Car finance redress
The key scheme deadline is 31 August 2027: if a firm does not contact you about your agreement, you have until then to complain. That date comes from the scheme rules as made and may change after the legal challenge. Lenders had until 30 June 2026 (deals from 1 April 2014 onward) and 31 August 2026 (earlier deals) to get ready, but the steps that work out and pay compensation have been suspended since 29 June 2026.
Worked example
You send a free complaint to your lender in July 2026 using the letter template. Because parts of the scheme are suspended, the lender does not have to work out or pay compensation until the legal challenge ends. If it decides you are not owed anything, it should usually tell you within 5 months, so by about December 2026, or by 18 January 2027 if your agreement began before 1 April 2014. If you're unhappy with its answer, ask it to review the decision, then refer it to the Financial Ombudsman for free by the date given in the lender's letter. Either way, you are well inside the 31 August 2027 consumer deadline as the rules stand, and you have paid nothing to a claims firm.
Redress estimate
Any figures here are an estimate, not a promise, and nothing on this page is financial or legal advice. You can claim free yourself — you don't need a claims firm.
There is no single, fixed car finance claim deadline that has passed: the FCA scheme set specific dates on 30 March 2026 (PS26/3), and parts of it have been suspended since 29 June 2026. If a firm does not contact you, the scheme rules as made give you until 31 August 2027 to complain, a date that may change after the legal challenge. Don't be pressured by "act now" adverts.
Any figure you see is an estimate, not a promise. Nobody is guaranteed a payout, and the amount depends on your own agreement. Check your position calmly with the mis-sold car finance estimate. Below, a table sets out the key dates and what to do in each situation.
Is there a deadline to claim?
The key scheme deadline is 31 August 2027: if a firm does not contact you about your agreement, you have until then to complain. That date comes from the scheme rules as made and may change after the legal challenge. Lenders had until 30 June 2026 (deals from 1 April 2014 onward) and 31 August 2026 (earlier deals) to get ready, but the steps that work out and pay compensation have been suspended since 29 June 2026.
Before the scheme, the FCA paused complaint time limits while it worked out its approach; that pause expired on 31 May 2026. PS26/3 was made on 30 March 2026, but after a legal challenge from 1 May 2026 the Upper Tribunal suspended parts of it, and the hearing is listed for 16 February to 3 March 2027. The challenge may affect the timing and the scheme itself, but it does not cancel your right to complain to your lender.
A free DIY complaint to your lender can go in at any time. You do not have to wait for a firm to contact you, and you do not need a claims firm.
The key dates in one table
The deadlines that matter are the scheme's set-up dates, the suspension and the consumer complaint deadline. Treat every date after the suspension as provisional until the legal challenge ends.
If you complain to your lender yourself, that free complaint is valid whenever you send it, so there's no need to time it around the scheme dates.
| Event | Date |
|---|---|
| Firms' set-up period ends (deals from 1 Apr 2014) | 30 June 2026 |
| Firms' set-up period ends (earlier deals) | 31 August 2026 |
| Consumer deadline (if not contacted, rules as made) | 31 August 2027 |
| FCA made the scheme (PS26/3) | 30 March 2026 |
| Scheme legally challenged (parts suspended from 29 June 2026) | 1 May 2026 |
Why time limits can still matter
Some general complaint time limits exist, so it's sensible not to leave things indefinitely. The Financial Ombudsman Service generally expects referrals within set periods.
Because exact rules depend on your case, it's worth starting your free complaint rather than waiting.
- Complaints usually need to reach the Financial Ombudsman Service within six months of the lender's final response.
- If a firm does not contact you under the scheme, the rules as made give you until 31 August 2027 to complain (this may change after the legal challenge).
- Until the legal process ends, lenders do not need to calculate or pay compensation under the scheme; payouts are expected in 2027 at the earliest, if the scheme is upheld and the judgment is not appealed.
Don't fall for deadline pressure
"Act now before the deadline" is almost always a claims-firm sales line. You can complain to your lender yourself, for free, on your own timeline.
Claims firms use countdown-style adverts to push you into signing up, because once you've signed, they can take up to 36% of any payout, including VAT. The real deadline (31 August 2027 if not contacted, under the scheme rules as made) is generous, and a free DIY complaint loses you nothing.
Pressure is a red flag
Check your position
Rather than rush, get organised: estimate, then complain for free.
Try the compensation estimator, see when claims will be paid, and follow how to claim. Claiming is free and you can do it yourself: complain to your lender first, then escalate to the Financial Ombudsman Service. You do not need a claims-management company taking a cut.
What 'paused' complaint time limits meant
From 2024 the FCA paused the usual complaint time limits for motor finance commission cases while it worked out its approach. That pause ran from 11 January 2024 and expired on 31 May 2026.
During the pause, lenders did not have to give a final response within the normal eight weeks, and consumers did not lose the right to escalate. The pause was designed to avoid a flood of complaints landing at the Financial Ombudsman before the FCA had decided on a scheme. Since the pause expired on 31 May 2026, the six-month ombudsman window applies again once you have a final response, and the scheme rules as made set 31 August 2027 as the consumer deadline, though that date may change after the legal challenge.
If you complained during the pause, your complaint is still valid. If you haven't complained yet, you still can, for free, until 31 August 2027 if no firm contacts you, under the scheme rules as made.
If you're already with a claims firm
You can cancel a claims-management company agreement, usually within a cooling-off period, and continue yourself for free. You do not have to stay with a CMC to keep your claim alive.
Most CMC contracts include a 14-day cooling-off period during which you can cancel without paying. After that, you may still be able to cancel, though some contracts try to charge a fee. Check the terms and, if in doubt, get free advice from a money-advice charity before signing or cancelling anything.
The underlying claim belongs to you, not to the CMC. The lender and the ombudsman will deal with you directly once you tell the CMC you're taking it over.
The claim is yours
Existing complaints are prioritised
If you've already complained to your lender or the ombudsman, you do not need to do anything new: your complaint stays live and is prioritised under the scheme. You are not at the back of the queue.
Lenders had until 30 June 2026 (deals from 1 April 2014 onward) and 31 August 2026 (earlier deals) to get ready for the scheme. If you complained by those dates and are not owed anything, your lender should tell you by 18 November 2026 for agreements from 1 April 2014 where you complained by 30 June 2026, or by 18 January 2027 for earlier agreements where you complained by 31 August 2026, subject to limited exceptions; decisions on compensation owed are on hold until the legal challenge ends. So a free complaint you sent months or years ago carries forward automatically. You do not need to resubmit it, and you do not need a claims firm to "reactivate" anything.
If you can't remember whether you complained, check your email or post for any acknowledgement or final response from the lender. If nothing turns up, treat yourself as not-yet-complained and send a fresh free complaint using our letter template. It costs nothing and resets your position.
Your old complaint still counts
What to do in each scenario
Your next move depends on where you are in the process. Match your situation to the action below. All of them are free.
The main scheme deadline for most people is 31 August 2027 if no firm contacts you, under the rules as made, and it may change after the legal challenge. The six-month ombudsman window only starts once you have a final response from the lender, so it doesn't begin to run while you're waiting.
| Your situation | Deadline that applies | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Never complained, no firm has contacted you | 31 August 2027 (scheme rules as made) | Send a free complaint to your lender now using the letter template |
| Complained to lender, still waiting | If not owed: told within 5 months (or by the set dates); if owed: on hold until the legal challenge ends | Wait for the lender's answer; chase once if overdue |
| Lender rejected or offered too little | The date in the lender's letter (usually 6 months) to refer to FOS | Escalate to the Financial Ombudsman Service for free |
| Already with a claims firm | None new: the claim is yours | You can cancel (usually within 14 days) and continue DIY |
| Firm contacts you under the scheme | Reply within the window stated | Read the offer, then accept or query it directly |
A worked timeline
A typical free DIY complaint moves through the dates as shown below. Use it to sense-check your own timing.
The example shows why there is no rush. Starting now puts your complaint in the queue and still leaves you about ten months before the 31 August 2027 scheme deadline. Waiting a few months does not weaken your case under the scheme rules as made, though that date may change after the legal challenge.
Example: complaining in July 2026
How the deadline compares to other redress schemes
Motor finance redress is on a longer timeline than most UK mass-redress schemes have been. The FCA estimates roughly 12.1 million agreements are eligible for compensation, and the legal challenge has added further delay.
The lesson from PPI is the opposite of what claims-firm adverts suggest: people who complained early and for free did just as well as those who paid a firm, and many who panicked into a CMC handed over a large slice of their payout. The motor finance window is more generous still, so the pressure is even less justified.
| Scheme | Consumer deadline | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Motor finance commission (PS26/3) | 31 August 2027 (if not contacted; rules as made) | Parts suspended pending a hearing in February to March 2027; dates may change |
| PPI (final deadline) | 29 August 2019 | Shorter, fixed, no ongoing legal challenge at the end |
| General FOS complaints | 6 months from final response | Standard ombudsman referral window |
What happens to your right if the scheme changes
If the legal challenge alters the scheme, your right to complain to your lender directly is unchanged. The normal complaint route to your lender and the ombudsman stays open.
The 1 May 2026 legal challenge, brought by CA Auto Finance, Mercedes-Benz Financial Services, Volkswagen Financial Services and Consumer Voice, is about whether the scheme's rules are lawful, including the FCA's power to make them. Even if the Upper Tribunal quashes the scheme, the underlying legal right the Supreme Court recognised in August 2025 (that undisclosed commission, together with other features of a deal, can make the relationship unfair) still stands, and complaints could go through a revised scheme or the normal complaints route. You can still complain to your lender, and still escalate to the Financial Ombudsman, for free.
In the worst case there may be no compensation scheme at all, and complaints would be decided one by one under the normal rules. That could change the figures and the timing, but it would not erase your right to complain. So filing a free complaint now is the safe move, and waiting costs you nothing either.
Frequently asked
Is there a deadline for car finance claims?
How long do I have to complain?
Should I act now to beat a deadline?
Will the legal challenge change the deadline?
What if I already complained during the FCA pause?
How long does the lender have to respond?
Does the deadline differ for PCP and HP claims?
Sources
We cite regulators and official UK sources only.
- Financial Conduct Authority — motor finance redress schemefca.org.uk
- UK Supreme Courtsupremecourt.uk
- Consumer Credit Act 1974legislation.gov.uk
- Financial Ombudsman Servicefinancial-ombudsman.org.uk
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