Car finance claims: what to do if you bought a car on finance
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Updated: 2 April 2026
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has set up a compensation scheme to help people who were treated unfairly when they bought a vehicle on finance.
You might be able to get compensation if both of the following apply:
you bought a car, van or motorbike on finance between 6 April 2007 and 1 November 2024
your lender paid a 'commission' to the dealer that you weren't told about - this is a type of fee
People who are owed money will get an average of £829 compensation for each finance agreement.
There’s no charge to use the compensation scheme.
Beware of scams
Some scammers are pretending to be from car finance companies or the government to get your personal information.
If you think something might be a scam:
don’t give out any personal information or bank details
don’t use any contact details from the possible scam
You can check if something is a scam.
How you can get compensation
To get any compensation you’re owed, you can complain to your lender - you need to do this by 31 August 2027.
If you don’t make a complaint your lender should try to contact you by the end of February 2027. They’ll ask if you want to be included in the scheme. They might not be able to find you if they don’t have your up-to-date contact details.
It’s best to make a complaint because:
your lender will have your up-to-date contact details
you’ll get your compensation sooner than people who don’t complain
Making a complaint
Follow these steps to complain to your lender and get compensation.
1. Contact your lender
You can find your lender’s contact details on the FCA website.
It also tells you the best way to contact your lender.
If you can’t remember who your lender is, check your old bank statements or contact the car dealer.
If you were still making payments towards your car after 2019, you can also check your credit report. This should have a record of who lent the money. Find out how to check your credit report for free on MoneyHelper.
2. Wait for a response
Your lender should let you know they’ve received your complaint. They must also tell you if you’ll get compensation and how much money they’re offering.
When they’ll contact you depends on when your agreement started:
if it started between April 2007 and March 2014 - your lender should contact you by 30 November 2026
if it started between April 2014 and November 2024 - your lender should contact you by 30 September 2026
3. Reply to your lender
You’ll have 1 month to accept or challenge your lender’s offer. They‘ll tell you what you need to do.
If you’re unhappy with their decision, you can complain to the Financial Ombudsman Service on their website. You must contact them by the date in your lender's letter.
4. Getting your compensation
If you accept the offer, your lender must pay you within 1 month.
Your lender might ask for your bank details to pay you. Only give these if you’re sure you’re talking to your lender.
If you’re still paying off your car finance
Keep making your payments. If you stop paying, it might harm your credit score, and you could lose your vehicle.
If you’re thinking of using a ‘claims management company’
Claims management companies (CMCs) are companies that offer to take your compensation case to court. If you get compensation, the CMC would take up to 30% of your compensation as their payment.
You don’t need to use a CMC to complain to your lender and get compensation.
If you've already taken action
What you need to do now depends on the action you’ve already taken.
If you’ve complained to your lender
If you haven’t heard back from your lender yet, you’ll be included in the scheme automatically. You don’t need to do anything else.
If your lender responded and said you didn’t have a valid complaint, it’s worth complaining again. This is because the scheme covers some types of misselling that the lenders wouldn’t accept complaints about before.
If you’ve complained to the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS)
You might have already complained to the FOS if you weren’t happy with the response from your lender.
If your case is still with the FOS, they might contact you for more details.
If you’ve started court action
Your solicitor should contact you to talk about your next steps. You might have to wait some time for them to contact you because of the number of cases they’re dealing with. If they haven’t contacted you yet, you should contact them as soon as possible.
Your solicitor should tell you if it's worth continuing with your case.
If your solicitor advises you not to continue with your case, ask them if you’ll have to pay any costs.
If you don’t have a solicitor, it can be confusing to work out if it’s worth continuing with your case. You should get advice from a solicitor.
If you’ve signed up to a Claims Management Company
You should talk to the Claims Management Company (CMC) about your next steps. They should tell you if it’s worth continuing with your case.
If they advise you not to continue with your case, ask them if you’ll have to pay any costs.