Regulations

Story: FCA Pulls Over 1,000 Car Finance Ads as 28,000 Consumers Exit Contracts Free

By Sydney TheCMO

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How the Ads Actually Work. The mechanics here are pretty cynical. A consumer searches for information on whether they were…

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The Taskforce Numbers. The FCA launched a joint taskforce in March, and the numbers it's putting out are striking.

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What Consumers Can Actually Do. The FCA's guidance is pretty practical. If you think you were misled into a contract with a CMC,…

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Britain's financial watchdog is done playing nice. The Financial Conduct Authority has pulled or amended more than 1,000 misleading car finance promotions since January 2024, and…

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The crackdown centers on claims management companies — CMCs — and law firms running ads that look like independent financial advice but aren't.

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The mechanics here are pretty cynical. A consumer searches for information on whether they were mis-sold car finance — a legitimate and live question in the UK right now — and…

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One firm has already been forced to pull its ads entirely. Others have been told to correct misleading content and, where contracts were signed under false pretenses, to unwind…

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The FCA launched a joint taskforce in March, and the numbers it's putting out are striking. More than 28,000 consumers have been allowed to exit contracts without paying exit fees.

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That's a lot of movement in a short time. Whether it sticks is another question.

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Two firms are now under active investigation: The Claims Protection Agency Limited and Consultation Claims Limited.

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The complaints picture is messy. Consumers have flagged everything from aggressive fee collection to being signed into contracts they didn't fully understand — sometimes through…

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See also: FCA Hits Devon Fraudster Daniel Pugh With £452,286 Confiscation Order

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The fee question is worth sitting with for a second. A 30%-plus cut of compensation sounds enormous, and it is — especially when the underlying claim might be straightforward.

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Firms that have voluntarily revised their practices have mostly done so around three areas: stopping new client intake, changing how they advertise, and fixing exit fee policies.

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The broader review of the claims management market is still running. The FCA says it's trying to get at root causes — not just swat individual bad actors, but understand why the…

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