Ms H v MotoNovo Finance

Ms H bought a Nissan Qashqai from Witham Vehicle Solutions Ltd for £12000 at the end of 2018 by way of a regulated hire purchase agreement.

Soon after taking delivery, the car engine developed a “knocking noise,” a strong smell of fuel from under the bonnet and excessive fuel consumption.

Witham Vehicle Solutions inspected the car and diagnosed the problems to be due to a loose pipe or hose, which they replaced. However, it became evident that this hadn’t rectified the engine problem, and the car was returned to the dealer.

However, it became apparent that the supplying seller had not repaired the vehicle; the knocking noise was still present as was the suspected fuel leaks and the vehicle was returned again to the supplying dealer for further repairs.

This situation continued on a trial and error basis until April 2019, when the dealer carried out a partial engine rebuild, but again this proved to be unsuccessful and the car broke down. However, in May 2019 Witham Vehicle Solutions Ltd went into liquidation causing Ms H to seek recourse from the finance company, MotoNovo. Motonovo concluded that the cause of the engine problems could not have been present or developing at the time of sale, or Ms H could not have driven the 9000 miles she had.

The problem was exacerbated by the absence of any input by or evidence from the supplying motor dealer, corroborating the precise nature of the repairs carried out by them or under its instruction.

The complaint was escalated to the Financial Ombudsman who in its preliminary decision upheld Ms H’s complaint in finding that there had been a series of failed repairs by the car dealer dating back to within a few weeks of delivery. However, MotoNovo failed to respond to the Financial Ombudsman, leaving Ms H no choice but to escalate the matter further to a final decision.

After nigh on 18 months, understandably delayed by the advent of the Covid 19 pandemic, the Financial Ombudsman affirmed its decision and found in favour of Ms H, ordering the hire purchase agreement to be unwound, refund of the deposit and the monthly payments that she had made under the agreement since the beginning of July 2019, along with interest and compensation.