3:11 pm, January 12, 2023
A claim that a court order for a car finance firm to pay up over a faulty vehicle is a ‘landmark result’ has been dismissed by motor trade legal experts.
A 63-reg Citroen DS 5 bought by Kenneth Herron in September 2021 on finance from Edinburgh-based Cars4You broke down the following January after he’d used it for 2,600 miles.
A garage found the alternator belt had snapped and a front coil spring was broken.
The car had suffered from a faulty hybrid system with low battery power and was unable to be driven.
Attempts to get it repaired failed, including under the warranty.
Herron then tried to exercise his right to reject and seek a refund of the £2,448.64 deposit and £910.49 in monthly payments that he’d already shelled out via the 61-month £5,650.36 hire purchase agreement with MotoNovo Finance.
However, MotoNovo refused to accept the rejection and the case ended up at Dunfermline Sheriff Court.
On Tuesday (Jan 10), Sheriff Charles Macnair KC said MotoNovo Finance must pay Herron, of Ballingry, Lochgelly, the sum of £4,306.85, taking into account other incidentals as well.
Ian Ferguson, MD of consumer advocates Rejectmycar, which brought the case to court under the Consumer Rights Act 2015, had hailed it as a ‘huge result’ for being the first one he was aware of where judgment was passed following proof (the Scottish legal term for a trial), rather than the hundreds of cases before it being settled during the court process or at the court doors.
Automotive legal consultancy Lawgistics has dismissed the case as a ‘storm in a teacup’ and poured cold water on the claims, adding that car dealers had nothing to fear.
Legal adviser Jason Williams told Car Dealer: ‘Huge? Landmark case? What a load of tosh.
‘There is nothing huge or landmark about it and it has no bearing on any other cases.
‘This is a routine car claim where some win and some lose based entirely on the facts of the case.’
MotoNovo declined to comment.
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