The FCA Car Finance Deadline Is 30 June 2026: What Happens If You Miss It

More than 12 million car finance agreements are eligible for compensation, the average payout is estimated at £829, and the deadline most people need to know about is 30 June 2026. Miss it and you don't lose your claim entirely, but you could be waiting well into 2027 for money that could arrive before Christmas 2026.

What is the FCA car finance scheme actually about?

Between 2007 and 2021, car dealers and brokers were allowed to set their own interest rates on finance agreements and earn higher commission when they did. Customers weren't told any of this was happening. The practice, known as a discretionary commission arrangement (DCA), was banned by the FCA in 2021, but the damage was already done.

The FCA estimates customers paid an average of £1,100 more over a typical four-year PCP deal than they should have. Across all affected agreements, that adds up to over £300 million a year in overcharges. The Supreme Court confirmed in August 2025 that failing to disclose these arrangements was, in certain circumstances, unlawful.

This triggered the FCA's redress scheme, which covers motor finance agreements taken out between 6 April 2007 and 1 November 2024 where commission was paid by the lender to the broker.

What does the 30 June 2026 deadline actually mean?

The FCA has split the scheme into two cohorts based on when your agreement was signed.

For agreements from 1 April 2014 onwards, the implementation period ends on 30 June 2026. Complain before that date and lenders have three months to tell you whether you're owed anything, meaning a decision by 30 September 2026 and a payout before the end of November 2026.

For older agreements from 6 April 2007 to 31 March 2014, the cutoff is 31 August 2026. Get your complaint in before then and you should be paid out by the end of January 2027.

The FCA estimates 37% of all agreements made during the relevant period are eligible, covering roughly 12.1 million agreements. Around 75% of eligible consumers are expected to participate.

What happens if you miss the deadline?

You don't immediately lose your right to claim, but you move to the back of a very long queue.

Lenders are only required to proactively contact customers who haven't complained if they believe those customers are likely owed money. They have six months from the end of the implementation period to do this. For post-April 2014 agreements, that means lenders must reach out by the end of 2026. For older agreements, by the end of February 2027.

The problem with waiting for your lender to come to you: you may have moved house or changed your name since the finance agreement was signed. Lenders searching old records could simply fail to find you. If you submit a claim yourself, you supply your current details and take that risk off the table.

The absolute final deadline to submit a claim to your lender is 31 August 2027. Miss that and you likely lose your right to compensation entirely.

MoneySavingExpert's free complaint tool has already generated more than 3.6 million submissions. If you haven't submitted yet, you're in a shrinking window to get into the first payment cohort.

How is compensation calculated?

For agreements from April 2014, compensation is based on a 17% reduction in the interest rate charged. For older agreements, it's a 21% reduction. The formula then averages that figure with the commission actually paid, and adds interest at the Bank of England base rate plus 1%, with a minimum of 3% per year.

The average payout across all eligible claims is estimated at £829, but individual amounts vary depending on the size of the loan, the term, and the commission rate applied.

In a small number of cases where commission was especially high and entirely undisclosed, customers could receive the full commission amount back plus interest. The FCA is clear that most people should not expect a full PCP refund. Full commission repayment is only likely in cases closely matching the specific legal facts of the Johnson judgment.

Agreements are excluded from the scheme if the commission paid was less than £120 (pre-April 2014) or £150 (post-April 2014), or if the agreement was at 0% interest. High-value loans, defined as amounts higher than 99.5% of all loans issued that year, are also excluded, though those customers can still complain directly to the Financial Ombudsman Service.

What are the legal challenges doing to the timeline?

On 1 May 2026, the FCA confirmed its scheme had been legally challenged by four parties: Mercedes-Benz Financial Services, Volkswagen Financial Services, Crédit Agricole Auto Finance, and a consumer body called Consumer Voice.

The lender challenges broadly argue the FCA has exceeded its authority or that the redress methodology overcorrects. Consumer Voice takes the opposite view, arguing the scheme could leave consumers short by several hundred pounds per claim.

Major lenders including Lloyds, Barclays, and Santander decided not to challenge the scheme. Lloyds has set aside £1.95 billion for motor finance redress, Santander around £1.1 billion, and Barclays roughly £357 million. Analysts have suggested Lloyds' total exposure could ultimately exceed £4 billion.

In a letter to the Treasury Committee published on 9 June 2026, the FCA said there was no confirmed court date and it does not expect hearings before October 2026, with a potential decision in mid-November 2026. The FCA has removed firm dates from its consumer-facing pages until the situation is clearer.

In practice, the scheme is unlikely to begin processing payments before November 2026 at the earliest. The June deadline still matters for queue position, but the money itself is arriving later than originally communicated.

Should you still claim before 30 June?

Yes, for two reasons.

First, queue position. People who complained before the implementation period deadline will be processed before those who didn't. The legal delay affects everyone, but early complainants will still be first in line when the scheme does begin paying out.

Second, traceability. Submitting a claim now means your current address and contact details are on record with your lender. Waiting for them to find you based on a decade-old address carries real risk, particularly if you've moved or changed your name.

The total expected cost to lenders is £9.1 billion, making this the biggest consumer finance redress exercise since PPI, which paid out £48.5 billion across 64 million policies. This one is smaller in scale but has broadly the same shape: a widespread practice, a legal ruling confirming harm, and a structured scheme to put money back where it belongs.

If you had a car on finance between April 2007 and November 2024, the question isn't really whether to claim. It's how quickly you move.

Sources