Martin Lewis issues new update for millions of drivers who could be due compensation

Martin Lewis has issued a new update for millions of drivers who are waiting to see if they'll get compensation over car finance mis-selling.

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) had been due to publish the outcome of its investigation into mis-selling in September 2024 - but it has delayed this until May 2025. In a new update today, MoneySavingExpert.com (MSE) founder Martin Lewis explained how firms will now have until December 4, 2025 to deal with all complaints.

The FCA is investigating car finance deals that contained so-called “discretionary commission arrangements” (DCA) which allowed car dealers to adjust the interest offered to customers, to increase their commission. DCAs were banned by the regulator in January 2021 - but now the regulator is investigating whether compensation could be due.

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Martin has been raising awareness of the investigation and in a post on X/Twitter, he said today: "Motor finance misselling update: @TheFCA just announced while it'll announce it's ruling in May 2025 firms will have until December 2025 to deal with complaints."

You could end up being due compensation if your car finance had a DCA and you bought a car, van or motorbike for personal use before January 28, 2021. The types of finance covered in the investigation are personal contract purchases (PCP) and hire purchase - it does not include personal contract hire, which is often referred to as leasing.

If the FCA does decide that compensation is due, it isn't yet clear how much money drivers could potentially receive. Its figures suggest drivers paid £1,100 more interest on a typical £10,000 four-year car finance deal when there was a discretionary commission arrangement.

Martin Lewis has recommended putting in a complaint sooner rather than later, in case a timeframe is later imposed that could cut off any future complaints. You should make a complaint direct to the lender that provided your car finance. If you use a claims management firm, they will take a cut of any compensation potentially owed - so avoid doing this.

You can put in a complaint yourself for free. MoneySavingExpert.com has a free tool that will help you draft a template letter to send. You can complain even if the car has been paid off, and you can also complain on behalf of someone else if they've passed away.

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