Many UK drivers are now reviewing their car finance agreements due to discretionary commission arrangements. If a dealer was allowed to adjust your interest rate without clearly explaining how commission worked, you may have paid more than you realised.
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Average of £829** per agreement
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You can claim without using a claims management company, to your finance provider and then to Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS), for free. The FCA has introduced a free consumer redress scheme.
**The FCA currently estimates that most individuals will potentially receive an average of £829 in compensation per agreement. We find on average 2 car finance agreements per client, giving a potential claim value of £1,658. See: https://www.fca.org.uk/news/statements/fca-confirms-motor-finance-redress-scheme
If you took out car finance and later found out a broker or dealer earned commission from the lender, you may be wondering whether your agreement was fair. Discretionary Commission Arrangements, commonly referred to as DCA car finance, are at the centre of many UK car finance complaints. Thousands of drivers are now checking whether their PCP or HP agreement involved a DCA car finance claim. This page explains what a DCA car finance claim is, how discretionary commission worked, and when making a complaint may be appropriate.
Check Your ClaimCheck in secondsDCA stands for Discretionary Commission Arrangement. In car finance, this meant a dealer or broker could set or increase the interest rate on your agreement. The higher the interest rate, the more commission they received from the lender.
This created a clear conflict of interest. You may not have been told that commission existed, how it worked, or that the dealer had a financial incentive to charge you more. The Financial Conduct Authority has said these arrangements led to unfair customer outcomes.
DCA car finance was commonly used on PCP and Hire Purchase agreements taken out before 28 January 2021, when the FCA banned discretionary commission models.
| Criteria | Eligible? |
|---|---|
| Commission structure let the dealer set/adjust your interest rate within a range | ✅ Yes - this is what makes it "discretionary" |
| Agreement taken out before the DCA ban (Jan 2021) | ✅ Yes - required, DCAs banned from this date |
| You weren't told the dealer could increase your rate for higher commission | ✅ Yes - core disclosure failure |
| Commission was a fixed flat fee, not rate-linked | ❌ Not a DCA - check fixed-commission rules on PCP/HP pages instead |
| Case closely resembles the Johnson ruling (rate clearly inflated for commission) | ✅ Stronger claim - more likely to qualify for full commission repayment rather than the lower hybrid remedy |
How It Works
Our system securely connects with trusted credit agencies and vehicle records to find your car finance agreements, even if you've moved house or changed your name. It's only a soft credit check, so your credit file won't be negatively affected.
After you enter a few basic details, our system searches for your past car finance agreements, including those dating back to 2007, where available.
Once your finance agreements are found, Mis-sold will review your agreements in detail, we'll either do this ourselves or send it to one of our partner law firms. You will be updated every step of the way while we collect evidence, negotiate directly with the lenders, and fight your case for you.
You can claim without using a claims management company, to your finance provider and then to Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS), for free. The FCA has introduced a free consumer redress scheme.
Car finance is not automatically mis-sold because commission was paid. A DCA car finance claim usually focuses on whether the commission arrangement was properly disclosed and whether it influenced the interest rate without your knowledge.
You may have grounds for a DCA car finance claim if:
In these situations, you may argue that you could not make an informed decision about your car finance.
A DCA car finance claim is a complaint, not a court claim. It is usually made to the lender that provided the finance, as lenders are responsible for the actions of the dealer or broker.
A typical DCA car finance complaint states that:
If the lender upholds the complaint, redress is more likely to be issued in the form of compensation for an unfair contract. The DCA itself wasn't illegal; it was the practice of not informing the customer of the arrangement which was deemed unfair.
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Some agreements included commission setups that weren't always made clear at the time. If you had a PCP or HP agreement between April 2007 and November 2024, you may have been affected by one of the following:
The interest rate could be increased, and that increase could boost dealer commissions.
The commission paid may have been disproportionate to the finance agreement.
The broker may have been tied to one lender, rather than comparing options fairly.
Most DCA car finance claims relate to:
Cash purchases, personal loans taken directly from a bank, and most lease agreements are unlikely to involve DCA car finance.
You do not need your original paperwork to make a DCA car finance claim. Lenders hold records of commission arrangements and interest rates.
Mis-sold Expert helps you understand whether your agreement may support a DCA car finance claim. We focus on clear, practical support and a structured complaints process.
We can help by:
We do not provide legal or financial advice. Our role is to help you raise a clear and accurate complaint.
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