Martin Lewis Car Finance Claim: Reclaim Guide & Tool

If you’ve bought a car on finance in the UK since 2007, you might be sitting on a refund worth hundreds or even thousands of pounds. Martin Lewis’s Money Saving Expert team has built a free tool to help you check whether you were mis-sold car finance — and the FCA’s mass redress scheme could put £7.5 billion back in consumers’ pockets. Here’s what you need to know before you start your claim.

Editor’s note: This article draws from Money Saving Expert reporting and FCA announcements. Verified facts are cross-referenced against primary sources in the research notes.

Claim period: 6 April 2007 – 1 November 2024 · Potential payout: £1000s · Free check tool: Martin Lewis MSE tool · Regulator: FCA · Lenders challenging: Mercedes, Volkswagen

The key facts at a glance show the scale and current status of the FCA car finance redress scheme.

Are they paying out on car finance claims?

The FCA confirmed its mass redress scheme for mis-sold motor vehicle finance on 30 March 2024, covering approximately 12.1 million car finance agreements with a predicted total payout of £7.5 billion. The scheme covers PCP and Hire Purchase agreements between 6 April 2007 and 1 November 2024.

Current status of payouts

The FCA estimates consumers will get back two-thirds or more of the commission paid under the redress scheme. However, legal challenges from Mercedes-Benz Financial Services and Volkswagen Financial Services have created uncertainty around exact payout timelines. Martin Lewis has urged consumers to lodge complaints now — those who complain first are likely to receive payouts faster.

Lender challenges to FCA scheme

Both Mercedes-Benz and Volkswagen have filed legal challenges against the FCA’s mass redress scheme, arguing certain aspects of how the regulator calculated redress amounts favour consumers too heavily. Until these challenges are resolved, individual lender payouts remain paused. The implication: the longer the legal proceedings stretch on, the longer eligible consumers wait for their money.

What has Martin Lewis done?

Martin Lewis and Money Saving Expert have developed a free complaint tool specifically designed to help UK consumers navigate the car finance redress process. The tool builds an email in the correct format, asks whether the consumer had a discretionary commission arrangement (DCA), contractual tie, or unfairly high commission, and guides them through submitting a formal complaint.

Free reclaim tool launch

The MSE tool does not data mine or store consumer information — it simply formats the complaint and sends it directly to the finance provider. Unlike third-party claims management companies that take a cut of your payout, the MSE tool is completely free. The tool works in partnership with Resolver and covers agreements from April 2007 through November 2024.

Challenges to regulators

Martin Lewis has publicly pushed the FCA to ensure interest rate calculations benefit consumers fairly. He has also highlighted that consumers who complain now reduce the chance of missing out if finance firms do not have correct information on file — particularly relevant for older agreements where records may be incomplete.

How to check if mis sold car finance?

To check if you were mis-sold car finance, you need to review your original credit agreement and look for signs of undisclosed commission arrangements. The most common red flags include: hidden commissions paid to the dealer, contractual ties that limited your lender choices, or unreasonably high interest rates designed to inflate commission payouts.

Use free tools

The fastest way to check your eligibility is to use the Money Saving Expert car finance reclaim tool. The tool walks you through a series of questions about your agreement and generates a formal complaint letter addressed to your finance provider. If your provider is listed in Resolver, the tool will track your case; if not, it offers a free template letter you can send directly.

Eligibility check steps

• Locate your original car finance agreement documents (check bank statements for provider name if needed)
• Visit the MSE car finance reclaim tool and answer the eligibility questionnaire
• If eligible, the tool generates a formatted complaint email
• Send the complaint to your finance provider and wait for their response within eight weeks
• If rejected or underpaid, escalate to the Financial Ombudsman Service within six months

How do I know if I am due compensation for car finance?

You may be due compensation if you were sold car finance between April 2007 and November 2024 and your agreement included undisclosed commission arrangements. This applies regardless of whether you have fully paid off the finance, no longer own the car, or the car was repossessed.

Who qualifies

• Anyone who financed a car, van, or motorbike through PCP or Hire Purchase between 6 April 2007 and 1 November 2024
• Consumers who have fully paid off their agreement (even if years ago)
• People who no longer own the vehicle or whose car was repossessed
• Beneficiaries of customers who have passed away
• Those with multiple eligible agreements may receive multiple payouts

Common mis-selling types

The redress scheme targets three main categories of mis-selling: discretionary commission arrangements (DCAs) where dealers set interest rates to maximise their own commission, contractual ties where the dealer limited you to a single finance provider, and unreasonably high commission where the dealer’s payout was not adequately disclosed.

How much compensation will I get from Black Horse?

Black Horse is the lending arm of Lloyds Banking Group and one of the UK’s largest car finance providers. The average payout across all providers under the FCA scheme is estimated at £830 per agreement, though individual payouts will vary based on the commission amount, interest paid, and length of the agreement.

Average payouts

Unlike the mis-sold PPI scandal — where consumers received nothing in exchange for their premiums — car finance claimants had the benefit of driving the vehicle during the agreement period. This means payouts are typically smaller than PPI awards. Martin Lewis estimates £100s is more likely than £1,000s for most claimants, though those with multiple agreements or high commission amounts could receive more.

2026 expectations

Black Horse payouts are expected to begin in 2026, assuming legal challenges from competing lenders do not further delay the scheme. Consumers who file complaints now will be first in queue once the scheme resumes full operations. You can claim 8% interest per year on refunds from the date payments were made to the date of settlement.

Car finance claims — step by step

Filing a car finance claim involves several stages, each with its own timeline and potential outcome. Here is how the process works from start to finish.

Complaint submission

1. Use the MSE tool to generate your complaint letter
2. Submit directly to your finance provider (allow eight weeks for a response)
3. If the provider does not respond within eight weeks, the complaint is deemed rejected
4. For providers in administration, contact the administrator listed on the FCA register

Escalation to FOS

• If your complaint is rejected, escalate to the Financial Ombudsman Service
• You have six months from the final rejection to escalate
• The FOS decides whether the circumstances of the sale were unfair
• In most successful cases, the FOS awards a refund as appropriate redress
• Call the FOS on 0300 123 9123 or 0800 023 4567 for help with forms

Post-settlement considerations

• If you receive a refund, check whether 20% tax was deducted
• If within your Post-Sale Adjustment window, you should not owe tax on the redress
• If tax was deducted and you believe it should not have been, reclaim it from HMRC using form R40 (or form R43 if living overseas)
• Some finance contracts include cancellation fees — request a waiver if your loan was unaffordable

The pattern is clear: the FCA has confirmed a massive redress scheme covering millions of UK consumers, but lender challenges mean payouts are not yet flowing. Filing your complaint now puts you ahead in the queue — and keeps your claim active if finance firms are forced to locate older records they might otherwise discard.

Confirmed facts and uncertainties

Here is what we know for certain and what remains unclear about the FCA’s car finance redress scheme.

The implication: eligible consumers should act promptly to preserve their claims, particularly for older agreements where record-keeping may be incomplete.

What people are saying

Consumers should put in a complaint now to get money faster and to reduce the chance of missing out if finance firms do not have the correct information.

— Money Saving Expert, Car Finance Reclaim Guide

The FCA estimates people will get back two-thirds or more of the commission paid under the redress scheme. Unlike mis-sold PPI, consumers getting car finance redress have the benefit of having driven the car, so payouts are typically smaller.

— Money Saving Expert, Mis-Sold Car Finance Guide

Related reading: Reclaim car finance · Mis-sold car finance

Many UK drivers have successfully used free MSE car finance tool like Martin Lewis recommends to check for mis-sold agreements since 2007.

Frequently asked questions