FCA investigates car finance

hieveryone

So is it better to hang fire at the moment then? 

Nasqueron

The pause means any complaint (note: complaint, not a claim, no-one is owed money) would not progress.

Any finance in the last 6 years would be on your credit record, beyond that it's down to your memory.

Do note that after 6 years the firms may well have deleted your records anyway in line with GDPR and best practice so what supporting evidence do you have that you had finance and were miss-sold or that the dealer inflated your finance for commission?

Austen01

I had finance with Toyota and they have there own finance company so would this effect me with claiming for this commission thing.   

Nasqueron

Austen01 said:

I had finance with Toyota and they have there own finance company so would this effect me with claiming for this commission thing.   

There is no "claiming" and it only applies if they had the variable commission and you can prove they gave you a higher rate for the sale to get more commission. If Toyota finance was inhouse, there would be the question as to whether the sales rep got any commission at all.

sammyjammy

Car finance FREE reclaim tool & guide | MSE (moneysavingexpert.com)

Martin recommends querying if the commission applies and registering your complaint in advance of September, you could also watch his tv programme from last night.

stabilio

Is there any leeway on the "had to be taken out before 28 Jan 2021" as I took mine out a day after this date?

dunstonh

stabilio said:

Is there any leeway on the "had to be taken out before 28 Jan 2021" as I took mine out a day after this date?

Why would there be any leeway?  The rule changes used fixed dates.  They don't have ifs and maybes.  It is a clean line in the sand based on when you signed your agreement.

robildn

I got a response back from Toyota, they did not answer my question regarding whether any of my finance deals I had with them involved DCA. They just listed all my agreements I had with them, 3 out of 5 had commission paid to the dealership.
They just said there was no secret commission paid and that I could have asked for the exact commission paid at the time. They did not answer my question regarding the interest rate that they made available to me either. So they closed my complaint and told me I can go to ombudsman within 6 weeks etc.

With one of the cars I recall the dealership came back with a slightly better interest rate when I did not agree to the initial monthly payments they offered. I did not think about this at the time, but now it definitely seems like it was DCA as they managed to offer me a lower interest rate when I did not agree to the initial offer they made, this is without any changes on my part, i.e. not changes to deposits etc.

Also they said this was the final response, even though they did not answer a couple of my questions I asked them, its impossible to contact them now and its been over a month since I send a reply to their email asking them to answer my questions regarding DCA.

Thinking if I should go to ombudsman now or wait till September. 

dunstonh

I got a response back from Toyota, they did not answer my question regarding whether any of my finance deals I had with them involved DCA. They just listed all my agreements I had with them, 3 out of 5 had commission paid to the dealership.

Did you use the template from this site or you own complaint letter?

They just said there was no secret commission paid and that I could have asked for the exact commission paid at the time. They did not answer my question regarding the interest rate that they made available to me either. So they closed my complaint and told me I can go to ombudsman within 6 weeks etc.

Did your complaint letter make reference to secret commission?   (if so, that isn't what this issue is about as commission is not required to be disclosed)

With one of the cars I recall the dealership came back with a slightly better interest rate when I did not agree to the initial monthly payments they offered. I did not think about this at the time, but now it definitely seems like it was DCA as they managed to offer me a lower interest rate when I did not agree to the initial offer they made, this is without any changes on my part, i.e. not changes to deposits etc.

DCA could be used positively and negatively.  Lowering the rate is not an area of concern.

Thinking if I should go to ombudsman now or wait till September. 

The FOS are not taking on cases regarding DCA.

robildn

dunstonh said:

I got a response back from Toyota, they did not answer my question regarding whether any of my finance deals I had with them involved DCA. They just listed all my agreements I had with them, 3 out of 5 had commission paid to the dealership.

Did you use the template from this site or you own complaint letter?

They just said there was no secret commission paid and that I could have asked for the exact commission paid at the time. They did not answer my question regarding the interest rate that they made available to me either. So they closed my complaint and told me I can go to ombudsman within 6 weeks etc.

Did your complaint letter make reference to secret commission?   (if so, that isn't what this issue is about as commission is not required to be disclosed)

With one of the cars I recall the dealership came back with a slightly better interest rate when I did not agree to the initial monthly payments they offered. I did not think about this at the time, but now it definitely seems like it was DCA as they managed to offer me a lower interest rate when I did not agree to the initial offer they made, this is without any changes on my part, i.e. not changes to deposits etc.

DCA could be used positively and negatively.  Lowering the rate is not an area of concern.

Thinking if I should go to ombudsman now or wait till September. 

The FOS are not taking on cases regarding DCA.

 I was a bit hasty when I first heard of the investigation and fired off my own email rather then use the template. Going forward I will be more patient and follow the resources provided by MSE!

Just got a response to my email asking to clarify about the DCA, they have confirmed:
from Toyota email:
" After checking our records, we can tell you that we did pay a discretionary commission to the dealer.

 We normally have eight weeks to send you a final response letter but the pause introduced by the Financial Conduct Authority means the period starting on 11 January 2024 and ending on (and including) 25 September 2024 is not counted when calculating this eight week period.

We'll be in touch with you after 25 September 2024."

I did not mention anything about secret commission. I think they were just trying to get rid of me and hoping I do not question them any further. Need to wait till 25th of September now and see what happens.