Car Finance

Have you been ripped off when buying used car finance?

Lloyds Banking Group, MotoNovo and Santander accused of striking deals that resulted in 1m consumers overpaying £1bn on car finance

The car finance giants Lloyds Banking Group, MotoNovo and Santander face three consumer claims for anti-competitive conduct that resulted in car dealers hiking up interest rates for customers to receive higher commissions. The conduct is said to have affected 1 million consumers to a total cost of £1 billion.

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Are you owed money?

If you purchased a used car on finance from Black Horse (Lloyds Banking Group), MotoNovo Finance and Santander between 01 October 2015 and 27 January 2021 you are included in the claim.

The Financial Conduct Authority has also launched a major investigation on whether car finance customers are owed compensation for being charged too much. It has said it will ensure consumers are paid what they’re owed if it finds ‘widespread misconduct’. 

Read our guide to understand what your options are for claiming car finance compensation.

The claim against the car finance firms

Doug Taylor, an experienced consumer advocate, launched the £1 billion claim on behalf of 1 million UK consumers. 

Taylor has instructed the law firm Scott+Scott to represent him in the claims. The claims are being funded by Woodsford, a litigation funder. People affected by this claim will not pay any fees or costs.

The basis of their claim is that the three car financing firms prevented, distorted or restricted competition with these ‘discretionary commission’ arrangements they had in place with car dealers. The higher the commission the dealer charged to the customer, the higher the level of commission they received. Customers often weren’t aware they could go elsewhere for a better deal and were limited to the artificially high interest rates they had been offered.

How to claim compensation

A decision first needs to be made by the specialist competition court about whether the claim will proceed. Sign up to Consumer Voice to stay updated as the claim progresses if you think you’ve been affected.