Were You Mis-Sold Close Brothers Car Finance?

Were you mis-sold Close Brothers car finance?

A Close Brothers agreement may have been mis-sold if, between 6 April 2007 and 1 November 2024, the dealer or broker who arranged it was paid commission that pushed up your interest rate and you weren't told. This affects the whole dealer-arranged market, not just Close Brothers. The FCA is sorting it out across every lender at once.

The test is identical whichever lender you used. What counts is whether your rate was bumped up to earn more commission, and whether anyone told you that had happened. The Close Brothers name on the paperwork doesn't change it. Close Brothers is a specialist motor finance lender that works through brokers and dealers, which is useful background, but the rules bite the same way whoever the lender is.

Close Brothers in context

Close Brothers Limited is the motor finance arm of Close Brothers Group, a specialist UK lender. Its car finance is provided largely through brokers and dealers, on new and used cars.

Specialist lenders that operate through the broker channel sit squarely within the scheme's scope, because the broker is the party who was paid commission. The disclosure of that commission is the question that decides eligibility.

There is no Close Brothers-specific rule, finding or payout. Every lender is assessed under the same three-part test, with the same redress method.

How the commission issue affects Close Brothers agreements

The commission problem ran right across dealer-arranged car finance. Close Brothers agreements get the same assessment as any other lender's.

The FCA banned discretionary commission arrangements (DCAs) on 28 January 2021, having found the practice throughout the dealer-arranged market. Then on 1 August 2025, the Supreme Court ruled that undisclosed commission like this can make the lending relationship unfair, applying the unfair-relationship test (s140A, Consumer Credit Act 1974). That cleared the FCA to confirm a redress scheme (PS26/3), with payouts expected 2026 and into 2027.

So this isn't about Close Brothers in particular. If your Close Brothers agreement carried undisclosed commission, you can complain under the same scheme as anybody else. The detail sits in what a DCA is, the ruling, and how the FCA scheme works.

Were you affected? A checklist

Check the date, the route and the disclosure on your Close Brothers deal. The more of these that fit, the stronger a free complaint looks.

Tick most of these? It's worth a free complaint, even if you're not certain. The lender has to dig into its own records and tell you whether a qualifying commission applied. The free letter template does the asking for you.

An undisclosed DCA works by inflating the rate you were charged, so it's worth checking see what the APR really costs on a deal like yours — that shows what a fair rate should have cost you, alongside whatever redress figure the scheme works out.

• Your Close Brothers finance began between 6 April 2007 and 1 November 2024.
• It was set up through a dealer or broker who was paid commission for arranging it.
• Your interest rate may have been pushed up so that dealer or broker earned more (a DCA).
• The commission wasn't properly disclosed to you, in a way the FCA would accept.
• It is not a 0% or minimal-commission deal (those are generally left out).

How much could a Close Brothers claim be worth?

Redress pays back the interest you overpaid because of the commission, plus interest on top for the time you were out of pocket. That's why it varies so much from deal to deal. The FCA's scheme average is about ~£829 per agreement, and roughly one in three qualifying agreements hits a cap.

Two Close Brothers customers with different cars, rates and terms can end up owed very different amounts. A bigger, longer, higher-rate agreement tends to rack up more overpaid interest than a small, short, low-rate one. Any figure you see is an estimate, not a promise — nobody is guaranteed a payout, and the amount depends on your own agreement.

How to claim against Close Brothers for free

You can do this yourself, for free, in two stages: complain to Close Brothers first, then go to the Financial Ombudsman Service if you disagree with the answer. You don't need a claims-management company.

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. A claims firm can skim up to about 36% of any payout for filing the very same free forms you could file yourself.

1. Pull together your Close Brothers agreement details: the lender name, the start date, the agreement number and the APR.
2. Write to Close Brothers with the free letter template, asking whether a DCA, a high-commission arrangement or a contractual tie applied, and how much commission was paid.
3. Give the lender up to eight weeks to come back with a final response.
4. If you're unhappy or hear nothing, take it free to the Financial Ombudsman Service, usually within six months of that final response.