Martin Lewis warns millions of Brits who bought cars before 2021 they could be owed thousands

Millions of Brits who bought a car before 2021 could be entitled to thousands in compensation, with the likes of Martin Lewis leading the charge on making sure people get their complaints in - and fast.

Under an active investigation by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), millions of people in the UK could be owed a hefty chunk of money regarding hidden fees - known as discretionary commission arrangements (DCAs) - when buying a car from a dealership.

To initially qualify on the matter, motorists need to have bought their vehicle - which can be a car, van, camper van, or motorcycle - between the years of 2007 and 2021.

It's also then got to have been a finance agreement rather than a cash sale, with the hidden fees hidden in the contracts taken out when it comes to repaying the credit agreement taken out.

Getting your complaint in

For a good year now, Martin Lewis has stressed Brits to act fast on this.

There isn't an official deadline yet for when your complaint needs to be put in by, but Lewis has said to get it in sooner, and not later, so that there's no timing reason you might not be successful even if your claim appears legit.

To lodge a complaint over a potential car finance agreement that you took out, you need to go to the finance provider you made or make repayments to directly, rather than the dealership that you took it out with.

Not sure who the finance company is? Check your credit score or previous bank statements to get the name.

If the finance company is no longer in business, it's time to approach the administrator or liquidator that handled the winding up on the company.

Martin Lewis' Money Saving Expert has put together an incredibly handy tool to put these complaints together, with templates and everything that can draft your email for you (minus the blanks you'll have to put in there to make the complaint bespoke to you).

A discretionary commission arrangement could have been applied to your car deal (Getty Stock Images)

Do I qualify to make a complaint?

You can submit a car finance claim over a potential DCA if you meet the following criteria:

• The vehicle you took finance out for was a car, van, motorbike or camper van
• The finance deal was taken out between April 2007 and 28 January, 2021
• The vehicle was for personal use (including commuting to work)
• The finance was either personal contract purchase (PCP) or hire purchase (HP) - but importantly, it cannot have been personal contract hires

You can claim on behalf of someone who has died if you are the executor of their will or the beneficiary. You also don't have to still own the car to make a claim.

Get your complaint in sooner, not later (Getty Stock Images)

What happens after lodging your car finance complaint?

Sit back, make a brew, and wait.

The first thing the finance company will do is confirm to you if they used a DCA. If they did, you're on to the next step. If they didn't, you've no money taken that should have stayed with you, so time to move on.

As for a deadline for companies to respond, it has been pushed back to 4 December, 2025, so there's plenty of time to get your letter or email in now.

The FCA will continue to investigate the DCA situation until May this year; a point after which it is expected to agree how compensation will be distributed for the successful claims.

As for how much you might earn, previous data from the FCA indicated that car buyers paid £1,100 more interest on a typical £10,000 four-year car finance deal, which is a good starting point to try and gauge what you could be owed.

DCAs were applied to motor vehicles, which includes cars, vans, camper vans and motorbikes. The financial agreement also had to Personal Contract Purchases (PCP) and Hire Purchases (HP). Personal Contract Hires (such as leasing) didn't count.