Latest news with #Corvette
Scottish Sun
4 hours ago
- Automotive
- Scottish Sun
Everything you need to know about £16billion car finance scandal ahead of huge ruling in DAYS – could you be owed cash?
MILLIONS of drivers could be given compensation over mis-sold car finance loans. A decision is set to be made in days as to whether £44billion worth of cash should be handed out by motor finance providers as compensation for undisclosed broker commission arrangements. 1 Millions of drivers could be owed compensation if the Supreme Court rules in favour The Court of Appeal ruled in October that the firms broke the law by not telling borrowers about the broker commission terms. The case has now been taken to the Supreme Court, which will decide on Friday whether customers can be compensated. Lenders including Barclays, Lloyds, Santander UK and Close Brothers may be liable to pay out £44billion in compensation, analysts have suggested. However, there have been recent reports that the Government could step in to limit the compensation claims. Reporting in The Guardian suggest Chancellor Rachel Reeves may step in to overrule the Supreme Court's decision over concerns about what such a hefty sum of compensation could do to the industry. These laws would set clear rules on disclosing broker commission fees and could even apply retroactively to existing cases. The move would be almost unprecedented from the Treasury and would prevent the scandal spreading to other financial products beyond car loans. The Financing and Leasing Association, which represents motor finance companies, has warned the decision could harm the motor finance market if it's upheld. They say it could lead to less lending, higher borrowing costs, and even company closures. Courmacs Legal, a law firm representing 1.5million car finance victims, warned millions of consumers could be harmed if the Government does decide to cap or limit the financial redress for car finance victims. Man 'missed being in debt' after selling beloved Corvette - but little-known equation helped get it back with no payments Darren Smith, the law firm's managing director, said: "The billions owed to victims would undoubtedly help generate economic growth just as in the PPI scandal. "Doing right by consumers is also good for the UK economy." What did the courts find? Regulators and courts have found that many of the car finance deals signed between 2007 and 2021 did not properly inform consumers about charges and commission. This is because banks allowed car dealerships and brokers to set their own interest rates on loans. Under these now-banned discretionary commission arrangements (DCAs), dealerships and brokers had a financial incentive to charge higher interest rates, as their commission increased proportionally. But many customers were not aware of this practice. What is the FCA investigating and who is eligible for compensation? What is being investigated? The FCA announced in January 2024 that it would investigate allegations of "widespread misconduct" related to discretionary commission agreements (DCAs) on car loans. When you buy a car on finance, you are effectively loaned the value of the car while you pay it off. These loans have interest payments charged on top of them and are often organised on behalf of lenders by brokers - usually the finance arm of a dealership. These brokers earn money in the form of commission - a percentage of the interest payments on the loan. DCAs allowed brokers to, to a certain extent, increase the interest rate on a loan, which in turn increased the amount of commission they received. The practice was banned by the FCA in 2021. Who is eligible for compensation? The FCA estimates that around 40% of car deals may have been affected before 2021. There are two criteria you must meet to have a chance at receiving compensation. First, you must be complaining in relation to a finance deal on a motor vehicle (including cars, vans, motorbikes and motorhomes) that was agreed before January 28 2021. Second, you must have bought the vehicle through a mechanism like Personal Contract Purchase (PCP) or Hire Purchase (HP), which make up the majority of finance deals and mean you own the vehicle at the end of the agreement. Drivers who leased a car through a scheme like a Personal Contract Hire, where you give the car back at the end of the lease, are not eligible. How would customers get compensation? If the Supreme Court rules to let customers be compesated, industry regulator the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) may set up a formal redress scheme. The regulator began working on the redress scheme in January last year. The FCA has said it may set up the scheme as a way that reduces the scope for consumers to hire lawyers to make claims on their behalf. Instead, the regulator could ask the lenders who carried out the mis-selling to check their records to decide who could get compensation. But less than a quarter of people surveyed said they would trust the lenders to do this fairly. A redress scheme would rely on lenders to identify and trace victims of mis-selling but could miss out significant numbers of people who should get compensation. This is because they may have moved house or changed other important personal information such as their legal name. Plus, 36% of potential claimants - around 8.4million people - said they have lost some of the paperwork from their previous car finance deals. Are you due compensation? More than 23million people believe they could be in line for compensation, polling by consumer law firm Slater and Gordon suggests. The poll found that 45% of people believe they are likely to be eligible for some sort of compensation over motor finance deals signed between 2007 and 2021. Consumer groups have estimated that motorists took out more than 30million car loans over those years. If you think you should be compensated, consumer finance website offers an email template to help you complain to your finance provider. To download this, visit You can also complain directly to your provider without using the template. Anyone who took out car finance should file a claim, even if their previous one was denied. In your complaint, ask whether you were overcharged due to your broker receiving a commission and ask the company to rectify this if it happened. If you are not happy with the company's response then you can escalate your complaint to the Financial Ombudsman Service for free. You have until July 29, 2026, or up to 15 months from the date of the company's final response letter to do so, whichever is longer. Avoid using a claims management firm as they will take a portion of any successful claim.
AsiaOne
11 hours ago
- Automotive
- AsiaOne
A slice of America: Corvette makes its long-awaited debut in Singapore, Lifestyle News
The iconic American sports car, Corvette, has made its official debut in Singapore, following a glitzy launch event held at Ion Orchard on July 28. More famously known as the Chevrolet Corvette, the event also marked the introduction of Corvette as a standalone brand in its own right. The brand will be represented by Alpine Motors, which was previously the distributor of Opel cars in Singapore, and it marks the first time that the Corvette is available for sale here through official channels in right-hand-drive form. The latest iteration of one of America's most famous sports cars is dubbed the Corvette Stingray, and it features an aggressive-looking design that is said to be inspired by fighter jets and Formula 1 cars. The eighth-generation model also features a mid-engine layout for the first time, a departure from the front-engine design of its predecessors. The engine itself is a 6.2-litre naturally-aspirated V8 that produces 495hp and 630Nm of torque, allowing it to go from 0 to 100km/h in a blistering 2.9 seconds, and reach a top speed of 312km/h. The Corvettes that are being sold in Singapore will also come with what the company calls the Z51 Performance Package, which includes track-tuned suspension, adaptive dampers, performance exhausts, larger brakes, a limited-slip differential, and high performance tyres. Alpine Motors will be showcasing the car at Ion Orchard until August 3, but it has also opened a new showroom for the brand at 1 Commonwealth Lane. Pricing starts from $648,000 without COE, which puts it roughly in the same price bracket as the Porsche 911, but Alpine says that it will only import a limited number of Corvette Stingrays for Singapore. [[nid:714668]] No part of this article can be reproduced without permission from AsiaOne.
Yahoo
21 hours ago
- Automotive
- Yahoo
C4 Corvette ZR-1 Rescued After 20 Years in English Backyard, Brought Back to Life
⚡️ Read the full article on Motorious After sitting idle for two decades, a rare 1990 Corvette ZR-1 is revived in the UK, showcasing its Lotus-engineered power and historic legacy. In the latest episode of The Late Brake Show, host Jonny Smith uncovers a rare gem: a 1990 Corvette ZR-1 that spent 20 years gathering dust in an English backyard. This unique C4-generation Corvette, once the pinnacle of American sports car engineering, had been parked for decades by its owner, a Corvette enthusiast named Will, until two collectors decided to bring it back to life. Back in 1990, Chevrolet launched the Corvette ZR-1 as its most powerful sports car, designed to rival Ferraris and Porsches but at half the price. The ZR-1's secret weapon was its engine—a dual-overhead-cam, 32-valve, aluminum-block LT5, engineered by none other than Lotus. GM had purchased Lotus and tapped into their expertise for the ZR-1, outsourcing the LT5's design to the British engineering powerhouse. Due to Lotus's limited production capacity, manufacturing was handed over to Mercury Marine, an unlikely partner whose precise craftsmanship made the LT5 an exceptional engine. Early models packed 375 horsepower, while later ZR-1s pushed 405 hp, offering a driving experience unlike any Corvette before it. Beyond its engine, the ZR-1 was fitted with high-performance components like the Bilstein FX3 suspension, originally seen on the Porsche 959 and modified by the Lotus F1 team. Enhanced brakes and exclusive Goodyear Eagle tires made the ZR-1 a powerful and precise road machine. However, despite its prowess, this particular ZR-1 ended up in the backyard of a Corvette-loving English farmer. Life's responsibilities and lack of time relegated the car to a stationary display until its recent rescue. In the episode, Smith and the car's new owners work to revive the ZR-1, sharing stories with Will about its history and significance. This iconic American sports car, reborn in the English countryside, reminds us of the unique global collaboration behind its creation and the enduring appeal of the Corvette ZR-1. As it roars back to life, this classic car finds new appreciation, far from its original American home.
Miami Herald
2 days ago
- Miami Herald
Man shot dead by deputy after traffic stop had gun, released video shows
The Miami-Dade Sheriff's Office on Monday released body camera footage of a June traffic stop that escalated to a chase and gunfire, leading to the death of a 24-year-old man. On June 17, deputies with the Robbery Intervention Detail tried to pull over Kristofer Lazaro Laboy in the area of Northwest 66th Street and 22nd Avenue for having dark tints on his yellow Corvette, the sheriff's office said. That led to a chase — and deputy Kelvin Cox, a 23-year veteran officer, opened fire, striking Laboy, who had hopped out of the Corvette armed. READ MORE: Deputy shoots, kills armed man after 'simple traffic stop' goes wrong, MDSO says Laboy died at the scene, and no one else was injured. Cox has been placed on administrative duty, as is the policy of the Miami-Dade Sheriff's Office. The Florida Department of Law Enforcement is investigating the shooting. 'While a thorough investigation by [FDLE] is still underway, releasing this footage ensures everyone sees the sequence of events as they unfolded,' Sheriff Rosie Cordero-Stutz said in a statement. 'Regardless of the outcome, my commitment is clear, to be transparent with our community, to hold ourselves to the highest standards, and to continue working every day to earn and maintain your trust. In the body cam footage, a deputy is heard shouting, 'Put the gun down' seconds before about six gunshots ring out. The deputy told Laboy, who was lying on the grass, to 'drop the f------ gun.' The weapon, a Sig Sauer P320 that had a round in the chamber, was seen on the grass next to Laboy's hand. Another deputy then placed Laboy's hands behind his back. After searching Laboy's Corvette, deputies found a bag of marijuana and multiple bottles of promethazine, a prescription medication sometimes used to manufacture drugs, the sheriff's office said Monday. The released footage also included video from a helicopter that was assisting deputies in tracking down Laboy's Corvette. The video captured Laboy speeding away, but ultimately driving into a dead-end street in an apartment community in the area of Northwest Fourth Court and Northwest 85th Street, just a mile away from where the pursuit began. Deputies pulled in behind the Corvette, blocking Laboy from driving backward.
STV News
2 days ago
- STV News
Search for missing man last seen walking in the Highlands in the early hours
Police are searching for a man from England who has gone missing in the Highlands. Ronald Windle was last seen around 2am on Sunday in the vicinity of Fort George in Ardersier. The 54-year-old's whereabouts are currently unknown, and concerns are growing among his family and friends. Ronald is described as a white, English male, around 5ft 8ins in height. He has thinning grey/white hair. At the time of his disappearance, he is believed to have been wearing a black T-shirt featuring a Corvette logo and black jeans. Police are urging anyone who might have seen him walking towards in Inverness to get in touch. Acting police sergeant Stuart Mackenzie of Burnett Police Station in Inverness said: 'Ronald has now been missing for a number of hours, and we are increasingly concerned for his welfare. 'We are appealing particularly to motorists who were in the Fort George or A96 areas, and who may have dashcam footage, to get in touch. 'If you saw a man matching Ronald's description walking in the direction of Inverness, please contact us. 'We currently have a number of police resources deployed in the area, and public assistance could be vital in helping us locate Ronald.' Anyone with information is urged to contact police on 101, quoting incident number PS20250727- 1809' Get all the latest news from around the country Follow STV News Scan the QR code on your mobile device for all the latest news from around the country
