Mr A – Complaint Against Alphera

Mr A bought a brand new Range Rover Velar from a dealership on finance. After a couple of weeks, the vehicle started leaking fuel onto his driveway. Additionally, a fault was reported relating to the vehicle “Incontrol” system which failed to accurately record the fuel level, indicating it to have “half a tank” when empty and showing 30mpg when 42mpg is listed as the consumption.

The dealership carried out a repair and returned it to Mr A. However, three weeks later the Range Rover broke down and was again recovered to a main dealer, who advised the fuel pump and sender to be defective, requiring replacement.

Mr A rejected the vehicle, which the supplying dealer declined, and Mr A escalated his complaint to Alphera who also declined the rejection and we were instructed to assist.

We drafted the statement of case and prepared the evidence which was all submitted to the Financial Ombudsman.

The Ombudsman stated that Section 22 of the CRA states that if a consumer receives goods that are faulty or do not conform to the standard of the contract, a consumer can exercise their right to reject the goods.

The consumer is to notify the supplier within the first 30 days of receiving the goods. Exercising this right means a consumer may exit an agreement and they’re entitled to a full refund of the costs paid.

Based on the guidance from the relevant laws, The Ombudsman found that Mr A should have been allowed to reject the car when he’d asked to.

The finance agreement was unwound, the deposit and finance payments for the time Mr A didn’t have use of the car refunded, along with interest and compensation of £200.