Hippo Motor Group Avis 

A Company That Finally Took Responsibility – Thanks to the Financial Ombudsman Service

I don’t normally leave reviews, but after everything I’ve been through, I felt it was important to share my experience.

I purchased a vehicle through Hippo Motor Group in good faith, expecting a reliable car that had been properly inspected before sale. Unfortunately, what followed was months of stress, inconvenience and financial worry.

The vehicle developed multiple serious faults, including water ingress into the vehicle, electrical issues and ultimately a timing chain problem. The car spent months off the road while I continued to deal with finance payments, uncertainty and the practical impact of not having a usable vehicle.

Throughout this process I felt that responsibility was continually avoided rather than accepted. Instead of receiving straightforward customer service, I found myself having to gather evidence, commission independent inspections, keep detailed records and repeatedly chase for answers.

The entire situation became incredibly stressful.

Eventually I referred my complaint to the Financial Ombudsman Service.

This was, without question, the turning point.

The investigator took the time to carefully examine all of the evidence from both sides rather than simply accepting one version of events. The investigation was thorough, impartial and based entirely on the facts.

The Ombudsman concluded that the vehicle had not been of satisfactory quality at the time it was supplied.

As a result, the business was instructed to:

• Refund all finance payments I had made.
• Refund my deposit.
• Pay statutory interest.
• Pay compensation for the distress and inconvenience caused.
• Arrange collection of the vehicle.

This outcome finally acknowledged what I had been saying for months.

While no amount of money gives back the months of stress, inconvenience and time spent dealing with this situation, the decision restored my faith that consumers do have somewhere to turn when businesses fail to resolve complaints fairly.

My advice to anyone facing a similar situation is:

* Keep every email.
* Keep every invoice.
* Photograph everything.
* Obtain independent evidence where possible.
* Don’t be afraid to escalate your complaint to the Financial Ombudsman Service if you genuinely believe you’ve been treated unfairly.

The process isn’t quick, but in my experience it was fair, detailed and impartial.

I’m grateful that someone finally listened to the evidence rather than simply dismissing my concerns.

This review isn’t written out of bitterness. It’s written so other consumers know they don’t have to simply accept being told “there’s nothing we can do.”

Sometimes persistence really does pay off.

Firstly, Kamaal Havid is an exceptional broker at Hippo and I am now on my second vehicle from the group! He is helpful, informative and really does have a level of honestly and straight talking that I crave! He is responsive and diligent! I hope for a long term with the company…and would love to continue dealing with him. Also, Andy, who efficiently dropped my latest car to me today was so lively-he called to give me his ETA and went through all of the paperwork and signing off with absolute ease! Great delivery! Thank you guys so much!!!

Great experience from that first phone call up to the car being delivered. David L delivered my car and was so friendly and explained everything really well and was very patient with me. Thanks for a great experience, Emma

Alan delivered my car this morning he called me an hour before arrival so i had enough time to be ready. The whole process was very easy and alan was great!

Overall, this has been a really poor experience from the initial viewing, to collection, through to the aftersales process and the quality of repairs carried out.

I enquired about a Range Rover Sport and arranged to view it. After driving around two hours to the dealership, I arrived to be told they didn’t know I was coming and that the car was still in the workshop. I was then taken to see it there, where it was on a ramp, meaning I couldn’t properly inspect it.

Despite this, I went ahead because the car was the exact spec I wanted and I needed a vehicle quickly. In hindsight, I should have walked away.

On collection day at Blackburn, the car was presented with a number of obvious issues. The front grille was hanging off, there were deep scratches down the side, the rear heating wasn’t working, and the headlights had condensation in them. I did not take the car away at that point and was told these issues would be resolved.

A few weeks later, I travelled back to collect the car, only to find that some issues were still present and a new scratch had appeared. By this point, I needed the vehicle, so I reluctantly took it.

After driving the car away, I noticed it was pulling significantly to the left. I reported this straight away and had to arrange for it to be fixed myself, although Hippo did later refund the cost. To me, this reinforced the wider issue: the car had not been properly checked or prepared before handover.

There was also a DPF issue. Hippo’s position was that this only became an issue after I owned the car, but I have paperwork showing that a DPF issue had already been recorded/discussed in relation to the vehicle. This added further concern around the preparation and quality control of the car before sale.

The biggest issue has been the headlight. Hippo later collected the car for over a week and a half to address the condensation. When it came back, it was clear the headlight had not been replaced. It appeared to have been opened, dried out and resealed. In the process, the main top connector/mounting point on the headlight had been snapped and repaired with a plastic repair compound/putty. The front bumper had also been refitted without the parking sensors being recalibrated properly.

A third-party engineer has since confirmed to me that, while the headlight repair may be technically acceptable, it is a poor fix and not something he would allow to leave his own garage.

I am now left with a poorly repaired headlight and a parking sensor issue. Hippo’s response has essentially been: case closed.

The salesperson told me they sell around 1,000 cars a month. Based on my experience, that seems to be part of the problem. The process felt rushed, the preparation was poor, and the vehicle was not handed over to the standard I would expect from a dealer selling higher-value cars.

Overall, I would not buy from Hippo again and would strongly caution others before doing so. The car may have been the right spec, but the experience, preparation, quality control and aftersales support have been very disappointing.

Alan delivered my new car on time and excellent customer service friendly and explained the new car features clearly.

Came to pick up my car! Josh was patient and understanding to my lack of knowledge on cars. Amazing member of the team!

Graham delivered my new car, very professional and courteous. Explained all the paperwork before signing. The whole experience with the HIPPO Group has been a positive one.

Josh welcomed us warmly, made us a coffee on arrival, handed over the car.
A* service

Josh was great

Had a great experience buying my first car on finance, my account manager Alex got my finance arranged quickly and Matt at the dealership was quick and efficient when we collected the car.

They were also very understanding with me changing my collection date multiple times and turning up early to collect the car!

Super impressed with them all.

Little update to add, the spare key was misplaced between me signing paperwork and the car being brought round for me, but one quick phone call and the key was located and is in the post for us!

Matt was very apologetic about it but resolved within 5 minutes of me calling! Great customer service, honestly can’t recommend them enough.

I’ll be back in a few years for my next car!

Josh was super helpful went through the process efficiently and I left a happy man.

Very friendly and good customer service. Served by Raphel O Sullivan.

The whole process was made easy with a very helpful, polite and knowledgeable staff guiding me through the process.

Josh explained everything to us and made sure we had a chance to look round the car etc. Brilliant service

Amazing service from Josh, arrived late due to train issues and this wasnt a problem. Assisted with sorting the tax on the vehicle, ready for me to drive away.

I love my new car! David L delivered it to me and was great…. He called an hour and a half before arrival, could answer every question I have about the car and put up with me being over excited! He explained all the documents and was generally a really nice, helpful man, thank David!!

Alan delivered my , car.Top bloke,great handdover.

I dealt with Ravi and Liam when picking up my new Mini Cooper. The whole process was very smooth and very stress free! I highly recommend Hippo Moto group

Alan was really helpful called before arriving went all through the car with me really friendly