Reclaiming Car Finance - timeframe

KristyB

I submitted the email suggested by MSE regarding car finance to Stellantis (formerly Peugeot Financial Services) back in February, I received an email almost straight away acknowledging my query (so well within the 28 days), but I haven't heard anything since. Is there a period of time in which they have to let me know their answer/response? I'm not sure how to go about chasing them...
Thanks, Kristy.

dunstonh

The FCA has suspended complaints about DCA until after it completes its review and makes a decision on whether anything needs to be done or not (and if there is, what companies will need to do).  Currently that is scheduled for September but its not going as fast as they hoped and it may get pushed into next year.

You dont do any chasing.  You wait.

DullGreyGuy

KristyB said:

I submitted the email suggested by MSE regarding car finance to Stellantis (formerly Peugeot Financial Services) back in February, I received an email almost straight away acknowledging my query (so well within the 28 days), but I haven't heard anything since. Is there a period of time in which they have to let me know their answer/response? I'm not sure how to go about chasing them...
Thanks, Kristy.

FCA have stopped the clock on complaints until the end of September, at that point they will then have 8 weeks to respond from when the FCA report is published but all noises are that the FCA report will take longer and be published later than September. 

They have encouraged people to tell those without a DCA as soon as is practicably possible but haven't created any time limits for this. In reality many will not have records going back to 2007, the backstop of the investigation, and so many will be waiting to see what the FCA say should be done when records have been legitimately destroyed as required by GDPR/Data Protection legislation. 

[Deleted User]

There is an extended time period for them to give you a final response, it is usually 8 weeks but is extended to 45 weeks whilst the review is underway for complaints sent between 23/11/23 and 24/09/24.  If in the meantime you want to find out if your finance had commission and the type of commission you can go back to them and prod them for a response on that.  You could wait until the review is over but I think most people will be impatient to know if their finance is affected and they have the information readily available, albeit some lenders seem to be terribly disorganised.  Stellantis are one of the more difficult firms to get commission info from, but it is there.  DCA between 45-55% of finance before 2020.

DullGreyGuy

Its 8 weeks from the 24/09... they won't get 45 weeks for a complaint submitted on the 24/9

The 24/9 is subject to change too, all signs suggest the FCA will be pushing it back

[Deleted User]

I'm sorry, that should have been 23/09 indeed, it reverts back to 8 weeks on the 24/09/24 silly me.  All signs they will push it back as so much is going on in the background, the stuff we know about (review, court appeals, sheer volume) and the stuff we don't (pressure in meetings with lenders, internal wrangling, FCA agendas, the want and need for an unexpected national boost to disposable income).  Exciting stuff.  FOS  and the FCA really wimped out on Packaged Bank Accounts, I hope that doesn't happen here.

dunstonh

the FCA really wimped out on Packaged Bank Accounts, I hope that doesn't happen here.

PBAs were heavily missold (pressure methods and no checks on whether they were actually beneficial).  However, I don't think the FCA wimped out but more that the banks got wise to it early on and covered their back in time.    For example, the annual benefit letters on PBAs got issued from around 2010-2012.  This allowed the banks to use the 3/6 year time bar before the mass complaints took hold.

[Deleted User]

Yes that was a clever tactic, the same as the letters about PPI some sent out between 2007-2012 to apply the 3 year rule.  Again quite proud of the Plevin ruling allowing some of those people to get something eventually.  I sat in a room with FOS reps and they said, as clear as day without actually saying it.  We are going to reject nearly all of these PBA claims across the board.  They even stated that banks were upholding cases they would not and couldn't understand why.  Value of a long term customer I said.  They were in the midst of PPI and I genuinely feel that move was made without consumers at heart which disappointed me, hence 'wimping out'. However, I soon realised it was the FCA / outside pressure from lenders forcing their hand.