According to the FCA, “Between 2007 and 2020, approximately three-quarters of all car finance had a DCA.”

If you entered into a car finance agreement between 2007 and 2021, you might have a claim on the basis that the car dealership or broker did not disclose to you the commissions it would receive for selling the finance to you.

The FCA has temporarily paused the usual 8-week timeline for the processing of DCA car finance complaints. While the situation is being reviewed, your claim can still be submitted until the FCA lifts the pause, which is imminent.

No need to worry if you do not have your paperwork. We can gather all the necessary information on your behalf, and in some cases, we may request documents from your car lender. Our team of specialists will also locate and identify older finance agreements on your behalf too.

If your finance agreement began before 28 January 2021, and you are still making payments, you may still be eligible to claim. We can assess your eligibility.

No, you do not need to use a law firm to submit your claim. You can make the complaint yourself and rely on the finance company to assess your claim and give you compensation, or if necessary (for example, where the finance company disputes your claim), contact the Financial Ombudsman Service.

However, using a professional service like ours can increase your chances of success. We have the expertise to ensure you recover the maximum compensation as quickly as possible.

Our No-Win, No-Fee Guarantee means will not pay anything unless your claim is successful. If we recover compensation for you, a success fee will be charged based on the amount awarded. If you have an outstanding balance with your lender, this may be deducted from your compensation. The success fee is calculated from the total compensation amount, not what you receive after deductions. A cancellation fee may apply if you cancel outside the 14-day cooling-off period.

A discretionary commission arrangement (DCA) is when the finance provider pays the car dealer a commission – or a fee – based on the interest rate in the car finance agreement. The car dealer could fix or adjust this interest rate at their own discretion which incentivised them to charge a higher interest rate. DCA was banned by the FCA in 2021 to enhance transparency and fairness for consumers.

A fixed fee commission agreement is when the finance provider pays the car dealer a fixed commission based on a percentage of the borrower’s monthly payments. A recent Court of Appeal judgement (Johnson v Firstrand Bank Ltd (t/a Motonovo Finance) held that where a commission payment is being made, the customer must have been informed of it and their informed consent obtained. It is not sufficient to refer to the fact that commission might or will be paid to obtain informed consent. In order to have obtained informed consent, the lender must have set out the how and in what circumstances the commission will be paid. Following a challenge by lenders, this case is now going through the Supreme Court which will decide definitely whether fixed fee commissions should also be refunded to consumers.