Car Finance Compensation Calculator: Mis-Sold Claim

What is the car finance mis-selling scandal?

Between 6 April 2007 and 1 November 2024, many UK car finance deals carried hidden discretionary commission that pushed up the interest customers paid. Where that commission wasn't properly disclosed, the agreement may have been mis-sold.

The cause was discretionary commission arrangements (DCAs). Under a DCA, the dealer or broker could set the customer's interest rate within a range, and the higher the rate they set, the more commission they earned from the lender. That gave them a reason to push rates up, and customers were rarely told. The FCA banned DCAs on 28 January 2021, but deals dating back to 2007 are affected.

On 1 August 2025, the Supreme Court ruled that this kind of undisclosed commission could make a credit agreement unfair under section 140A of the Consumer Credit Act 1974. That ruling made redress possible for millions of customers. The full background is in the scandal explained.

Were you mis-sold car finance?

You may have been mis-sold if your deal was taken out between 6 April 2007 and 1 November 2024, was arranged by a dealer or broker, and involved a commission you weren't told about.

If you took out PCP or HP through a car dealer during the affected window, there's a real chance a DCA applied. You don't need to know for certain to complain. The first step is to ask the lender whether a DCA applied, and they have to tell you.

• The agreement dates from 6 April 2007 to 1 November 2024 (PCP or HP arranged through a dealer).
• It was arranged by a dealer or broker, not direct with a bank or lender.
• A discretionary commission arrangement (DCA) may have applied before the ban on 28 January 2021 (see what a DCA was).
• The commission wasn't clearly disclosed to you before you signed.
• Check eligibility in were you mis-sold?.

How much compensation could you get?

There's no set figure. Under the scheme rules, redress for most people is the average of an estimated overpayment and the commission paid, plus interest, and it varies case by case. The FCA estimates the average across the scheme at about £829 per agreement.

The FCA's PS26/3 impact estimate put the average redress at roughly £829 per affected agreement. It estimated that, if 75% of eligible consumers take part, firms would pay redress of about £7.5 billion (a total bill to firms of about £9.1 billion) across roughly 12.1 million agreements. Your own figure depends on the amount borrowed, the term, the APR, and how much commission was paid.

Put your amount borrowed, APR and term into the estimator above to see a rough estimated redress figure. Treat any number as an estimate, whether it comes from us, a claims firm or anyone else. The scheme decides the final amount, and it's free to claim yourself.

How is redress calculated?

For most people, the FCA scheme takes the average of an estimated overpayment and the commission paid, then adds simple interest at the annual average Bank of England base rate plus 1%, with a 3% minimum in any year. The exact method is set out in PS26/3 and applied by the lender.

Under the scheme, the estimated overpayment is a percentage discount on the interest rate you paid (17% for agreements from April 2014, 21% for earlier ones). The lender averages that with the commission paid, adds interest for the time you've been without the money, then checks the result against caps such as 90% of the commission plus interest. Until the legal challenge ends, lenders do not need to do this calculation. This calculator works differently: it estimates the extra interest a commission uplift may have added, then adds interest at the scheme rate, so treat its figure as a rough guide. The calculator above shows the overpaid interest and the interest on top as separate lines. See the FCA redress scheme explained.