Time sensitive Financial Ombudsman complaint

Meerkatz

Hello,

To summarise, I submitted a complaint to the finance company on the 3rd of March and after discovering new information through subject access requests I extended the scope of the complaint significantly on the 17th April. Essentially going from misleading vehicle history to irresponsible lending and disputing the validity of the contract. In their final response they rejected my complaint purely based on what I had sent on the 3rd March and have never acknowledged anything that I sent to them on the 17th April. Their argument was essentially "refinance = rejection". I've strongly countered this claim in my FOS submission for numerous reasons (including the original complaint about the vehicle's hidden history)

I also made them aware of the cars condition, it is 6 years old and is starting to show significant wear and tear on some parts. I've already spent well over £1000 over the last few months to keep it maintained. They have refused to do anything to support with this and have also ignored my request to pause any payments while the complaint is ongoing.

I escalated my complaint to the FOS on the 5th May. I get it's only been a week and they can take a while but after waiting 8 weeks for a late rejection and ignoring my evidence I'm getting really stressed about my current situation.

Right now, I'm still spending 17.5% of my income on the car, insurance and tax every month. Because I'm limiting it's use I'm also now spending 15% of my income on public transport to get to work on top of this.

The MOT and service are due in 6 weeks and if I was to go ahead with this it would continue to hit any savings that I have left. I will likely be left unable to use the car until this complaint is resolved.

I'm also stuck in an incredibly difficult living environment because of this loan. I'm trying to deal with family illness and have had to ignore my auntie whenever she's wanted help to support my uncle who has been very unwell for a while now and is only getting worse. I have to hide this from my family because they will just worry about the situation which will only make me feel worse.

I've spent so much time over the past two months looking back through old messages and emails from a really difficult time in my loan when this loan was approved and it has just brought back trauma that I had spent so much time trying to get over, all for the finance company to ignore every bit of it.

I know everyone else would say this but there is no argument over the majority of my claims given the evidence I have provided. Both the lender and broker have told me they weren't there so don't know what happened and told me I would need to ask the other to get bits of information. The have already admitted through the SAR that they have no evidence and no data so cannot justify anything I have put to them.

I'm not asking for what the outcome will be, but I'm wondering:

• Do my circumstances merit a faster allocation?
• What can I do to help my situation right now where the finance company are unresponsive and ignoring their own responsibilities?
• Is it worth calling in the next few days just to check with the FOS where this is at?
• My complaint is complex ,only in the sense that it is long, detailed and involves so many different allegations. Does this affect the process?
• Am I still expected to maintain the car even when I'm claiming that it is essentially no longer my responsibility?

Sorry for the lengthy post but I'm just looking for some reassurance that I'm handling this situation ok and that I won't be left on my own in this situation waiting weeks before I hear something.

Isthisforreal99

By sending the additional information 6 weeks after the original complaint probably means whoever dealt with the original did not have the 2nd letter and can only deal with what is in front of them.

Without knowing specific details about the actual issues then it's impossible to give an opinion but would say until such times (and it's a big if) that the Ombudsman agrees with you it is your responsibility to maintain the car.

A bit of advice though, when complaining, leave out all the irrelevant information and stick to the point. If that was you summarising I'd hate to see the full version. My point being the actual relevant facts get lost in all the noise.

eskbanker

Do my circumstances merit a faster allocation?

No, IMHO - they do say "If you’re facing financial hardship or severe ill health and feel your complaint needs to be dealt with urgently, please let us know when you send us your complaint - or update your case handler direct." but it sounds a bit of a stretch to make your circumstances fit that.

What can I do to help my situation right now where the finance company are unresponsive and ignoring their own responsibilities?
Is it worth calling in the next few days just to check with the FOS where this is at?
My complaint is complex ,only in the sense that it is long, detailed and involves so many different allegations. Does this affect the process?

Yes, if you've created a complex complaint then it will take longer to resolve, but chasing them won't speed it up.

Am I still expected to maintain the car even when I'm claiming that it is essentially no longer my responsibility?

Yes.

I also made them aware of the cars condition, it is 6 years old and is starting to show significant wear and tear on some parts. I've already spent well over £1000 over the last few months to keep it maintained.

It doesn't seem unreasonable to expect maintenance expenditure on a six year old car or for there to be wear and tear, but if you've been spending on it "over the last few months", how long is it since you bought the car, as this can affect your consumer rights? In particular, faults found within six months are assumed to have been present at the time of sale, but after six months the burden of proof is reversed and you have to demonstrate that in order to establish any rights against the retailer. However, it isn't clear to me the extent to which you're claiming against the finance company about regulated activities within FOS scope, versus complaining to/about the seller about the condition of the car (which is less likely to be within FOS's remit).

born_again

If it's only just gone to FOS, then no they will not fast track your complaint, no matter what the situation you are in.

So you are going to be looking at months to get a response on the complaint.

If part of your complaint is rejection, then you should not be using car & returned it to dealer. So that would negate spending.

What did dealer say at start of the issue with the car?

MyRealNameToo

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81996848#Comment_81996848

FOS will fast track cases in certain circumstances hence https://www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk/consumers/expect/how-long-it-takes tells you to contact them if you have serious ill health or severe financial hardship.

A secondhand car needing some work and therefore having to pay for public transport is unlikely to qualify; cases I have known fast tracked was for example someone with end of life care who's home was made uninhabitable by a fire but the claim declined due to non-disclosure.