Car Finance Commission Claim: Complain Yourself, Free

By the eLitigant Editorial Team · Reviewed for current forms, fees & procedure · How we check our guides

Free to start · no sign-up · no card. Tell Chris what has happened and see whether we can help before you pay anything. One matter · one case folder · a full day of drafting. If the drafts are not up to the standard you expected, email us within 7 days of paying for a full refund. If money is tight, Help with Fees can remove the court fee entirely, and Citizens Advice is free — we will always tell you when you do not need us.

No claims firm taking a cut — Chris drafts your car-finance complaint for free. You sign, send, and keep 100%.

Quick answer: If you took out car finance between 2007 and 2024 and weren’t told that commission (especially a discretionary commission arrangement) was paid to the dealer or broker, you may be owed money under the FCA’s Motor Finance Consumer Redress Scheme. You can complain to your lender yourself, for free — you do not need a claims firm taking a cut.

The motor-finance commission issue is one of the biggest consumer-redress stories in the UK, with billions set aside. The good news: complaining is free and you keep every penny of any payout.

What is the car finance commission issue?

For years, many car finance deals (PCP and hire purchase) paid the dealer or broker a commission — sometimes a discretionary commission, where the broker could raise your interest rate to earn more. Customers were often not told. The FCA has confirmed an industry-wide redress scheme to compensate people treated unfairly on agreements between 2007 and 2024.

Who can complain & when

Anyone with car finance (PCP/HP) taken out roughly between 2007 and 2024 where commission was not properly disclosed.
If you have already complained, you generally don’t need to do anything — your lender will deal with it under the scheme.
If you haven’t, and you’re not contacted, you can still complain to your lender — the FCA has set a backstop of 31 August 2027.

Deadlines & key points

The pause on motor-finance complaint handling lifts on 31 May 2026, and the scheme is being implemented through 2026–2027.
You generally have 6 years to bring a claim (this can be longer where information was deliberately concealed).
If your lender rejects your complaint or doesn’t resolve it, you can escalate free to the Financial Ombudsman Service.
The scheme is subject to ongoing legal process — check the FCA’s page for the latest position.

How to complain — step by step

Find your agreement details (lender, date, vehicle, agreement number).
Write to the lender saying you were not told about the commission (and any discretionary arrangement), and that you believe you lost out.
Ask them to confirm whether commission was paid, how it was calculated, and to refund any overpayment with interest.
If you’re unhappy with the final response, refer it free to the Financial Ombudsman Service.

How Chris helps

Tell Chris about your agreement and Chris drafts your complaint to a high, professional standard — you check, sign and send. Not a law firm. No middleman, no commission — free to start. Claims management companies typically take a cut of your payout — often 10% or much more — simply for filling in a form for you. eLitigant is not a claims management company and not a law firm: Chris drafts your complaint to a high standard, and you just sign and send it yourself. No commission, no calls, no chasing — and you keep 100% of any refund or compensation.

See it done — a car-finance complaint, drafted in minutes

A car finance commission complaint, drafted to a high standard — Chris builds it from your agreement details in minutes. Scroll the sample below.

DRAFTED BY CHRIS · sampleSCROLL ↓

Chris Bennett, 18 Hill Road, Cardiff CF10 2AB

To: Customer Complaints, Sample Motor Finance Ltd

Complaint — undisclosed commission on car finance, agreement REF-2018-77421

Dear Sir or Madam, I am complaining about the motor finance agreement I took out with you on 14 March 2018 to purchase a used Vauxhall Astra (agreement REF-2018-77421).

I was not told that a commission would be paid to the dealer who arranged my finance, nor that the commission may have been linked to the interest rate I was charged. Had I known, I would have questioned the 12.9% rate and looked for a better deal.

I believe this was unfair and that I lost out. I ask you to: (1) confirm whether any commission, including a discretionary commission arrangement, was paid in connection with my agreement and how it was calculated; and (2) refund any sum I overpaid, with interest.

Please treat this as a formal complaint. If I am not satisfied with your final response, I understand I may refer my complaint to the Financial Ombudsman Service free of charge.

Yours faithfully, Chris Bennett

Illustrative sample with fictional names and details. Chris drafts yours from your own facts; you check, sign and send.

Draft your complaint →

Last reviewed: June 2026 · UK-wide · CIC No. 16566612 — not a law firm, not a claims management company.

Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

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