Vehicle finance commission complaints – information for partners
Latest update
On Friday 1 August, the Supreme Court overturned the Court of Appeal’s judgment to bring an end to the legal journey of the ‘Hopcraft’ case relating to vehicle finance commissions.
They found that in many cases, commission payments could be legal. However, there may still be circumstances that could have been unfair and unlawful.
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) are planning to put a compensation scheme in place. The first step towards this is a consultation phase. This consultation will begin in October 2025 and if the scheme goes ahead, payments to customers are expected to begin in 2026.
We won’t know until the FCA publish their decision how this will work, so we’re encouraging customers to continue to submit any complaints to us directly. They don’t need to use a claims management company to do it.
What you should know:
- You can read the update from the FCA here.
- If a customer is looking to make a complaint about a commission, they can use our commission complaint form.
- If they’ve already made a complaint about a commission arrangement, they don’t need to do anything else.
How we got here
On 11 January 2024, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) announced a review of the vehicle finance market. This was due to the high number of customer complaints about discretionary commission arrangements, which were banned in January 2021. This announcement extended the time we have to respond to complaints about discretionary commission arrangements.
A judgment by the Court of Appeal on 25 October 2024 then changed the legal standard needed for lenders like us to make customers aware of commission payments related to their finance. On 22 November 2024, we submitted an application for permission to appeal the Court of Appeal's judgment in respect of the "Hopcraft" motor finance commissions case.
On 11 December 2024, we were informed that permission to appeal had been granted by the Supreme Court. The FCA announced that before it could take any further steps it would need to wait for the Supreme Court's decision. The hearing took place from 1-3 April 2025 with the decision announced on 1 August 2025. On 19 December 2024, the FCA announced that they were extending the time that motor finance lenders have to respond to complaints about any commission payments linked to motor finance. This extension is due to last until 4 December 2025.
Frequently asked questions
Vehicle finance commission
How do I/my customer know what type of commission was linked to their agreement?
If their agreement was taken out before 28 January 2021, there may have been a discretionary commission arrangement (DCA) in place.
If their vehicle finance agreement started after this date, we may have paid a different type of commission. This is known as a ‘non-discretionary commission arrangement’ or non-DCA.
Scope of the FCA commission review
Does the review only cover cars?
We provide finance for cars, vans, motorcycles and leisure vehicles (like motorhomes). All these types of vehicles are covered by the review.
Does this apply to just new vehicles, or used as well?
This applies to both new and used vehicles.
Which finance products are included in the FCA’s review?
The FCA’s review covers Hire Purchase, Personal Contract Purchase (PCP) and Conditional Sale.
Does this apply to businesses who took out finance on a vehicle, or is it only consumers?
This applies to consumers, sole traders, and partnerships. If your customer is a limited company or LLP and they’ve taken out finance with us, they aren’t impacted by this.
Does the review apply to customers in Northern Ireland?
Customers in Northern Ireland are treated in exactly the same way as customers in England, Scotland and Wales, which means the announcement does apply to them.
Does the review apply to customers in Ireland/Republic of Ireland?
No. There is a different regulator with separate regulations in Ireland and that means they aren’t impacted by this announcement.
Should I be preserving customer information and documents?
On 11 January 2024, the FCA introduced a record retention rule in their handbook (DISP 5.3). Lenders and credit brokers (such as dealers and brokers), must retain and preserve the following (whether in paper or electronic format):
- Regulated credit agreements;
- Records of the commission arrangements relating to the regulated credit agreements
- Records of any commission, fee or other financial consideration paid (directly or indirectly) in connection with the regulated credit agreement, including details of its structure and calculation;
- Communications with the customer (pre and post contract) which could include amongst other things, explanation documents provided to customers, letters, leaflets, during the course of their purchase of a vehicle on finance.
The FCA now require that you do not delete, or dispose of records relating to regulated motor finance agreements where there was a commission arrangement in place between us, if this information is or could be relevant to handling future complaints or claims.
This requirement is in force until 11 April 2026.
You can find more information about how you should process customer data in our Dealer and Broker Conduct Guide, which can be found here
Contact from a third party
I’ve been contacted by the Financial Ombudsmen Service (FOS) for information about a customer claim, what should I do?
If you’re contacted by the FOS, for example to complete a Motor finance commission: Business response form, it’s likely that one of your customers has complained to the FOS about vehicle finance commission. You should respond with the information requested at your earliest convenience, and within any timescales the FOS sets out.
I’ve been contacted by a claims management company (CMC) for information about a customer claim, what should I do?
If you receive a ‘letter before action’ from a CMC, it’s important you do not ignore this communication. If you need support, we recommend you seek your own legal advice. We would also be grateful if you could forward us a copy of the ‘letter before action’ for our records.
Vehicle finance commission complaints review process
Will my customer be entitled to compensation?
At this stage, we can’t comment on any potential compensation customers may be entitled to. What we do know is that on 11 January 2024, the FCA announced that they were undertaking a review in the motor finance market and on 19 December 2024 they broadened the scope of their complaints pause connected with this review.
Following the Supreme Court’s judgment on 1 August 2025 the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) have said they’re planning to put a compensation scheme in place. The first step towards this is a consultation phase. This consultation will begin in October 2025 and if the scheme goes ahead, payments to customers are expected to begin in 2026.
We won’t know until the FCA publish their decision how this will work, so we’re encouraging customers to continue to submit any complaints to us directly. They don’t need to use a claims management company to do it.
Because of their review, the FCA put a pause on lenders responding to commissions complaints until 4 December.
You can find out more about the FCA’s work on their website, which is fca.org.uk/.
One of my customers wants to register a complaint with you, what should they do?
Ask them to visit this page on our website and follow the steps to check their details and complain about commission. Our online form is the quickest way to make a complaint about commission linked to their vehicle.
I’ve been contacted by a customer who doesn’t know if they had an agreement with you, and I’ve got no details, what should they do?
Please ask them to visit this page on our website and complete our online form with as much information as they do have.
To be able to confidently match a customer’s complaint with a historical finance agreement, we need the following information:
- Agreement number OR vehicle registration
- Date of birth
- Full name (as at the end of their agreement)
- Address and postcode (as at the end of their agreement)
If we can confirm that the customer had an agreement with us which included commission, we’ll automatically log a complaint for them.
If a customer logs a commission complaint, when will they get a final decision from you?
Normally, we must provide a response within 8 weeks, or let the customer know that we need longer.
While they carry out their review, the FCA have put in place a pause in responding to all customer complaints about motor vehicle finance commissions.
The pause is currently due to end 4 December 2025.
Does this impact how you are managing and processing complaints not related to commissions?
No. There are no changes to how and when we must respond to all other types of complaints. The changes only relate to commission complaints.
Free and independent advice
- View FCA commission review
FCA commission review
Information on the FCA’s review and the temporary measures they’ve put in place.
- View FOS guidance
Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS)
Summary of criteria for customers making a complaint about commission, and the additional support they provide.
- View FCA’s review
Information for firms on motor finance complaints
Further detail for firms affected by the FCA’s review.
Commission complaint support for customers
Customers can find out more information and decide whether to raise a complaint with us if they think they’ve been affected.