2 July 2024: Car Finance Mis-selling... are you owed £1,000s?

The clock is ticking for the financial regulator, the FCA, to make its decision on car finance mis-selling. Since the investigation was announced in January, 1.7m complaints have been made via our free tool alone.

That investigation is due to conclude on 25 Sept, and as a conservative estimate, if the FCA rules in favour of mass payouts, that could equate to £750,000,000 being repaid for complaints made via the tool.

With that ruling getting closer, I want to run through both how to complain for those who may be eligible, and, as I'm swamped with questions from those who have, explain the next steps if you've complained already.

You may be able to claim £1,000s back as the FCA is amid a huge investigation into Discretionary Commission Arrangements (DCAs). These DCAs are where finance firms let car dealers pump up interest rates, without customers being told, and then bunged 'em extra commission if they did. This likely meant huge numbers OVERPAID WITHOUT KNOWING. Key facts...

It's for motor vehicles: Cars, vans, camper vans & motorbikes.
Key dates: It's for finance between April 2007 & 28 Jan 2021.
Finance types: It's for Personal Contract Purchases (PCP) and Hire Purchases (HP) but NOT Personal Contract Hires (ie, leasing).
It's for personal use: That includes commuting, but not biz use.
It applies even if the person has passed away: The relevant executor or beneficiary can reclaim on their behalf.
It applies even if the vehicle's paid off: And/or you no longer own it.

All that is known. Yet until the investigation concludes on 25 Sept, there's also lots we don't know. Yet my view is complain now as there may be a time-bar introduced when the investigation ends, so sooner means less chance you'll be caught out by that.

Key resources to check whether you're eligible & then to complain Car finance mis-selling FREE TOOL & guide Martin's video explainer \| Listen to his BBC Car Finance Mis-selling Pod (from 8m42s) also via Apple / Spotify

We've had lots of kind words said about the simplicity of the MSE tool, such as those from A.C: "Just sent a complaint email via your tool. I found it extremely easy to use and simple to follow. I now wait for a reply with my fingers crossed. Thank you for all the help. Almost certainly I wouldn't have picked up on this without your weekly emails and would have struggled to compose a complaint close to as well-worded."

As an aside, something I found interesting when interrogating the figures - the FCA suggests 40% of car finance agreements had 'DCAs'. Yet our latest survey stats (see below) show a much higher percentage of those who went via the MSE tool and have had final answers have been told they had DCAs (though the FCA percentage is of the whole market; our tool excludes firms that never used DCAs).

- 74% have been told they did have a DCA.
- 26% have been told they didn't.

The percentages vary substantially by firm. For Black Horse, MotoNovo and Close Brothers, over nine in 10 who've had final answers tell us their reply states they did have a DCA, yet for VW Financial Services it's fewer than four in 10.

Since we launched the tool in February, over 1.7 million complaint letters have been sent via it, and they've received a mixed bag of responses, so no surprise I've had thousands of 'What next?' questions.

So let me take you through what to do in the various circumstances. Yet please bear in mind, these are uncharted waters, and we won't have full facts until 25 Sept, so in some cases I'm making best-guesses based on experience in the past mass-reclaim campaigns I've run. There's full What next? help in the guide, but in brief...

It says 'you DID have a DCA'. Great, your complaint is logged, you've done all you need for now. Unless it requests any further info, get on with your life until September, when the FCA will announce whether compensation is to be paid, and we'll update you with what to do then.
It says 'your car finance DIDN'T have a DCA'. You weren't overcharged, so that's good, but it means no payout is coming, so shrug your shoulders and forget it (PS: you may've been mis-sold car finance in other ways though).

There's one common question people ask me after being told this - such as this from Josie: "How do we know they're being honest?" Well, barring rare data errors, it'd be staggering if a firm lied amid a regulatory investigation, and there'd likely be huge fines once discovered, so we must assume honesty.
It has only 'acknowledged your complaint'. This is frustrating, especially if you sent it months ago. Yet crucially it means your complaint is logged. Use the table below to see whether your delay is normal for the firm (if so 'it's them, not you') or whether you're an outlier - if the latter, you may want to chase it up.

How car finance firms are responding to complaints
Firm & its stance	Firm-by-firm survey results (from 11,000 responses in May/June)
Black Horse (17% of complaints via our tool) It told us: Acknowledgement within 28 days, and updates every 28 days.	- 51% acknowledgement only (of those 93% got it within 2mths of complaint) - 36% told 'you had a DCA' (of those 90% got it within 3mths) - 1% didn't have DCA (82% told within 3mths) - 4% no response after 2mths
VW Financial Services (excl Audi) (9%) It told us: Immediate auto-response, full response within 6 weeks of email.	- 21% acknowledgement only (of those 94% got it within 2mths of complaint) - 24% told 'you had a DCA' (of those 98% got it within 3mths) - 39% didn't have DCA (97% told within 3mths) - 5% no response after 2mths
MotoNovo (8%) It told us: 'As soon as possible' - no solid guidance.	- 15% acknowledgement only (of those 97% got it within 2mths of complaint) - 74% told 'you had a DCA' (of those 98% got it within 3mths) - 4% didn't have DCA (100% told within 3mths) - 3% no response after 2mths
Santander (8%) It told us: Response within 28 days of initial email.	- 6% acknowledgement only (of those 80% got it within 2mths of complaint) - 62% told 'you had a DCA' (of those 98% got it within 3mths) - 14% didn't have DCA (98% told within 3mths) - 6% no response after 2mths
BMW Financial Services (6%) It told us: Immediate auto-response, full response within 88 days.	- 63% acknowledgement only (of those 88% got it within 2mths of complaint) - 11% told 'you had a DCA' (of those all got it within 3mths) - 2% didn't have DCA (96% told within 3mths) - 4% no response after 2mths
Stellantis (excl Vauxhall) (4%) It told us: Response within 28 days of email - no solid guidance for final response.	- 10% acknowledgement only (of those 84% got it within 2mths of complaint) - 41% told 'you had a DCA' (of those 93% got it within 3mths) - 30% didn't have DCA (98% told within 3mths) - 7% no response after 2mths
Stellantis (Vauxhall only) (4%) It told us: Immediate auto-response - no solid guidance for final response.	- 9% acknowledgement only (of those 90% got it within 2mths of complaint) - 33% told 'you had a DCA' (of those 92% got it within 3mths) - 37% didn't have DCA (89% told within 3mths) - 5% no response after 2mths
Barclays Partner Finance (3%) It told us: Immediate auto-response, full response within 28 days of initial email.	- 17% acknowledgement only (of those 92% got it within 2mths of complaint) - 60% told 'you had a DCA' (of those 99% got it within 3mths) - 13% didn't have DCA (97% told within 3mths) - 3% no response after 2mths
Close Brothers (3%) It told us: Not confirmed (we're waiting for an update from it).	- 24% acknowledgement only (of those 85% got it within 2mths of complaint) - 44% told 'you had a DCA' (of those 96% got it within 3mths) - 4% didn't have DCA (93% told within 3mths) - 9% no response after 2mths
Ford Financial Services (3%) It told us: Not confirmed (it's not replying to our enquiries!).	- 30% acknowledgement only (of those 84% got it within 2mths of complaint) - 10% told 'you had a DCA' (of those 95% got it within 3mths) - 3% didn't have DCA (88% told within 3mths) - 23% no response after 2mths
Mobilize (excl RCI) (1%) It told us: Immediate auto-response - no solid guidance for final response.	- 19% acknowledgement only (of those 89% got it within 2mths of complaint) - 39% told 'you had a DCA' (of those 97% got it within 3mths) - 24% didn't have DCA (90% told within 3mths) - 3% no response after 2mths

It hasn't replied at all. If you complained over a month ago i) check your email sent box that it did send, ii) check your junk mail for replies, iii) check the email address you sent it to.

If all those are good, scroll through the table to see if yours is an isolated incident for the firm (in which case resend), or you're one of many waiting (in which case have a private swear, but wait a little longer), as seems common with Ford and Close Brothers, from the limited number of responses we've had on them.
It says 'you had a DCA but we've rejected your complaint, you can go to the ombudsman'. This is rare, but does happen. In fact most important is your provider's confirmed you've had a DCA and has logged your complaint. The rest is just a fob-off, as until 25 Sept when the FCA reports, no one knows exactly what'll count as mis-selling. If yours then does, it'll almost certainly have to reopen it (or the ombudsman will).

As an aside, the Financial Ombudsman has now effectively suspended dealing with these DCA complaints until after 25 Sept. Yet that's no issue as for all those who complained via the tool, you've 15 months to decide whether to go to it, so it's a wait and see.
It says 'we need more info' or 'we can't find your info'. If it wants more info, often as you've moved home since you took out the agreement, this is legit as it has an obligation to ensure it's dealing with the right person - see our it wants more info help.

If you've given it all the info you can, and it can't locate you, it's trickier. The FCA says firms should make serious endeavours to find policies - certainly if you've documentary evidence of a policy and it doesn't, it'll likely be pushed to settle later (if that's what's ordered) based on 'what happened with others in similar circumstances'.

If not, it depends how long ago it was you took out the finance. If your car finance was active within the last six years, it should have details. If it was longer ago, it could become harder, but it should try. If not, it's another 'wait until 25 Sept' when harder rules on disclosure are likely to come out (we'll update then).

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Lots of scam ads litter social media and even newspaper websites - some of these lie that we or Martin promote Bitcoin, binary trading etc. See Fake ads warning.

News: Average credit card APR rises to highest rate since 2006 - a shocking 35.3%

So check now whether you can save £1,000s shifting existing debt to a 2yr+ INTEREST FREE balance transfer card

Spend on a credit card, and the average annual percentage rate (APR) has risen to 35.3% - a stomach-churning £353 a year for every £1,000 of debt on it. This is the highest level since 2006, when data provider Moneyfacts started tracking rates. So do check now whether you're paying interest, and what your APR is. Your core weapon to take this on is a top balance transfer - a new card that pays off debt on existing cards, so you owe it instead, but interest-free over a set period. This means your repayments clear the actual debt, not just mostly cover interest. On to what to do...

1. Don't just apply - that can hit your ability to access credit. Go via an eligibility calc. Our 0% balance transfer eligibility checker speedily shows acceptance odds for top cards (some people are pre-approved) so you can home in on those most likely to accept you without affecting your creditworthiness.

2. Go for the LOWEST FEE within a 0% time long enough to clear the debt. Longer balance transfers usually have a bigger one-off fee to transfer. So if you've a choice and can clear debt quicker, go for a shorter deal to minimise fees. Unsure? Play safe, go long.

Rarely, all the top picks right now give all accepted the full 0% length, making the choice simpler...

Top-pick newbies' 0% balance transfers (longest first)
Tesco Bank Link goes via eligibility or apply direct*	- 29mths 0% - 3.49% fee - 24.9% rep APR after	The longest 0% deal. If you're unsure how long it'll take to repay, longest is safest. This card also allows pre-approval for some via our eligibility calculator.
Virgin Money It's asked for all applications to go via our eligibility link above	- 28mths 0% - 3.25% fee - 24.9% rep APR after	One month shorter, fee slightly lower. Similar to Tesco, though the fee is cheaper by £2.40 per £1,000 shifted. So go for whichever is more likely to accept you.
Virgin Money It's asked for all applications to go via our eligibility link above	- 20mths 0% - 2% fee - 24.9% rep APR after	Much lower fee if you can clear in 20mths. A middling card for length and fee, but one that will work for many who can repay quicker.
NatWest It's asked for all applications to go via our eligibility link above	- 13mths 0% - NO fee - 24.9% rep APR after	Longest NO FEE 0%. A clear winner for those who can pay off quickly as there's no cost at all.

If you do get a card, ALWAYS follow the Balance Transfer Golden Rules:
a) Never miss the minimum monthly repayment, or you could lose the 0% deal and it'll cost far more.
b) Aim to clear the card (or balance-transfer again) before the 0% ends, or the rate rockets to the higher APR.
c) Don't spend or withdraw cash. It usually isn't at the cheap rate and withdrawals may hit your ability to get future credit.
d) If you don't transfer at application, you've usually only 60 to 90 days to get the 0% deal. Do check with the card provider.

Quick balance-transfer FAQs (click links for Martin's answers)
Q. Is it worth applying if my eligibility odds are low? | Q. What if my credit limit isn't big enough? | Q. Can I shift debt to existing cards too? | Q. Should I try to pay off my biggest debt first? SPOILER: NO.
Full help and info, including options for poorer credit scorers, in Best balance transfers.

Limited. £122 of No7 beauty & skincare £35. Eight items including hot cloth cleanser, mascara, moisturiser & more. Available to everyone from tomorrow, but early access NOW, in case stocks run out, via this early-access link.

FREE jacket potato & beans at Morrisons Cafés (normally £4). Do spread word, especially to anyone who's struggling to afford to feed themselves (or family) at the moment... Spud-tacular

Ends Wed. Free £20 if you spend 1p on top overseas spending card. Till 11.59pm Wednesday, new Halifax Clarity credit card-holders who spend a penny on it, in the UK or abroad within 90 days, get £20 cashback. Nice, especially as the card's also a top pick for spending abroad, giving near-perfect exchange rates in every country. Of course, do pay it off IN FULL every month to minimise interest. A full breakdown & comparison is in our recent top travel cards email.

What'll the parties do for you? We put your key questions to the seven big party leaders in our written leaders' debate. View their answers: 1) By topic, including energy bills, renting, mortgages, WASPI, household budgets & more. 2) By leader, including videos. See MSE Leaders' Debate. Related: Do take valid photo ID with you to vote.

New. How to start a pension? Should you consolidate existing pensions?... The new Not The Martin Lewis Podcast, where Martin asks specialists key questions on subjects he doesn't cover, delves this week into pensions, including: How to start a pension | Should you consolidate? | How to get free 1-on-1 help | Stakeholder vs Nest vs SIPPs | Is it ever too late? Plus far more, and it's now embedded, with transcript, in our Pension need-to-knows guide.

Top big-name, straight easy-access savings pay 4.8%. We've been telling you the linked Chase 5.1%* easy-access savings account is the top payer, if you open the app-only, no-need-to-switch bank's current account, but some of you have told us you just want straight savings. Top straight accounts: Oxbury's 5.02% AER (min £20,000) is next top, or if you want a big-name account openable from £1, there's Yorkshire Building Society's 4.8% AER*. Full options in Top savings.

~~£200 Instant Pot air fryer & multi-cooker £90 with code.~~ ~~MSE Blagged.~~ ~~1,600 available.~~ ~~11 functions, highly rated, cheapest we've ever seen it. See~~ ~~Lakeland code~~. SOLD OUT

New. What's your Credit Eligibility Rating - are you a 10 out of 10? We've a major new tool in the free MSE Credit Club (use this link if in the app) that combines your Credit Score, Affordability Score, and current market conditions to show your true credit power. It's called the Eligibility Rating - check yours out. It's a far better picture than just a Credit Score.

Are you being short-measured on beer? MSE Kelvin investigates your pint rights. Our self-appointed BeerDrinkingExpert has, not entirely selflessly, been looking into how to ensure you get the most beer for your money. Read his Are you getting a fair pint? blog (and please be Drinkaware).

BLAGGED FOR MSE

- £200 air fryer & multi-cooker for £90 1,600 available
- 175 summer bulbs for £11 10,000 bundles available

DID YOU MISS?

- Amazon free-delivery min spend now £35 - how to beat it
- £50 off energy standing charges via EDF Price Cap tariff
- Barclays to axe Blue Rewards cashback - time to ditch?
- 60% off your first Abel & Cole organic fruit & veg box
- Child Benefit delayed in Jun? HMRC's paying redress

Home insurance costs UP 42% - and rising. Check NOW whether you can save £100s locking in a price till 2025

Six steps to slash your contents &/or buildings insurance costs

Home insurance costs have risen 42% over the last 12 months, the highest-ever rise recorded by research firm Consumer Intelligence, and it says there's little sign of a slowdown. So even if you're not at renewal, check whether you can lock in a decent price to protect against possible future rises. Full help in Cheap home insurance, but in brief...

Establish what cover you need. Everyone, including renters, should consider contents insurance, but buildings insurance is usually only for freehold homeowners (otherwise it's the management company's or landlord's responsibility - check your lease if you're not sure). This is how to think about it...

- Contents insurance: Beware UNDERinsuring. Many underinsure, thinking "I'd never claim for everything"... but insure only half your contents' value, then claim for say a TV, and you may only get half the TV's value once they assess whether the cover was accurate. Use a contents calculator.

- Buildings insurance: Beware OVERinsuring. Many wrongly insure for their home's market value, but what counts is how much it'd cost to rebuild it if it were knocked down. Use a rebuild cost calculator to find out.
COMBINE comparison sites for 100s of quotes in minutes. Never just auto-renew - there's no guarantee your existing insurer will give you the cheapest or best cover. It's always worth a check elsewhere. Comparison sites zip your info to dozens of insurers and brokers at once. Yet don't just use one as: 1) They can cover different insurers, and 2) They often have different prices for the same firm.

Our current order is 1) MoneySupermarket*, 2) Compare The Market*, 3) Confused.com* (see how we order it). If you get few results, or they're really expensive, see help if you struggle to get insurance.

As Matt's email shows: "Last year's home insurance cost £564, the renewal was £867. 'Everyone's price has gone up, what can you do?', said the broker. What could I do? A search of comparison websites and a couple of hours' work. Got the same level of cover for £275, saving me £592! Cheers MSE :)"
Now check special deals to see whether you can beat the comparisons' cheapest. If you've time, check these. See how they compare with the comparison result, and whether - factoring in the voucher or cashback - they're cheaper:

- Coverbaloo* gives a £25 Amazon voucher (comes within 90 days).
- Urban Jungle* gives a £15 Amazon voucher after seven months when you use code MSE_OFFER.
- Biggie Direct Line doesn't appear on comparisons and can be competitive for some.
- If you're a member of cashback sites Quidco or Topcashback, you can do a comparison through them, and get up to £34 back. But check prices are the same (or cheaper) as through the main comparisons. See cashback help info.
The sweet spot is 21 days ahead of renewal, but if that's ages away, check anyway. Leave getting insurance until the last minute and the price can go up, as insurers deem those who leave it later to be a higher risk. On average, the cheapest time to get quotes is 21 days ahead of your renewal, though a few days either side won't matter much. See Best time to renew home insurance.

Not at renewal? In a market where prices are rising, it's worth checking today's prices. If you can make a substantial saving (and haven't claimed this year), you can cancel your policy and usually get a pro-rata refund if you paid upfront, minus a £35ish admin fee (though you won't earn the year's no-claims discount). That way you forestall rises for another year. See switching home insurance mid-year.
Haggle. Want to stick with your existing firm? Tell it this but ask it to match your cheapest price from steps 2 and 3 - it will often work. See home insurance haggling help.
Ensure the policy's right for you before buying. Go through the main terms to check you're happy, and check the provider is regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. And remember, if you have a claim unfairly rejected, you have a right to escalate any complaints to the free Financial Ombudsman.

Martin's new podcast: BIG savings interest boosters | Meter Reading Week | When cheap's better quality (sausage rolls to bog rolls). The new The Martin Lewis Podcast covers the five savings accounts you need know about, plus key info if you pay for energy by Direct Debit (and for some on prepay). And just to confuse you, it's separate from the Not The Martin Lewis Podcast on pensions above. All this & more via BBC Sounds | Spotify | Apple or wherever you like to get your Martin fix.

From Thu. £5 full school uniform at Aldi. In stores only - go quick as these will sell out fast. Aldi school uniform

175 summer flower bulbs £11 delivered. MSE Blagged. 10,000 bundles avail. Excl NI & parts of Scot. Flower power

Fri to Mon. Get BOOSTED Blue Light Card discounts if you work in the NHS or emergency services. Including 30% off Bill's, 25% off Adidas, 15% off Boohoo & more. NHS & emergency service discounts

Aged 18 to 22? 50% off Amazon Prime (+ 6mths free for newbies). 1-day delivery, TV streaming, etc. Prime

Warning. Scottish Power smart meter customer? If so, you're likely to pay 5% more than it shows. Check now

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AT A GLANCE BEST BUYS

Longest 0%: Tesco Bank (check eligibility / apply*) - 29mths 0%, 3.49% fee (24.9% rep APR interest)
No-fee 0%: NatWest (check eligibility, NatWest has asked us to link only to our calculator) - 13mths 0% (24.9% rep APR interest)

Fast fibre (100Mb+): TalkTalk '£21.84/mth'
Superfast fibre (500Mb+): Vodafone '£28.84/mth'

On Universal Credit or similar? Check all discounted social tariffs

Top easy access: Chase 5.1%, no min
Top fix: Nationwide 5.5% for 18mths, min £1

Try our Compare+ Car Insurance tool

Cheapest for £5,000 to £7,499: Tesco Bank (check eligibility / apply*), 7.2% rep APR (for Clubcard holders)
Cheapest for £7,500 to £15,000: Tesco Bank (check eligibility / apply*), 6.1% rep APR (for Clubcard holders)

Try our relaunched Cheap Energy Club

£175 to switch + top service: First Direct
£175 to switch + perks (eg, Disney+): Club Lloyds

Up to 3GB data: Lebara, '£3.15/mth' for 3GB
4GB to 9GB data: Lebara, '£3.25/mth' for 5GB
10GB to 30GB data: Three, '£4.46/mth' for 30GB
31GB+ data: iD Mobile, '£5.34/mth' for 50GB

THIS WEEK'S POLL

How many comparison sites do you use when getting home insurance? We always say to use more than one comparison site when getting quotes, as they can cover different insurers, and can often have different prices for the same insurer. Yet we know entering the same details on different comparison sites can be a chore, so this week, we want to know how many comparison sites you look at when searching for home insurance quotes. Vote in this week's poll.

Half of MoneySavers are planning to go on holiday without travel insurance this summer. Last week, we asked if you planned to get travel insurance for your summer holiday, and more than 4,800 of you responded. MSE always urges holidaymakers to buy travel insurance ASAB (As Soon As you Book) so we were surprised to see that 51% said that they were travelling without it this summer - with a full 10% of those without saying the reason they weren't buying insurance was that they didn't expect to use it. See the full travel insurance poll results.

MSE NEWS

- Top story: Leaders' debate: What each party will do on these six BIG consumer issues
- Lloyds, Halifax and Bank of Scotland to close 237 branches in 2024/25
- Twitter/X users still reporting bizarre glitch that takes them to MSE page - we're NOT behind this

MONEY MORAL DILEMMA

Should I keep the money I won playing a charity lottery? I play a number of charity lotteries, more to support them than anything else, and it's more exciting than donating by Direct Debit. I've won the odd £10 here and there, which I donate back to the charity in question, but last week I won £1,500. I know the lotteries are good fundraisers, so if I keep it I wouldn't be taking money from the charity, but it doesn't feel right. If I donate it back with Gift Aid, it'll raise even more funds. Yet I did win it fairly and it's a decent sum which I could use for a holiday or similar treat. Am I overthinking this? Enter the Money Moral Maze: Should I keep charity lottery winnings? | Suggest a Money Moral Dilemma (MMD) | View past MMDs

- Win a kayak & accessories
- Win family theatre tickets
- Win an outdoor furniture set

- Win a family pass to a wetland centre
- Win two Puffin children's books
- Win a family pass to Blenheim Palace

MSE TEAM BLOG

- MSE Forum highlights: Wedding anniversaries, winemaking & wooden floorboards

MARTIN'S APPEARANCES (TUE 2 JUL ONWARDS)

Wed 3 Jul - The Martin Lewis Podcast, BBC Radio 5 Live, from 6pm (listen to previous podcasts)
Thu 4 Jul - This Morning, phone-in, ITV1, 10.30am
Tue 9 Jul - This Morning, phone-in, ITV1, 10.30am

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