Motor Finance Commission Complaints
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is looking into how motor finance companies used to pay commission to vehicle dealers. This includes looking at arrangements where dealers could influence the interest rate customers were offered.
On 1 August 2025, the Supreme Court issued a decision that overturned a previous ruling by the Court of Appeal concerning commission disclosure. In response, the FCA announced plans to introduce a redress scheme in 2026 to help affected customers.
What are motor finance commission complaints?
Motor finance commission complaints relate to how dealers and car finance brokers were paid commission when arranging finance for vehicle purchases. There are two main types:
- A Discretionary Commission Arrangement (DCA) Complaint: This relates to finance agreements entered before 28 January 2021, where the dealer could adjust the interest rate under the agreement and earn more commission. DCAs have since been banned by the FCA.
- A Non-Discretionary Commission (Non-DCA) Complaint: This involves agreements where commission was paid, but the dealer could not influence the interest rate.
What’s happening with complaints?
- To support its review of commission arrangements, the FCA has paused the usual rules for handling commission-related complaints. Since January 2024, complaints about DCAs have been put on hold.
- In December 2024, this pause extended to include complaints about Non-DCAs.
The pause means that motor finance companies (like Mann Island) aren’t required to issue a response to motor finance commission complaints within the usual 8 week timescale. Instead, we have until the end of the pause to respond to motor finance commission complaints.
The pause now runs until after 4 December 2025, and the FCA will review extending the pause further to coincide with the timetable to implement the redress scheme.
You can still complain during the pause. We’ll acknowledge your complaint, but we won’t respond to it until after the end of the pause. The FCA has also extended the time to refer complaints to the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS). If you’re unhappy with our final response to your commission-related complaint when you eventually receive it, you now have until 26 July 2026 or 15 months from the date of our final response (whichever is later) to refer your case to the FOS.
Please find more information on the FCA website, links below:
https://www.fca.org.uk/consumers/car-finance-complaints
https://www.fca.org.uk/news/press-releases/fca-consult-motor-finance-compensation-scheme
https://www.fca.org.uk/news/statements/fca-consult-compensation-scheme-motor-finance-customers
How do I make a motor finance commission complaint?
To help us check if you had a motor finance agreement with us and to begin our investigation, please email us at complaints@mannisland.co.uk.
Please include as much of the following information where possible to help us locate your agreement. If you’re missing some details, just provide what you have, and we may follow up if we need anything further.
Details to include:
- Your full name
- Date of birth
- Current address and previous addresses (including postcode)
- Agreement number (if known)
- Vehicle registration number
- Make and model of vehicle
- Contact telephone number
If your agreement included a commission arrangement, we’ll register a complaint for you, confirm this in writing, and begin our investigation. You don’t need to do anything further unless we contact you.
If you’re just enquiring and not submitting a formal complaint at this stage, please let us know in your email. We’ll check our records and confirm whether your agreement included a commission arrangement.
Do I need to instruct a claims management company or law firm to make the complaint to you on my behalf?
No, you don’t need to instruct a claims management company or a law firm – you can complain directly to us for free.
Beware of Scams
Since the FCA announced plans to introduce a redress scheme, scammers have been contacting people pretending to be motor finance companies. They may offer fake compensation and ask for personal details.
How to stay safe:
- We’ll only ask for personal information when it’s necessary to verify your identity – whether you contact us or we contact you. We’ll never ask for full bank details, passwords, or request sensitive information unexpectedly, or via unsolicited messages. We’d never contact you by WhatsApp.
- If you receive a suspicious call, message, or email claiming to be from us, don’t share any personal details.
- Always use our official email address to make a complaint.
If you’re unsure whether a communication is genuine, please contact us directly on 0330 123 0332 or email us at complaints@mannisland.co.uk.
You can find more information about protecting yourself from scams at www.fca.org.uk
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