Iain Mitchell KC succeeds in important Consumer Rights Act 2015 case

Iain Mitchell KC acted for a consumer, Mr King, who had bought a vehicle from Park’s Ayr Ltd (the First Respondent) by way of a HP agreement with Black Horse Ltd (the Second Respondent).  He then sought to return it because it had a defective diesel filter.  The issue in this particular case was that, even though he rejected it, he continued to use it and also made payments under the contract.  The question was therefore whether he was barred from a refund.

The Sheriff granted summary decree of absolvitor to the respondents which was affirmed in the Sheriff Appeal Court. However, this was appealed by Mr King who joined in his appeal by the Competition and Markets Authority (as Intervenor).  It was argued that the Consumer Rights Act 2015 created a more powerful remedy for consumers than they had previously enjoyed under the previous common law right.  It was also argued that an absolute ban would hand a decisive advantage to traders seeking to avoid paying refunds.

The Court of Session Inner House agreed (King v Black Horse & Park’s Ayr Ltd [2024] CSIH 3).  The matter has therefore been remitted to the Sheriff once more.

Iain Mitchell KC comments: “This is a very important test case in this important area of consumers’ rights, and I welcome the Court’s endorsement of our arguments on the proper interpretation of the Consumer Rights Act.”

You can read more about the case in both the judgment and this article.

The article was first published by the Scottish Legal News.