How to Claim PCP Commission Back in 2026

If you had PCP or Hire Purchase car finance between 2007 and 2024, there is a real chance you are owed money. On 30 March 2026, the Financial Conduct Authority confirmed a £7.5 billion compensation scheme for motor finance customers who were not told about commission arrangements that made their loans more expensive.

This guide explains what happened, whether you qualify, and exactly what to do — step by step. No jargon. No sales pitch. Just the information you need to decide whether to claim and how to do it without paying a penny to anyone.

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What is PCP commission and why are you owed money?

When you bought a car on PCP or Hire Purchase, the dealership arranged the finance. That is normal. What was not normal — and what the Supreme Court ruled was illegal in Johnson v FirstRand Bank Ltd [2024] — is what happened between the dealer and the lender behind the scenes.

Many dealers had what is called a Discretionary Commission Arrangement (DCA) with the finance company. Under a DCA, the dealer could increase the interest rate you paid above the lender's minimum rate. The higher the dealer pushed your rate, the bigger the commission they earned from the lender. You paid more every month. The dealer pocketed the difference. Nobody told you this was happening.

This was not a few rogue dealerships. The FCA's investigation found it was an industry-wide practice affecting millions of agreements over nearly two decades.

The result: millions of UK consumers paid more for their car finance than they should have, and they were never given the information they needed to make a fair decision.

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The FCA Redress Scheme explained

On 30 March 2026, the FCA published Policy Statement PS26/3: the Motor Finance Consumer Redress Scheme. This is not a proposal or a review. It is a confirmed, mandatory scheme. Lenders are legally required to assess affected agreements and pay compensation where consumers were treated unfairly.

The key figures from PS26/3:

Total redress: £7.5 billion

Eligible agreements: 12.1 million

Average compensation per agreement: £829

Total bill to firms (including admin costs): £9.1 billion

The scheme covers two time periods:

Scheme 1: Agreements from 6 April 2007 to 31 March 2014. The implementation period for this scheme ends 31 August 2026. The FCA has set a slightly higher compensation adjustment for these older agreements, reflecting evidence that the most harmful commission practices were more prevalent in earlier years.

Scheme 2: Agreements from 1 April 2014 to 1 November 2024. The implementation period ends 30 June 2026. This is the larger of the two schemes and covers the majority of affected agreements.

The FCA split the scheme into two periods partly because some respondents questioned whether the FCA had the power to cover pre-2014 agreements. If Scheme 1 is legally challenged on that point, Scheme 2 proceeds regardless. Both schemes are being implemented.

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How to check if you qualify

You may be eligible for compensation if your lender or broker did not adequately inform you about at least one of these three arrangements:

1. A Discretionary Commission Arrangement (DCA)
The broker could adjust the interest rate you paid to earn a higher commission. If you were not told this was possible, you may have a claim.

2. High commission
The commission amounted to at least 39% of the total cost of credit AND at least 10% of the loan amount. Even without a DCA, undisclosed commission at these levels triggers eligibility.

3. Contractual ties
The lender had exclusivity or a right of first refusal over the broker's finance business — meaning the dealer was effectively locked into offering that lender's products. The exception: if the lender can prove there were visible links between the manufacturer and the dealer that made the tie apparent to you.

You only need one of these three to qualify. Most consumers will fall under the DCA category, because discretionary commission was the most widespread practice.

What is excluded?

Not every agreement qualifies. The FCA has set clear boundaries:

Zero-APR agreements. If you were not charged interest, the agreement is excluded.

Minimal commission. If the total commission was £120 or less (for agreements before April 2014) or £150 or less (from April 2014 onwards), it is excluded. The FCA considers these amounts too small to have influenced anyone's decision.

DCA not exercised. If a DCA existed in the contract but the dealer never actually used it to increase your rate, the agreement is considered fair.

Very low APR agreements. Approximately 64,000 agreements where the APR was in the lowest 5% offered in the market at the time (excluding zero percent deals) will receive no compensation.

High-value loans. Loans above the 99.5th percentile by value for the relevant year are excluded from the scheme — but you can still complain directly to your lender or the Financial Ombudsman Service.

If you are unsure whether your agreement falls into any of these categories, the simplest approach is to complain to your lender and let them assess it. You lose nothing by asking.

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Your four options — and which is fastest

Option 1: Wait for your lender to contact you

Under the scheme, lenders are required to proactively contact consumers who are likely owed money. They have six months after the implementation period ends to do this. For Scheme 2 agreements, that means lenders must contact you by around January 2027.

Pros: You do not need to do anything.
Cons: You will be in the slower queue. Lenders will prioritise existing complainants first. If they do not contact you, the final deadline to complain is 31 August 2027 — miss that, and you may lose your right to claim under the scheme.

Option 2: Complain to your lender now

This is the fastest route. If you complain before the implementation period ends (30 June 2026 for post-2014 agreements), you are classified as a "complainant." Lenders must respond to complainants within three months of the implementation period ending — months ahead of people who waited.

Pros: Fastest resolution. You are in the priority queue.
Cons: You need to write a letter. But that is straightforward, and Frank can draft it for you in minutes.

Option 3: Use a Claims Management Company (CMC)

CMCs are already advertising heavily. They will handle the process for you, but they charge a fee — typically 25-30% of your compensation. On the average £829 payout, that is £200-£250 you would lose.

The FCA designed this scheme specifically so that consumers can access it directly, without an intermediary. The FCA has also set up a joint taskforce with the Solicitors Regulation Authority, the Advertising Standards Authority, and the Information Commissioner's Office to tackle poor practices by some CMCs and law firms handling motor finance claims.

Pros: They handle everything.
Cons: You lose up to 30% of your money for something you can do yourself for free.

Option 4: Use EvenStance (free for PCP claims)

EvenStance's AI assistant Frank will assess your eligibility, draft your complaint letter citing the correct legislation and FCA scheme references, and track your deadlines — all completely free for PCP and motor finance claims. No subscription. No fees. You keep every penny.

Pros: Guided process, professional letter, deadline tracking, zero cost.
Cons: You still send the letter yourself (but that takes two minutes).

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Step-by-step: how to claim right now

Step 1: Identify your lender

Your claim goes to the finance company, not the dealership. The dealer arranged the loan, but the lender holds the agreement and is responsible for compensation under the scheme.

Common motor finance lenders include: Black Horse, MotoNovo, Close Brothers, Santander Consumer Finance, Alphera Financial Services, BMW Financial Services, Mercedes-Benz Financial Services, Volkswagen Financial Services, Toyota Financial Services, and Ford Motor Credit.

If you cannot remember who the lender was, check any old paperwork, bank statements (the direct debit will show the lender's name), or your V5C logbook. Alternatively, you can submit a Subject Access Request to the dealership — they must tell you which lender was used.

Step 2: Gather what you can (but do not worry if you cannot)

If you still have your original finance agreement, that is helpful. It may show the interest rate, the total cost of credit, and potentially some commission information.

But if you have lost it — and most people have — that is completely fine. Your lender is legally required to hold records of your agreement. You can submit a Subject Access Request (SAR) under the UK GDPR to your lender, and they must provide all information they hold about you, including commission details, within 30 days.

Step 3: Write your complaint letter

Your complaint letter should be addressed to the lender's complaints department and should:

Reference your specific agreement (the date, the vehicle if you remember it, and any agreement number you have)

State that you are making a complaint under the FCA's motor finance consumer redress scheme (PS26/3)

Explain that commission arrangements were not adequately disclosed to you

Reference section 140A of the Consumer Credit Act 1974, which allows courts to reopen unfair credit agreements

Reference the Supreme Court ruling in Johnson v FirstRand Bank Ltd [2024]

Request that the lender assess your agreement under the scheme and provide redress if applicable

Set a response deadline of eight weeks (the standard timeframe for financial complaints before you can escalate to the Financial Ombudsman)

The tone should be firm and factual. You do not need to prove that commission was hidden — the burden is on the lender to show that it was properly disclosed. Given how poor disclosure was across the industry, the FCA has said it does not expect lenders to routinely find that cases are outside the scheme's scope.

Step 4: Send and track

Send your letter by email (for speed and a delivery record) or by post. Keep a copy. Note the date. Set a reminder for eight weeks from when you sent it.

If the lender does not respond within the scheme timeframe, or if you disagree with their decision, you can escalate to the Financial Ombudsman Service. Consumers whose agreement is assessed as fair under the scheme can also ask the Ombudsman to review whether the scheme rules were correctly applied.

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How much will you actually get?

The honest answer: it depends on your specific agreement.

The FCA's average across all eligible agreements is £829. But individual amounts vary depending on the loan size, the interest rate, how much commission was paid, and what type of arrangement was involved.

Johnson-aligned cases — approximately 90,000 agreements involving very high commission (at least 50% of the total cost of credit AND at least 22.5% of the loan amount) combined with an undisclosed DCA or contractual tie — will receive a full refund of all commission paid, plus interest.

All other eligible cases receive the "hybrid remedy": the average of your estimated financial loss and the commission that was paid, plus interest. The FCA's economic analysis estimates the average consumer overpaid by the equivalent of a 17% APR adjustment (for post-2014 agreements) or 21% (for pre-2014 agreements, reflecting greater harm in earlier years).

In approximately one in three cases, the compensation will be capped to ensure consumers are not put in a better position than they would have been if treated fairly. The cap is the lowest of: 90% of commission plus interest, the total cost of credit adjusted to the 5th percentile market rate, or the actual total cost of credit calculated on a simplified basis.

Interest is added to all compensation at the annual average Bank of England base rate plus one percentage point, with a minimum floor of 3% for any year, running from the date you overpaid to the date compensation is paid.

If you had more than one finance agreement in the qualifying period, each is assessed and compensated separately. Three PCP deals means three potential payouts.

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What to do next

The simplest way to start is to talk to Frank, EvenStance's AI assistant. Describe your situation — when you had the finance, who the lender was if you know, and whether you have already complained. Frank will assess your eligibility against the FCA's published criteria, draft your complaint letter with the correct legal references, and track your deadlines.

The entire PCP assessment and complaint letter process on EvenStance is completely free. No subscription required. No hidden fees. You keep every penny of any compensation you receive.

The scheme is live. The lenders are preparing. The sooner you complain, the sooner you are in the queue. Do not pay a CMC to do something you can do yourself in under an hour.