Cam Chain snapped on new van after 20 months / 114k miles

[WhiteVanMan5]

I originally posted on MoneySavingExpert, but they have suggested I post here.

On 10 Dec 2021 I received delivery of a new Vauxhall Combo Cargo van for which I had paid a £250 deposit by credit card and the balance by bank transfer. This van had a 1.5 BlueHDi (DV5) engine which is an engine used by a wide range of vehicles and manufacturers. It has both a timing belt and a cam chain.

On 31st July 2023, with 113,887 miles on the odometer, a link in the cam chain failed causing catastrophic failure, and making the vehicle uneconomic to repair (the only option provided by Vauxhall included a cost approximately equivalent to the book value of the vehicle before the cam chain failure). There was no goodwill offering from Vauxhall with respect to fixing the failure.

The exact issue I have faced is a known problem that appears widespread. The most notable documentation of the issue was in L'argus (in French - https://www.largus.fr/actualite-auto...-11079390.html). There is also a lot of anecdotal evidence of the same problem in online forums. In summary, the 7mm chain was not up to the job and so new vehicles are now produced with an 8mm chain to resolve the issue. There was no formal recall for vehicles with the 7mm chain, which is what was fitted to my van.

I complained to Vauxhall, the retailer and the Credit Card company (under section 75). I had no joy from any of those routes, so focused my energies on the Section 75 Credit Card company claim. They rejected my claim, so I escalated it to the Financial Ombudsman Service who also rejected my claim.

Within this process I commissioned an expert report, who used a Vauxhall Master Technician to examine the cam chain. They were unambiguous about the cause of the failure, that the chain was not of sufficient durability and that this was an issue of manufacture.

I feel I have now reached the end of the road, short of legal action. I need to make a decision whether to pursue this further. I, as a layman, believe in the merits of my case and that I am "in the right" in seeking redress. I am less confident that that is the result I would get if I pursued legal action, mostly on the back of my experience so far where I feel I have provided overwhelming evidence, but it has been deemed insufficient. Going to court is a huge financial gamble. Not going to court is a huge financial loss. It is tough to know which way to go. I can mitigate some of the gamble, I believe, by capping my claim at £10k (instead of well over £20k) and going through the small claims court. But any further action is an expensive gamble.

Details here are obviously a very high level summary. I have collated a comprehensive document pack that is now 179 pages long (and doesn't yet include the latest correspondence from the FOS).

For a little more context, I work as a self employed same day courier. That means I get ad hoc jobs to deliver from point a to point b, which can be anywhere in the country (or even potentially outside of the country). My earnings, after costs, are substantially below the minimum wage (it's a bit of a lifestyle choice). I would typically do 2 or 3 deliveries per day over 12 hour days or more. I say this to highlight how significant a loss this is for me and how difficult it is to commit further substantial funds to "fight my corner".

[Pezza54]

Hi
Welcome to LB
Very sorry to read about the problem you are having getting compensation for the damage the defective cam belt has caused to your van's engine.
What was the reason or reasons the FOS refused your claim for compensation? Was it to do with maintenance on the van or the cambelt? What does the manual say about maintenance intervals?
What does the Vauxhall warranty state? Is it limited to a certain number of miles?

It might save you a lot of typing if you posted the FOS reference number. I should be able to read the final decision on their website

[WhiteVanMan5]

Many thanks for taking the time to read about my issue and for taking the time to respond.

Can i start by clarifying the difference between the Timing/Cam Belt and the Timing/Cam Chain. I feel like you may have conflated the two, as did I many times early on in the process and as I feel both the Credit Card Company and FOS have also done. My van has both a belt and a chain. The belt should be replaced every 125k miles. My van still had the original belt. This was found to be in good condition and was not related in any way to the problem I experienced. It was my cam chain that snapped. This is a part which has no service schedule, and is therefore not generally replaced. It is supposed to last the lifetime of the engine.
With respect to the warranty, the van has a warranty limited to 60k miles, which I was well outside of. The warranty plays no part in my claim. My claim is solely under my statutatory protections. Interestingly (as an unrelated aside), Peugeot, who make fundamentally the same van in the same factory (they're all part of the Citroen Berlingo family of vans made in Stellantis) offer a 2 year unlimited mileage warranty on their version of the same van.
I have put a lot of the judgement from the FOS in the MSE thread I originally created (the most recent posts in the last few days) - here is the link - if it is unacceptable to post such external links in here, then I understand if it is deleted. https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com...es-from-new/p5
The reference number from the FOS most recent email is - PNX-5013176-C7G1 - does that give you what you require? The case was reopened a number of times, so I don't know if you will see all of the responses with that? Fundamentally, it feels like the FOS doesn't feel I reached the required burdon of proof that the issue was on the vehicle from the factory and didn't have reasonable durability. Ultimately he says that because I had over 100k miles of use out of the van, the durability is proven. My expectation on purchase of the van was to get 250k miles of use out of it. The van was fully and properly maintained, every 25k miles. The first 3 services were with Vauxhall and the 4th service was with an independent garage.
If it helps, I can privately send you a copy of the expert report on the van that I commissioned as well. (which I feel is my most significant piece of evidence/proof I have)

[Pezza54]

Thanks for all the info
The ombudsman mentioned CRA. You used the van for business purposes so you are not a consumer and therefore not
covered by CRA
You are probably aware of this as you stated the possibility of a claim under the Sale of Goods Act which is for business to business contracts.
You are right again, your claim would be against the dealer.
The auto engineer's report is quite conclusive, confirming his belief that the fault with the cam chain was inherent and probably existed at the time of sale. This is confirmed on the internet, kits are available for sale to upgrade the chain to 8mm
You had the van serviced in accordance with the maintenance schedule, and the cam chain (which failed) does not appear on the maintenance schedule and is expected to last a lifetime.
A van by its nature is expected to have a harder life than a car, transporting goods. You probably told the dealer before you made the purchase that you intended to use the van delivering goods.

If you made a claim for over £10k, possibly as much as £20k, you would have to prove loss of income. The judge will probably say you could have hired a used van to carry on working and reducing your costs.

If I was in your position I would make a claim under £10k, deducting for fair usage from the purchase price
A claim over £10k would mean it is likely to be allocated to the fast track and you run the risk of paying the defendant's legal costs plus court fees if you lose.

In my opinion you have a strong claim supported by the engineer's report

I am hoping that other forum users will post, offering their opinions
des8

[des8]

If I was in your position I would be considering first purchasing a second hand engine and having it installed.
In the meantime either rent another or purchase an old banger which you can sell on later.

Then contemplate a court claim for your costs which will be below the £10000 limit

[Pezza54]

post deleted

[WhiteVanMan5]

Thank you Pezza54 - a really helpful post which largely confirms the way I was thinking anyway. It would be frustrating to cap my claim to £10k, my financial loss through the van and loss of earnings, as well as the expert analysis costs (requested by the credit card company) is legitimately well more than double that. Unfortunately it feels that the ability to uphold the law/protect your rights is the preserve largely of the wealthy!

With respect to the CRA - is it clearcut that this does not apply as it was a business transaction? There was quite a lot of discussion on this in the early days on the MSE thread and the conclusion appeared to be that the CRA was applicable in this case as I am a Sole Trader. "Business" was defined as of size Ltd Company and above (IIRC).

I am aware that my delay in hiring a van is a weakness in my position. Specifically I never did it because I always felt I was only a few days from knowing where I stood. Vauxhall were very slow in their responses though and dragged it out - often waiting on something (not from me). Then at one stage they agreed to provide me with a loan van. However head office said they couldn't do it and it had to be the dealer and the dealer said they didn't have any vans and so couldn't give me one. Obviously this discussion wasn't that fast and again delayed things. The other complication is that hire vans, with the mileage I add on weekly are exorbitantly expensive to hire. As I've already mentioned - I already earn less than the minimum wage and it becomes questionable whether there is any viability to hiring a van in the business I am in.

Thanks as well for the response des8. From my enquiries, a good engine from a written off vehicle in a scrap yard might be a good viable option. However, that wasn't an option offered to me by Vauxhall. I took the decision not to do anything with the van until this was resolved (expecting that it needed to be kept available for inspection if I took it all the way). It is currently sitting in my parents driveway (they're now starting to get a bit annoyed by it - the chain snapped in July 2023, so about 15 months ago). As soon as it became clear that this wasn't going to be resolved quickly, I purchased a new van (strangely a Peugeot Partner - mostly the same van that I now have absolutely no confidence in! The big difference is that the Peugeot comes with a 2 year unlimited mileage warranty). Thanks also for confirming the view that I need to cap my claim at 10k.

[Pezza54]

Under CRA a consumer is defined as: "an individual is a consumer if he is acting for purposes that are wholly or mainly outside his trade, business, craft or profession". So a sole trader using his van for daily business purposes delivering goods is nor a consumer under CRA

In my opinion your claim should be based on breach of contract under the Sale of Goods Act Part 2 Section 14 (2B)(e) the van was not of satisfactory quality because it didn't have the durability that a reasonable person should expect for the purpose it was bought for

You should obtain a couple of quotes for a replacement engine, take the average price, add the cost of the inspection report, and if still under £10k, add a sum for damages

[WhiteVanMan5]

Thanks, I will look to get that underway this weekend.

Just to check - am I still going primarily after the Credit Card Company (Section 75)?

You stated a couple of posts up that my claim would be against the dealer - I take that as opposed to against Vauxhall. But the credit card company is equally responsable as the dealer? Other things equal, I prefer to go after the Credit Card company (and have more confidence that they will actually pay if I win my case)

[Pezza54]

Under CCA Section 75 (1) you can claim against the credit card company and the dealer, jointly or severally

So you can make a claim against the bank as sole defendant.

Under 75 (5) the creditor has the right to add the supplier as a party to the proceedings, and in your case, will probably do this

[WhiteVanMan5]

I am drafting a letter of intended action to the credit card company now. If it's ok, I'll post it here before sending it to them.
First question I have - am I claiming £9,999 to keep it below £10k, or can the claim be for a round £10k?

[Pezza54]

Under £10k to ensure it is allocated to the small claims track
Yes you can post the draft letter for comments

[WhiteVanMan5]

Is this good? I also have a reference number at the top and my name at the bottom. Intention is to deliver it to them through email only.

"Dear Sir/Madam,

Further to your rejection of my complaint, upheld by the Financial Ombudsman Service I am writing to advise you that it is my intention to pursue my claim further through the courts. If you have changed your mind and now intend to resolve this matter, then please advise me of your intentions within 14 calendar days of delivery of this letter to avoid court action.

Details of my claim are as follows:
- I contend that you are in breach of contract in relation to my van purchase under the Sale of Goods Act Part 2 Section 14 (2B)(e). Namely that the van was not of satisfactory quality because it didn’t have the durability that a reasonable person should expect for the purpose it was bought for.
- With a £250 deposit paid on the purchase of the van using your credit card I contend that you are liable under Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act 1974.
- Whilst my actual losses are significantly higher (as detailed in previous correspondence), I am reducing my claim to £10,000 in an effort to get this resolved.

A reminder of the history of what has happened:
- On 10th December 2021 I received deliver of a Vauxhall Combo Cargo Van. This van has both a timing/cam belt and a timing/cam chain serving its 1.5 BlueHDi(DV5) engine. It was fully serviced in line with the manufacturers recommendations.
- The timing/cam belt is a part that is replaced after 125,000 miles. The timing/cam chain is a part that is expected to last the lifetime of the vehicle and is not a user serviced part.
- The van was purchased for use as a high mileage courier vehicle, with reasonable expectations that it would last me in the course of my trade for 250,000 miles if properly looked after.
- On 31st July 2023, with 113,887 miles showing on the odometer, a link in the cam chain failed, destroying the engine. Vauxhall quoted over £10,000 to replace the engine and offered no other solutions and no goodwill. The vehicle was uneconomic to repair and a “write off”.

The primary evidence I have accumulated is as follows:
- The exact issue I have faced has had details published in a French auto magazine, https://www.largus.fr/actualite-auto...-11079390.html (in French). This demonstrates that it was a known manufacturing issue. Internet searches lead to the conclusion that the problem is widespread. In summary, the stock 7mm timing/cam chain is of insufficient strength. It is now instead manufactured with an 8mm chain, but no recall was made of the defective 7mm chain models.
- I commissioned, at your request, an independent expert to examine the failed engine and report back. He did this with the assistance of a Vauxhall Master Technician. You have a copy of this report. The report concluded that (key points only):
o “The reasons for the failure of this engine are very clear. The prime and sole cause of this engine failure that resulted in the requirement of a new engine was due to the failure of the timing chain. … an occurrence that should not have occurred especially on an engine that had only covered 110,000 miles.”
o “In engineering terms timing chains such as this should last the lifetime of the engine … There is clear evidence that there is an inherent problem that was present from when the vehicle was produced and in my opinion this area of the engine was not built and designed to a sufficient standard.”
o “The failure of the timing chain should not have occurred and in my opinion the expected life of this chain should have been the lifetime of the engine.”
o “I considered very carefully other possible causes of this failure but could not arrive at any further conclusion. I can confirm that there was sufficient lubrication within the engine with there being a thick coating of oil within the camshaft bearings, therefore the lack of lubrication would have not been an issue in relationship to this failure.”
o “It is therefore my professional opinion that this engine's failed due to the failure of the timing chain. This in my opinion has been caused by an inherent problem present on the vehicle at time of manufacture and purchase that the manufacturers are aware of.”

A breakdown of my claim is as follows:
- £4,500 for the adjusted loss in value for the vehicle caused by the failure. (The approximate mileage adjusted value of the vehicle before the failure was over £10,000, the approximate scrap value of the vehicle after the failure was below £2,500).
- £100 to recover the vehicle from Vauxhall, at their insistence, to my home to avoid storage charges of £25 per day.
- £1,300 for commission of expert reports, as requested by Tesco Credit Card.
- £4,100 for lost income between 31st July 2023 and 22nd October 2023

I look forward to your prompt response

Yours faithfully"

[Pezza54]

No, not good
!st para okay include a date for the Ombudsmam Final Decision
Then sorry you need to rewrite the rest of the letter
Your claim against the credit card company is under CCA S75 for breach of contract by the dealer under Sale of Goods Act - unsatisfactory quality - goods not durable
You need to include the date you purchased the van using the bank's credit card to pay a deposit, your a/c number, the dealer's name, the total price of the van.
Then a short paragraph about the serious engine fault that occurred. You will have ample opportunity to provide lengthy details of what happened and the auto engineer's report in your witness statement
Provide the total of your claim, show how the total is arrived at, keep the wording brief
End with something along the lines
"If I do not receive a satisfactory response to my letter within 14 days from the date of this letter then I intend to commence court action without further reference to you"

[WhiteVanMan5]

Thanks - that's why I posted

I will rewrite and repost.