Ombudsman Evidence do I have a smoking gun?

alessandro

Good Evening forumites

I realise I may sound silly or naive but it's really bugging me and I have no experience with the financial ombudsman so want to guage the likelihood of success with a right to reject within 6 months.

I bought a Suzuki in January and it started displaying significant safety faults in March. In April they took it into the workshop and advised me, Suzuki Finance (I believe) and Suzuki head office (who confirmed it) that 4 members of their team road tested the car and didn't replicate the fault.

Subsequently I raised a complaint with Suzuki Finance who said a thorough investigation (including I believe the road tests) meant they would not unwind the contract and take the car back as they believed as 19.2 mile journey was a road test. They also admitted contrary to their process they did not at any point contact me during their complaint investigation.

I am an idiot and didn't check Suzuki Connect in enough detail only looking at the telemetry data not the GPS map attached when I initially raised it.

Tonight when getting the GPS data to prove the 19 miles was transporting the car from my home to the dealership and not a test I decided to look at the "road tests" and the GPS on the app shows it never left the premises.

I have submitted all correspondence and even some video evidence to the ombudsman including written proof they are claiming the dealership team drove the car. Is there any way the dealership could spin this so the ombudsman sides with them or is it now an open and shut case?

This has been supremely stressful and hoping I finally found a smoking fun

WellKnownSid

I would expect all telemetry and customer dashcams to be routinely disabled when in for repair. At least that is my experience.

A local mechanic friend did once get a call from a customer who’d been called by their insurer asking why her black box had recorded a speed of 104mph whilst out in road test…

alessandro

There are 5 trips on my Suzuki Connect (this is their app and it is mapped directly to the car as far as I'm aware) showing a mile or so each time how they did it I don't know. The fact that there is no proof of the drive hopefully works in my favour though.

Given part of their repair evidence was the supposed drive on the roads I would question them unplugging it as it would prove their point. I get they won't have it on in the shop.

GrubbyGirl_2

Not relevant I know but my LR Discovery was in for a service and while I would have accepted a small test drive afterwards (though it was just a service with no problems so maybe not), but when I collected the car I just happened to notice there was nearly 60 additional miles on the clock. I checked the journeys on my app and the car had been taken to a shopping centre 27 miles away and was there for nearly 2 hours. I went straight back in and challenged them. They were very apologetic and gave me £100 discount and filled up my tank. I do wonder what would have happened if they had an accident and how they would explain that one. However I see no reason why they would disable tracking unless they were planning on doing something they wouldn't want you to know about

Grumpy_chap

Is this a brand new car or used? If used, how old and what mileage?

What are the nature of the "significant safety faults"?

Car_54

Has the Ombudsman actually accepted your case? They expect you to have exhausted the finance company's complaints procedure first - have you done that?

MattMattMattUK

The lack of a road test is irrelevant. What are the faults, age, new or used, total mileage and mileage since you bought it?

WellKnownSid

Given part of their repair evidence was the supposed drive on the roads I would question them unplugging it as it would prove their point. I get they won't have it on in the shop.

It might be that the repair instructions do not require a drive on the road. Much of the safety equipment these days is self-testing, requiring only bench testing to check for faults. Perhaps the service adviser got the message wrong and thought it had been out on the road. It may well be irrelevant.

LightFlare

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6664122/first-right-to-reject-what-are-my-rights

for some of the back story - OP - it’s best to stick to one thread if you can

born_again

No smoking gun, not even a damp squib.

App such as this can be turned off by dealers.

Aside from the fact FOS do not regulate dealers, just financial services. Your complaint is against the finance co

Key Rejection Timeframes

• 0–30 Days (Short-term right to reject): You can reject the car and claim a full refund. The dealer does not get the opportunity to repair or replace it during this time.
• 30 Days – 6 Months: You lose the right to a refund, but the dealer is allowed one opportunity to repair or replace the car. If this repair/replacement fails or is impossible, you can request a refund or a price reduction.

James2k

What's a damp squid?

Surely they are generally damp