Key facts
- Mercedes-Benz Financial Services (MBFS) was ordered to refund a customer.
- The refund covers 50% of monthly payments plus interest.
- The car financed had serious electrical faults.
- The UK's Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) issued the order.
- FOS criticized MBFS for "very poor" handling of the dispute.
- MBFS rejected the customer's return requests.
- Safety concerns were raised due to the car's faults.
Mercedes-Benz Financial Services (MBFS) has been directed by the UK's Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) to provide a significant refund to a customer due to serious electrical faults in a car financed through the company. The ombudsman has ordered MBFS to refund 50% of the monthly payments made by the customer, in addition to accrued interest. This decision follows MBFS's "very poor" management of the customer's dispute, which included rejecting the customer's requests to return the vehicle. The FOS noted that these rejections occurred despite the car exhibiting serious electrical faults that raised safety concerns. The ruling underscores the ombudsman's role in resolving disputes where financial service providers fail to adequately address customer complaints regarding defective products and their handling of return or resolution processes. The specific details of the car's faults and the duration of the dispute were central to the ombudsman's assessment of MBFS's conduct.