Can I make a PCP claim if I bought my car from a dealership rather than the lender?
Yes, you can still make a PCP claim if you bought your car through a dealership rather than directly from the lender.
In most car finance deals, the dealership arranged the finance, but the lender was the company that actually provided the money.
If the agreement was mis-sold, your complaint will normally be made to the finance lender rather than the dealership. If you want help working out who your lender was or whether you may be eligible, Claim-Smart can help.
If you bought your car from a dealership, you might be wondering whether that affects your ability to make a PCP claim. Luckily, it doesn’t.
In fact, buying a car through a dealership is how most PCP and Hire Purchase agreements are arranged. The dealership usually acts as the middle man, helping set up the finance, while a separate lender provides the money.
So, even if you never spoke directly to the lender at the time, you may still be able to make a claim if the finance agreement was mis-sold.
If you’d like some extra help understanding whether you may be eligible, Claim-Smart can help. Simply get in touch with the team, and we’ll explain how we can help.
Can I make a PCP claim if I bought the car from a dealership?
Yes you can. Buying your car from a dealership does not stop you from making a PCP claim.
The important thing is how the finance agreement was arranged and whether you were given all the information you should have been when you took out the loan.
In many cases, the dealership arranged the finance on behalf of a lender. If that agreement included an undisclosed commission arrangement or another unfair feature, you may still be entitled to compensation.
If you’re unsure whether your agreement may have been mis-sold, our guide on how to know if you were mis-sold car finance explains what to look out for.
What is the difference between the dealership and the lender?
The dealership is usually the company that sold you the car and arranged the finance.
The lender is the bank or finance company that actually provided the money.
For example, you might have bought the car from a local dealership, but your monthly payments were made to a completely different finance company.
That finance company is normally the lender. This matters because, in most cases, your PCP complaint needs to be made to the lender rather than the dealership itself.
Why is the lender responsible if the dealership arranged the finance?
The dealership likely acted as a broker when it arranged your PCP or Hire Purchase agreement. That means it helped introduce you to the lender and set up the finance.
In return, the lender may have paid the dealership commission.
The FCA’s redress scheme looks at whether these commission arrangements were properly explained to customers and whether they resulted in an unfair finance deal.
So, even though the dealership may have been the business you dealt with, the lender is usually the company responsible for reviewing the finance complaint.
Who do I make my PCP complaint to?
You should normally make your complaint to the lender that provided the finance. This is the company whose name appeared on your monthly direct debit payments.
If you know the lender, you can contact them directly and ask them to investigate whether your agreement included an unfair commission arrangement.
You can see our guide on which lenders you can make a mis-sold car finance claim against for more information.
You can complain directly to your lender for free, or, if you would like extra support managing the process, get in touch with Claim-Smart today to help.
What if I can’t remember who the finance lender was?
Don’t worry if you can remember the dealership but not the finance company. This is pretty common, especially if the agreement ended years ago.
You may be able to find your lender by checking:
Old bank statements
Your credit report
Finance emails
Old agreement documents
Paperwork from the dealership
If you are struggling to track down the details, our guide on where to find the information needed to start a PCP claim can help.
What if I no longer have the paperwork?
If you no longer have the paperwork, you may still be able to make a claim. You do not necessarily need the original PCP agreement or every document from the dealership to get started.
Your lender may be able to trace the agreement using details like your name, previous address and date of purchase.
Considering some agreements covered by the FCA’s scheme go back as far as 2007, it is completely normal for people to not have all of their original paperwork.
Our guide on making a PCP claim without paperwork explains what you can do if your documents are missing.
What if the dealership has closed down?
The dealership closing does not automatically stop you from making a claim. This is because your complaint will normally be against the finance lender rather than the dealership.
If the lender is still operating, they should still be able to claim against the finance agreement even if the dealership that sold you the car no longer exists.
The same applies if the dealership has changed its name, moved or been bought by another company.
What if I bought the car through a broker instead?
You may still be able to claim. A broker works in a very similar way to a dealership when arranging finance.
They may introduce you to a lender and receive commission for arranging the agreement.
If that commission was not properly explained, the agreement may still fall within the FCA’s redress scheme.
Again, the important thing is how the finance was arranged, not where you physically bought the car and from whom.
What if I had finance from more than one dealership?
You may be able to make a separate claim for each finance agreement.
For example, if you bought one car from a dealership in 2014 and another from somewhere else in 2019, both agreements could be investigated.
This is because each finance agreement is looked at individually, it doesn’t matter whether it was the same person taking out both agreements.
If you had multiple cars on finance over the years, our guide on making a PCP claim for more than one vehicle explains how this works.
Should I still make a complaint now?
Yes. If you think your agreement may have been affected, it is still worth making a complaint.
Although the FCA’s redress scheme is currently facing legal challenges and compensation payments have been delayed, lenders are still identifying eligible agreements behind the scenes.
Submitting your complaint now means your lender has your details and can start looking into the agreement.
If you want to understand the full process first, our guide on how to claim car finance compensation takes you through it step by step.
If you would prefer some extra help, Claim-Smart can also guide you through the process. Just fill in our form and we’ll kick start the rest.
So, can I make a PCP claim if I bought my car from a dealership?
Yes, you can. Buying the car from a dealership rather than directly from the lender does not stop you from making a PCP claim.
The dealership may have arranged the finance, but the lender was the company that provided it, and that is normally who your complaint should be made to.
The important thing is whether the finance agreement was sold fairly and whether any commission arrangements were properly explained.
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