On Friday, the Supreme Court delivered a landmark ruling to partially overturn last year’s Court of Appeal decision regarding undisclosed commission payments in car finance agreements. NFDA provided both oral and written submissions to the Supreme Court, which resulted in the overturning of the Financial Conduct Authority’s (FCA’s) Motor Finance Review. Between 2007 and 2021, a series of car dealers in the UK received hidden commissions from lenders when arranging finance deals. The FCA launched an investigation into the practice and brought the case to court. In late 2024, the Court of Appeal ruled the hidden payments were unlawful if customers weren’t told about them in their entirety and ordered compensation for some effected customers. The Supreme Court ultimately partially overturned the Court of Appeal’s decision last Friday, stating car dealers do not owe a fiduciary duty to their customer and most hidden payments were not unlawful. In the case of an unfair relationships between dealer and customer, however, compensation may be awarded. The FCA is continuing consultations on an industry-wide redress scheme for affected customers. The redress intends to cover both discretionary and non-discretionary commissions in a process that is fair, transparent and cost-effective. It’s expected to cover agreements dating back to 2007 and the plan is to implement the scheme in early 2026. Total costs estimates could range from £9 billion to £18 billion, but the FCA is confident the motor finance market will remain healthy despite the payouts. NFDA is satisfied that UK consumers have received a positive result after the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn the Financial Conduct Authority’s (FCA’s) Motor Finance Review. The outcome was supported by submissions from the NFDA, as a representative for car and commercial retailers across the UK.