombudsman agreed with Redline that the length of time Mr C owned the car and the miles driven should be considered when assessing durability. The ombudsman noted that while metal filings were found in the oil filter indicating severe engine wear, this could have multiple causes and did not definitively prove the crankshaft had failed. The burden of proof lay with Mr C to provide evidence from an independent inspection, which he had not obtained.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website