Martin Lewis: Car finance FREE reclaim tool & guide
What to do if you're due compensation from the unfair commission scandal
If you bought a car, van or motorbike on PCP or Hire Purchase between 6 April 2007 and 1 November 2024, you could be due a share of around £8 billion compensation. The financial regulator, the FCA, has announced its proposals for a mass redress scheme on unfair motor finance, with payouts on an expected 14 million agreements. Here we cover whether you should complain, how much you might get, and – importantly – give you a free tool to help draft your complaint.
The latest version of our free complaint tool now incorporates contractual ties and unfairly high commissions, as well as the Discretionary Commission Arrangements it had before. It also lists far more firms (as we excluded some before as they didn't do DCAs).
This consultation is (hopefully) at the final stage
On 7 October, the UK's financial regulator, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), announced it's consulting on proposals for a mass redress scheme on unfair motor finance, with a predicted £8.2 billion to be paid out on an expected 14 million agreements.
While it's called a 'consultation', this is the regulator setting out its plans. Its focus is a simple system, where firms must pro-actively reach out, to include the maximum number of people. Barring legal challenge (and there is some talk that firms are trying to make it difficult), our guess is there'll be few major changes. The plan is for the scheme to launch in early 2026.
We're following the easy-redress route, but Court is also an option
The regulator route is only one option. There's also the Court route, where if you win, you may be awarded more (though 30% or more would likely need to pay claims firms/lawyers' fees, which could change the maths). This is because its likely the regulator has compromised somewhat to pre-empt the car finance industry asking for a Judicial Review (if they did, I'd probably push people towards Court, which'd cost the industry far more on a case-by-case basis).
Yet I've made the call to focus my and MSE's resources on supporting you through the easier redress scheme – based on my past experience of major reclaim campaigns, the fact that Court scares off many people, and as the huge majority of people contacting me say "can't they just make it easy and quick?" –not how to push it to the max. The redress scheme likely means millions more will get redress.
So all the info in this guide refers to that – and is based on our best estimate of what we know so far, though please remember nothing is yet 100% set in stone.
The 'am I likely affected?' checklist
The criteria to be covered by the regulator's scheme are...
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Motor vehicle finance: car, van, motorbike and campervan (not caravans, though, as this is only about motor finance - but you can still ask about discretionary commission arrangements).
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Eligible dates: The finance agreement had to be taken out between 6 April 2007 and 1 November 2024. Though DCAs were banned from 28 Jan 2021, now that the mis-selling criteria have been expanded, you may still have been mis-sold car finance right up to November 2024.
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Finance types: Personal Contract Purchase (PCP) and Hire purchase (HP). Leased cars are NOT included in this scheme.
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Vehicles for personal use (or as a sole trader or small partnership, in which case the loan must be under £25,000). Commuting comes within personal use, but finance taken out by incorporated businesses/limited companies aren't included in the redress scheme.
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You can be eligible even if you've fully paid off the finance deal. You can also claim if you no longer own car, or even if the car was repossessed.
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If you had multiple eligible car finance deals, you may be due multiple payouts. Each case is individual. Our free tool allows you to make requests by car finance provider (so if you had two agreements with the same firm, you can do that together, but if they were with separate firms, you must do two).
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It DOESN'T include interest-free finance. If you had a genuine 0% interest deal, then you're unlikely to be due redress. Even if there was an unfair relationship, for example the lender had a contractual tie it didn't disclose, it could be that no redress is due because you wouldn't have got a lower APR from any other lender.
Claiming on behalf of someone who's passed away
The proposed redress scheme covers agreements for customers who've since passed away, meaning their beneficiaries will be entitled to claim.
If you're an executor or beneficiary of an estate where the deceased person might have had an agreement covered by the scheme, you can make a complaint to the car finance lender using our free tool. Use your own details, but make sure you add a note to say you are claiming on behalf of someone else, and provide as many details as you can about them (particularly name, address and date of birth, as well as any car finance details you know).
It's likely the lender will want to see a copy of the will and/or the grant of probate to ensure any compensation due goes to the right person.
The proposed rules also expect lenders to take reasonable steps to get in touch with the representatives or beneficiaries of an estate, if they become aware the person is deceased, asking them to opt-in to the scheme.
From memory, in the early days of bank-charge reclaiming, way back in 2005, some people complained that firms were blacklisting them for complaining. The Financial Ombudsman quickly ruled out this sharp practice. Since then, firms are not allowed to block your custom or change the products they offer to you if you've made complaints – so you shouldn't be worried.
To be double-sure though, we checked with the FCA, and it told us: "We'd like to confirm that anyone submitting a claim won't be 'blacklisted' by a company or have claims included in any product application assessments (even with linked firms)."
While the FCA investigation only covers vehicles with motors, if you bought a caravan (not a motorhome) on finance, you can still ask whether your agreement had a DCA in place – as the same unfairness around DCAs could apply here too.
Sara Williams of Debt Camel has the following advice: "The DCA ban... is restricted to 'the motor finance market' and relates to 'regulated credit agreements to finance the acquisition of motor vehicles'. As a caravan does not have a motor, it would be out of scope.
"However that doesn't seem to me to prevent someone who bought a caravan on finance from asking whether there was a discretionary commission arrangement and taking their complaint to the Financial Ombudsman if there was or if the lender declines to reply. Because the unfairness in these arrangements is the complaint... and that applies whether or not there was a motor."
You can't be blacklisted for complaining
Caravans aren't included, but you might still have a complaint...
The THREE ways you may have been mis-sold
There are three categories of car finance mis-selling included in the FCA’s proposed scheme. All of them rely on non-disclosure – in other words, you weren't told this was going on. That means there's no way to know you were mis-sold without checking.
These are the main categories of mis-selling included in the scheme (though do note you may have been mis-sold in more than one way on an agreement):
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Discretionary commission arrangements (DCAs) – 11.4 million agreements.
This has been our focus for two years, so if you've already complained, its likely what you complained about. This was when the interest rate you were charged was variable, so it could be increased in order for the broker or dealer to get more commission (hence discretionary commission). It can apply to Personal Contract Purchase (PCP) and Hire Purchase agreements taken out between 6 April 2007 and 27 Jan 2021 (DCAs were banned on 28 Jan 2021). -
Contractual ties – 3.2 million agreements.
This is where a broker didn't adequately disclose it was working exclusively with one lender, or that one lender had a right of first refusal. For example, the dealer said 'we'll go to a panel of lenders to find you the best car finance' but, in reality, one lender had first refusal, so the 'searching the market' was false. -
Unfairly high commission – 2.9 million agreements.
This was where the amount of commission was 35% or more of the total cost of credit AND 10% or more of the loan. If both those things add up and you didn’t know about it, it was an unfair arrangement.
There's likely to be a small number of agreements with what's classed as 'very high' commission. This will be where the amount of commission was 50% or more of the total cost of credit AND 22.5% or more of the loan.
If this is the case, the redress scheme is designed so that you'll get more back than other cases (all the commission plus interest). But the FCA estimates that this will only apply to 13,000 to 14,000 cases – so a tiny proportion.
Your car finance may have been mis-sold in other ways
This guide is specifically about the FCA's proposed mass redress scheme on unfair motor finance. But, even if your car finance agreement doesn't fall under the scope of the scheme, you may still have been mis-sold.
You could have been mis-sold due to a lack of clarity over costs or the conditions of your contract, poor affordability checks, or because your vehicle was faulty or in an unsatisfactory condition. If you might have been affected by one of these types of complaints, head to the MSE Car finance mis-selling – are you affected? guide.
In January 2021, the regulator the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) banned 'discretionary commission arrangements' (DCAs). This stopped lenders allowing brokers (including car dealers) to increase interest rates on car finance, so that they'd be bunged more commission (even though they did no extra work to 'earn' it). It's an unfair practice, as consumers weren't told, and many – thinking it a fixed price – didn't negotiate.
On 11 January 2024, the FCA launched a major investigation into this. To announce such a public wide-scale investigation indicated that it already had substantial evidence, but it needed to build a firm-by-firm picture using its heightened investigatory powers. Around 40% of car finance deals were estimated to have had hidden 'discretionary commission arrangements'.
In October 2024, a landmark Court of Appeal verdict shook things up. It ruled that a car sales firm couldn't lawfully receive any commission (discretionary or otherwise) from a finance firm unless it had the customer's "fully informed consent", making payouts more likely. This meant anyone who'd had commission of any type on a car finance agreement could potentially be owed money back.
But the car finance firms involved – Close Brothers and MotoNovo – appealed this judgement to the Supreme Court.
In December 2024, the FCA extended a pause on firms dealing with car finance complaints to ALL commission complaints – not just DCAs (as was previously the case). It remained the case that DCAs would be the most likely route to get money back.
In March 2025, the FCA confirmed that it will be consulting on a redress scheme and announced the next steps for complaints within six weeks of the Supreme Court reaching its decision (following its April 2025 hearing).
In August 2025, the Supreme Court partially overturned the Court of Appeal decision, ruling that just because a commission arrangement was hidden, didn't mean it was unfair. However, it did rule in one case that the commission arrangement was unfair because a range of factors came into play (including the amount of commission charged, and misleading information provider by the car dealer to the customer). The FCA confirmed it'll consult on a redress scheme on car finance commission claims 'by October'.
On 7 October 2025, the regulator the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), announced its consultation for the biggest redress scheme since PPI, with a predicted £8.2 billion to be paid out on around 14 million agreements. Watch Martin's instant reaction to the FCA's redress consultation announcement.
This guide takes you through a simple route to help you figure out whether you're impacted and due a payout – and if so how to submit a complaint yourself (without giving a cut to a claims management company).
The timeline so far
What next? It depends on your situation
What you do now depends on whether you've complained yet or not, and - if you did complain - how you did it. Remember, if you had multiple agreements, treat each separately (though when complaining, if you had multiple with the same firm, you can do that complaint in one email).
Not complained yet?
You don't need to do anything, but we suggest you use our free car finance reclaim tool.
Under the current plans, firms will have to identify and contact all the people who were mis-sold that they can, and ask if they want to OPT IN. That's quite something, but there is still a risk those who had older agreements, have moved house, or got married/changed their name might miss out.
So we think it's safer to put a complaint in using our free car finance reclaim tool. Then you should be part of the group for whom it's all done automatically and at greater speed – as once you've complained, if you were mis-sold, they must contact you to say it's being processed and give you a right to OPT OUT of the scheme (so you needn't do anything more if you're happy).
Already complained using our free tool (or any DIY route)?
More than 3 million complaints have been sent using the previous version of our free tool, which solely focused on DCAs. What you need to do now will depend on how (and if) the firm has replied to you:
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If the lender said you DID have a DCA: compensation is very likely. So sit tight and wait until the redress scheme hopefully launches in early 2026. Then the firm should write to you saying if you're due a payout (it will also have to see if you were mis-sold in the other ways, too, though that won't usually impact what you get back).
Crucially, you won't need to do anything. The payout should happen automatically (though it may ask you how you want it paid) unless your details have changed, or in what I guess would be the relatively unlikely event that you want to opt out of the scheme (eg, if you wanted to go down the court route instead).
If you do want to opt out, you'll have a month from the lender contacting you to do this, and you won't be able to opt in again. -
If the lender said you DIDN'T have a DCA (or didn't say anything): the regulator says even if you only complained about DCAs, the lenders must investigate ALL THREE mis-selling types for that agreement. Your claim is logged, so that should happen. Yet if you were mis-sold not due to a DCA but one of the other reasons, then you'll be in the opt-in system.
So because you've made a complaint, your lender definitely has your correct contact info (unless it's changed since you first complained). Though the opt-in system is likely to be slower than the opt-out one, you may choose to resubmit a complaint using our updated tool that includes all three mis-selling categories to ensure you're in the quicker opt-out system.
Further down in this guide we also cover what you can do if you've had a different type of response.
THE TOOL: Free car finance unfair commission tool & template letter
The new version of our free complaint tool now incorporates contractual ties and unfairly high commissions, as well as the discretionary commission arrangements (DCAs) it had before. It also lists more firms (as we excluded some before as they didn't do DCAs). Here's how it works...
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Answer a few questions on the details of your car finance. This includes your address when you got the policy, the car number plate (if you have it), the policy details (if you have it), and the name of the firm. See help if you don't have details.
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It then builds an email that Martin and MSE have drafted for you. It puts all your info in the right format and asks whether you had a DCA, a contractual tie and/or unfairly high commission, and then says if you did, to count this as a complaint. (PS: we don't data mine or store your info.)
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It then gives you the correct email address and an easy way to open your email program/app. You'll then be able to check and send the email, which will then be stored in your sent items.
The redress proposals say that firms will be expected to identify and contact all those who have been mis-sold within six months of the scheme starting redress.
However, submitting a complaint could be helpful if you've changed your contact details or moved home since taking out your car finance, as the information you provide will help your lender match you with your car finance agreement.
Important: Just because a company is listed in our tool below doesn't mean any finance agreement you had with them definitely involved an unfair commission arrangement – it simply allows you to ask free of charge.
Free car finance reclaim tool
Generate an email or template to enquire and complain about unfair commission arrangements
Don't worry, we're NOT saving your data.
It will only be used to generate the text (though we will count the number of complaints to each firm)
This template letter is for personal use only. Any other use, without the prior written approval of MoneySavingExpert, is strictly prohibited.
Generally, these things are best done in writing, but if that's too difficult for whatever reason, you can just call, but ask that it's noted down as a formal complaint and request written confirmation.
What you can do if you've signed up to a claims firm
The redress scheme is designed to make it easy to get your compensation without the need for paid help, such as from a claims-management company (CMC), because the car finance firms have to be proactive in contacting you if they think you're due money back.
Both the financial regulator and the Solicitors Regulation Authority (which regulates some firms) have warned about claims firm practices, and they're both cracking down on misleading CMC adverts – with action having been taken on 740 ads in the last couple of years.
Cancelling with a claims firm
There are likely to be more developments on this as the regulator looks into it (and we'll be doing more research too). Yet as a provisional thought, whether or not it's worth paying to get out of your contract will often depend on the cost of cancelling versus the cost of staying. This is not an exact science though:
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If you've only just signed up for a claims firm, almost all of them give you the right to cancel within 14 days, so check that.
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Read how much am I likely to get below, to see roughly what your payout may likely be.
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Check your contract with the claims firm to find out what percentage of the amount you get will be charged as a fee. Usually it is 30% plus VAT.
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Check your CMC contract to see if there's a cancellation fee. There usually is. Unfortunately, it's sometimes quite tough to know how much it is (it may be based on a charge for 'work done'), so you may need to contact it to ask. Also check when it's payable, on cancellation (ie immediately) or on payout, and factor this in to what you decide.
When you know all that, you're ready to make a decision – comparing the cancellation cost to the maximum cost of staying. I do worry the sums won't add up well for cancelling at the moment (do feedback how it stacks up for you) but the regulators do say you should only be charged a reasonable amount for work done. Unfortunately, we're still awaiting more information on what that actually is (when we get it we hope to provide more support).
How much will I get?
The FCA estimates under the redress scheme people will get back two-thirds or more of the commission paid, which is estimated to be average £700 per unfair car finance agreement.
That's a ballpark figure – you could get more or less depending on your exact agreement (and how many you had).
The calculation's the same whichever way you were mis-sold, even if you were mis-sold in more than one way (with the exception of a few thousand extremely high commission cases who'll get more).
To get technical (skip this if it confuses you), the regulator will usually take the mean average (add these two up and then half the total) of:
The reduction if your APR was 17% lower (deemed the typical market distortion).
And the total commission paid to the dealer or the broker.
This isn't easy to know in each case, but below we've tried to come up estimates based on a lot of guess work (as there are huge variables).
Finance | 3 year | 5 year |
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£5,000 (DCA case) | £460 | £520 |
£5,000 (non-DCA) | £400 | £450 |
£10,000 (DCA case) | £550 | £670 |
£10,000 (non-DCA case) | £470 | £560 |
£20,000 (DCA case) | £720 | £980 |
£20,000 (non-DCA case) | £590 | £780 |
£30,000 (DCA case) | £890 | £1,280 |
£30,000 (non-DCA case) | £720 | £990 |
To do this, we worked out the total loan amount using an average APR 11.9% for DCAs and 8.9% for non-DCA (though 6% to 15% is typical, where its higher bigger payouts likely). We used the FCAs ‘typical’ commission amount but again that varies. We didn’t include the high commission examples, where payouts could be far higher
And if you're thinking that the numbers are a little less than you thought, take a look a Martin's why car finance compensation figures are lower than many expected blog for an explainer.
Interest will be added to this – at the Bank of England base rate + 1% (not compounded), over the time you were owed, added to the payout.
This is one area where you may get a significantly better deal if you went to Court, which ordered 'commercial rates' to be paid. And that comparison is bad for individuals and the redress scheme, so we think the interest added should be far higher, and at the very minimum be compounded.
Though if you had extra costs due to the mis-selling (eg, you took out other debt or got into financial difficulty due to the car finance) you may, later, be able to argue for more interest. So keep hold of any bank statements or other documents that prove this.
Below is an example of how the redress will work in practice.
It's important to note that lender will be responsible for calculated the exact amount of address for each unfair agreement, with the FCA responsible for overseeing the whole process. You won't need to do this bit.
Details of the car finance agreement:
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Loan amount: £10,000
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Repayment term: 48 months
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APR: 8.9%
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Monthly repayment: approx. £247.50
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Total repayable: approx. £11,880
Step 1. The lender must work out the 'APR adjustment remedy'
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Adjusted APR: 8.9% × (1 - 0.17) = 7.39%
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New monthly payment at 7.39% = approx. £239.50
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New total repayable = approx. £11,496
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Redress from APR adjustment remedy (excluding compensatory interest):
£11,880 - £11,496 = £384
Step 2. The lender must work out the 'commission repayment remedy'
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Commission (excluding compensatory interest): £500
Step 3. The lender now applies the 'hybrid remedy' (the average of the APR adjustment remedy and commission repayment remedy)
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(£384 + £500) divided by 2 = £442
Final Redress Estimate: £442.
This is the hybrid remedy amount for a £10,000 loan over 48 months at 8.9% APR, assuming the loan ran to full term and involved a discretionary commission arrangement with inadequate disclosure — excluding compensatory interest, which would be added to both the hybrid remedy and commission repayment remedy when calculated under the scheme.
How redress will be calculated: an example
When will this all happen?
This is all still out for consultation, which is now due to close on 12 December - pushed back from the original deadline of 18 November.
The scheme is currently due to start in 'early 2026', which is likely to be February or March next year. The timings are roughly thought to be as follows (and many will be frustrated by this, as it's dragged on from the start due to legal challenge) but none of this is certain yet:
Opt-out scheme (those who've complained):
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You should be contacted within 3 months of the scheme start.
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You should be told the redress amount within 7 months of scheme start.
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You should have the money within 9 months of scheme start.
Opt-in scheme (those contacted without complaining):
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You should be contacted within 6 months of the scheme start.
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You should be told the redress and paid within 17 months of the scheme starting.
BEWARE CAR FINANCE SCAMS
The FCA is warning people to be on their guard for scammers following its announcement that it'll be consulting on a car finance redress scheme.
The FCA has received reports of fraudsters falsely claiming that people are owed compensation, and asking for personal information including their name, address, date of birth and bank details.
It's important to remember that the redress scheme is not in place yet, and car finance lenders are not contacting customers with details of compensation amounts. If you receive a call, text or email like this, don't share any information.
Find who to complain to, even if you don't have details
Your complaint should be made to the lender that provided the car finance. This is the firm you actually paid each month – not the broker/car dealer.
Check any agreement documentation you have and collect as much information as possible about your car finance agreements (and keep them somewhere safe for future), then head to our car finance complaint tool below. Or a few firms have launched their own enquiry forms you can use.
Don't know the details? Check your credit report (see how to check for free). If your agreement has been active in the past six years, it should be listed on there. You can also check any old bank statements if you have them.
If you've found the firm's name, but don't know the finance agreement details, give it a call and ask it to provide them. Though be aware, most firms will only keep your paperwork for six to seven years after the finance was active (when the agreement ended for most). They can then destroy the information after that, and indeed that's generally seen as good data protection practice.
If your agreement's older, it's still worth asking as different firms may have different attitudes. But if it can't help, this may all boil down to whether you've found your paperwork. Similar was true in past reclaims, such as PPI and bank charges reclaiming.
If you really can't remember the finance provider, and you've no paperwork, submit a complaint to the dealership where you bought the car. It'll either deal with it, or forward it to the correct lender. Add in as many details as you can about when you bought the car, its registration, plus your name, date of birth and address at the time.My car finance provider is no longer trading. If the provider's been dissolved, you won't be able to make a claim. If it's in administration or in the process of liquidation, you can complain to the administrator (you'll find it on the FCA register). If your complaint's later upheld, you'd likely become a creditor of the finance provider, but you may only get pennies in the pound back (if anything).
My car dealer or broker has gone bust. It makes no difference, the responsibility is with your car finance provider, and it should handle your complaint.
Had a different response or no response? What to do next
As we’ve mentioned above, if you’ve already had a response to your enquiry or complaint about a DCA – either to confirm that you DID have a DCA, or to say you DIDN’T have a DCA – then you do need to do anything right now. Either way, the lender will be in touch within three months of the scheme starting (hopefully early 2026) to let you know whether you’re due a payout.
However, since we launched the tool in back February 2024, MSE users have told us they've received a mixed bag of responses. So here, we take you through 'what's next?' if you’ve had a different type of response.
It has only 'acknowledged your complaint'
If it didn't say anything, other than acknowledging your complaint, that's frustrating but there's nothing else to do for now, as it is logged for the purposes of the redress scheme, so the lender should be in touch with you within three months of the scheme starting to let you know if you're eligible for a payout.
You’ve had no response at all
By this we mean, not even a: “we've got your email, and we'll reply in due course." This is obviously frustrating, as you won't know for sure that your email has got to the firm. So before you do anything else:
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Check your sent box: Is the email definitely in your sent messages?
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Check your junk mail: Check the reply isn't in your spam/blocked list.
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Check the address you sent it to: Especially if you didn't use contact details automatically filled in by our tool.
Only if all those check out, remember you gave a month for your car finance provider to respond, so wait until that time before doing anything. But at that point, if you still haven't heard anything at all you should follow up with the firm.
If you want to report a firm that hasn't replied even after you've waited and chased, you can tell the FCA. On its contact page, scroll down to the box that says ‘Ask us a question or report a scam’, then select Consumer, and Consumer Credit. Use the form to explain about the delay with the firm acknowledging. You can also attach screenshots of your emails if you wish
You’ve been told ‘you had a DCA but we've rejected your complaint, you can go to the ombudsman’
This is rare, but it has happened. Most important here is your provider's confirmed you had a DCA and has logged your complaint.
If you haven’t yet gone to the Financial Ombudsman, the lender should now review the complaint in line with the redress scheme rules, and get in touch with you if you’re due a payout.
Find on what you need to do if your complaint has already progressed further.
It says 'we need more info' or 'we can't find your info'
A lender might legitimately need more info – especially if you've moved home or changed your name – as it has an obligation to ensure it's dealing with the right person.
If you do get a request for further info or ID, it's always a good idea to make sure it's definitely come from the provider you complained to – check the email address and that they've correctly noted any details you supplied. And even if you don't have the exact type of ID or info they're asking for, go back to them with what you can supply – as it should work with you to validate your complaint.
If you've given it all the info you can, and it still can't locate you, this is trickier. The FCA says firms should exhaust all options to find information from consumers and brokers. And if you've documentary evidence of a policy and the lender doesn't, you can contact the firm and ask to opt in.
If not, it depends how long ago it was you took out the finance. If your car finance was active within the last six years, it should have details. If it was longer ago, it could become harder, but it should try.
In November we launched a survey asking you to let us know how car finance firms were responding. 13,000 MSE users responded, and the table below shows the responses of the top 11 firms (by mentions in the survey).
Use the table to give you an idea of whether you should have got a response by now, or whether it's OK to sit tight for a little while longer. If you've been waiting longer than most people, it may be time to chase up...
NOTE: This survey took place before the FCA confirmed it was consulting on a redress scheme.
Firm & its stance | Firm-by-firm survey results |
|---|---|
Black Horse | - 33% acknowledgement only (of those 77% got it within two months of complaint) -57% told 'you had a DCA' (of those 56% got it within two months) - 2% didn't have DCA (43% told within two months) - 0% no response after two months |
VW Financial Services (excl. Audi) | - 12% acknowledgement only (of those 82% got it within two months of complaint) - 33% told 'you had a DCA' (of those 73% got it within two months) - 43% didn't have DCA (75% told within two months) - 0% no response after two months |
MotoNovo | - 11% acknowledgement only (of those 74% got it within two months of complaint) |
Santander | - 5% acknowledgement only (of those 74% got it within two months of complaint) |
BMW Financial Services | - 29% acknowledgement only (of those 76% got it within two months of complaint) - 36% told 'you had a DCA' (of those 35% got it within two months) - 19% didn't have DCA (15% told within two months) - 1% no response after two months |
Stellantis (excl. Vauxhall) | - 15% acknowledgement only (of those 81% got it within two months of complaint) |
Stellantis (Vauxhall only) | - 15% acknowledgement only (of those 64% got it within two months of complaint) |
Barclays Partner Finance | - 19% acknowledgement only (of those 83% got it within two months of complaint) |
Close Brothers | - 14% acknowledgement only (of those 61% got it within two months of complaint) - 5% didn't have DCA (76% told within two months) - 2% no response after two months |
Ford Credit Europe | - 21% acknowledgement only (of those 67% got it within two months of complaint) - 8% told 'you had a DCA' (of those 74% got it within two months) - 15% didn't have DCA (36% told within two months) - 5% no response after two months |
Mobilize (excl. RCI) | - 26% acknowledgement only (of those 78% got it within two months of complaint) - 41% told 'you had a DCA' (of those 73% got it within two months) - 11% didn't have DCA (50% told within two months) - 1% no response after two months |
How car finance firms are responding to other MoneySavers
Complaint already progressed further?
If you've already passed a commission-related claim to the Financial Ombudsman, or have have already received compensation from a lender, what happens next will depend on how your complaint has progressed:
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If you've already been compensated for a complaint that's covered by the redress scheme, you'll be excluded from the scheme and won't be eligible for another payout.
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If you had your complaint rejected but not taken it to the Financial Ombudsman, you should be contacted by the lender and invited to opt in.
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If your complaint was already with the Financial Ombudsman, but subject to the complaints pause to December 2025, the ombudsman will now have to work through resolving existing complaints.
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If you complained on or before 16 November 2023, your provider was expected to respond as normal (so it should have dealt with your issue many months ago).
What if you don't agree with the lender's response?
Under the proposed redress scheme, if you receive a final response for a car finance firm on or after 30 January 2026 and you don't agree with the redress determination, you'll have six months to refer it to the Financial Ombudsman Service (this is free to do).
However the ombudsman will be required to consider complaints against the mass redress scheme rules. What that means in practice is:
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If you've been told you aren't owed compensation, you'll only get a different outcome from the ombudsman if it decides the firm did not follow the scheme rules (though you could still bring a court claim if you believe you've lost out).
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Once the mass redress scheme is introduced, the ombudsman will only consider complaints against the outcome you should have received under the scheme. So in simple terms – you won't be awarded more by the ombudsman; you should get the same as you would have done under the scheme.
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If the ombudsman decides that your case should have been included in the redress scheme when it was excluded, it'll likely refer the case back to the lender to be assessed as part of the scheme.
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If the ombudsman decides the lender was right to exclude you from the scheme, then it's likely that your complaint journey is over (unless you decide you want to bring a court claim).
If your complaint has been dealt with by the ombudsman, then you won't be able to resubmit your complaint to it based on the FCA's investigation outcome – unless the FCA specifically says you can. If not, you can still take your case to the courts (in which case, unless you're very legally savvy, most will need to use a claims firm. It's best to find one with its own solicitors like Bott & Co, who we've had positive feedback on around flight delay reclaims).
If your complaint has already been dealt with in the courts, then the outcome of the FCA's redress scheme won't influence the court's final decision.
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