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Last reviewed: June 2026 · For use in England & Wales · eLitigant is a Community Interest Company (No. 16566612), not a law firm and does not give legal advice.
Quick answer
The FCA estimates the average payout is around £830 per agreement (it varies a lot). The scheme is opt-in — if your lender doesn’t contact you, you have until 31 August 2027 to claim. Don’t hand a claims firm up to 36% of it.
Last reviewed: 25 June 2026 · England & Wales · The FCA motor-finance redress scheme is subject to ongoing legal challenge — check the FCA page for the latest.
Two questions everyone asks: how much might I get, and how long have I got? Here’s what the FCA’s final rules say.
How much could you get?
The FCA’s estimate is an average of about £830 per agreement, with a total industry payout estimated at roughly £7.5 billion across ~12.1 million agreements. Your figure depends on the size of the loan, the interest you were charged and the commission involved — so some payouts are much smaller and some larger.
The deadline: 31 August 2027
The scheme is opt-in. Lenders will proactively contact customers they think are owed money and ask whether they want their case reviewed. But if you’re not contacted, you can still claim — you have until 31 August 2027 to do so. Lenders have until 30 June 2026 to be ready to handle the post-2014 agreements.
Claim now, or wait?
You can complain to your lender right now (it folds into the scheme), or wait to be contacted. Either way it’s free, and a claims company simply isn’t needed — on an ~£830 payout, a 36% fee is roughly £300 gone.
Official sources
- FCA — Car finance complaints
- FCA — Using claims management companies (the up-to-36% warning)
- Financial Ombudsman — Car finance commission complaints
- FCA — Millions of car finance customers to get payouts
A claims firm can take up to 36% of your car-finance payout.
On a complaint the FCA says is free to make yourself. Chris drafts it from your agreement details — you send it, you keep 100%.
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
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