On August 1, 2025, the UK Supreme Court made a decision about car finance commissions: if there were secret commissions in your car finance deal, you won’t automatically get money back. The Court almost reversed a decision that was helpful for people, which lowers the chances of big payouts. But, the Court said that if things were really unfair, like with really high commissions, there might be ways to fix it.This whole thing is about lenders paying car dealers commissions on hire-purchase and PCP deals. People complained that these payments were hidden, raised interest rates, and were like bribes. The Supreme Court didn’t buy it, saying dealers don’t usually owe customers that kind of duty, and commissions aren’t the same as bribery.
Still, the Court did say some deals could still be unfair based on the Consumer Credit Act, mostly if commissions were really high and kept secret. One person won because their commission was 55% of the credit cost. The Court thought this was a strong hint of unfairness since the customer didn’t know about it. So, you can still make a claim if the numbers are bad and you weren’t told.
What does this mean for you? Don’t expect a payout like with PPI. But, if your commission rates were really high and you didn’t know about them, you might still have a shot. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) said they will talk about how to fix things based on this decision. They’re going to focus on when a big, secret commission makes a deal unfair. Consumer groups are saying to collect your info and papers, and maybe hold off on using those claims companies for now.
This decision makes things more clear for lenders and dealers. Back in 2021, the FCA put an end to commission plans that let dealers raise interest for bigger commissions. Now that the Supreme Court has lessened the legal reasons about responsibility or bribery, any future arguments will focus on whether keeping info from the borrower made the deal truly unfair. So, what’s next if you financed a car in the last ten years? If you think a hidden commission raised your rate, check your agreement, any papers from the broker/lender, and the commission setup if you can. The FCA’s talk should give clearer rules for when keeping info secret, plus a high commission, makes a deal unfair, and how a fix might work. For now, most people are saying to wait and see.
Basically, the Supreme Court isn’t just handing out cash, but it’s not impossible to get a payout either. If you had really high, secret commissions, you still might be able to make a case, so it’s important to watch what the FCA does next.
