Regulations

Story: FCA Pulls 1,200 Car Finance Ads as Joint Taskforce Targets CMC Misconduct

By Jean-Luc Maracon

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Voluntary Requirements and Unauthorized Firms. Beyond pulling ads, the FCA has imposed voluntary requirements — known as VREQs — on two…

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The Martin Lewis Angle and Fee Warnings. One of the more striking enforcement actions involved a CMC that used unauthorized clips of Martin…

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ICO's Role: 12 Million Complaints. The Information Commissioner's Office has a staggering workload here.

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Britain's financial watchdog has yanked or rewritten 1,200 misleading car finance advertisements since January 2024. The crackdown isn't slowing down.

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The Financial Conduct Authority has been working alongside three other regulatory bodies — the Advertising Standards Authority, the Solicitors Regulation Authority, and the…

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In June alone, the FCA moved against 170 misleading ads posted by CMCs. That's a lot of bad content in a single month.

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Beyond pulling ads, the FCA has imposed voluntary requirements — known as VREQs — on two additional firms, forcing them to overhaul their marketing.

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That's a real risk for consumers. Engaging with an unauthorized firm means no proper oversight, no guaranteed recourse, and potentially a hefty bill for services that weren't…

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Alison Walters, the FCA's director of consumer finance, has been pretty direct about why this matters.

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One of the more striking enforcement actions involved a CMC that used unauthorized clips of Martin Lewis — the Money Saving Expert — to falsely promote car finance compensation…

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On fees: consumers who go through a CMC or law firm could end up paying more than 30% of whatever compensation they receive. That's a big chunk.

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Read also: FCA Cuts £128M in Annual Costs for UK Asset Managers Through Reporting Overhaul

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Three CMCs have already cut their fees as a result of FCA pressure, and the watchdog says that change benefits more than 500,000 consumers.

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The ASA has launched its own investigations into law firm advertising, specifically looking at fee transparency and the accuracy of so-called "free checker" tools — tools that…

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The Information Commissioner's Office has a staggering workload here. Since September 2025, it's received over 12 million complaints about nuisance calls, texts, and emails.

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