UPDATE – 13 November 2014
In late October, an Appeal Court judgment said commission should be refunded in a much broader range of cases, not just discretionary motor finance. The FCA is now proposing to extend the pause on discretionary commission complaints to cover fixed commissions as well. See Car commission refunds – can more people get refunds? where I cover this in detail
UPDATE – 24 September 2024
Following a consultation in August, the FCA announced an extension to the timetable for car finance discretionary commission complaints:
- the FCA had originally intended to publish its review setting out next steps in September 2024. This has now been postponed until May 2025, because there is a challenge to the Ombudsman’s decisions on these cases. The Judicial Review of the Ombudsman decision is bein heard in October 2024 and the FCA hopes for a judgment by the end of 2024;
- this FCA review is likely to lead to new rules which the FCA will consult on. It will have finalised these by December 2025;
- finance lenders will then have to follow the new approach;
- because of these delays, consumers are who have made a complaint and received a Final Response from the car finance lender now have longer to take their case to the Ombudsman The FCA says “If you’re sent a final response between 12 July 2023 and 29 April 2025, you’ll now have until 29 July 2026 to take your complaint to the Financial Ombudsman.”
UPDATE May 2024
See Car finance discretionary commission claims – update May 2024 which has a round up of recent news about these commission claims and looks at what, if anything, you should do now.
On 11 January 2024, the Financial Ombudsman (FOS) published several decisions about discretionary car finance commission, including one against Black Horse and one against Barclays Partner Finance.
In these cases, people were charged a higher interest rate to increase the commission the dealers got. And FOS ordered a refund.
This is a scandal that may have affected millions.
These FOS decisions open the way to a large number of claims for refunds from people who took out car finance before 28 January 2021. Martin Lewis says this may be “the new PPI”.
As a result, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) which regulates car finance lenders has taken the highly unusual step of pausing complaints about these commissions. It says:
It’s important that any complaints are dealt with by providers in a consistent, efficient and orderly way. Given the high number of possible complaints, there’s a risk this might not happen.
The FCA is now giving car finance companies longer to respond to complaints and allowing you longer to take your complaint to the Ombudsman.
Contents
Why refunds are being given
Discretionary commissions were unfair
Before 28 January 2021, it was common for some car finance lenders to allow a car dealer or broker to set the interest rate on a car finance agreement within a range. In this article, I just refer to the car dealer, not a broker, for short.
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.
As the dealer chose the rate, this is called “discretionary commission”. This was not explained to the customers, so the commission is also called “undisclosed” or, in layman’s terms, “secret”.
These discretionary commissions were charged on a lot of car finance for both new and used cars. On 28 January 2021, the FCA banned this in car finance. So it isn’t a problem on recent contracts.
If you took out car finance before January 2021, you may have paid a higher interest rate than you should have.
This was unfair as:
- you were not told about it;
- if you had known, you may have negotiated to reduce it or looked to see if you could get finance at a lower rate;
- the dealer didn’t do any extra work to justify paying extra commission.
A typical Ombudsman refund decision
FOS issues key decisions when it wants them to be seen as typical of decisions the Ombudsman may take in similar cases.
This is what happened in the Black Horse case:
- the Ombudsman found that Black Horse was prepared to lend to Mrs Y at any flat interest rate between 2.49% and 5.5%, with any amount over 2.49% going to the dealer as commission;
- the broker had discretion over what rate to charge. It set the rate for Mrs Y at 5.5% – the highest it could. This got the dealer the most commission;
- the extra discretionary commission accounted for more than half of the interest that Mrs Y would have to pay;
- Mrs Y was not told how large this commission was, nor that the dealer had set the interest rate and the commission;
- the Ombudsman found that this was unfair.
To put this unfairness right, the Ombudsman ordered that:
- Mrs Y should only have been charged the minimum interest rate of 2.49% and the extra commission amount she was charged should be refunded;
- 8% per annum statutory interest should be added to the refund.
The Barclays Partner Finance case was very similar. The broker had discretion over what rate to charge and setting a higher rate increased the broker commission. FOS took the same decision to uphold the case and ordered the lender to pay a refund that was calculated in the same way as in the Black Horse case.
In other cases, customers may get more or less, depending on the range of interest rates a dealer was allowed to set and which rate the dealer picked. If a dealer was allowed to set an interest rate between say 3% and 10%, and you win your claim you would be likely to get a higher refund if you were charged 8% than if you were charged 5%.
No discretionary commission – then no claim
In a third case, against BMW Financial Services, FOS found that the broker was paid a fixed commission by the lender. The customer who bought the car was not told how large the commission was, but the paperwork stated that the broker did receive a fee. Here FOS decided that the commission was not unfair, because it could not be increased by the broker, and the case was not upheld.
If no discretionary commission was charged on your finance, there is no claim for you to make.
Could this apply to your car finance?
Three things to check
Three things matter:
UPDATE none of these three things may matter after recent Appeal Court case
- the finance must have started before 28 January 2021 (After that date discretionary commission was banned.)
- the sort of car finance You can make a claim about Hire Purchase (HP) or Conditional Sale (CS) or Personal Contract Purchase (PCP)any of these types of car finance. (You can’t make a claim for Personal Contract Hire (PCH), sometimes called car leasing. And you can’t if you arranged the loan with a bank and it was not secured on your car.)
- whether you were charged discretionary commission There is a list of lenders who have stated they have never changed this sort of commission below – if your lender is one of these, there is no point in asking. But if your lender is not on that list, you have to ask to find this out. This is the key first step in making a claim, and it is easy – see below.
What doesn’t matter:
- if you are still paying the finance, you finished paying for it or you defaulted;
- if you still have the car, if it has been sold, or repossessed;
- how easy it was to pay the finance. That is irrelevant – this is a complaint that you were charged too much, not that it was unaffordable.
The Ombudsman can look at cases going back six years, or it can go back much further if you have complained within 3 years of finding out that there was a problem. And this is probably the first time you have heard about this! If your car finance is very old, there may be a problem if the lender has not kept any paperwork about it. But many very old PPI claims were won, so don’t let a worry about this stop you from making a claim.
Lenders who have never used discretionary commission arrangements
I cannot guarantee the accuracy of this list – it is for guidance. The following lenders have made a clear statement that they have never used discretionary commission:
A – Admiral; Advantage Finance; AutoLend; AutoMoney;
B – Billing; Burnley Savings & Loans
C – Car Loan Centre; Carmoola
F – First Response Finance
G – Guardian Finance
L – Lendable; Lombard
M – Mallard Finance; Moneybarn
O – Oodle; Oplo
P – Premium Plan
R – RateSetter; Retail Money Market
S – Specialist Motor Finance
T – Tandem
V – Vehicle Credit
1st Stop Finance.
The above list includes many “bad credit lenders” – if you had finance from one of them, then read the section at the bottom of this article on whether you can make an affordability complaint.
Lenders who have sometimes used discretionary commission arrangements
I cannot guarantee the accuracy of this list – it is for guidance.
This list is based on the original FOS decisions and the replies that some people have received in response to their query about discretionary commission. As more people leave comments here about their replies, this list will no doubt get much longer…
B – Barclays Partner Finance; Black Horse; Blue Motor Finance, BMW
C – CA Auto finance; Close Brothers
H – Honda; Hitachi Capital
F – Ford
M – Marsh Finance; Mobilize, Moneyway; Motonovo
S – Santander; Startline; Stellantis
V – Vantage; VWFS.
If your finance was through one of these firms you still need to ask if there was any discretionary finance on your contract. Just because a lender sometimes used it doesn’t mean they always did.
How to make a claim
Make an initial enquiry
Originally I had a template here. Now I suggest you use the MSE free tool. This will be updated for the recent Appeal Court ruling
There may be a delay before you get a reply
Normally a firm should respond within 8 weeks or you could send it to the Ombudsman.
But the FCA says:
We’re assessing the extent of the problem to make sure that, if you are owed compensation, you get it in the best way possible.
And as part of this, the FCA is allowing firms longer to respond to these complaints. And you are also allowed longer to send your complaint to the Ombudsman. It is still good to start the process now, but it may take a while.
You may get one of the following types of reply back;
- we don’t have to answer this for at the moment as the FCA has allowed us to pause complaint handling
- we don’t any records because of the age of your finance
- we have never used discretionary finance
- no discretionary finance was used in your case
- a description of the commission arrangement that was unclear or difficult to understand about whether discretionary finance was used
- discretionary finance was used.
If you could leave a comment below this article, this will help build a picture of who is most likely to be able to make a claim.
You do NOT need to use a claims company
You don’t need a claims company to do this or a firm of solicitors. It is simple to do yourself and 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 same question that you can. Nor will you get more compensation that way.
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 – see Were you sold a car on unaffordable car finance? for details and how to make an affordability complaint.
NB it can be hard to win an affordability complaint unless you have good evidence about your finances at the time the finance started, such as bank statements. These are easy to get for the last 6 years even if you have changed bank accounts. But a long way back can be tricky even if you are still with the same bank. This issue isn’t relevant for discretionary commission complaints, only affordability.
If you win an affordability complaint you will get all the interest refunded. In a discretionary commission complaint you only get part of it back.
So I suggest you make the affordability complaint first. Because if you win you will get a larger refund. And affordability complaints are likely to be quicker than discretionary commission complaints. If you lose, you can then revisit the undisclosed commission complaints later.
Any questions?
Ask them in the comments below! These claims are very new, so finding out what other people are doing and the sorts of responses they get can be a great help.
Car finance affordability complaints
How to ask for refunds for all types of debt
My energy DD can’t be right!
George A Calder says
Hi
I bought my car from a Peugeot Dealer, in 2010
The finance company Peugeot used is no longer trading, it was
Banque PSA Finance UK Branch Trading as Peugeot Financial Services, Quadrant House, Princess Way, Redhill RH1 1QA
However the car company now uses
Stellantis Financial Services UK Ltd
61 London Road,
Redhill, Surrey,
RH1 1QA
Does this mean the Car company still has to deal with my complaint?
thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I suggest you contact Stellantis and send them the query about your finance. Let me know what they reply.
George says
Thanks for the quick response
I’ve emailed Peugeot, and Stellantis, will let you know how they respond.
Leanne says
I assume if the company you used has gone bust, we cannot claim. Infuriating that this was allowed to happen as this was the first snowball point for my husbands credit issue. Someone should be held accountable.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Which lender is this? You also have a possible car commission claim against the dealer or broker.
Stephen John Garrod says
Hi i purchased 2 cars through Wilson & Co – Grimsby the first in 2016 a Vauxhall Corsa reg no FY66 GVN Agreement Number 913084 and the second being also a Vauxhall Corsa reg no FY68 WNC Agreement number 1095367 the monthly payment was £174.80 by DD to VAUXHALL FINANCE PLC ref 01937711 913084 .The recent Martin Lewis Money Show advised that we should log a complaint following ongoing investigation by FCA
David says
Perhaps a silly question but if I’d already made an affordability complaint on a HP taken out prior to 2021 and won and had all interest refunded, there’s no more to do regards this latest scandal?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
That is correct. You won’t get two refunds for the same interest.
Michael says
Hi Sara. After reading your article, I sent an enquiry to VWFS about my Audi car finance taken out in 2017 and all paid up. The response is interesting, especially with regards to timescales; I quote the key sections:
*The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) issued a statement on 11th January 2024, detailing a change to the way motor finance complaints of this type are handled.
*This change means that the usual 8 weeks given to respond to complaints is paused where the commission model used was a Discretionary Commission Arrangement (DCA).
*Based on our initial review we believe a Discretionary Commission Arrangement may apply to your agreement and as such the pause applies to your complaint. If our investigations find a Discretionary Commission Arrangement does not apply to your agreement we will respond to your complaint within the normal 8 week timeline.
*Based on current FCA instructions the pause on DCA complaints will be for a period of 37 weeks until 25 September 2024 and we are not required to respond to DCA related complaints until after this date, at which point either a further pause may apply or the normal 8 week timeframe will start.
Keep up the good work!
Michael
Sara (Debt Camel) says
“Based on our initial review we believe a Discretionary Commission Arrangement may apply to your agreement and as such the pause applies to your complaint. If our investigations find a Discretionary Commission Arrangement does not apply to your agreement we will respond to your complaint within the normal 8 week timeline.”
that is a pretty reasonable approach. You can now assume if you don’t hear anything in the 8 weeks that there is a discretionary commission arrangement on your finance and that you have a claim.
Michael says
Yes, I do understand that. It was the 37 week pause I thought might be interesting for others looking to claim.
Sam says
Hi,
If I wanted to contact the dealer about Discretionary Commission, would I be better speaking to the dealership I picked the car up from or Car Finance 247 who arranged the finance?
Thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I am suggesting people contact the lender. But if the lender is out of business or doesnt reply, you could ask the dealer.
Zh says
Hi, I got a car loan in 2017 through CF247. The lender was Hitachi. I still have the agreements that I signed and sent back. Do you have contact details for Hitachi please? I think they’ve rebranded. Thank you
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Hitachi have rebranded to Novuna. What sort of loan was this? Was it car finance secured on the car? Or GP, PCP or leasing?
Zh says
Hi thank you for your response. it was a fixed loan agreement. I’m not sure if it was secured on the car. I can’t seem to find that in the agreement I signed. It says about missed payments they can take legal action. The car and its make and model is named in the agreement as the reason for the loan. Sorry I’m not much help. Not sure if it was secured on the car. Thank you
Sara (Debt Camel) says
you have a copy of the agreement? Does it have a a heading saying either: HIRE PURCHASE AGREEMENT REGULATED BY THE CONSUMER CREDIT ACT 1974 or CONDITIONAL SALE AGREEMENT REGULATED BY THE CONSUMER CREDIT ACT 1974 ?
Zh says
Hi Sara, it says neither of those but Fixed Sum Loan Agreement regulated by the Consumer Credit Act 1974
Hope that makes sense. Please let me know if you need anything else. Thank you
Sara (Debt Camel) says
ok that is not “car finance” so far as I can tell, it is a normal unsecured loan that you took out to buy a car.
I don’t know is it is likely that there was any discretionary commission element on this loan. You can ask Novuna – ComplaintsTeam@NovunaPersonalFinance.co.uk. I am not optimistic about this but it is simple to ask so why not?
Margaret says
Hi Someone queried about dcas on FIXED SUM LOAN AGREEMENTS… that was our query too
On ford.co.uk…I found this….. Am very hopeful
This will apply to you if:
There was a discretionary commission arrangement relating to your agreement.
You used car finance to buy a car before 28 January 2021. This includes hire purchase agreements, Personal Contract Purchases and fixed-sum loan agreements.
Margaret says
https://www.ford.co.uk/support/how-tos/owner-resources/ford-credit/how-to-make-a-complaint-about-the-discretionary-car-finance-commission
Sorry I forgot to add the link that may justify the inclusion of FIXED SUM LOAN AGREEMENTS containing DCAs
Zh says
Hi just to update, I had a response from CF247 and their response was:
“ We have now reviewed your agreement and can confirm that your lender Hitachi Capital did operate a discretionary commission arrangement at the time you took out finance on vehicle: ”
I then contacted Novuna (new name for Hitachi) and they raised a complaint and obviously it has been put on hold until FCA decision. So definitely worth enquiring even if it is marked as a fixed loan sum. Hope that helps anyone else. X
Zh says
Thank you for your advice Maragaret. It really helped me x
Stacey-Ann says
Hello my finance was with The car finance Company, they have gone into insolvency from 10/11/2023. Is there anything I can do.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
send a similar query to the dealer or broker you got the car through.
Stacey says
Hello Sara, thank you for replying. If the dealer I I the car finance from has closed is there any other way.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
probably not :(
Robyn says
I have contacted my lender and received a response, so thought it may be useful to share part of it.
“The Financial Conduct Authority (“FCA”) has recently introduced temporary changes to the handling of complaints where the complaint relates to a discretionary commission arrangement (“DCA”) between us and the Introducer and/or where the commission was calculated using a DCA commission model. I can confirm that an element of DCA commission was paid in connection with your above agreement.
The changes include a pause of the 8-week time limit in which we are required to provide our final response to your complaint. The pause will expire on 25 September 2024 and therefore based on the new rules currently in place, we will have 8 weeks from this date by which to issue our final response. In addition, the time-period in which you will have the right to refer your complaint to the Financial Ombudsman has also been extended from 6 months to 15 months from the date of our final response.
Please note that in light of the above, we will hold your complaint paused pending the outcome of the FCA’s investigation and you will receive a final response from us within 8 weeks following the 25 September 2024.”
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Thanks – so you do have a claim to make.
which lender is this?
Robyn says
I assume from the reply that I’m to sit and wait for the final response, and that the action is now with the lender to contact me and nothing presently on my end in terms of progressing the claim? This is Blue Motor Finance.
More than happy to forward on the full email to an address if it would be useful for helping you create templates etc for people.
Tania says
Hi Robyn
I’m also with Blue Motor Finance taken out in February 2020 I’m glad you posted this but I think my actual car dealer has gone burst but I’m still paying the finance company ? I’d like to see the email you sent them to start with ?
Kind Regards
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Robyn has pasted in the important bits in the comment just above.
Lisa says
Hello, I have had 3 car finances in the past 18 year but unfortunately i can remember what dealer the finance went through, No policy no, no car reg etc
Is there anyway i can find out this info?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
type of car?
Lisa says
I had 1 Ford KA From ford main dealer, 1 Ford ka from Arnold Clark and my Ford fiesta which i have now i have submitted that claim already
Sara (Debt Camel) says
So you know the dealers. You can ask them who the finance was through.
Or you can just assume it is Ford and send in a query about them as well. Put your date of birth in the query and the address you lived at at the time and the name of the dealer.
Stephen Smith says
Hi,
On 13/01/24 I sent an email to Black Horse using the template on your website.
To date I have not even had an acknowledgement of receipt.
Is this normal?
Many thanks
Flo Roberts says
I haven’t heard anything either and have commented awaiting Sara’s reply 🙂
Robert says
Is it the correct email address that is listed for Black Horse? I am asking as I emailed them yesterday regarding this matter also.
Obviously I don’t expect a response straight away, however if you emailed them in January & it’s 4 weeks already, I am wondering if it is the correct email address? I used the one listed here also.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
The address on my page is the one that Lloyds have asked me to list.
Robert says
Thank you Sara. I just wasn’t sure after reading the other comment regarding not hearing anything back from Black Horse.
Thank you for clarifying.
Ali = says
Hi, thank you for your advice, what a great website!
I had the following response from Toyota FS re 2 finance agreements I took out with them in 2009 and 2012:
“Thank you for your recent Letter of complaint regarding mis-sold finance and undisclosed commissions.
We have extensively searched our records using the information you provided and I can confirm we have been unable to locate any records for you.
If you had an agreement that closed more than 6 years ago, the information would be anonymised as it falls outside of our retention period. Therefore, we do not hold any Personal Data for you.
In view of the above, we now consider the matter to be resolved.”
I realised that one of the years I gave them was wrong so I have sent them another email correcting this, but what if they come back with the same response, do I then contact the Financial Ombudsman with my complaint? Many thanks :)
Sara (Debt Camel) says
At this point I think you should just wait and see what the FCA says. But one thing you can do in the meantime is ask the dealer/broker if there was any discretionary commission paid.
Ali Alway says
Thanks for the quick reply :) Will do!
Also, just in case it helps anyone, the email address they replied to me from is commissioncomplaints@toyota-fs.com
Ali Alway says
Hi Sara!
I have had the following email back from the place I bought the cars:
“Thank you for your email.
I note that both purchases were made prior to Listers taking over the franchise.
Please can I ask that you forward to complaint on to Toyota Financial Services
Email: complaints@uk.toyota-fs.com Telephone: 0330 107 9477″
So Toyota FS have told me they haven’t got my records as the deals were over 6 years ago, and the dealer who I got the cars from has been taken over by a different franchise who have told me to take my query to Toyota! I guess I’ll just wait to see what the FCA says later on this year as it looks as if I’ve hit a brick wall for the time being?
Many thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Yes I think you have.
Ali Alway says
Thanks for all your guidance! Much appreciated :)
Ali says
Hello again Sara
I’ve just had the following response from Toyota: “Thank you for your email asking for confirmation of whether we paid the dealer a discretionary commission.
After reviewing our records, we’ve not been able to find any record of your agreement with us. This may be because our data retention policy requires us to delete data after a certain amount of time has passed.
To allow us to make further enquiries with our records, we’ll need you to send us all the following:
A copy of the agreement you had with us.
Registered keeper details (for example, the vehicle’s logbook showing your name, or a DVLA letter).
A copy of your driving licence.
A copy of a utility bill in your name dated within the last three months.
Please email these details to commissioncomplaints@toyota-fs.com.
If you send us all these documents, we will then have important information including which dealer you were introduced to us by and when your finance agreement was arranged. This means that we can then search our other records to see if any introduction of you to us might have fallen into a discretionary commission arrangement.”
I don’t have either agreement but I did send them credit reports with details of the agreements and all the payments made, and also a letter from them to me confirming completion of one of my agreements. I have also just emailed the DVLA with Subject Access Requests asking for proof that I was the registered keeper of both vehicles.
I can easily send them driving licence and utility bill. I feel that they aren’t being very helpful!
What are your thoughts about this?
Many thanks ☺️
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Do you know the number plates? The dealer you went through? Does you still use the same bank – if you do, you can try to get bank statements that could confirm when you paid a deposit and when you finance payments started
Ali A says
Hi Sara, thanks for your reply. I’ve given Toyota both car reg numbers, and given them the name and address of the dealer, but I haven’t looked for bank statements so I’ll also do that-thank you 😊
Sara (Debt Camel) says
How long ago was the finance?
Ali Alway says
The first one was 2009 and the second one was 2012
Robert says
Hi, I have been reading this with interest & I have 2 questions that I need advice on. It is to ask/find out if my questions are worth asking to the finance companies in question.
My first question to you on here is, I took out HP finance on a car (I still have the car at the moment as it was for 60 months that I took out the HP)
I paid a deposit on the car on 28th December 2020 & got the car on 8th January 2021, the HP started from 10th of January 2021 & has came out on the 10th month ever since.
The HP is through Black Horse & it is at an APR interest rate of 6.9%.
It is to ask if there is a possibility that the dealership who I got the car from has used the discretionary commission?
Back in 2003, I was 23 years old & for the first time ever, I got a brand new car (53 registered, brand spanking new at the time) anyway, the HP at that time was through a company called GMAC finance & at the time, I was paying £267 per month on the finance. I believe that there was at the time PPi on the financial terms, but I paid it because I had agreed to it. Unfortunately I don’t have the terms of the agreement now, however I do have the details of the car I got at the time & the dealership & salesman details that I got the car from (they are a major dealer who are still on the go now) I don’t really hold out much hope on this because it was from back in 2003.
Thank you.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Yes it is possible that there was discretionary commission on the Black Horse finance – ask BH if there was as the article above says
The GMAC is very old – no one knows at the moment if discretionary commission was used at a back then, or if it is possible to claim so far back. But I suggest you start by asking the dealer.
.
Robert says
Hi Sara, thank you for your quick response, I appreciate that.
I will use the template email & see what Black Horse reply back.
As for GMAC (2003) I appreciate that was a long time ago now, I accept that the ship has long sailed on that matter.
Thanks again Sara, I will keep you updated with Black Horses response.
Kevin says
Hi Robert I also purchased two vehicles through black horse could you tell me how to get the email template to get the ball rolling thanks Kevin
Sara (Debt Camel) says
It’s in the article above these comments
Stephen Smith says
Hi Robert,
Could you also post on here if/when you get a response from Black Horse because all I’m getting at the moment is the sound of silence!!
Cheers
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I haven’t heard of anyone getting a response from BH. As one of the very largest lenders and losing a key case at the Ombudsman they will have tens of thousands of complaints.
Robert says
I have just seen your comment Stephen, regarding Black Horse. I have heard absolutely nothing from them whatsoever, not even an acknowledgement that they have got my query/question regarding this matter.
But, when/if they do get back to me, I will absolutely post it on here for anyone else who is waiting for them to respond.
Helen Warren says
Hi Sara
I’ve purchased new Toyotas from a main dealer in the past 6 years, financed through Toyota & not a credit broker. I assume because of this, I would not be eligible for any refund?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
The finance company may still have paid the dealer discretionary commission. Send that email and ask the finance company – then you will know where you stand.
Derek says
I’ve traced most of my finance agreements except for one. I don’t know the full registration number, not the agreement number. All I know is the dealer, branch, make, model and date of the agreements which was Dec 28th 2012.
Whilst the dealer remains open they closed the branch some while ago.
Given the limited details that I have do you think it worth writing to the companies registered office and ask who is dealing with possible claims?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
You know who the lender was?
Derek Austin says
Not 100% sure but I have a sneaky feeling it was Lombard
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Then ask Lombard
Marie says
Hi I had car finance through carfinance 247 the lender was startline how would I know if carfinace247 upped the interest rate etc
Sara (Debt Camel) says
You send the query that that the article above suggests to startline.
Alex says
If both the finance company and car dealership you purchased from no longer exist is there nothing I can do?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Probably not. Except some finance companies just transferred their business to another one… which lender was it?
Damian says
Hi, very interesting article. I have had several arrangement dating back to about 2007. For a number of reasons, hold no information on reg or finance agreements. But I do know that they were with Close Brothers and Black Horse. Could I get my info via SAR?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Possibly. But why not just send start with a query as the article suggests?
Lisa says
I know people above have contact black horse with no luck I emailed also tonight however noticed they have a spiel and form on their website for such complaints. Maybe worth filling in the form also if no one has heard back.
Stephen Smith says
Thankyou for that. I will give them a couple more weeks to respond before I complete this.
Conny says
Hi, there’s a section on my First Response Finance car HP contract which say “The dealer does not provide independent financial advice. The dealer acts as a credit intermediary and may receive a commission from First Response if you enter into an agreement with us. ” Does this mean I can apply even though they made a statement they don’t? Thank you
Sara (Debt Camel) says
No. FRF pay commission, there is nothing wrong with that. What matters is whether the commission included a “discretionary” element, that is what the Ombudsman has decided is unfair. And FRF have said clearly they have never paid any discretionary commission.
Rhys says
I complained to VWFS and received the following Final Decision. It seems they haven’t answered whether discretionary commission was involved and have only confirmed there was some form of commission. Should I proceed to take this to the Ombudsman?
CONC 4.5.3 (R) is a Rule but applies to credit brokers. We are not a credit broker, we are a lender.
In addition, the existence of commission was disclosed in the Agreement at clause 15 where it states “We may pay commission or other remuneration to a supplying dealer or other intermediary who introduces you to us.” You have signed the Agreement, agreeing to be legally bound by its Terms and Conditions. You were also provided with pre-contract information by Swansea Audi and a copy of the Agreement in advance of signing. You knew exactly how much you were going to be charged for the credit, the APR and the amount of the monthly instalments required under the Agreement. The pre-contract information stated that we might pay commission to a supplying dealer or other intermediary.
Furthermore, you have signed a pre-contractual explanation checklist that states you were told to read the agreement carefully and were provided an opportunity to ask questions about the agreement. You did not pay the commission, we did and that is justifiable for the work the undertaken by the dealer. You were provided with pre-contract information and a copy of the Agreement numbered XXX for XXX, which clearly sets out the rate of interest payable under the agreement. You knew what the rate of interest payable under the Agreement was, and would have been able to consider alternative finance options from other lenders prior to signing the agreement.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Please go back to them and say you would like to know if the commission paid by VWFS to the broker/dealer included an element of discretion where the broker/dealer was allowed to determine what the interest rate on the finance would be and thereby get additional commission. Or was the commission paid a fixed amount that could not be varied by changing the interest rate on the finance.
Say you do not want to have to send this complaint to the Ombudsman if there was a fixed rate of commission with no discretionary element. But if there was any discretionary element you will be making a complaint and the FCA is now allowing 15 months to take one of these complaints to the Ombudsman you understand.
Janet says
Hi, I bought a Renault Clio on finance from Reg Vardy back in 2000. The lender was AFS (Automotive Financial Services Limited). Just checked and looks like AFS went into liquidation a couple of years ago. Thought l’d lost out but reading comments, looks like I should claim from Reg Vardy. Are the dealers liable in any way? Thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Possibly. The ombudsman decisions in January were both against the lenders, but there is an argument that the dealer/broker was also at fault.
Your problem here may be the age of the finance and whether there are any records – but why not ask Reg Vardy.
MRJT says
What is the claim element? I have heard back off 2 that say discretionary commission applied.
Does it mean the difference between the APR that could’ve been offered and the APR that was offered?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Can you say who the lenders were and copy in the part of their reply to you saying that discretionary commission applies?
MrJT says
As a result, the FCA has paused the 8-week deadline for motor finance firms to provide a final response to customer complaints, where there was a discretionary commission arrangement between the motor finance lender and the introducer. I can confirm this change will impact your complaint.
This is moneyway. It reads as if there was a discretionary commission?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Yes it does.
MrJT says
Good Afternoon,
Thank you for contacting Startline Motor Finance.
Xxx ford focus reg xxx
Commission: £680.60
Model: APR Matrix (Min / Max Fatal) – dealer discretionary
This is Startline. And reads like it affects me??
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Yes it does. But can I check that it used exactly the same words as the response by Moneyway?
MrJT says
Sorry. It’s double posted. The second one ends at discretionary and is Startline.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
ok I have removed that – so the reply simply said what commission was paid and had the words “dealer discretionary” and stops there.
I think the reference to “Model: APR Matrix (Min / Max Fatal) – dealer discretionary” does suggest that was discretionary commission used.
MrJT says
That’s correct yes. So those are the 2 I have had answers from. Moneyway was 2014 and Startline was 2018
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I have now started a list in the article above of lenders who have sometimes used discretionary commission arrangements and included them.
You can now send them a formal complaint asking what range of interest rates the dealer/broker had discretion over setting and for a refund of the difference between the interest rate you paid and the bottom of that range.
mr Graham Bibby says
Hi Sara, I’ve had car finance through Yes Car Credit and Black Horse Finance, the latter for a Corsa that I had leased as a instruction vehicle through Hitachi, I understand that even though I don’t have any documents, registration numbers etc I can request these from the finance companies and also ask if they used discretionary finance, given that they’ve been so underhanded with all of this up to now, what’s stopping them from just saying No, we have never used discretionary finance regardless of whether they have or not. The interest rate with Yes Car Finance was 49% and £189 per month, in the end I had to take out another loan to pay that off as it was crippling me. Thanks for all your help and advice on this subject.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
How long ago were these finances taken out?
mr Graham Bibby says
2001, Yes Car Credit and 2007ish for Black Horse
Sara (Debt Camel) says
ok that is too long ago to have any chance of winning an affordability complaint against Yes Car, in fact I am not sure it exists any longer.
The Corsa – was this personal finance or a business finance?.
Stuart Garrard says
Do you have any advice on what to do if the Company state that your records were destroyed due to GDPR?
“Thank you for your recent correspondence regarding a vehicle you purchased from us and the associated finance arrangements.
“As your purchase was more than six years ago, all records we may have held relating to your purchase will have been confidentially destroyed in line with our GDPR policy; we’re therefore unable to provide you with any details relating to the transaction or the commission arrangements that may have been in place.”
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Who was the lender? How long ago was the purchase?
Natalie says
Hi I took out car fiance in march 2010 I believe this was part of the intrest rate scandal.
The company was fortis lease uk Ltd
The company was dissolved in 2019.
Can I make a claim through the dealer ?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Possibly. The first step is to ask the dealer if there was any discretionary commission arrangement. See what the reply is.
Tim says
Hi – does anyone have an email address for “Freeway, part of Bank of Scotland Vehicle Finance”? Freeway doesn’t seem to exist any more and I can’t find anything on the Bank of Scotland website?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I assume this was a long while ago? they were brand names of Lex Vehicle Finance which stopped trading in 2012 and has been since gone into liquidation.
You can email larissa.kay@ltsbasset.co.uk but that may well not work. Who was the dealer and are they still in business?
Tim says
The ‘dealer’ was Drive the Deal who are still around…
Sara (Debt Camel) says
then I suggest you ask the dealer if there was any discretionary commission paid on the finance.
Jon Sheppard says
Hello all. I got the below response from Tandem, but my original agreement was through a previous iteration / different company called 1st Stop Car Finance. I can’t find anything about whether they were one of the firms that ‘sometimes’ used discretionary commission arrangements or never used it. Does anyone know??
Because their email seems like a bit of a fob off that they sent after only 2 days… all I asked for is my finance agreement they had in file for me.
Thank you for your email.
We are aware of recent media coverage regarding historical motor finance commission arrangements. I can advise that we have never used a discretionary commission model (sometimes referred to as a “Difference in Charge” model). This is confirmed within the following Money Saving Expert link: Car finance FREE reclaim tool & guide | MSE (moneysavingexpert.com)
The Broker / Car Dealer had no influence over the interest rate charged on your loan and any introductory payment made did not influence the rate charged in any way. To clarify, the Broker / Car Dealer did not have any flexibility in being able to amend the APR to accommodate higher commission levels.
All fees chargeable to you were disclosed within the signed agreement meaning you were fully aware of the total cost of the loan including the APR and monthly payment.
I trust this has clarified matters for you but please let me know if you require any additional information.
Kind regards,
Sara (Debt Camel) says
That is clear that they have never used this form of commission. It isn’t surprising that this came back quickly – lenders that have never done this don’t need to locate the original agreement as they know what this will show.
I have added them to my list in the article above.
K says
Hi Sarah,
I got this response from Car Finance 24. Thank you for your commission enquiry, received on 12 January 2024.
We have now reviewed your agreement and can confirm that your lender Hitachi Capital did operate a discretionary commission arrangement at the time you took out finance on vehicle: Blue Vauxhall Corsa Club A/C Auto
Please note, your finance started with Hitachi Capital on the 13 March 2018.
Therefore, in accordance with the recent FCA statement, you are entitled to make a complaint in connection with your finance agreement. Your lender was responsible for setting the terms of the discretionary commission and therefore you need to contact them using the below details to raise your complaint. This is our final response on the matter.
FINAL RESPONSE AND YOUR RIGHT TO COMPLAIN TO THE OMBUDSMAN
You have the right to refer your complaint to the Financial Ombudsman Service, free of charge – but you must do so within fifteen months of the date of this response.
So my question is do I complain to Hitachi first or the FOS
Kyle Evans says
Had my finance with credit plus, who where trading as whichdeal Ltd. They have since become
Insolvent and credit plus is now trading as Jump Financd Ltd all from the same address etc etc.
they have sent me an email after my complaint saying they have nothing to do with it.
What can I do?
Thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Who was the dealer?
Craig says
Has anyone claimed against vauxhall finance or peter vardy .
Danni says
I contacted Vauxhall finance, they replied within hours confirming they didn’t use discretionary commission on mine
Anthony says
Hi, I have had several cars from BMW each purchased on a PCP, my first question is did BMW Finance charge the discretionary commission and they second is I don’t have details of ALL of the vehicles, registration numbers or agreement numbers? I always transferred a cherished plate following the purchase so I simply can’t remember the details and I have searched all my emails to no avail I have had at least seven since 2013 and 2021!
Sara (Debt Camel) says
They didn’t always use discretionary commission but they may have sometimes.
Your credit reports should show any that were being paid in the last 6 years. If you bought them all from the same dealer, they may have the information.
OA says
Hi Sara! I received a response from Startline regarding the car finance commission – they said: Following receipt of your query regarding commission we can confirm that the commission paid was £XXX, there was a Discretionary Commission Arrangement (DCA) in place. I am now putting the formal complaint through but I’m unsure what to say/what to ask for? Do I ask for a refund of the whole fees or is it a percentage you’re entitled to?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
At the moment this isn’t clear…
In the two Financial Ombudsman cases, people were awarded a refund of the difference between the interest they paid and the interest they would have paid if there had been no discretionary commission. So if (and I am making these numbers up) the dealer in your case was able to set the interest rate anywhere between 4% and 11% and you actually paid 7%, then you would get a refund of the extra 3% interest you paid because the interest rate was not set at the lowest figure.
However it is possible that the FCA, who is looking into these refunds at the moment, may decide that refunds should be calculated differently.
I suggest you say in your complaint that you feel you have not been treated fairly as this commission structure was not disclosed to you and you would like a refund of the additional interest you paid because of it, in line with the January Financial Ombudsman decisions.
Kelly McCandless says
I have sent an enquiry to Motonovo 2 weeks ago and have had no acknowledgement, not even an automated reply. I know some are using the excuse they have longer to reply but is that just for a complaint? I have only put in an initial enquiry. Should I just go ahead and put the complaint in so I can get it time stamped ?
Thanks in advance
Sara (Debt Camel) says
There is no hurry about this. I suggest you wait 8 weeks.
Mika says
I have sent an enquiry to Motonovo too and have received two emails. First was to acknowledge my initial email and second had the below reply.
Thank you for your recent communication requesting information about whether your finance agreement involved a discretionary commission arrangement. We have received your enquiry and are investigating this for you.
We are receiving a high volume of enquiries in relation to discretionary commission arrangements, no further action is required from you at this stage and we will respond to you as soon as we can.
For those whose agreements included discretionary commission we will register a complaint and they will be subject to the FCA pause on Car Finance Complaints.
Enquiries on agreements without any form of discretionary commission will be informed.
Paul says
Hi Sara
Just wanted to say no response received from Black Horse Finance too. Seems like they are not replying to anyone.
Robert says
I have just commented the exact same as you Paul.
Stonewall silence from them.
Surma Begum says
Does anyone have black Horse email address?
Roselyne says
mse.motorcommission@blackhorse.co.uk
This is the email I used for them last week and I received a response
Keith Rooney says
Hi again, I don’t have my agreement numbers or past registrations how can I get them
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Ask the dealer?
Keith Rooney says
Thanks Sara, are tge email addresses of finance groups up to date as I emailed hyundai and they say to contact vertu motors, just checking ✔️
Sara (Debt Camel) says
So far as I know it is, and MSE has the same email address on their tool.
Vertu looks like a car dealer. You could ask them, but I suggest you go back to Hyundai and say that as they provided the finance, you are asking Hyundai whether there was any element of discretionary commission that affected the rate of interest you paid.
Keith Rooney says
Thanks, I put in for 2 claims, got a third claim but don’t know the agreement number or registration, should I expect an acknowledgement with reference number or just wait and see.
Much appreciated K.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
just wait and see at the moment
Thomas Flynn says
Hi Sara. Am I correct in saying that Moneybarn were not one of the companies involved in discretionary commission? I have emailed them about 2 months ago but haven’t had a reply.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
They have a clear statement on their website that they have never used discretionary commission.
Wayne says
Ive had this from motonova Thank you for your recent communication requesting information about whether your finance agreement involved a discretionary commission arrangement. We have received your enquiry and are investigating this for you.
We are receiving a high volume of enquiries in relation to discretionary commission arrangements, no further action is required from you at this stage and we will respond to you as soon as we can.
For those whose agreements included discretionary commission we will register a complaint and they will be subject to the FCA pause on Car Finance Complaints.
Enquiries on agreements without any form of discretionary commission will be informed.
Robert says
Further to my previous comments, & in response to the person who pointed out that Black Horse actually have a link to contact on their website regarding this very matter.
I done the email template provided by Sara on this website & forwarded it to the black horse email address also on this page, heard absolutely nothing back, not even an acknowledgment.
I then seen the comment about Black Horse having the contact information regarding this very matter on their own website, so I also used their own website to send them the required information.
This was 8 day’s ago now & again, I have not heard a single thing from Black Horse, no acknowledgement at all.
Just silence. So, it’s just to say, of anyone does contact Black Horse, don’t expect them to even acknowledge you regarding this matter.
I appreciate that it will take time, however it is frustrating to not hear absolutely anything from them.
Toni says
Hi, I just wanted to say I contacted Black Horse about 4 weeks ago and I finally got an acknowledgement this week. At least that gives you a bit of guidance on the timescale they’re working to.
Lisa says
Good to know, its been a few weeks and i submitted via both methods and heard nothing so far. Fingers crossed
Simon says
I received an auto reply from Black Horse after 12 days using the contact details on MSE.
Chris says
Had 2 agreements with Perrys mazda Huddersfield but around 2010 and have no paperwork, any idea who perrys used as finance
Also 2 agreements with Cars2 seat in Wakefield , any idea who they used for finance ?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
You need to ask the dealers.
Derek Austin says
Just heard from Lombard that they didn’t pay any commission on my finance agreement with. ar I used them for.
now just waiting for BMW x 2 and VW finance x 1
Aleks says
Hi
I bought Kia in 2014 from Kia dealer and had finance with R Raphael&Sons but company went into liquidation in 2023. What should be my next step to check if I have paid commission?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Ask the dealer. At the moment it isn’t clear if you will be able to claim against the dealer, but you are only asking if there was any discretionary commission paid.
MrJT says
Sara, are you suggesting that when we have found out about whether or not it’s was discretionary we put a full complaint in about it?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I am sorry I missed this comment.
Has a lender told you there was discretionary commission – which lender? Most lenders are automatically treating this as a complaint.
Roselyne Kaguo says
Hi Sara,
I wrote to Black Horse regarding a car they financed for me through Motorpoint in 2018. I used a template I had found on moneysavingexpert.com. They responded on the same day with the following:
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
Black Horse Limited. Registered office: 25 Gresham Street, London EC2V 7HN.
Registered number: 661204 England and Wales.
Authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority
Daniella says
Hey all, I’ve just had a reply from the car finances from CA Auto finance, with the below. It took them around 3 days to come back with this. Just thought it would be helpful for people to no what to expect ☺️
Thank you for your recent inquiry asking for confirmation of whether we paid the dealer a discretionary commission for your introduction to us. We’re checking our records and will come back to you in due course. You don’t need to contact us again. We’ll be in touch when we’ve completed the search of our records. Kind regards, CA Auto Finance
Hope this helps!
Marion says
I sent an email to Blue Motor Finance on 16/2/24. They are also on the list for sometimes having used Discretionary commission. I feel this is a fob of as firstly they responded very quickly, secondly they did not even address me by name only as shown below. Plus the interest on the finance is almost the cost of the value of the car.
Commission query
Inbox
Blue Escalations
Thu, Feb 22, 4:15 PM (3 days ago)
Good afternoon
Thank you for your recent email asking for confirmation of whether we paid the dealer a discretionary commission for your introduction to us.
After checking our records, we can tell you that we did not pay a discretionary commission to the dealer.
Kind regards,
Sara (Debt Camel) says
When did you take the finance out?
Marion says
Hi Sara, I took it out January 2019
Sara (Debt Camel) says
The reply is clear that there was no discretionary commission paid.
BMF have a different format reply they have sent out to some pople that says they did use discretionary finance (“The Financial Conduct Authority (“FCA”) has recently introduced temporary changes to the handling of complaints where the complaint relates to a discretionary commission arrangement (“DCA”) between us and the Introducer and/or where the commission was calculated using a DCA commission model. I can confirm that an element of DCA commission was paid in connection with your above agreement.”) – they are not telling everyone that there was no discretionary commission. I see no reason to think their reply to you was inaccurate.
Howvwer, have you considered if you have a possibsle affordability complaint against them? Blue Motor are losing a lot of these complaints. They will go through faster and you will get a larger refund if you win than for a commission claim. See https://debtcamel.co.uk/unaffordable-car-finance/
Marion says
Blue Motor Finance did respond to my email re Discretionary Commission stating they didn’t use it. I rang and spoke to them regarding the interest on my car finance which was £3000 short of the value of the car purchase. They completed my complaint over the phone and stated that someone would contact me to discuss
Jenny says
Hi Marion…We’ve just had this email from blue motor finance……
Thank you for contacting us to confirm whether any commission was paid to the Introducer regarding your above agreement and whether the commission was calculated using a Discretionary Commission Arrangement (“DCA”). After checking our records, we can tell you that we did pay a discretionary commission to the dealer. We’ll treat your email as your complaint.
I’ve only pasted the top half of the email as it goes on and on about the FCA’s pause till 24th sept so they are honest if they have added DCA. Hope that helps.
Helen Deleu says
Hi
I send an email to moneyway using your template and the reply was more confusing, just they sent back the final statement, which I had it already . They don’t specify if was a discretionary, not discretionary, but I know found that was hire purchased, even though I said back then that is a personal purchase.
Anyway , seem complicated, but I can tell that I paid 17,4% all commission.
What now, do I insist for them to be more clearer on commission or what !?
The loan contract was made on February 2018 at the end.
Thank you
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I suggest you reply saying that you have asked if there was any discretionary commission arrangement on your contract, because their reply has not answered your question.
Helen Deleu says
I done this now , so again waiting for their reply.
Curiously that they “answer” with a letter final statement instead of replying to my email .
Thank you
Ben says
Hi Sara,
I got the below response from Startline. Does this mean closure of this case?
“The current FCA investigation relates to Discretional Commission Arrangements (DCA) only.
The commission paid (£632.93) relating to your Agreement was not a DCA which means the introducer did not have the ability to influence the APR of your Agreement or commission paid. Therefore, the current FCA investigation and announcement does not apply to your Agreement with Startline Motor Finance.
Given this, and in line with your initial email, we have not logged a complaint on this basis.
If you wish to get back in touch regarding this matter, please contact us using the below details.
Kind regards,
Startline Motor Finance Ltd”
Sara (Debt Camel) says
yes that is clear, you do not have a potential claim for discretionary commission.
How long ago did this finance start? Did repaying it cause you any problems?
Zif says
Hi can I make a claim for a zenith which is for a salary sacrifice which I had through royal mail. I had a contract with them for 2 years.
Many thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
was this a lease contract?
Zif says
Its a salary sacrifice lease vehicle.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Sorry these claims don’t apply to lease cars
Lynne Gilchrist says
I know the dealer but can’t remember the car reg what can I do?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Ask the dealer if there was discretionary commission and who the finance lender was
Ruqayyah says
What if the car finance company no longer exists?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
You can ask the dealer.
Kelly says
Hi Sarah,
I contacted Honda Financial Services regarding discretionary commission arrangement and received this response.
Thank you for your enquiry regarding a potential discretionary commission arrangement between Honda Financial Services and the dealer you purchased your vehicle from.
From the information you have provided, we have completed our investigation and believe there is no discretionary commission arrangement on your agreement(s) with us and as a result, you are not impacted by the Financial Conduct Authority investigation into historical motor finance commission arrangements.
Please do not hesitate to get in contact if you have any additional questions or concerns.
Does this mean I haven’t been affected? I did ask them to provide me with documentation of my arrangement, but they haven’t provided me with this. Should I go back and ask them again?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Yes, there was no discretionary commission and so there is nothing to try to claim. If you want You can ask them how much commission was paid, but there isn’t much point.
Kira-Beth says
Hi Sara!
Raised my complaint with Santander consumer finance and they have confirmed the following –
We can confirm that a DCA was in place between us and the credit broker relating to your finance agreement.
As there was a DCA in place, we have forwarded your email to our Commissions department to log your complaint. You will receive a formal acknowledgement letter in the post, and we will begin to investigate the commission arrangement that was in place.
Is there anymore I need to do or just allow them to provide response when they can? It does state the earliest they can provide final response is 25th Sept 2024
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Nothing more you need to do know except add a not to Calendar for end September! Santander will be waiting to see what the FCA says.
Kira-Beth says
Thank you Sara! You’ve been a great help with these complaints!
Donna says
Hi
Has anyone had finance with Dacia Finance?
Stephanie says
I’ve sent 2 emails, one to Ford and one to Black Horse. This is what I sent:
1. A request for information you hold on my behalf. I would like to ask if my finance agreement with you (details below) had any form of discretionary commission arrangement between you and the broker / car dealer or any other entity involved in the transaction. If it did, I request you inform me within 28 days of the date of this communication.
For the sake of clarity, this first request is purely for information and is not a complaint or expression of dissatisfaction, and is not subject to the FCA’s pause. If there is failure to comply with my request, please treat this request as a data subject access request under the Data Protection Act 2018/GDPR.
2. If there is/was a discretionary commission arrangement in place in relation to my finance agreement with you, I request you treat this communication as a formal complaint arising out of the commission arrangement and the fact it was not adequately disclosed at the time it was taken out. The complaint should be treated as being made on the date of this communication. Please confirm to me within 28 days that you have done so.
I’ve received an acknowledgement of complaint from Ford, so does this confirm that there was a discretionary commission arrangement?
Blackhorse and sent me a response saying they are looking into my request. How long do they have to inform me if there was a discretionary commission arrangement or not?
Thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I’ve received an acknowledgement of complaint from Ford, so does this confirm that there was a discretionary commission arrangement?
you would have to ask Ford that – it may be they didnt read what you write in much detail but just put it in the complaints pile.
There is no set time for a lender to respond to a query. Really they should respond within 8 week, but BH may be overwhelmed at the moment.
John says
Can you keep me informed with this please I had one with black horse back in 2007
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I suggest you check back here once a month.
Angela Moffat says
Good evening Sara ,
My husband purchased a Mercedes Benz in 2007 and finance was taken out through Capital Bank ( Bank of Scotland ) He received a letter from Black Horse in 2010 to inform him that due to merger of Lloyds tsb and Halifax they were taking over agreement and changed the agreement number but stated that it wouldn’t affect terms of his original agreement with Capital Bank . He had already emailed his discretionary commission complaint to Black horse with the two agreement numbers and today my husband received a letter requesting further information as they cannot locate his records. If Capital Bank is no longer in existence will this mean Black Horse will not take any blame if this commission was used ? I have emailed Black Horse every bit of information I have kept so may need to sit tight and await their reply .
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I think you need to wait and see what turns up.
Angela Moffat says
Thank you Sara
I have emailed all the information I have to Black Horse this evening and I will let you know when I get a response.
Thank you very much
Angela
Nita says
Hi Sara
I am about to lodge complsint re unafordable car finance. I took it in 2017. Can not access my credit report for 2017 . Any suggestiins how to prove it was unafordable? Thank you
Sara (Debt Camel) says
do you have, or can you get, your bank statements for the 3 months before and 3 months after the finance started?