What documents do I need for a car finance claim?
For most people, very little. Under the FCA's car-finance redress scheme (confirmed in Policy Statement PS26/3, 30 March 2026), lenders must proactively contact eligible customers, so you usually do not need to dig out your old agreement. Knowing your name, address at the time, and roughly when and where you took out the finance is normally enough to be matched to your records.
You do not need a complete paper trail to be considered, and you do not need to prove anything yourself. Below is what helps, what is genuinely essential, and how the rules changed in 2025 and 2026.
The 2025 Supreme Court ruling and the FCA redress scheme
The picture changed significantly in 2025 and 2026, so older guidance online may be out of date.
On 1 August 2025 the Supreme Court ruled in the linked appeals of Hopcraft, Johnson and Wrench ([2025] UKSC 33). The court mostly sided with the lenders: it held that car dealers are generally not acting as fiduciaries for their customers, and it dismissed the bribery and secret-commission claims, overturning the October 2024 Court of Appeal decision. It upheld only the narrower part of Mr Johnson's case, based on an "unfair relationship" under section 140A of the Consumer Credit Act 1974. In short, the ruling did not mean all car finance was mis-sold and did not trigger automatic, blanket payouts for everyone.
Instead, redress is being handled through an industry-wide FCA scheme, confirmed in Policy Statement PS26/3 on 30 March 2026 (FCA, 2026). Key points:
- It is free and run across the industry, so you do not have to pay anyone to take part.
- It covers regulated hire purchase (HP) and PCP agreements on cars, vans, motorbikes and campervans taken out between 6 April 2007 and 1 November 2024 where commission was paid, with different rules applying before and after 1 April 2014.
- It covers discretionary commission arrangements (DCAs), other high-commission arrangements and undisclosed ties between dealers and lenders — it is not limited to DCA-only cases.
- The FCA estimates around 37% of agreements (roughly 12.1 million) may be eligible, with total redress to firms of about £7.5bn (around £9.1bn including firms' costs) (FCA, 2026).
- Once you accept an offer, the lender must pay you within one month.
Important status (as of 8 June 2026): the scheme is under legal challenge (filed around 1 May 2026), and an Upper Tribunal hearing is unlikely before October 2026. The FCA has said this will delay payouts, so timescales are uncertain. Treat any "claim now before the deadline" messaging with caution — there is no fixed payout date at the moment.
How much could a claim be worth?
The FCA's modelling puts average redress at about £830 per agreement (£829 in PS26/3) for those who qualify (FCA, 2026). That is an average across many cases, not a typical or guaranteed individual figure. Amounts vary widely: around one in three eligible agreements are expected to be capped, and some people will receive nothing because their case does not qualify or the commission was very small.
No outcome is guaranteed, and you should be wary of any promise of a large or "thousands" payout.
You can complain directly, for free
You do not need a claims management company or a solicitor to take part. You can:
- Wait to be contacted by your lender under the FCA scheme, or
- Complain to your lender directly, for free.
If you choose to use a claims management firm, its fees are capped by FCA rules and banded by how much is recovered — up to a maximum of 36% including VAT (15%–30% plus VAT). Using a firm is optional, and doing it yourself costs nothing.
What documents actually help
Because lenders are doing the heavy lifting under the scheme, the document burden on you is light. The table below shows what helps and what is genuinely essential.
| Document | Why it helps | Essential? |
|---|---|---|
| Your finance agreement | Confirms the lender, APR, term and any commission terms | No |
| Vehicle details (make, model, reg) | Helps match you to the right agreement | No |
| Bank statements showing payments | Confirms who you paid and when | No |
| Correspondence from dealer/lender | Welcome letters or statements that name the lender | No |
| Your name and address at the time | Lets the lender match you to your records | Helpful |
| Approximate dates and dealership | Narrows down which agreement applies | Helpful |
Under the FCA scheme, eligible customers are contacted proactively by their lenders, so in practice little or no paperwork is needed from you. The items above simply make it quicker to confirm your details if you want to check or follow up yourself.
What to do if you have lost everything
You can still be included. Here is how the gaps are usually filled:
- No finance agreement? Your lender holds records of the agreement and the scheme requires lenders to review eligible cases. You can also ask the lender for a copy directly.
- Cannot remember the lender? Your credit file records past finance agreements and the lender's name. Dealers also tend to work with a small number of finance providers.
- Cannot remember the dealership? The car and the approximate date, combined with your credit file, are usually enough to trace the agreement.
- No old bank statements? Most banks keep statement history for at least six years, usually free to view through online banking.
How to check your credit file
Your credit file is a useful way to trace old agreements. It records the lender's name, the start and end dates, the account number and the status (active, settled, defaulted). You can check it free through:
- Experian — free statutory report available
- Equifax — free access via ClearScore
- TransUnion — free access via Credit Karma
Check all three, as different lenders report to different agencies.
A quick eligibility recap
You may be in scope if you had a regulated PCP or HP agreement on a car, van, motorbike or campervan taken out between 6 April 2007 and 1 November 2024 where commission was paid. Agreements that were paid off or settled, and those of deceased customers, can still be eligible.
You are generally not covered by the scheme for: personal contract hire (PCH) leases, genuine 0% deals, agreements with very small commission, the lowest 5% APR deals, or cases already decided by the Financial Ombudsman Service or a court (FCA, 2026). Note also that DCAs were banned by the FCA on 28 January 2021 — but the scheme reaches to 1 November 2024 and covers non-DCA commission too. (The 28 January 2024 date some sites mention referred to a complaint-handling pause, not an eligibility cut-off.)
Before you get in touch: a short checklist
Gather whatever you can — even one or two items is fine:
- Finance agreement (paper or digital), if you have it
- Vehicle make, model and approximate year
- Dealership name, if you remember it
- Finance company name, if known
- Your name and address at the time of the agreement
- Approximate date you took out the finance
If you can only tick one or two, that is still workable.
For a fuller breakdown of process and timing, see our guide on how long a PCP claim takes.
In summary
Missing paperwork should not stop you being considered. Under the FCA scheme, lenders proactively contact eligible customers, so very little is required from you. Just remember that no payout is guaranteed, the average is around £830 per agreement and varies widely, the scheme is under legal challenge so timescales are uncertain, and you can complain to your lender directly for free without paying a claims firm.
Start your free claim check now — share whatever details you have, with no charge and no obligation. You can also contact our team to talk through what you have, or read about our full process before getting started.
