It’s estimated that more than 80% of vehicle purchases in the UK are made using finance agreements.
As well as making a big purchase more affordable, by spreading the cost into smaller monthly payments over a longer period of time, vehicle finance agreements should offer the same protection for buyers as if they had bought it outright: with the right to repairs, replacement or refund under the Consumer Rights Act 2015.
However, if lenders fail in their duty or due diligence vehicle owners can be left in the lurch: stuck with faulty vehicles or locked into disputes with lenders, the DVLA and debt collection agencies that take years to resolve.
We recently heard from Kay, who was ignored and abandoned by her lender when she reported her car as dangerously faulty. She has been complaining for years and relentlessly pursued by debt collectors — all for a dangerous vehicle that she should never have been sold in the first place!
Her story is a shocking and stark reminder of how people can have their lives and credit records ruined by reckless financial firms and be forced to spend years of their life fighting for justice.
This is Kay’s story…
In May 2022, I bought a Vauxhall Mokka from a dealership. I was fleeing domestic abuse, facing homelessness and desperately needed a car to continue working as a self-employed nanny and cleaner. The purchase was financed through Moneybarn and brokered by Carfinance247.
Within 10 days of collecting the car from AWB Motors in Dukinfield, the vehicle began showing serious faults. I discovered the clutch pedal had been glued back together, the engine spluttered dangerously, and multiple faults made it unsafe. My complaints began immediately — and they’ve never stopped.
Between June 2022 and March 2023, I sent innumerable emails to both the dealer and finance company. I asked Moneybarn to authorise proper diagnostics and repairs at a main Vauxhall dealership. I also made it clear that if the vehicle was beyond safe repair, the agreement needed to be cancelled. I wasn’t asking for favours, just a fair and lawful resolution. I was assured the issue would be addressed but instead I was just bounced between departments, given vague responses, and asked repeatedly for documents I’d already sent.
No proper repairs were ever authorised. Eventually my complaint was marked “resolved” despite my objections.
During this time I was still making monthly payments to Moneybarn. I was living in temporary housing, trying to hold down work as a nanny and cleaner and so I relied on that car for survival. I also had no other option but to continue driving the vehicle — it was terrifying.
After several months, once it became obvious I was being fobbed off with automated responses and empty reassurances, I stopped making payments. I had already paid hundreds and could not justify continuing to fund a vehicle that was dangerous and defective.
In April 2023, the vehicle was repossessed, despite being subject to an ongoing dispute. I was devastated. Just weeks later, it passed an MOT with zero advisories. A report filed by the repossession agent stated that the vehicle was “mechanically sound” — which made me very suspicious. A year later, in May 2024, the same car failed its MOT with “dangerous” faults — including the same clutch and brake issues I reported in the first 10 days of ownership. This confirmed beyond dispute everything I had been saying from day one: that the car was never safe to drive.
After repossession of the vehicle, I was also issued a wrongful MS90 conviction and £80 fine by the DVLA, because Moneybarn failed to notify them of the change of keeper. This led to a deduction from earnings order (DEO). Despite the fact that these fines and the missed vehicle repayments were both disputed, Moneybarn enlisted a debt collection agency, Lantern Debt Recovery.
Since 2023, Lantern has been pursuing me for nearly £10,000, with home visits, default notices, and damaging credit file reports made with all three credit reference agencies.
In March 2025, I issued a formal Section 77 request to Lantern, asking for a copy of the credit agreement they have on file. This request was ignored for over 60 days. When they eventually acknowledged my request, they failed to produce a legally compliant credit agreement. That alone renders the debt unenforceable — and continuing to report it on my credit file breaches both FCA CONC rules and UK GDPR. After this I escalated my complaint to the Financial Conduct Authority, Information Commissioners Office, Trading Standards, and all three credit reference agencies.
In May 2025, over a year after the vehicle failed the MOT and two years since it was repossessed, I uncovered something shocking: that the car was under an active manufacturer safety recall (Recall 21-C-014) for a defective brake pedal at the time of sale! That fact alone should have voided the entire sale.
“I never imagined I’d be sold a recalled car and then punished for refusing to pay for it…”
After this revelation, I immediately issued a final warning and demand for compensation to Moneybarn — I desperately hoped that this would finally bring the dispute to a close. However, it is still ongoing.
Despite Lantern acknowledging my formal complaint and confirming that they require the full eight weeks to investigate, they have simultaneously informed Experian that the data they hold is accurate — effectively undermining their own investigation. As a result, Experian initially moved to remove the dispute marker from my credit report, even though no valid credit agreement has ever been provided under my Section 77 request.
I’ve now lodged a second complaint with the ICO, outlining these contradictions and Lantern’s continued data processing during an unresolved legal dispute. To make matters worse, Lantern responded to Experian using the name “Motormile Finance UK Ltd” — a name they stopped trading under in 2019 — which only added confusion and delayed any correction of my file!
Throughout this whole process, from initially reporting the vehicle’s faults to disputing the debt, there have been all kinds of peculiarities that have only added to the difficulty of complaining. Along with the incorrect report by the repossession agent and my Section 77 request being ignored for over two months, the debt has changed hands between at least two collectors, with differing balances and timelines. I was also sent marketing emails from the original broker while being pursued for a disputed debt!
I believed that financing through a regulated company meant a duty of care. I expected transparency, safety, and protection under the Consumer Rights Act 2015. I never imagined I’d be sold a recalled car and then punished for refusing to pay for it.
Instead, I faced a dismissive complaints process, contradictory communication, data breaches, and legal threats over a debt that should never have existed.
The FCA has acknowledged my complaint and has an ongoing investigation. The ICO has also opened a formal case investigating data handling failures and the use of misleading trading names. I have also involved Trading Standards, my MP, and all three major credit reference agencies, pursuing every legal avenue available to me. I’ve done all of this on my own — no solicitor, no financial support, just grit and determination.
This process has been utterly exhausting. I’ve felt humiliated, ignored, and like I’m constantly shouting into the void. I’ve had my data misused, my credit wrecked, and been forced to explain the same trauma over and over again to people who either don’t listen or simply don’t care. But what kept me going is the simple belief that what happened was wrong — and I refuse to let them get away with it.
My experience of complaining reflects just how deeply flawed the system can be. No one should be treated like this. I want my credit file cleared, compensation for the harm caused, and the companies involved held to account. And I won’t stop: I believe in fairness and I believe in truth. No one should be punished for refusing to pay for a car that never should’ve been sold in the first place.
I’m sharing my story and raising my voice, not just for myself but for anyone who’s ever been crushed by these faceless systems and thought, “I guess that’s just how it is.”
How a simple complaint can spiral out of control…
For three years Kay has been fighting this dispute — raising complaints with the lender, debt collection agency, Financial Ombudsman, the ICO, the FCA, Trading Standards and her MP.
What began, ultimately, as a simple issue of the “right to repair, refund or replacement” that the finance company should have dealt with quickly and efficiently, has spiralled into a years-long dispute involving the DVLA, debt recovery firms, and various regulatory bodies. The financial and emotional toll this has taken on Kay is immense.
As well as collecting evidence and keeping a record of communications and clear timeline of events, Kay has courageously advocated for herself at every turn, chasing up her complaints, getting to know the ins and outs of consumer law, using legislation like Section 77 of the Consumer Credit Act 1974 — that allows “the borrower or hirer to obtain the information needed in order to be properly informed” —, and involving the appropriate regulatory bodies.
What her story shows is that even when consumer rights legislation is at your disposal and on your side, as a borrower caught up in a dispute with a firm that will not engage with your complaint you are extremely vulnerable. Because Kay, understandably, stopped making repayments after months of being ignored, Moneybarn got debt collectors involved and Kay’s credit record has taken a hit.
If there is any lesson to be learned here it is to be wary of entering into finance agreements with firms who have failed in their duties previously. While Moneybarn seems legitimate on the face of it, with many positive Google and TrustPilot reviews, their page on the Financial Services Register shows a history of disciplinary or regulatory action against them.
As well as keeping an eye out for fake reviews, including on trusted sites like TrustPilot, before you make any kind of financial agreement ensure that you have taken time to read negative reviews and pay close attention to what they may suggest about the firm’s behaviour. While the experiences of people like Kay may be in the minority, the fate of more vulnerable consumers is always indicative of how a firm could end up treating you.
Anyone who has had to fight for justice when the odds feel so stacked against them can probably identify with Kay – whose persistence and tenacity is beyond impressive. Right now she is still fighting, and awaiting the results of the FCA and ICO investigations. We hope to be able to update you on her case soon.
With Resolver Stories you can read real experiences of people fighting for fairness and share your own. Whether you scored a big win or are stuck in an absurd or never-ending nightmare, we want to hear from you!