There are now two different types of car finance commission complaints, “discretionary commission” and “undisclosed commission”.
In January 2024, the FCA allowed car finance firms to “pause” their handling of discretionary commission complaints. Then in October, a major appeal court case covered a completely different reason for asking for a refund of car commission – it was not fully explained to you.
So in December 2024, the FCA extended the scope of its pause on complaint handling to cover this second type of complaint, which may apply to more customers.
Contents
The 2 types of commission claim
“Discretionary commission”
It was common for car finance lenders to allow a car dealer to set the interest rate on a car finance agreement within a range – they had “discretion” over what the rate was. The dealer would get more commission from the car finance lender the higher the interest rate was. So they had an incentive to set your rate as high as they thought you might accept.
In January 2024, the Financial Ombudsman (FOS) awarded refunds in some key car finance cases. The FOS decisions were that discretionary commission was unfair and the customer should get a refund of the additional interest paid over the lower limit. This FOS announcement has links to the decisions.
It is thought that about 40% of car finance may have involved discretionary commission, so the number of potential complaints is very large.
The FCA, therefore, introduced a pause in January, allowing car finance lenders longer to reply to complaints while the FCA reviewed the market and possible refund arrangements.
As the FCA had banned this form of commission at the end of January 2021, these claims all relate to finance that began before that date.
The FCA had intended to set out the next steps in these claims in 2024, but the timetable was extended to May 2025, with firms having to provide a final response to complaints where there was by December 2025. Because lenders have longer to reply to complaints, customers also have much longer before they need to send them to the Ombudsman.
“Undisclosed commission”
An Appeal Court case in October 2024 awarded refunds of “undisclosed commission” in three car finance cases. In one of these cases, the car paperwork did not mention any commission. In the other two, there was a statement in the paperwork that commission may be paid, but it was not explained how much. The judgment decided that this was not clear enough for the customers and ordered that the commission should be refunded in each case.
This decision was based on English common law, not the FCA’s rules. Refunding undisclosed commissions potentially covers almost all car sales that involve a commission payment from the finance company to the dealer/broker, including car leasing and finance taken after January 2021.
The FCA has now introduced a pause for this new type of commission complaint, with the same timetable as the discretionary commission – car finance providers do not have to provide final responses to undisclosed commission complaints until December 2025.
This pause applies to a much wider range of car finance than the original DCA, including leasing and recent car finance.
Legal challenges are underway about both types of claim
There was a legal challenge called a Judicial Review to one of the Ombudsman’s January 2024 discretionary commission decisions. If the court had ruled the decision was incorrect, the discretionary commission claims would have had to be reconsidered.
This has now been heard, and the judgment in December did NOT overturn the FOS decision. This is good news for customers with discretionary commission complaints. But that judgement has been appealed and the hearing date will be at the start of July.
The Appeal Court’s undisclosed commission judgment is being appealed to the Supreme Court. The hearing date is at the beginning of April. The Appeal Court’s decisions may be upheld, overturned, or restricted in some way. There are many possibilities, and it isn’t possible to guess what may happen.
Until the FOS Judicial Review appeal is known, the Supreme Court decision on undisclosed commission is known, and the FCA has produced its review of discretionary commission, no one can be sure whether they are likely to win either type of claim or what the potential refund is likely to be for either type.
Making a claim
MSE’s two claims generator tools
MSE now has two tools that generate complaints for two different sorts of claims. These tools are free to use. They both generate an email for you to send and provide the email address for your finance lender.
The first one is for discretionary commission (DCA). No one was told when they bought a car whether there was any discretionary commission paid, it isn’t in your car finance paperwork anywhere. The only way to find out if it was paid in your case is to ask. If discretionary commission was paid, the email starts a complaint about this.
The second one is for undisclosed commission. It asks if any commission was paid. If it was but it was not set out in full, the email starts a complaint about undisclosed commission.
Which claim should you make?
Sometimes you don’t have a choice. In the following situations, make a complaint about undisclosed commissions:
- the finance stated after January 2021. At that point discretionary commission stopped so there can’t have been any;
- the car was leased (also known as Personal Contract Hire). Here discretionary commission doesn’t apply;
- your lender has stated they never used discretionary commission – there is a list of these lenders in the MSE discretionary commission tool. If your lender is on this list, there is no point in asking them about it so ask about undisclosed commission instead;
- you have already asked your lender about discretionary commission and have been told it was not charged on your car finance.
If none of those apply to you, you could potentially be able to make both sorts of claim. But obviously you can’t get the same commission refunded twice!
So MSE suggests you first ask whether there was any discretionary commission, using that tool, and later ask about the undisclosed commission if you are told there is no discretionary commission. This seems the simplest approach.
This is not going to be fast but start now
The FCA pauses and the court cases coming up mean these claims are not going to be fast. It is very unlikely there will be any refunds before 2026.
But kick off your claim now, so you know more about what commission was paid on your car finance. This will leave you in the best place going forward.
Don’t use a claims firm
You don’t need a claims company to do this or a firm of solicitors. It is simple and free to do yourself with the MSE tools. A claims company will take a very large amount of any refund that you get.
It will not be quicker to do with a claims company or solicitors. They don’t have lists of who has valid claims, they will ask the lenders the same question that you can, and have to wait for a response like you do. Nor will you get more compensation that way.
The pause on FCA complaint handling sounds long… but in practice using claims firms will not be quick either.
IMPORTANT could you also make an affordability complaint?
These undisclosed commission complaints are not the same as affordability complaints.
But if your car finance was very hard to pay from the beginning, it may have been “unaffordable”. You may have had to get behind with other debts or borrowed more in order to be able to pay the car finance.
Here you may be able to win an affordability complaint if your finance ended within the last 6 years. See Were you sold a car on unaffordable car finance? for details and how to make an affordability complaint.
If you win an affordability complaint you will get all the interest refunded. This is likely to be much more than you would get from a commission complaint.
This article was rewritten in January 2025
Car finance affordability complaints
In your overdraft the whole month?
How to ask for refunds for all types of debt
Rebecca hewitt says
Has anyone had one with GE Money, I am not sure if they are still trading.
Clare says
I’ve had a response from Motonovo confirming Discretionary Commission was used and they will be in touch after 25th September.
Susan Ellis says
Hi Clare would you tell me the contact address you used because my email I’ve used for them keeps saying that their email box is full and try later.
Clare says
Hi Susan, this was the email address I used customercare@motonovofinance.com and they replied with the same address. I hope this helps
HG says
Hi Sara,
I sent an email to Motonovo complaining about discretionary commissions. Today, I got their response (backdated which was strange, to 13th April). They say that the commission was not added to the finance agreement. Can you advise of any next steps?
The agreement was subject to standard terms and conditions. The terms and conditions explained on page 15 under clause 12.6: “A commission may be payable by us to the broker who introduced this transaction to us.”
The agreement was signed by you and by us. By doing so, we entered into a credit agreement which is regulated by the Consumer Credit Act 1974 (the CCA). To allow us to enter into the agreement, we bought the vehicle from the Dealer and you took delivery of the vehicle.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Could you copy in the exact words they used
HG says
The agreement was subject to standard terms and conditions. The terms and conditions explained on page 15 under clause 12.6: “A commission may be payable by us to the broker who introduced this transaction to us.”
The agreement was signed by you and by us. By doing so, we entered into a credit agreement which is regulated by the Consumer Credit Act 1974 (the CCA). To allow us to enter into the agreement, we bought the vehicle from the Dealer and you took delivery of the vehicle.
We paid the Dealer a commission of £10,778.12, however, this was not added to your agreement, which brings the total balance financed with us to £10,778.12.
You have signed a declaration on page 5 for a pre-contractual agreement which confirms “I was given the above information verbally by the supplying dealer before I signed the Hire Purchase Agreement. I was also given a copy of this document to take away”. This was signed by you on 15th August 2014.
You have also signed a declaration on page 6, which confirms you understood the terms and conditions of your agreement. This was signed by you on 15th August 2014. It is ultimately your responsibility to ensure you are happy with the terms of your agreement before signing.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I suggest you reply asking M to confirm whether there was any element of discretion involved in how the commission rate was set and whether this impacted on the interest rate that was applied to your finance.
Annette Stacey says
Hi, I had put a complaint in for a Black Horse HP arrangement for purchase of my car back in June 2017. Black Horse have acknowledged that there was a Discretionary Commission Arrangement, but are waiting to find out what the FCA’s announcement will be. So now have to wait after the 25/09/24.
Annette Stacey
Anthony Hall says
Just an FYI for MotoNovo Finance people, I submitted a claim for my son and they have settled! They made him an offer (conditional of course and less than they would possibly have had to pay post 25/09) but he accepted the offer (against my advise!) so it’s certainly a slam dunk for the claims!
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Oh! Can you say what he was offered?
HG says
Hi Sara – for info. I recurved the following from FOS regarding my complaint about discretionary commission (motonovo).
We’ve received a number of complaints like yours about commission paid, or interest rates applied, when a car finance agreement was entered into.
What we’re doing
Some of the issues raised in this and similar complaints we’ve received are new. To make sure they are handled fairly and consistently – bearing in mind the individual circumstances of each complaint – we’ve been developing our approach.
This means it’s taking longer than normal to give answers on these cases. We can’t tell you exactly how long it’s going to take. But we’ll be in touch with an update within three months, or when we’re ready to take the complaint forward if it’s sooner.
What we need from you
While we’re developing our approach, we’re gathering relevant information to make sure we have everything we need when we’re ready to take the complaint forward. If you haven’t already, please send us copies of:
your finance agreement
any documentation setting out the terms on which the dealer/broker was engaged to act for you
any other documentation given to you by the dealership.
Dion says
So around 18 months ago i submitted a complaint to blackhorse about mis sold car finance due to me believing discretionary interest might of been used in my case. They wrote back to me and denied any wrong doing and said i had taken out the finance so basically tough luck. Around 4 months ago i requested confirmation of whether discretionary interest had been applied they replied with confirmation. Where do i stand now ?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
What was the date of the reply from BlackHorse to your first complaint? Could you copy in what it said?
Robert Brown says
I sent the below email to Black horse over 3 weeks ago and zero response has been received back. I have been checking my spam folder.
BHComplexComplaints@blackhorse.co.uk
Hello there,
I had car finance from you in [2019] – the reference number was – xxxxxxxxx
After reading the information from the FCA in January 2024. about complaints over discretionary commission arrangements on car finance, I would like to know what commission was paid.
I would like you to tell me if you used a discretionary commission arrangement on my finance and to give me details of that arrangement. This is a query not a complaint, I am just asking for the information.
Regards
Robert xxxxxx
Anyone got any further advice for me please?
Thanks
Rob
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Wait until it gets to 8 weeks.
Robert Brown says
I will update this website when I get any more info to share from now on:
Update:
I rang the below number yesterday which I pulled from an earlier Post.
0800 022 4844
I told the person I had sent an email over 3 weeks ago and that I had no response. I was advised to send an email to the below address which i did yesterday:
motorcommission@blackhorse.co.uk
I have had the below reply today which was quick, not to much to get excited about but at least I know that they are looking into it for me.
We’ve received your request
Dear Customer
We’ve received your request to check if there was a discretionary commission arrangement on your motor finance agreement with us. We’re experiencing a high number of enquiries at the moment and it’s taking longer than usual for us to respond.
We’ll get back to you as soon as possible. If we need further information, we’ll get in touch with you using the contact details you’ve provided.
Thank you for your patience while we look into this for you.
Yours sincerely
Customer Services
http://www.blackhorse.co.uk
Ernest says
Good afternoon Sara.. pls l need your advice on car insurance… l have car accident and my insurance Aviva accept my offer for me to repair my car on my own garage and they paid my cash to repair it on my own.. which my repair garage send the estimate to repair for £3700 my car and the Aviva enginer told me on the phone l will get £3700 to my account.. but only received £2292 instead of £3700 and then make complain to them and they told me to go to financial Ombudsman which l did .. the adjudicator did not up-holding my complain.pls any advice and adjudicator email attached below
I wrote to Aviva Insurance Limited (Aviva) with regards to the call you had with the engineer.
Unfortunately, the calls with the engineer are not recorded, but as the engineer report clearly states their estimate as £2,292, I’m not persuaded they would’ve told you the amount you would be receiving was £3,700
So, this doesn’t change my opinion on the outcome.
As previously advised, Aviva have acted reasonably and within their terms and conditions. Their engineer has provided an expert report, so unless further evidence is submitted that challenges this report, it’s unlikely an Ombudsman would reach a different decision.
T
Sara (Debt Camel) says
i am sorry but I have no experience with this sort of insurance problem.
Paul Harrison says
I had a finance agreement with Close Brothers from around 2016. I only heard about this yesterday. Went to their website and they have a form to complete. Very simple to do and got an email today saying that I did, indeed have such a finance arrangement. That I should do nothing more now but they will contact me at the end of September to update me on my case. Actually very professionally handled in my opinion although I’m sure they don’t have a choice.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Yes some of the bigger lenders are now setting up these forms.
Good, so now you know where you stand. nothing to fo now until the FCA reports on the way forward near the end of September.
Tom says
This is the response we received from our car finance company:
“We have concluded our investigations on this complaint, and I would like to provide our
findings and outcome on the matter.
I can confirm a commission payment in the total sum of £769.97 was paid to the dealer
on the above agreement.
The existence of a commission was disclosed in the Explanation Document which was
provided to you prior to entering into the agreement. In the Explanation Document, you
will find under ALPHERA Financial Services’ relationship with intermediaries that we may
pay the dealer for introducing a customer to us. The fact that we may commission to the
dealer is also mentioned in the Agreement Document in the Terms and Conditions
under General Terms (10f).
The commission structure relevant to your agreement was in the form of a starting APR
from which the dealer was able to offer discounts. The rate offered had a corresponding
level of commission (being a percentage of the funded balance) which reduced in line
with the level of discount offered, subject to an agreed floor.
As you would have known exactly how much you were going to be charged for the
credit, the amount of the monthly instalments required and the fact that a commission
may be paid to the dealer, there is nothing unfair or secret about the agreement. ”
This sounds like there was a DCA in place, but they don’t think it was secret or unfair..
Sara (Debt Camel) says
That is a DCA. You are not saying it is “secret” – you are saying the way the commission was calculated was discretionary – the dealer had the right to determine your interest and this affected the commission they would receive – and that this is an unfair way to set commission.
It is the amount of money you may be refunded (plus 8% interest) if the FCA says lenders should take the approach to settling these claims that the Ombudsman did at the start of this year.
There is nothing you need to do now. It’s just waiting for the FCA to report on the way forward. Because there was a DCA, you have 15 months in which to send your complaint to the Ombudsman – there is no need to do this now as there may be no need after the FCA has reported.
Rob Buttery says
I’ve had an email from Black Horse saying that there was a discretionary commission arrangement on my finance for my old car. They say they will respond in 8 weeks. Its been over 8 weeks – what do I do now? If they do offer you an amount – how do I know that amount is what I’m owed?
Thanks Rob
Sara (Debt Camel) says
now you wait until the end of September probably. The FCA will issuing a report on the way forward in late September.
nigel couldwell says
Hi Rob, Just sit and wait now till september. I had it confirmed from santander they did give incentives to my car dealer, you have had it confirmed by your lender like me so we wait until the next stage in september.
Julita says
HI. I was taking a partner finance in Barclays. Car. In 2018 I paid everything back, will I also be entitled to a refund?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Probably if you paid discretionary commission. The only way to find out is to ask.
Susan says
I had a motonovo finance agreement and they have messaged back and accepted there was an issue with the agreement. From that point how long have has it taken people to get an amount offer or how long has the final process taken. Thanks
Ps love this website
Sara (Debt Camel) says
They said there was discretionary commission? Then you have a claim, but all claims are now waiting for the FCA to write a report on the way forward, probably late September. No one is getting offers at the moment.
Elaine Davies says
I think the decision has been delayed even further to May 2025.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
The FCA is consulting on moving the deadline.
Jack says
Hi,
I placed an enquiry at black horse using the same format seen in the past comments and they said they’d update me in the future. My enquiry was in March. The only update I’ve had since is –
“You recently asked us to check if there was a discretionary commission arrangement on your motor finance agreement. We have your request and at this stage we don’t need you to do anything else. We’ll get back to you to confirm as soon as possible.
It’s taking longer than usual due to the high number of enquiries we’re receiving at the moment.
Thank you for your patience while we look into this for you.”
Is it a case of waiting until September as stated in previous comments or can I do more ?
Thanks.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I suggest you reply to their email asking if there ahs been any progress.
The September date is likely to slip if the FCA decides to extend this. But that is for replying to a formal complaint. T
There is no reason why you should not be told at this point whether or not there was any discretionary commission paid.
Andy says
I had a PCP agreement brokered by Land Rover Financial Services and provided by Blackhorse.
They have confirmed a DCA was used in my agreement, nothing further from them yet
Gabriel says
Hi,
Had an enquiry with Motonovo and they admitted that there was a discretionary comission on my van pcp and registered the claim.
Last week Motonovo sents me another email containg the following
Update on your DCA complaint
Hello,
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has proposed extending the current pause on the usual 8-week deadline for us to respond to complaints, where there was a discretionary commission arrangement in place.
They’re intending to announce the findings of their review and next steps in May 2025.
While they’re completing their review, they have proposed extending the deadline that providers have to respond to car finance complaints where there was a discretionary commission arrangement in place, from 26 September 2024 to after 4 December 2025.
More information can be found on the FCA website.
We will continue to keep you updated on any further changes.
ads says
Hi Sara,
I wrote a while ago about issues with Barclays Partner Finance and supplied their new email address as per the website.
Well, after sending 3 emails (Jan, Jun, Jul) and including FOS on the latter – only the FOS has responded.
FOS have registered my complaint but have basically said to get in touch with Barclays Partner Finance to see if they have my complaint.
I finally found the help line (0800 152 2888 – option 3 for Car commission) and spoke with someone and pointed out that emails have been sent to bpfcomplaints@barclays.com & bpfmotorcommissioncomplaints@barclays.com.
They confirmed that NONE of my emails had been received.
If people on here are awaiting any confirmation of complaint from Barclays Partner Finance, I would suggest giving them a call to ensure that this has been received
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I agree that anyone who has been waiting more than 8 weeks for a reply should phone then.
But bpfmotorcommissioncomplaints@barclays.com is the email address on the BPF page (https://www.barclayspartnerfinance.com/home/motor-commission/) so it should work!
Rob Evs says
Does anyone know the cut off date to claim . So what’s the last date you can submit a claim for discretionary commission payments made to the motor dealer ?
Thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
There is no cut off date. The reason for getting going now is so you can find out if there was discretionary commission.
Ciara says
Hi Sara, would you have an email address for dacia finance? I have searched the Internet but cannot seem to find any. Thanking you I’m anticipation x
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Are you sure that was the name of the finance company? They currently use Mobilze. It’s possible that Mobilze took over your finance if that doesn’t ring a bell, so try motorcommissionenquiries@mobilize-fs.com
Tim Fawcett says
Before Mobilze our Dacia dealer were using RCI Financial Services Ltd, if that helps
Ciara says
Many thanks ill look into this
Ciara says
Hi Sara
Many thanks for coming back to me. We have the yearly statements and they are from dacia finance. I’ll have another look at them to see if says anything else. Thank you for replying.
Steve Norton says
Just got my Info Request reply back from BlackHorse to say there was a DCA involved and they’ve invited to make a complaint via their website.
Would be very interested to see a template letter request, their website has 2 main sections to complete:
Tell us about your complaint:
How do you feel we can put this right:
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Tell us about your complaint:
I feel the discretionary commission charged was unfair as it led me to pay a higher interest rate. As i was unaware of this at the time, I had no opperunity to negotiate this or to potentially look elsewhere.
How do you feel we can put this right:
i would like a refund of the additional interest I paid because of this discetionary commission, as per the Ombudsman’s key decisions on car finance in January this year.
Robert Brown says
When did you make the request please Steve? I have been waiting months to hear back from them now.
Steve Norton says
Initially in May of this year.
Had been getting a monthly “We have your request(s) and at this stage we don’t need you to do anything else. We’ll be in touch with an update in the next 28 days. It’s taking longer than usual due to the high number of enquiries we are receiving at the moment.” until I had the physical letter through the post to say there was a DCA on my loan.
The website they sent me to pretty much looks exactly the same as the one I used back in may, but at least the letter they send me contained the agreement number on it.
Not sure this hasn’t just sent me all the way back to Square 1 though.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
no, Square 1 was asking if you had paid DCA. You now know you did. Putting in a complaint now is a formality.
But nothing quick is going to happen until the FCA comes out with its report, now expected by May 2025.
Anthony Hall says
Hi Sara, there was mention of December 2025? Why is that a relevant date? Is it that no claims will now be settled/reviewed until December 2025?
Thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
That the date by which the FCA expects that any new Rules that are needed will be final . See the update at the top of this article.
Cc says
My latest email from Black horse Oct 4th:
We’re looking into your information request
You asked us to check if there was a discretionary commission arrangement on your motor finance agreement(s). We have your request(s) and at this stage we don’t need you to do anything else.
We’ll be in touch with an update in the next 28 days. It’s taking longer than usual due to the high number of enquiries we are receiving at the moment.
If there’s anything else you’d like to tell us about your request
You can email us at motorcommission@blackhorse.co.uk
Or
Call us on 0800 022 4844. Our opening hours are Monday to Friday 8.30am – 6pm and Saturday 9am – 1pm.
You can also write to:
Customer Resolutions Operations
St William House
Tresillian Terrace
Cardiff
CF10 5BH
Please don’t reply to this email directly as the mailbox isn’t monitored.
Yours faithfully
Customer Services
Black Horse
Still no admission per se.
Ben says
If I have received confirmation my agreement did have discretionary finance, however not had final response to my complaint afterwards (June ’24) should I forward to the Ombudsman?
Or is this not irrelevant with new ruling dates and I just have to wait?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I am afraid it’s best to just wait. The regulator has extended the pause lenders have to reply to complaints- if you send the case to the Ombudsman now it won’t be considered as the lender hasn’t replied to the complaint and, because of the pause, is still in the time allowed to do this.
Gareth Morgan says
What’s the position of self employed, sole traders etc?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
That may depend on whether the vehicle was treated as business finance or not.
C. Speed says
Would there still be the time frame of c.2007 onwards for claims as the majority of my car finance was taken out between 1999 to 2006?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
The FCA approach was largely based on the unfair relationship that was brought in with the Consumer Credit Act update in April 2007.
But the Court of Appeal approach is based on Common Law where no starting point is relevant.
However, there is a practical argument that there may no longer be any records of commission paid on such old finance…
I suggest you use the MSE tool (when updated) to ask what commission was paid and see what the lender says
Natasha says
Hello
I have had numerous car finance agreements with various companies including Close Brothers, Motonovo and Black Horse since 2007. What is the best way to get the agreement details as I can’t find any paperwork or emails with reference numbers. I can remember some car regs but not all.
TIA
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Ask, and give as many details as you can.
Natasha says
So just go to each lender directly and see what information they hold?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Yes. The MSE tool will generate an email and who to send it to
Hannah says
I have bought a used car recently (last 3 weeks) from Volkswagen and used their finance company, VW financial services to fund the car. Today I have received a letter stating that there was a commission arrangement on this, they’ve told me how much they paid the dealership. They say I have 2 options either not reply and that is my consent to the commission being paid to the dealership or I can use my ‘Right to withdraw’ where I would need to then repay the amount borrowed in full and find alternative way to fund my car. Surely this is unfair after only buying the car 3 weeks ago and being made aware of this now?!!
Sara (Debt Camel) says
how much was the commission?
when did you sign the agreement and when did you take possession of the car?
Hannah says
Just over £1300 the car was £19k.
I signed my finance docs on 18th October then all the rest of the documentation for the car and picked it up on 21st Oct
Sara (Debt Camel) says
if you have a look at the finance docs, it should say there is a period in which you can withdraw. This is typically 14 days – is yours?
(Yes I think what you are being asked to do is completely unfair. I am just exploring the shape of the situation)
Hannah says
Yes, 14 days which has now expired. Although the letter received yesterday says 14 days from their letter (however it’s not dated) and then if I don’t agree to the commission I have 30 days from then to pay them the full finance in full
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I think you need to reply to the finance lender saying you have a third option – to make a claim for a refund of the commission – and it is misleading of them not to explain this to you.
Rafael Torres says
I had a new BMW for 3 years through salary sacrifice when I worked at HSBC. This was from 2014 to 2017.
Is it possible I can claim against that or does salary sacrifice not count?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Was this HP/PCP or a lease? Was it in your name or HSBC’s?
Rafael Torres says
It was through a company called HVF vehicle finance. I’m sure it was lease in my name and deducted from my HSBC payslip. HVF car lease plus was the scheme
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I don’t think Salary Sacrifice is relevant.
HOWEVER at the moment the FCA is looking into discretionary commission claims for HP and PCP finance, not leasing. If you send in a complaint about that, it will be rejected and you will have to go to the Ombudsman.
BUT at the end of October there was an Appeal Court case ordering refunds of commission to customers in a much broader set of cases… that may potentially include leasing. See https://debtcamel.co.uk/car-commission-more-refunds/.
At the moment the FCA is consulting on extending its claims pauses, I suggest you wait until January and come back here. Things may be a bit clearer by then
However
Rafael Torres says
Amazing, thank you so much
Santa Needs Cash says
I’ve been with the same dealership since 2012.
The first agreement was with Barclays Partner Finance.
Since that I’ve had 5 other cars but all different providers.
What do you think the chances are the others have it?
Would the dealership have a big push to have it included with other lenders?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I can’t guess. There definitely would have been commission but the dealer may be just as happy with £700 flat commission as £700 discretionary commission, the only was to find out is to ask.
BUT it may now be possible to get a refund for a flat commission as well, after a court case in October. The FCA will be saying something about this next month. So perhaps wait until January?
Carol-Anne says
Hi, so I put a claim in with Motonovo.
They have come back and said the following:
Thank you for contacting us to find out if your Motor Finance Agreements had a discretionary commission arrangement. After an initial investigation we have concluded that your agreement(s) (123455) for vehicle(s) (123456) did involve a discretionary commission arrangement. We acknowledge and have recorded this as a complaint. We’ll provide you with a reference number via email as soon as possible. In the meantime, please use your agreement number as reference.
I think this is good news?
Thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
yes but it will be slow going. Dont expect anything before end next year
Neil Crawford says
Hi, I’ve been told by several sites & from individuals that First Response are not one of the companies involved with this commission scandal but my finance agreement says in it that they may pay commission to the dealer. They might not pay all dealers but looks like they do pay some so has anyone else got anywhere with getting more details from them or can Debt Camel maybe comment on this & give us any help with understanding how can find out more as I got nowhere when called them.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
First response have said they never paid “discretionary” commission (known as a DCA), where the broker/dealer could set the interest rate you paid to the lender. But it is highly likely that they paid some for of “fixed” or “flat” commission, which is what the finance agreement paperwork refers to.
In January this year, the Financial Ombudsman issued 2 key decision ordering a refund of DCA but decided that a case involving flat/fixed commission should not be refunded. The FCA then allows all car finance companies to pause complaint handling about DCAs, so people have been asking if their finance involved a DCA and kicking off a complaint if it did, but the complaints are awaiting a FCA review next year.
But as the article above says, a big appeal court case ordered a refund of fixed/flat commission… as well as DCA.
So the FCA is now deciding what to do. I suggest you come back in a few weeks and see what the FCA has decided.
Os says
So I had car finance with both Motonova and Blackhorse, they have both confirmed there was DC added to my loan,
what do I do now, just sit and wait the high court ruling ?
thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
As these are now DC cases, the high court ruling will be interesting but not essential. The DC cases upheld at the Ombudsman in January were based on FCA rules, not the latest CONC ruling, so even the Supreme court over-rules the appeal court ruling it may not make much difference to DC cases.
BUT also heard in October was a challenge (“judicial review”) of one of the FOS January decisions. we are still waiting for the decision on that case to be published.
AND we need to see what FOS say in May next year in their review.
Claire says
Hi, BMW finance confirmed a Discretionary Commission model was used on my agreement in an initial response. I then received further communication below.
I’m writing in response to your recent complaint. I am sorry that you’ve had reason to
raise a complaint.
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is looking into how discretionary commissions
were paid in the past for motor finance. They have made new rules to give firms more
time to respond to these types of complaints while they continue with their review.
This means we cannot provide a response to your complaint until after the FCA has
finished its review and decided what to do next. This is expected to happen in May 2025.
However the FCA has given firms until after the 4 December 2025 to provide a final
response.
We will contact you if we need more information, otherwise, you don’t need to do
anything. We will get in touch again once the FCA has confirmed how to handle these complaints.
So it looks like I just need to be patient and wait for what happens in May, is that correct? Thank you.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Yes that is correct
Rosie says
Hi Sara,
I had a car on PCP back in 2014 through Vauxhall and the finance company was GM financial. I don’t think they are trading in the UK anymore from what I’ve seen on google. Am I still able to make a claim to Vauxhall?
Thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
GM Financial became GMAC at some point which then changed its name to Vauxhall Finance. So try them
Dean says
Hi Sara
We used your tool/template about 4 months ago to blackhorse, we have had 3 responses they all the same “ we will get back to you in 28 days.”
What shall we do now? Any advice is helpful.
Thank you
Sara (Debt Camel) says
So you have asked if discretionary commission was paid on the loans. The lenders don’t have to get back to within that 28 day timescale, or within the 8 weeks they are normally allowed to reply to a complaint – the FCA has allowed them to “pause” complaint handling and they don’t have to reply until December 2025. It is likely that if there wasn’t any discretionary commission, you will be informed much sooner than that – at that point you can submit the start of a claim about undisclosed commission, as described in the article above which has been completely rewritten to reflect this new sort of complaint.
Dean says
Amazing thank you do you have a template for that? And who do I send to Blackhorse or the ombudsman?
Many thanks
Dean
Sara (Debt Camel) says
MSE has a new tool that generates a free email starting n undisclosed commission claim. See mt article above for the link
G says
I purchased a van on finance (distance sale) with CA Autofinance last April and after 3 months noticed that it was using an excrutiating amount of oil. I took it to a local garage who advised of a number of issues it could be that would cost a few thousand to resolve and that I should not drive the van. I approached the dealership I purchased the van from but had missed the warranty date by 1 week and they were unwilling to help. I subsequently contacted the finance company who eventually responded (well within 6 months) and took up my complaint with the dealer. On 6th Novemeber i received a call and a final response letter from the finance company stating they were unable to help as the dealership would not respond to them. Meanwhile, I have had to purchase a second vehicle on finance as I cannot be without transport and I have also made a complaint to the financial ombudsman about the finance company as they have refused to help me anymore. With 2 vehicles on finance I am struggling financially and do not know what to do. Should I VT the original vehicle citing the problems, the complaint and the outstanding investigation by the finance ombudsman or do I just carry on struggling. The van cost £11000 and to date I have only paid £3000 off it with the problem nbeing that if the finance ombudsman does not support me I am left with 2 vehicles on finance one of which hasn’t been driven for 5 months and needs 000’s spent on it
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I suggest you talk to National Debtline on 0808 808 4000 about whether VTing is a good idea in this situation
G says
Hi Sara thanks for your comment. In simple terms, will the finance ombudsman still continue to investigate if i VT… I have pretty much made my mind up that seems to be the most appropriate thing as the car is not roadworthy and the finance company are simply saying the dealer refuses to talk to them so they cannot do anything. I figure I may as well just VT and take my chances with the FO investigation
Sara (Debt Camel) says
A FOS investigation will continue. But talk to national Debtline about your options – they may confirm what you think, but this is a very useful check
Suyog says
Nice to read about the 2 types of commission claim through this article.
Claire says
Hi
I had DCA commission put on my car finance with blue motor finance this was confirmed from the company I got my reply in February last year. Do I just wait now for the decision from high court in May?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
You are waiting for the FCA to review what should happen next for DCA cases.
Claire says
Hi I had car finance with blue motor and back in February 24 there said DCA was on my finance. Is it correct I won’t know anything else until May 25
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Yes – the FCA plans to set out the next steps in its review of DCAs in May 2025.
Barry Turner says
I Have recently discovered that i have one or more agreements with Blackhorse finance which had DCA applied, these were for a static caravan and not a motor vehicle, they have sent me a letter say they have received my complaint which was raised on 30th December 2024 with reference to the FCA pause on sending final response till December 2025. from above is this correct as it says the FCA’s pause on complain handling won’t apply to a complaint about a caravan. I Have contacted the FCA & FOS and no one can give me a straigt answer, I Have also e mailed blackhorse on 2 occasions and not had any response from them.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
So it is technically correct that the FCA pause doesn’t apply to non motor vehicles.
I suggest you send this complaint to the Ombudsman now and say you understand the FCA pause on Discretionary Commission only applies to motor vehicles, but you have a complaint against Blackhorse about a caravan where they have said there is a DCA but also that the FCA pause applies.
Say you want to register a complaint now with FOS in order to preserve your right to go to FOS in this situation. Point out that exactly the same arguments about unfairness that the Ombudsman listed in point 6 of https://www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk/decision/DRN-4188284.pdf apply to your situation and whether there is a motor or not is irrelevant.
Barry Turner says
Thank you Sara, should i wait until 8 weeks have elapsed from raising the complaint on 30th december 2024 before contacting the FOS.
I Have contacted blackhorse today and they have again said the FCA Pause applies to my complaint
Sara (Debt Camel) says
yes, I think waiting 8 weeks is a good idea.
Barry Turner says
Hi Sara, Just to let you know i contacted the FOS on Friday 28th February and after a very long telephone conversation with a lady she got agreement that they can look into this as 8 weeks have lapsed and i have received no response. Thank you for the advice
ads2003uk says
Hi Sara
Do you know if anyone has had a confirmation from Stellantis Financial Services UK formally Peugeot Finance.
I’ve now received an email saying they are still looking into this but since it’s now been 8 weeks I can refer it to the FOS.
Not sure if I should submit it to FOS now or wait a bit longer
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Did they say this was covered by the FCA pause on complaint handling?
ads2003uk says
Nope.
No mention at all about the claim, the FCA in all three emails received.
Just their standard “were sorry we haven’t responded”
and the the same but with escalating to FOS information.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Well I think the pause does apply. I would probably wait a couple more months IF you are sure that you won’t forget and suddenly find its November… If after 2 more months they haven’t replied, I would send it to FOS then to protect your rights.
MichaelS says
Well now, this is interesting. I wonder what impact it may have on the case currently before the Supreme Court and any judgements made. We shall see!
https://www.theguardian.com/business/2025/feb/21/uk-lenders-car-dealers-commission-payments-upfront
Sara (Debt Camel) says
very interesting…
Cheryl Balderson says
Hi
Is it common not to receive any response at all from the finance company? I filled out the form through Martin Lewis money saving expert website in July 2024 and they responded saying that it looked like I had been charged discretionary commission but I’ve heard nothing since and nothing from the finance company Vauxhall Finance.
Thank you
Sara (Debt Camel) says
That form you sent from SME will have started a complaint about the discretionary commission. These complaints are on hold pending the FCA saying what it thinks should be done – that is now likely to be in the summer some time, when the FCA is likely to propose some sort of “scheme” is likely to mean that you will get an offer to settle this. the chance of any money before 2026 though is very very small. And there is stil a possibility that there may be nothing
CJ says
Hi just to share this standard email I got today, I’ve been getting for months now from Blackhorse:
We’re looking into your information request.
You asked us to check if there was a discretionary commission arrangement on your motor finance agreement(s). We have your request(s) and at this stage we don’t need you to do anything else.
We’ll be in touch with an update in the next 28 days. It’s taking longer than usual due to the high number of enquiries we are receiving at the moment.
If there’s anything else you’d like to tell us about your request
You can email us at motorcommission@blackhorse.co.uk
Or
Call us on 0800 022 4844. Our opening hours are Monday to Friday 8.30am – 6pm and Saturday 9am – 1pm.
You can also write to:
Customer Resolutions Operations (etc)
————————————————-
I sent my original enquiry 17/05/2024… soon to be a year
Sassy S says
Hi Sara , I am interested to know if I am able to make any kind of claim. I took my PCP out in July 2023. I purchased my vehicle online through cinch with Blackhorse being the lender. Are the claim only for people who purchased pre 2021?. I am still in contract now- if I am eligible to claim can I do so whilst in contract? The only thing I could find about commision was this. Not sure if I could apply for any of the types of claims. -TIA
“Does the Dealer receive commission?
The Dealer will be paid a commission for introducing you to Black Horse Ltd. This will be a
percentage of the amount that you borrow. This means the more you borrow the more the
Dealer is paid. The commission will be the same no matter the interest rate that you pay. If
you ask the Dealer, they will tell you (in good time before the agreement is made) the
amount of any commission they will earn from Black Horse Ltd.”
Sara (Debt Camel) says
You can make a claim for “undisclosed commission” – use the free MSE tool here https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/reclaim/car-finance-undeclared-commission/ which sends and email and starts a claim for you.
Whether this works depends on the judgment in a Supreme Court case held at the start of April. This isnt likely to be know for several months and any payouts (there may not be any) will only be next year. But it’s easy to start the claim now and get yourself in the queue. It won’t be faster to go through a claims company or get you a larger refund and they will take a large chunk of any money, so do this yourself.
D C S says
Hi Sara,
I have been redirected here from the MSE site as there is a note about DCA’s on finance taken out for static caravans.
I had finance with Barclays Partner Finance for the purchase of a static caravan, and have been advised by BPF that a DCA was involved.
The MSE site says it might be worthwhile raising a complaint, but unfortunately, complaints and letter writing are not my forte.
As this does not involve motor finance, I understand the wording of the complaint would be different to a motor finance complaint.
Has anyone sent a complaint letter regarding the above?
Regards.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I haven’t seen one.
I suggest you make a complaint to BPF arguing that the following points From this Ombudsman decision https://www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk/decision/DRN-4326581.pdf (it happens to be against BPF)
are equally relevant to DCA on your caravan:
“• The discretionary commission model Barclays PF used in Miss L’s case, created
an inherent conflict between the interests of the Broker and the interests of
Miss L, as it gave the Broker an incentive to set a higher interest rate than
Barclays PF would have accepted so that the Broker could receive more
commission.
• In introducing and operating the discretionary commission arrangement with the
Broker on the terms it did, Barclays PF acted contrary to the guidance at CONC
4.5.2G and failed to have due regard to Miss L’s interests and treat her fairly as
required by Principle 6 of the Financial Conduct Authority’s (“FCA”) Principles for
Businesses (the “Principles”).
• It is likely a court would conclude that the relationship between Barclays PF and
Miss L was unfair to Miss L under s140A of the Consumer Credit Act 1974
(“CCA”) for any or all of three reasons:
(1) Barclays PF’s introduction and operation of the discretionary
commission arrangement which delegated the interest setting power
to the Broker and created an inherent conflict between the interests of
the Broker and those of Miss L by linking the amount of commission
the Broker would receive to the interest Miss L paid. This created an
unfair relationship both generally and because it meant Barclays PF failed to comply with Principle 6 and CONC 4.5.2G.
(2) The inequality of knowledge and understanding created by Barclays
PF’s own failure to disclose: the basis on which it would pay
commission and the Broker’s ability to determine the interest rate
(and therefore, the amount of commission the Broker would receive
and the payments Miss L would have to make).
(3) The Broker’s failure to disclose the structure of the discretionary
commission arrangement in accordance with regulatory requirements
and guidance (in particular, CONC 4.5.3R, CONC 3.7.4G(2) and
Principles 7 and 8) in circumstances where this failure is, under
s56(2) CCA, deemed to be a failure of Barclays PF.”
And so you request a refund if the commission calculated in the same way that the Ombudsman proposed in this case.
————————————
If BPF refuse (which is highly likely) I suggest you immediately send the case to FOS as this is NOT covered by the FCA pause on complaint handling.
D C S says
Thanks for the reply Sara,
I will draft a complaint letter to BPF referencing the above case.
Thanks for your help.