Can I Make a Car Finance Claim If the Dealership Has Closed?

If you’ve discovered issues with the way your car finance was arranged, one of the first questions you might ask yourself is: “Great… but what if the dealership has vanished into thin air?”

Maybe it closed down, rebranded, moved three towns over, or became a coffee shop (it happens). Whatever the situation, many people worry that a dealership disappearing makes it impossible to raise a concern about their agreement.

The reassuring news is that, in most cases, the dealership’s status doesn’t prevent you from asking the finance provider to review how your finance was arranged. The process is far less dramatic than it feels, no detective work, no decoding old receipts, and absolutely no need to track down your old salesperson on social media.

Why You Can Still Raise a Complaint Even If the Dealer Is Long Gone

When you bought your car on PCP or HP, the dealer helped arrange the sale, but the finance agreement was made with the lender. This means the lender, not the dealership, is responsible for handling complaints about how the agreement was presented.

So even if the dealership has:

shut its doors,
been taken over by another company,
merged into a larger group, or
simply stopped answering the phone,

you can usually still go straight to the finance company. They should review your concerns based on the information they hold from the time the agreement was set up.

The Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) also takes this approach. They often look at complaints even where the dealership no longer exists, because the finance provider remains accountable.

Put simply, the dealership moving on doesn’t mean your complaint can’t move forward.

What If I Can’t Find My Paperwork?

People often panic when they realise they’ve misplaced their agreement, accidentally recycled a key document, or filed it in the mysterious drawer where things go to disappear forever.

The good news is that lenders usually keep copies of:

your credit agreement,
the terms you signed,
and the information the dealer passed on.

So even if your own paperwork is hiding behind the boiler or in a box you swore you’d organise one day, the lender should still be able to review the case. Of course, if you do have anything handy, emails, screenshots, delivery notes, these can help, but they’re rarely essential.

What If the Dealership Was Taken Over?

Dealerships are bought, sold, merged, renamed, and relaunched more often than most people realise. It’s practically an industry hobby.

If your old dealership is now part of a shiny new group with a slightly trendier name, you may wonder who’s responsible. In many cases, the takeover doesn’t change your route at all: you still contact the finance provider, not the dealership.

Whether or not the new owners inherited responsibility for past sales is something the lender will determine; they’re used to dealing with these situations.

Concerns That Can Still Be Looked At

Even if the dealer is long gone, several types of issues can still be reviewed. Common examples include:

whether commission or incentives were explained,
how interest rates or costs were presented,
whether the optional final payment was made clear,
how mileage limits were discussed,
or whether the sales process felt rushed or pressured.

These are situations the finance company can investigate using its own records. The dealership not being around doesn’t erase the information, they normally keep enough detail to look into what was said, shared, or signed.

What If the Lender Has Changed Name Too?

Lenders also sometimes merge, rebrand, or shift portfolios around. If your lender’s name has changed, don’t panic; your agreement will have been transferred to the new entity.

A quick look at your bank statements (where the monthly payments went), or a credit report, usually reveals the current name of the company managing your agreement.

Once you know who they are, the process is the same: you raise your concerns with them.

How to Raise a Concern If You Think Something Wasn't Explained Properly

If you believe an aspect of your finance agreement wasn’t explained clearly, the steps are fairly straightforward:

Contact the finance provider and outline your concerns.

They’ll investigate and usually respond within eight weeks.

If you’re unhappy with their decision, or hear nothing, you may be able to take the matter to the Financial Ombudsman Service.

There are no guaranteed outcomes. Each case is reviewed individually, but dealership closure or rebranding does not block the process.

Don’t Worry If the Dealer Has Disappeared, You Haven’t Hit a Dead End

Dealerships may come and go, change names, or transform into something completely unrelated (we’re still thinking about the coffee shop example). But your ability to raise a concern typically remains intact because the finance provider is the one who must review it.

If something doesn’t feel right about the way your agreement was explained, you can still ask for it to be looked at even if the dealership itself is now a distant memory.

If you believe you were mis-sold car finance, contact Mis-Sold Expert to find out how they can help.

You can claim without using a claims management company; you can go to your finance provider and then to FOS, for free. Additionally, the FCA is introducing a free consumer redress scheme.