Motor Finance Commission Complaints

If you’ve used car finance to buy a car, motorbike, or van, it’s very likely that the lender paid the broker (usually your car dealer) commission for arranging the loan.

Commission related complaints are those that either related to Discretionary Commission Arrangements (DCA’s) or any other form of commission arrangements (Non-Discretionary Commission Arrangements) related to the sale of a motor finance product. 

As part of an investigation into car finance commissions, the FCA are reviewing all commission arrangements with regards to motor finance. 

There is currently enhanced regulatory and legal focus around motor finance commissions, and this is shaping the way that we will deal with your complaint.

What is a Discretionary Commission Arrangement?

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) describes a discretionary commission arrangement (DCA) as an arrangement where a finance provider allowed a broker (the person that arranged the finance) to adjust the interest rates they offered to customers.

Typically, the higher the interest rate, the more commission the broker received. The FCA banned this practice in 2021. However, they are currently reviewing the car finance market to understand if motor finance providers have failed to comply with the rules. 

What is a Non-Discretionary Commission Arrangement?

A motor finance non-discretionary commission complaint is one:

1. That is not a relevant DCA Complaint.
2. That is about a regulated credit agreement that financed the purchase of a motor vehicle.
3. Where there was an arrangement for commission to be paid by the lender to the credit broker.

Where can I find out more from the FCA?

The FCA maintains its own Car Finance Complaints website which gives up-to-date information on their investigation and the latest developments.

What does this mean for my complaint?

As detailed on the FCA page, car finance providers are not bound to respond to these types of complaints within normal timescales.  This is to allow the FCA investigation to conclude and for them to provide guidance to firms on how to proceed so that complaints are dealt with fairly and consistently across the industry.

For complaints related to commissions – whether these are DCA’s or other commissions - firms are currently not required to send a final response until at least 4th December 2025. This is in line with FCA guidance.

As the investigations progress and there are relevant updates, we will update this page and write to complainants where appropriate. Your right to refer to the Financial Ombudsman will not be impacted as the FCA have also extended the timescales for referral.  We will communicate all key details to you when appropriate.

How to make a complaint about any Commission Arrangements 

There is no change to the methods available to raising your complaint with us.

To assist us with locating details of your account, please provide us with the following information, where known:

• First Name
• Surname
• Any Previous Surname(s)
• Date of Birth
• Ford Credit Account Number(s)
• Vehicle Registration(s)
• Current Address including Postcode
• Contact phone number
• Contact email address
• Previous Address(es) including Postcode(s) relevant to the complaint

You have a number of ways to contact us; you can call or write to us via post or email:

Call us: 0345 712 5490
We are open 9:00am till 5:15pm on weekdays and 9:00 till 1:00pm on Saturdays.

Email us: custrel@ford.com*
Our opening hours are 9:30am and 5:15pm weekdays.

Write to us: Customer Relations Department, Ford Credit, 1 Tony Wilson Place, Manchester, M15 4FN

*Please note that the transmission of information via the internet (including e-mail) is not completely secure. Although we do our best to protect personal data, any transmission is at your own risk. Once we have received your information, we will use strict procedures and security facilities to ensure against unauthorised access. To keep your data secure please do not send any Personally Identifiable or Sensitive Personal Information to custrel@ford.com.