CAR TROUBLE

My own experience

I bought a 10-year-old Renault Clio from a branch of a well-known national chain of car dealerships that lasted less than three months. I paid for it by credit card so I had additional free protection under Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act 1974, which holds card providers jointly liable if anything goes wrong.

Any faults found within the first six months are considered to have been present at the point of sale, although I was told by the Sales Manager, “That’s the chance you take when you buy a second-hand car!”

I took the car to an independent Renault specialist, who provided a written report that deemed it beyond economical repair. This proved it was sold within inherent faults that an ordinary person would not identify and was sold in breach of the Consumer Rights Act 2015 (not fit for purpose, as described, satisfactory quality and didn’t last a reasonable length of time).

The dealership wanted to inspect the car, so I returned it on the back of a breakdown truck and filed a SORN (Statutory Off-Road Notification) with one key so it could not leave their premises.

This prompted a call from the garage saying they had received my car, and it would cost £47 to raise a job card to look at it. I responded by saying that it’s your problem now, not mine, as I have rejected it under the Consumer Rights Act 2015. I kept the spare key with the logbook until they gave me a full refund, before returning the key and logbook in the post without a stamp. That dealership no longer exists.

Faulty car, full refund

This real case, upheld by the Financial Ombudsman, shows how finance companies can be held responsible for faulty vehicles – even months later.

Peter bought an eight-year-old used car for £6,000 on finance with 80,000 miles. Peter said he had problems as soon as he had collected the car and complained to the dealer straightaway by email saying the car was losing water.

The dealer claimed two weeks later that all the problems had been fixed under the warranty.

A few months later, the car’s head gasket failed, which was linked to the botched repair. Peter had driven another 4,000 miles at this point. He tried to reject the car under the Consumer Rights Act 2015 as unfit for purpose and get a refund. The finance provider refused and said they weren’t responsible, citing the time elapsed and mileage driven.

The Financial Ombudsman disagreed and sought an independent inspection. The Ombudsman ordered the finance company to take the car back at no cost to Peter and cancel the finance agreement with nothing further to pay, refund Peter’s deposit and inspection costs, hire car costs incurred during the repair period and pay £150 compensation.

It goes to prove that even if your claim is rejected it’s worth taking it further to the Financial Ombudsman – it costs nothing and you may get all your money back.