Compensation payouts on around 14 million unfair motor finance deals could start next year, at an average of about £700 each, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has said.

The regulator previously suggested motorists could receive less than £950 per deal, but it now suggests they could receive less compensation than previously estimated.

The redress scheme was previously estimated to cost lenders between £9bn and £18bn; it is now expected to cost lenders £8.2bn, based on about 85 per cent of eligible consumers taking part.

Motor finance firms broke the law or its rules by not properly informing customers about commission paid by lenders to the car dealers that sold them the loan, the regulator said. This meant that many motorists did not have the opportunity to negotiate or find a better deal and therefore may have paid a higher interest rate for their loan.

Nikhil Rathi, the FCA’s chief executive, said in a statement that it was time for customers to get fair compensation.

“Many motor finance lenders did not comply with the law or the rules,” Mr Rathi said. “Now we have legal clarity, it’s time their customers get fair compensation. Our scheme aims to be simple for people to use and lenders to implement.”

The FCA boss said that not everyone would get what they wanted following the ruling, as the regulator will work on the compensation scheme.

“We recognise that there will be a wide range of views on the scheme, its scope, timeframe and how compensation is calculated,” he said. “On such a complex issue, not everyone will get everything they would like.

“But we want to work together on the best possible scheme and draw a line under this issue quickly.

“That certainty is vital, so a trusted motor finance market can continue to serve millions of families every year.”

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The FCA found that car buyers “may have been charged too much” by their lenders, meaning that anyone who bought their car before January 2021 using a car finance scheme could be eligible for compensation.

Some companies used “discretionary commission arrangements” with brokers, which gave them the power to adjust customers’ interest rates on Personal Contract Purchase and Hire Purchase agreements.

The watchdog, which looked into data from across some 32 million agreements made between 2007 and 2024, believes setting up a free compensation scheme will be easier and quicker for customers to access, and more cost-effective for firms by removing much of the legal and administrative work.

As up to 90 per cent of new cars purchased in the UK are bought using motor finance, it’s estimated that millions could potentially be due payouts following the ruling.

Because these brokers earned more commission on higher rates, this created an incentive to maximise the rate given. An estimated 40 per cent of car finance deals were thought to be affected by the issue.

The FCA outlawed this practice from 28 January 2021, but acknowledged that a “high number” of people have now come forward to claim they had been overcharged before the ban.

NEW DELHI: Auto retails surged by a strong 34% to a record 11.6 lakh units in the auspicious Navratri period as GST cuts – that came into effect from September 22 – as well as start of the festive season in north boosted demand. The same was 8.6 lakh units in the nine-day Navratri period last year, according to retail sales data released by Federation of Automobile Dealers Associations (FADA). The full month of September, however, had a relatively-modest 5% growth year-on-year on total automobile retails of 18.3 lakh units (against 17.4 lakh units). The two months are seen as broadly incomparable for statistical understanding since the larger part of September this year did not see customers take deliveries as they waited for price cuts from September 22 when the lower GST rates kicked in. The Navratri growth saw record demand for passenger cars, two-wheelers, and 3-wheelers. The passenger vehicles numbers were up 35% at 2.2 lakh units against 1.6 lakh units in the Navratri period last year.For 2-wheelers, the growth was 36% on total retail of 8.3 lakh units against 6.1 lakh units in the same period last year, as per FADA.

“Navratri 2025 will go down as one of the most memorable chapters in the country’s automotive retail journey… For the first time, dealerships across the nation witnessed record-breaking footfalls and deliveries,” FADA VP Sai Giridhar said.Companies across the board had passed on the GST benefits to the market, and some had even sweetened the deal further through festive offers. Maruti, Hyundai, Tata Motors, Mercedes-Benz, TVS, HMSI and Bajaj Auto witnessed strong traction. “It reminded us what the right policy at the right time can do for a nation’s sentiment.”Three-wheelers saw a growth of 25% at 46,204 units (37,097 units) in Navratris, while commercial vehicle retails were up 15% at 33,856 units (29,481). Sales of tractors were up 19% at 21,604 units.Companies expect demand to stay strong till the Diwali period, and have seen stock out of certain models. Shailesh Chandra, MD of Tata Motors’ Passenger Vehicles division, said the surge in demand “sets a promising tone for sustained growth” in the months ahead. “Across our portfolio, customer interest remained exceptionally strong with new bookings doubling in the latter half of September following the lowering of GST rates.”Mercedes-Benz sold a record 2,500 cars in the Navratri period.“We have never seen this kind of a demand in the past. This is a record for the number of cars sold in a particular number of days,” Mercedes-Benz India MD & CEO Santosh Iyer said.Mahindra & Mahindra said customer purchases are at record levels. “Thanks to the impetus from GST 2.0 and the preceding weeks’ pent-up demand, we have seen robust growth in dealer-reported customer retails during the first nine days of Navratri with over 60% growth in the SUV segment when compared to the first nine days of Navratri last year,” said Nalinikanth Gollagunta, CEO of the company’s Automotive Division.

Millions of victims of car finance mis-selling could receive less compensation than previously estimated, under plans from the regulator.

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) said payouts could result from 14 million motor finance agreements between April 2007 and November 2024.

The regulator previously suggested motorists could receive less than £950 per deal, but it now says the average will be about £700. Lenders could pay out £8.2bn in compensation.

The payouts are over commission arrangements between lenders and dealers, unfair contracts, and inaccurate information given to car buyers.

“It’s time their customers get fair compensation,” Nikhil Rathi, chief executive of the FCA, said.

“We recognise that there will be a wide range of views on the scheme, its scope, timeframe and how compensation is calculated. On such a complex issue, not everyone will get everything they would like.”

The scheme would be free to access for consumers.

A ruling at the Supreme Court in August limited the breadth of these cases.

The vast majority of new cars, and many second-hand ones, are bought with finance agreements.

About two million are sold this way each year, with customers paying an initial deposit, then a monthly fee with interest for the vehicle.

In 2021, the FCA banned deals in which the dealer received a commission from the lender, based on the interest rate charged to the customer. These were known as discretionary commission arrangements (DCAs) and meant drivers were at risk of overpaying for the loan.

Other car buyers had an unfair contract because the commission paid to the dealer was so high, and some were not given accurate information about getting the best finance deal.

The regulator has now proposed a scheme to compensate drivers who were subject to these arrangements. If it gets the go-ahead, once the scheme starts:

• lenders will contact those who have already complained. If they don’t hear back after one month, lenders will assume they should look at the case and pay compensation if appropriate
• those who have already complained before the scheme gets up and running are likely to receive compensation faster
• those who have not complained will be contacted by their lender within six months of the scheme starting. People will be asked if they want to opt in to the scheme to have their case reviewed. They will have six months to decide
• those motor finance borrowers who do not receive a letter, for example because lenders no longer have their details and cannot trace them, will have a year from the scheme starting to make a claim

The regulator admitted that consumers can choose not to take part in the FCA’s compensation scheme and instead go to court, where they may get more or less compensation, based on the facts of their case.