Car finance - hidden commission payments
Discussion
fourstardan said:
I've just got an email from Santander...
Does this look legit? Im wondering why it's not addressed to me and just says "Good Evening"....
I've also had emails from VWFS saying they want more time.....interesting as the responses here indicate some have indicated a DCA.
I guess that due to the sheer large number of emails that all of these companies are being inundated with they simply cannot currently cope. Does this look legit? Im wondering why it's not addressed to me and just says "Good Evening"....
I've also had emails from VWFS saying they want more time.....interesting as the responses here indicate some have indicated a DCA.
That Santander email is therefore probably genuine albeit long winded justification of not being able to find your information.
As with my experiences with Novuna at first they sent a simplified version of yours saying no trace - I replied and said I’ve given you all the pertinent information including an unchanged address , date of purchase ( as per my invoice which I will always keep ) , reg etc and then they managed to find the information. Bear in mind this was on an agreement some 8 years prior they had taken over from another company. I think technically / legally they need to keep records for just 6 years.
Other than the initial auto receipt I’ve still received nothing from either Alphera or VW and that 28 days is up later this week.
Depending on my mood I may or may not chase.
I did see that MSE will be updating their info page either later this week or next.
I had a physical letter arrive in the post yesterday from Black Horse, requesting all the information I have already given them in the email to be sent to them via email…
Strangely enough, it is addressed to the address in question, states me by name in the letter, and also references my vehicle and registration on it too.
Are they trying to pull a fast one and hope people “fail to respond to our correspondence” so they can worm out of any potential future claims?
I’ll send it this eve, just to be sure, again.
Strangely enough, it is addressed to the address in question, states me by name in the letter, and also references my vehicle and registration on it too.
Are they trying to pull a fast one and hope people “fail to respond to our correspondence” so they can worm out of any potential future claims?
I’ll send it this eve, just to be sure, again.
What I find interesting is that the likes of VW have not been able to say to customers that they didn't take part in hidden commission payments to brokers. I think it is fair to say that if they didn't everyone would have heard by now. My partner had confirmation back from almost instantly from one provider that they were not affected by the FCA case.
Waiting to see how things pan out isn't really a great idea for them either because all compensation payments are attracting interest at 8% for most customers.
Waiting to see how things pan out isn't really a great idea for them either because all compensation payments are attracting interest at 8% for most customers.
alscar said:
I guess that due to the sheer large number of emails that all of these companies are being inundated with they simply cannot currently cope.
That Santander email is therefore probably genuine albeit long winded justification of not being able to find your information.
As with my experiences with Novuna at first they sent a simplified version of yours saying no trace - I replied and said I’ve given you all the pertinent information including an unchanged address , date of purchase ( as per my invoice which I will always keep ) , reg etc and then they managed to find the information. Bear in mind this was on an agreement some 8 years prior they had taken over from another company. I think technically / legally they need to keep records for just 6 years.
Other than the initial auto receipt I’ve still received nothing from either Alphera or VW and that 28 days is up later this week.
Depending on my mood I may or may not chase.
I did see that MSE will be updating their info page either later this week or next.
I've found original agreement numbers on bank statements which is handy. Interestingly Santander said nothing was traceable and I'd provided the agreement number. That Santander email is therefore probably genuine albeit long winded justification of not being able to find your information.
As with my experiences with Novuna at first they sent a simplified version of yours saying no trace - I replied and said I’ve given you all the pertinent information including an unchanged address , date of purchase ( as per my invoice which I will always keep ) , reg etc and then they managed to find the information. Bear in mind this was on an agreement some 8 years prior they had taken over from another company. I think technically / legally they need to keep records for just 6 years.
Other than the initial auto receipt I’ve still received nothing from either Alphera or VW and that 28 days is up later this week.
Depending on my mood I may or may not chase.
I did see that MSE will be updating their info page either later this week or next.
fourstardan said:
I've found original agreement numbers on bank statements which is handy. Interestingly Santander said nothing was traceable and I'd provided the agreement number.
Yes that’s a good idea - despite being a bit ocd with some paperwork I only keep paper copies of bank statements for 3 years but realise I could if necessary go back to my bank for a request for a further 3 I think. I’m also bad with keeping finance paperwork for more than 12 months after paid off.
Funnily enough I’ve just received an email from Novuna’s complaints team ( after the letter they sent me ) saying they were apologising for the time taken to look into but they hoped to be in a position soon to “ resolve “.
Of course I’m sure this means nothing to get excited about.
fourstardan said:
On the Santander email I decided to reapply the complaint on the online form.
I can imagine they have a lot to sift through and response times will be sporadic.
Question is will they bother replying to say you didn't have a DCA?
I guess they will assuming you included both this and the complaints paragraph in your original email. I can imagine they have a lot to sift through and response times will be sporadic.
Question is will they bother replying to say you didn't have a DCA?
NightDriver said:
I bought a Focus RS on PCP finance back in my early 20s. When I was looking at the paperwork to enquire about DCA, I realised that the interest rate was 13%!!! At a time when base rate was 0.5%.
No idea what I was doing at the time, just wanted the shiny new car I guess. However, I do distinctly remember telling the dealer what I wanted the monthly payments to be (£350/month) and how much deposit I had. Amazingly, it all came back matching exactly what my top budget was.
Yep, I was naive and stupid and would not do this now I’m older and wiser but feels like my openness with the dealer when arranging the finance was used against me a bit.
Anyway, had a reply earlier today confirming the contract was subject to DCA and they have lodged a formal complaint.
Perhaps albeit you might now have the last laugh. No idea what I was doing at the time, just wanted the shiny new car I guess. However, I do distinctly remember telling the dealer what I wanted the monthly payments to be (£350/month) and how much deposit I had. Amazingly, it all came back matching exactly what my top budget was.
Yep, I was naive and stupid and would not do this now I’m older and wiser but feels like my openness with the dealer when arranging the finance was used against me a bit.
Anyway, had a reply earlier today confirming the contract was subject to DCA and they have lodged a formal complaint.
Obviously it’s still very early days although as ML had made pretty clear ( especially with the rep from the FCA sitting in on his programme ) the chances of something happening for those 40% affected seem pretty high.
Whether that ultimately means a flat rate of compensation ( more probable ) or a sliding scale based on loan quantum and hence interest rate differential ( less likely as probably much more cumbersome to calculate ) or indeed with interest added either way is still many months away.
alscar said:
NightDriver said:
I bought a Focus RS on PCP finance back in my early 20s. When I was looking at the paperwork to enquire about DCA, I realised that the interest rate was 13%!!! At a time when base rate was 0.5%.
No idea what I was doing at the time, just wanted the shiny new car I guess. However, I do distinctly remember telling the dealer what I wanted the monthly payments to be (£350/month) and how much deposit I had. Amazingly, it all came back matching exactly what my top budget was.
Yep, I was naive and stupid and would not do this now I’m older and wiser but feels like my openness with the dealer when arranging the finance was used against me a bit.
Anyway, had a reply earlier today confirming the contract was subject to DCA and they have lodged a formal complaint.
Perhaps albeit you might now have the last laugh. No idea what I was doing at the time, just wanted the shiny new car I guess. However, I do distinctly remember telling the dealer what I wanted the monthly payments to be (£350/month) and how much deposit I had. Amazingly, it all came back matching exactly what my top budget was.
Yep, I was naive and stupid and would not do this now I’m older and wiser but feels like my openness with the dealer when arranging the finance was used against me a bit.
Anyway, had a reply earlier today confirming the contract was subject to DCA and they have lodged a formal complaint.
Obviously it’s still very early days although as ML had made pretty clear ( especially with the rep from the FCA sitting in on his programme ) the chances of something happening for those 40% affected seem pretty high.
Whether that ultimately means a flat rate of compensation ( more probable ) or a sliding scale based on loan quantum and hence interest rate differential ( less likely as probably much more cumbersome to calculate ) or indeed with interest added either way is still many months away.
I’ve had a reply from MotoNovo. Nothing from VWFS or Santander yet.
Thank you for contacting us to find out if your Motor Finance Agreements had a discretionary commission arrangement. After an initial investigation we have concluded that your agreement(s) (1111111) for vehicle(s) (16REG) did involve a discretionary commission arrangement. We acknowledge and have recorded this as a complaint. We’ll provide you with a reference number via email as soon as possible. In the meantime, please use your agreement number as reference.
Thank you for contacting us to find out if your Motor Finance Agreements had a discretionary commission arrangement. After an initial investigation we have concluded that your agreement(s) (1111111) for vehicle(s) (16REG) did involve a discretionary commission arrangement. We acknowledge and have recorded this as a complaint. We’ll provide you with a reference number via email as soon as possible. In the meantime, please use your agreement number as reference.
phpe said:
My wife had a reply from VWFS today - this is the one time she had a PCP on a used car, before paying it off significantly early from spare cash.
Happy it has confirmed that no discretionary commission was involved
I bet you got all excited then they added the word NOT in it lol.Happy it has confirmed that no discretionary commission was involved
I wonder why they've got to your complaint and said to me and I assume others that they want more time.
Just received this.
Thank you for contacting us regarding the commission model used on your agreement.
We’ve investigated and can confirm that a discretionary commission arrangement was not used on your agreement.
If you’ve contacted us regarding more than one agreement we will investigate each one and respond to you separately in the interests of clarity.
I trust this answers your query, however should you have any further queries please contact us
Thank you for contacting us regarding the commission model used on your agreement.
We’ve investigated and can confirm that a discretionary commission arrangement was not used on your agreement.
If you’ve contacted us regarding more than one agreement we will investigate each one and respond to you separately in the interests of clarity.
I trust this answers your query, however should you have any further queries please contact us
ashleyman said:
I’ve had a reply from MotoNovo. Nothing from VWFS or Santander yet.
Thank you for contacting us to find out if your Motor Finance Agreements had a discretionary commission arrangement. After an initial investigation we have concluded that your agreement(s) (1111111) for vehicle(s) (16REG) did involve a discretionary commission arrangement. We acknowledge and have recorded this as a complaint. We’ll provide you with a reference number via email as soon as possible. In the meantime, please use your agreement number as reference.
Santander have also just replied. DCA WAS in place on that one too. Thank you for contacting us to find out if your Motor Finance Agreements had a discretionary commission arrangement. After an initial investigation we have concluded that your agreement(s) (1111111) for vehicle(s) (16REG) did involve a discretionary commission arrangement. We acknowledge and have recorded this as a complaint. We’ll provide you with a reference number via email as soon as possible. In the meantime, please use your agreement number as reference.
Sheets Tabuer said:
First I've heard of this, bought a new BMW which was 5k cheaper if I took out finance, paid the finance off one month after getting the car so guessing it wouldn't apply?
I'm sure if you give them the £5k discount back they'll be happy to refund you any commission they earned on the finance 
Used the very straight forward MoneySupermarket tool and sent off emails covering 11 PCP”s (don’t judge me) with 4 different finance companies.
Generic automated holding statement responses from 3/4, nothing from Northridge (which is the one I’m pretty sure there was some kind of shenanigans going on).
See what comes back.
Generic automated holding statement responses from 3/4, nothing from Northridge (which is the one I’m pretty sure there was some kind of shenanigans going on).
See what comes back.
Received the same, on a new VW back in 2019, tbf it was a cracking deal at the time, so wasn't surprised Waiting on BMW finance now....
Waiting on BMW finance now....phpe said:
Given ,one of my 2 agreement's with Novuna ( previously Hitachi ) was unregulated but the other wasn't and is being looked at by them, does this mean I should be also contacting the finance broker ( same in both cases ) involved or is the FCA "investigation " only into the Finance companies themselves ?
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