The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) will consult on extending the time motor finance firms have to handle commission complaints. Its decision to consult follows the Court of Appeal’s 25 October judgment.
The proposals are expected to be published by the end of November and, if taken forward, would mean the complaint extension is in place by mid-December 2024.
Motor finance firms are likely to receive a high volume of complaints in response to the recent Court of Appeal judgment. Any complaint extension would allow them time to consider how these might be efficiently and effectively handled. This would help prevent disorderly, inconsistent and inefficient outcomes for consumers, motor finance firms and the market.
FCA to consult on extending the time motor finance firms have to handle commission complaints | FCA
Securing the extension has been a core part of the BVRLA’s engagement with the FCA since the Court of Appeal ruling. Seeing it being progressed is a positive development that will give BVRLA members and other firms working in motor finance a greater window in which to manage the expected increase in complaints being received.
The BVRLA continues to work to provide members with clarity on motor finance and commissions disclosure as quickly as possible. The association is working with regulators, government, members and industry stakeholders to provide legal clarification and operational support.
Ensuring that members can continue to operate in a compliant and sustainable manner is of utmost importance. The Leasing Broker inspection programme has been updated to include three additional questions to address this, based on input from the BVRLA’s Leasing Broker Committee and panel of funders. These changes are being incorporated to inspections from Monday 18 November 2024. The contents of the programme remain under review and may be updated further as greater legal clarity is provided. Contact the team directly ([email protected]) with any questions relating to the inspection programme.
The Frequently Asked Questions document provided by Norton Rose Fulbright available via the BVRLA’s Commissions Hub has been updated to address:
- Which customers are sophisticated?
- Are firms out of scope if they only deal with sophisticated customers?
- What steps should brokers/funders consider in circumstances where there is a ‘disinterested’ or ‘fiduciary’ duty owed by the broker to the customer?
Contact the Compliance team with any questions, email [email protected].
