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Commission Complaints
23 December 2024 Update
On 7 January 2024, the Financial Conduct Authority (“FCA”) announced a pause on the complaint handling rules whilst they conducted a review into motor finance and discretionary commission arrangements (“DCAs”).
On 19th December 2024, the FCA expanded the complaint handling pause to include all complaints relating to commission, including complaints about other types of commission. This is as a result of the Court of Appeal judgment, which was handed down on 25 October 2024.
This means that if you have a complaint relating to commission, you will not receive a final response within the usual 8-week deadline. The FCA has currently extended the deadline until 4 December 2025.
If you raise a complaint, we will inform you whether a DCA was operated in relation to your agreement or not.
The FCA has described a discretionary commission arrangement as an arrangement between lenders and brokers which allowed the broker to adjust the interest rates offered to customers. Typically, the higher the interest rate, the more commission the broker received. This practice was banned by the FCA in 2021; however, they are now undertaking a review of the industry to understand whether there has been a widespread failure to comply with relevant requirements, resulting in financial loss or harm to consumers.
Once the pause is lifted (due 4 Dec 2025), in the weeks that follow you will receive a final response from us in relation to your complaint. If you’re unhappy with our final response, you’re able to take your complaint to the Financial Ombudsman Service (“FOS”). Usually, you have six months from the date of our final response letter to refer your complaint, however, as a result of the pause to complaint handling, this has been extended by up to 15 months.
If your complaint does not involve a DCA, it will not be subject to the FCA’s pause at this time, however this could change, for now we will handle your complaint in accordance with our normal complaints handling process.
For previous FCA statements, please click here.
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Commission Complaints
29 October 2024 Update
On 25 October 2024 the Court of Appeal issued a judgment which goes beyond the scope of the current Financial Conduct Authority (“FCA”) motor commission review. Whether the Judgment applies to commission types outside of the FCA’s motor finance review into discretionary commission arrangements (“DCA”) is not yet clear. While the Judgment is likely to extend the current period of uncertainty for customers, lenders and dealers alike, we are seeking clarity with the FCA and will update this page with any new information. This does not impact your ability to raise a complaint at any time, should you wish to do so.
If you would like to raise a complaint and it falls within the FCA’s motor finance review of DCAs, this will still be subject to the pause the FCA introduced on complaint handling rules, and you will not receive a response within the usual 8-week deadline. If your complaint does not involve a DCA, it will not be subject to the FCA’s pause at this time, however this could change, for now we will handle your complaint in accordance with our normal complaints handling process.