MARTIN Lewis’ Money Saving Expert has released a free tool to check if drivers are owed thousands after the recently discovered dodgy car-finance scandal.
The scandal involved dealers that were buffing up interest rates for car-buyers so they could claim higher commision fees.
The Financial Conduct Authority announced in January that it would investigate allegations of “widespread misconduct” related to discretionary commission agreements (DCAs) on car loans.
When you purchase a motor on finance, you are effectively loaned the value of the car while you pay it off through monthly installments.
These loans have interest payments slapped on top of them and are often organised on behalf of lenders by brokers – usually the finance arm of a dealership.
The brokers a customer deal with earn money in the form of commission – a percentage of the interest payments on the loan.
DCAs allowed brokers, to a certain extent, to increase the interest rate on a loan offered to a new customer, which in turn increased the amount of commission they banked from getting the sale over the line.
The practice was banned by the FCA in 2021.
Martin Lewis’ MSE, said: “I think it likely that, when the investigation completes (currently planned to be September), the FCA will set up some type of mass-scale redress scheme – though there’s a small chance it’ll change its mind and say this is a damp squib.
“The best way to act is to assume that the scheme is coming.
“There’s no need to use a claims management firm to do this, as it would take a cut of any payout you may get. To make it easier to do yourself, we’ve built a tool.
“All you have to do is answer a few questions on the details of your car finance, then it’ll build an email drafted by Martin (with feedback from lawyers and regulators) for you.
“This is designed to do two things in one, ask whether your car finance included a discretionary commission arrangement.
“And two, if it did, lodge a time-stamped complaint.”
Martin Lewis’ MSE went on to explain that the Financial Conduct Authority (FSC) said that they would expect, at the very least, a response but it’s still “uncharted waters” so it’s “untested”.
The one risk he pointed out is that your request could be seen as a complaint and some firms might put it on the back-burner without offering the information requested.
Martin Lewis MSE’s free Car finance reclaim tool
The tool is straightfoward and all it requires is some general iformation about the driver and the agreement that they took out.
Step 1: Firstly you’ll be asked to about your car finance agreement, questions regarding how many finance agreements you have, who your provider is, and what your finaance agreement policy number all fall under the first section.
Step 2: Next you’ll be asked for details like your name, age, current address and if it was the same address you had when yhou originally took the loan.
Step 3: Lstly, you’ll be asked to enter your email address so they can continue to update you pn any changes regarding FCA’s current investigation.
Step 4: The tool will build an email drafted by Martin (with feedback from lawyers and regulators) for you.
Anyone wanting to use the tool and check if they’re owed a substantial payment from their provider can do so here.
SAVE MONEY ON YOUR MOTOR
Earlier this month Martin Lewis’ MSE shared a clever way to help cash-strapped Brits save a tidy sum on their motor costs.
The tip was posted on their site last week and if overlooked could cost Brits hundreds of pounds.
And, this car expert offered a list of tips to save motorists hundreds of pounds when searching for a new whip.
Elswhere, a nifty motor-head shared the best SUV’s Brits can cop for less than £5,000 – including a best selling Nisan.
