EvenStance vs MoneySavingExpert PCP Tool

Both tools are free. Both help you claim. The difference is what happens after you press send.

The FCA confirmed on 30 March 2026 that 12.1 million car finance agreements are eligible for compensation under the new motor finance redress scheme (PS26/3). The average payout is £829. The scheme is free to access directly — you do not need a claims management company, a solicitor, or any paid service.

MoneySavingExpert and EvenStance both offer free tools to help you make your complaint. But they work very differently, and which one suits you depends on how much support you need after the complaint letter goes out.

What MoneySavingExpert's tool does

MoneySavingExpert launched its free PCP complaint tool on 30 March 2026, timed to the FCA's scheme announcement. Martin Lewis and MSE have done genuinely excellent work raising awareness — millions of people who would never have known about hidden commission now do, because of MSE.

Here is what the tool does. You enter some basic details about your car finance agreement — the lender, approximate dates, and the type of finance. The tool generates a template complaint email addressed to your lender. You copy it, paste it into your own email, and send it.

That is where MSE's involvement ends. The tool does not track whether the lender responds. It does not help you understand the response if they do. It does not draft a rebuttal if the lender rejects your complaint. It does not guide you through escalation to the Financial Ombudsman Service. It does not manage multiple claims if you had more than one car finance agreement.

MSE's tool is a starting pistol. It fires the gun. What happens after that is on you.

This is not a criticism of MSE. Their model has always been to educate and empower consumers at scale — to point millions of people in the right direction. They do that brilliantly. But if your lender rejects your complaint with a three-page letter full of references to the Consumer Credit Act 1974 and PS26/3 eligibility thresholds, MSE's tool cannot help you respond.

What EvenStance does

EvenStance takes a different approach. Frank, our AI, does not generate a generic template. Frank assesses your specific situation — the type of finance, the lender, the dates, the likely commission structure — and drafts a complaint letter that cites the relevant legislation and FCA scheme rules for your case.

But the real difference is what happens after you send that letter.

If the lender responds, Frank analyses their response. If it is a rejection — and many will be, especially in the early months — Frank identifies where their reasoning is weak, what they have failed to address, and drafts a rebuttal grounded in the scheme rules. If the lender does not respond within the required timeframe, Frank flags the deadline breach and prepares your escalation to the Financial Ombudsman.

Frank tracks every deadline automatically: the lender's response window, the FOS referral window, the scheme implementation dates, and the final claim deadline of 31 August 2027. If you have multiple finance agreements — and many people do — Frank manages each one separately.

For PCP and HP motor finance claims, all of this is completely free. No subscription. No percentage fee. No catch.

Side-by-side comparison

When to use MSE's tool

If you want a quick, simple complaint email and you are confident you can handle everything that follows — reading the lender's response, understanding whether their rejection is valid, knowing when to escalate and how — MSE's tool is a perfectly good starting point. It costs nothing and it takes minutes.

If you are the kind of person who reads MoneySavingExpert regularly, you are probably more financially literate than average. You may well be comfortable navigating this yourself. MSE's tool gives you what you need to get started.

When to use EvenStance

If any of the following apply, EvenStance is the better choice:

You are not confident you will understand the lender's response. Rejection letters in financial services are designed to sound authoritative and final. They often cite legislation and policy in ways that are technically correct but misleading. Frank reads them for you and tells you whether the rejection actually holds up.

You had more than one car finance agreement. Each agreement is a separate claim with its own deadlines, its own lender, and its own eligibility assessment. Managing three or four claims manually — each at a different stage — is the point where most people drop one.

You have already been rejected. If you sent a complaint (via MSE or directly) and got a rejection letter you do not understand, Frank can assess it and tell you whether you have grounds to escalate. This is where EvenStance's value is most obvious.

You want someone watching the deadlines. The scheme has two implementation periods, different notification windows, and a final claim deadline. Miss one and you could lose your right to compensation. Frank tracks all of them.

The honest truth

MoneySavingExpert has massive reach and Martin Lewis's trust. Millions of people will use MSE's tool because they already trust MSE, and they should — MSE has earned that trust over twenty years of consistently putting consumers first.

EvenStance has deeper functionality. We built Frank specifically for consumer disputes, not just for generating a first letter. The complaint is the easy part. Everything that happens after the complaint — the rejection, the rebuttal, the escalation, the deadline management — is where cases are won or lost.

Many people will start with MSE and come to EvenStance when they get a rejection letter and do not know what to do next. That is fine. Frank can pick up your case at any stage.

The important thing is that you claim at all. Whether you start with MSE, with EvenStance, or by writing your own letter on the back of an envelope, the scheme is free and the deadlines are set. Do not pay a CMC 25–30% of your money for something you can do yourself.

Start your free PCP assessment

Frank will assess your eligibility, identify which unfairness triggers likely apply to your deal, and draft your complaint letter — citing the specific legislation and FCA scheme rules for your case. Completely free for motor finance claims.