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You do not always need a solicitor to claim for mis-sold car finance, and the fastest first move is checking your eligibility rather than hiring anyone. Regulators including the FCA and MoneyHelper confirm you can complain directly to your lender or the Financial Ombudsman Service for free. Our free check at Make A PCP Claim finds your car finance agreements in under 60 seconds, with no registration plate or lender paperwork needed.
TL;DR:
- Eligible PCP and hire purchase agreements generally fall between April 6, 2007, and November 1, 2024; court or Ombudsman settlements are usually excluded.
- Hidden dealer commission, especially when tied to rates, can support claims; around 90,000 consumers matching Johnson may qualify for redress and interest.
- Complain to the lender first, then take unresolved cases to the Financial Ombudsman; court action suits rejected claims only when sums justify the risk.
- Consumers not contacted directly by lenders still have until August 31, 2027, to complain, while scheme contact and response windows may delay individual complaint handling.
- Some claims firms and solicitors may charge more than 30% of compensation, so get all fees and exit charges in writing before signing.
Most eligible claims involve car finance agreements, including PCP and hire purchase deals, taken out between 6 April 2007 and 1 November 2024. That window matters because it covers the period the FCA’s redress scheme is built around, though not every agreement from that period qualifies automatically.
Certain cases fall outside the scheme. Agreements already settled through a court judgment or an accepted Ombudsman decision are generally excluded, and so are very high value loans that sit outside the mass market scope of the scheme, as set out in PS26/3. The core issue behind most claims is commission: dealers often earned a cut for arranging your finance, and when that commission was hidden or structured in a way that encouraged a higher interest rate, your agreement may have been mis-sold.
A discretionary commission arrangement let the dealer set your interest rate within a range, earning more commission the higher they pushed it. MoneyHelper notes that around 90,000 consumers whose circumstances closely match the Johnson v FirstRand Bank Ltd case may be eligible for redress covering the commission plus interest. Undisclosed commission, even outside a discretionary structure, can also support a claim under Section 140A of the Consumer Credit Act if the relationship between you and the lender was unfair.
A few practical signs are worth checking against your own paperwork or memory:
Once you suspect your agreement was mis-sold, there is a sequence most people follow, and each step has a different scope and realistic outcome.
The FCA’s confirmed motor finance redress scheme changes how some of this plays out in practice. Lenders are being given specific windows to contact likely-affected customers, which can slow or pause individual complaint handling while the wider scheme rolls out. If you have not been contacted, you are not locked out: you retain the right to complain directly, and the scheme sets a clear deadline for doing so.
Limitation rules can affect how long you have to bring a legal claim. Check the rules that apply to your circumstances. A discovery rule matters because many drivers only learned about hidden commission arrangements once the wider scandal became public, which can effectively extend the window.
Layered on top of that is the FCA’s own scheme timeline:
PS26/3 confirms that concealment of commission by a lender or dealer can extend how limitation periods are calculated, which is one reason acting sooner rather than later is sensible even where you are unsure of the exact dates involved. The scheme has also faced ongoing legal challenges that have affected timing, so firms and consumers alike should expect some delay in final outcomes.
Complaining to your lender or the Financial Ombudsman Service costs nothing. The FCA is explicit that you do not need a claims management company or solicitor to pursue compensation, and that free routes exist for every stage of a typical claim.
Where paid representation enters the picture, fee structures vary, but the regulator has flagged a specific concern: fees charged by claims firms or solicitors can exceed 30% of your compensation, according to MoneyHelper. On a modest payout, that can take a significant bite out of what you actually receive.
A few red flags are worth checking for before signing anything:
The SRA and FCA have jointly warned about poor practice among some claims firms, including unauthorised sign-ups and unreasonable exit charges. If you have already signed with a claims firm, the FCA’s factsheet for complainants makes clear you are not obliged to continue using them, and it provides template letters for checking or disputing fee demands.
Pro Tip: Ask any firm to put their fee percentage and any exit charges in writing before you sign, and compare it against the 30% benchmark the FCA has flagged.
A solicitor working on a car finance claim typically handles several specific tasks you would otherwise have to do yourself. That includes locating your original agreement, requesting records from the lender or broker, building the complaint around Section 140A or Section 75 arguments, negotiating a settlement, and issuing court proceedings if the case genuinely needs it.
SRA guidance requires solicitors to tell you about every available route, including free options like the Ombudsman or the FCA’s own redress scheme, before asking you to engage paid representation. They are also expected to act in your interests first, not simply sign you up because they can.
Before agreeing to any representation, a short checklist helps:
Questions worth asking any solicitor or claims firm directly:
Our free check locates your car finance agreements in under 60 seconds, with no registration plate and no lender paperwork required to get started. You simply give us a few basic details, and we search for matching finance agreements on your behalf.
Once we have a result, you get a clear indicator of whether your situation looks eligible, along with suggested next steps. That might mean complaining to your lender directly yourself, or, if you prefer a hands-off approach, accepting a referral to one of our partner law firms who then handle the claim from there.
A few things worth knowing about how this works in practice:
The free routes genuinely work for straightforward cases, and the regulator warnings about claims firm fees deserve to be taken seriously before anyone signs an agreement they do not fully understand. Where a case involves disputed or missing records, multiple finance agreements, or a real prospect of court proceedings, paid representation with proper legal expertise starts to earn its fee.
The decision is not solicitor versus no solicitor. It is whether your case is simple enough to run yourself, or complex enough that professional handling of evidence and litigation risk is worth paying for. Either way, check regulation status and get the fee structure in writing before you commit to anyone.
— Jake
Checking your eligibility does not require a V5 logbook, a registration plate, or a pile of old finance paperwork: our free check does the searching for you. Talk about how our site finds your car finance agreements for free in under 60 seconds, using only a few basic details you already know.
If you would rather handle your complaint directly with your lender or the Financial Ombudsman Service, that route stays open and free, as the FCA itself recommends. Where you would prefer a hands-off process instead, we refer eligible claimants to regulated partner law firms who take the claim from there, so you are not left chasing lenders or filling in forms yourself.
Check your eligibility now through our Make A PCP Claim landing page and find out where you stand in under a minute.
This article is general information, not a substitute for advice from a qualified financial advisor. Consult a qualified financial professional about your own circumstances before acting on anything here.
Yes, you can still make a car finance claim if your agreement falls within the eligible window and has not already been settled through a court judgment or accepted Ombudsman decision. Anyone not directly contacted by their lender under the FCA’s redress scheme still has until 31 August 2027 to complain.
A solicitor advocate is a solicitor who has gained additional rights of audience, allowing them to represent clients directly in higher courts rather than instructing a separate barrister. In car finance cases, this matters mainly where a claim has escalated to court proceedings rather than staying at complaint or Ombudsman stage.
Common signs include undisclosed dealer commission, a discretionary commission arrangement that let the dealer influence your interest rate, or no clear breakdown of fees in your original paperwork. Checking your agreement against these points, or running a free eligibility check, is the quickest way to find out.
No, checking your eligibility is free, whether you complain directly to your lender, go to the Financial Ombudsman Service, or use our free check to locate your agreements. Regulators including the FCA are clear that paid representation is never a requirement to claim.
You receive an indicator of whether your agreement looks eligible along with suggested next steps, which may include complaining directly yourself or accepting a referral to a regulated partner law firm. Either route is entirely your choice, and nothing obliges you to proceed further after your free check.