Latest news with #StephenHaddrill
BBC News
6 days ago
- Automotive
- BBC News
Stoke-on-Trent claimant 'deflated' by court's car finance ruling
A claimant says he feels "deflated" by a Supreme Court decision which meant millions of motorists would not be able to claim compensation for hidden commissions paid on car Wrench, from Trentham, Stoke-on-Trent, was unsuccessful in his legal bid against finance firms after he noticed a commission payment "buried" in his contract two years said he felt "let down" by Friday's decision, which reversed earlier court rulings that found the payments to car dealers were director general of the Finance and Leasing Association, Stephen Haddrill, previously said the court's "excellent" judgement "restored certainty and clarity" to the car market. "The journey has been up and down… I was a bit apprehensive thinking which way this was going to go," Mr Wrench told BBC Radio added: "I felt a bit deflated, a little bit low. It takes a lot to bring me down but after two-and-a-bit years of fighting long and hard, I really thought [the judges] would see sense."Mr Wrench described the hidden commissions as "deceitful" and said firms should be more up front about the payments."I won't be approaching certain finance companies in the future because I feel they've let people down," he said. Mr Wrench was one of the three claimants involved in Friday's court proceedings and one of two who lost their the hidden payments were ruled not unlawful, the judgement left open the possibility of compensation claims for larger commissions, which the Supreme Court said were the ruling, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) said the consultation on who should be eligible for compensation and what they should receive would begin in October, with the first payments expected next were likely to receive less than £950 per deal under the proposed compensation scheme, the regulator said. Mr Wrench urged car finance companies to contact consumers directly to apologise and offer compensation and said he was still glad he had pursued the firms through the courts."I wasn't in it for the financial gain but I would do it again," he added. "I do believe I've unearthed a lot of truth." Follow BBC Stoke & Staffordshire on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram.
Daily Mail
04-08-2025
- Business
- Daily Mail
Lenders deserve a pasting over the motor finance misselling scandal, says ALEX BRUMMER
The cloud of mistrust surrounding British finance will not be lifted by the Supreme Court ruling on motor finance. Modern history of the Square Mile is littered with examples of unwitting consumers being gulled into buying products they don't need and being cheated by finance providers. Pensions mis-selling and payment protection insurance come to mind. The Great Financial Crisis of 2008 may be a distant memory, but it was only two months ago that NatWest escaped from government ownership after an eye-popping £45.5billion taxpayer rescue. Indeed, the lingering costs of 2008 and the compensation culture it engendered are among the reasons why the UK's public finances are in the worst condition since the 1950s. Yet despite this, the Chancellor Rachel Reeves felt it was fine to go to the Mansion House and declare it time to place 'the boot on the neck' of the red tape of financial regulation. Quite the contrary. After scandals such as motor finance, the collapse of the Neil Woodford investment empire and the London Capital & Finance mini-bond scam, ever more vigilant enforcement is required if consumer confidence is to be nurtured. Tracing back victims of motor finance scandals to 2007 will be hard, and finding the data difficult. Yet it is unbecoming for Stephen Haddrill, who represents the Finance and Leasing Association, to shout foul and describe the proposal to pay out up to £18billion in compensation as 'completely impractical'. 'Caveat emptor' is fine as a mantra, but we shouldn't underestimate the deviousness of second-hand car merchants acting as agents for finance groups. I recall buying a second-hand VW and being told by the dealer that he didn't want cash because he would miss out on finance commissions. Investors in Lloyds Bank, Close Brothers et al yesterday enjoyed a relief rally at the expense of consumers treated unfairly. They should not escape retribution for unfitting behaviour. Private grief There is a prevalent view, fuelled by fee-hungry investment banks, that fending off private equity offers for FTSE-listed companies is impossible. Yet the bidding war which ended up with Primary Health Properties (PHP) fending off KKR and merging with rival Assura shows there are other choices. The outcome should be a plus for the NHS as it adopts Wes Streeting's desire to switch from big hospital provision of medical services to community-based health. PHP and Assura fended off private equity by fully engaging UK long-investors with 35 per cent of the votes, such as Schroders and Baillie Gifford. If the deal is approved next week, then it could free up to £300million for investment in updating and expanding facilities and building new health hubs. This is a more satisfactory outcome than some other recent private equity bids. Corporate ghouls Advent outbid rival KKR for Spectris, a vital British precision engineering firm which serves two critical industries: pharma and semiconductors. It is disappointing that no white knight offers emerged or that the Spectris board showed such little fight. Similarly, at a time when warehouses and data centres are all the rage, Warehouse REIT threw in its lot with Blackstone, reversing a decision to merge with Tritax Big Box. As customers of private equity-owned vet practices and dental surgeries would testify, unscrupulous owners rarely benefit the end-user. Lost love All hell has broken loose after Donald Trump fired the independent Bureau of Labour Statistics commissioner Erika McEntarfer because he didn't like 'rigged' jobs data which didn't suit his claims. The reality is that there is concern among some economists about the quality of data which showed that 258,000 fewer US jobs were created in May and June. Sound familiar? Here, the head of the Office for National Statistics Ian Diamond stepped down in May and UK Statistics Authority chair Robert Chote resigned in July. The departures came amid loud criticism from the Bank of England, among others, of poor labour force data. Lies, lies and damned statistics...
Glasgow Times
04-08-2025
- Automotive
- Glasgow Times
Motor finance: Concerns raised that some firms' records may be ‘patchy at best'
Stephen Haddrill, director general of the Finance and Leasing Association (FLA) said: 'We have concerns about whether it is possible to have a fair redress scheme that goes back to 2007 when firms have not been required to hold such dated information, and the evidence base will be patchy at best. 'We will be interested to see how the FCA (Financial Conduct Authority) addresses this point in its consultation.' On Sunday, the FCA said it will consult on an industry-wide compensation scheme. The regulator said many motor finance firms were not complying with rules or the law by not providing customers with relevant information about commission paid by lenders to the car dealers who sold the loans. The FCA said it will propose rules on how lenders should consistently, efficiently and fairly decide whether someone is owed compensation and how much. It estimates that most people will probably receive less than £950 in compensation. The consultation will launch by early October and if the compensation scheme goes ahead, the first payments should be made in 2026, the regulator has said. Speaking on BBC Breakfast, Nikhil Rathi, chief executive of the FCA said: 'We're going to have to work through those issues in the consultation where one or the other party doesn't have all the details. 'That is one of the challenges here.' Mr Rathi told the BBC: 'My message to the industry is – work with us, help us find solutions to some of these issues and don't try and haggle on every single point. If we want to get this up and running, get trust back into this market, let's get moving now and sort this out in the consultation.' The Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) can already look at complaints going back to 2007. The FCA has said that people who have already complained do not need to do anything. Consumers who are concerned that they were not told about commission and think they may have paid too much for their motor finance lender should complain now, it has said. The regulator has said that people do not need to use a claims management company or law firm and doing so could cost them around 30% of any compensation paid.
North Wales Chronicle
04-08-2025
- Automotive
- North Wales Chronicle
Motor finance: Concerns raised that some firms' records may be ‘patchy at best'
Stephen Haddrill, director general of the Finance and Leasing Association (FLA) said: 'We have concerns about whether it is possible to have a fair redress scheme that goes back to 2007 when firms have not been required to hold such dated information, and the evidence base will be patchy at best. 'We will be interested to see how the FCA (Financial Conduct Authority) addresses this point in its consultation.' On Sunday, the FCA said it will consult on an industry-wide compensation scheme. The regulator said many motor finance firms were not complying with rules or the law by not providing customers with relevant information about commission paid by lenders to the car dealers who sold the loans. The FCA said it will propose rules on how lenders should consistently, efficiently and fairly decide whether someone is owed compensation and how much. It estimates that most people will probably receive less than £950 in compensation. The consultation will launch by early October and if the compensation scheme goes ahead, the first payments should be made in 2026, the regulator has said. Speaking on BBC Breakfast, Nikhil Rathi, chief executive of the FCA said: 'We're going to have to work through those issues in the consultation where one or the other party doesn't have all the details. 'That is one of the challenges here.' Mr Rathi told the BBC: 'My message to the industry is – work with us, help us find solutions to some of these issues and don't try and haggle on every single point. If we want to get this up and running, get trust back into this market, let's get moving now and sort this out in the consultation.' The Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) can already look at complaints going back to 2007. The FCA has said that people who have already complained do not need to do anything. Consumers who are concerned that they were not told about commission and think they may have paid too much for their motor finance lender should complain now, it has said. The regulator has said that people do not need to use a claims management company or law firm and doing so could cost them around 30% of any compensation paid.
Rhyl Journal
04-08-2025
- Automotive
- Rhyl Journal
Motor finance: Concerns raised that some firms' records may be ‘patchy at best'
Stephen Haddrill, director general of the Finance and Leasing Association (FLA) said: 'We have concerns about whether it is possible to have a fair redress scheme that goes back to 2007 when firms have not been required to hold such dated information, and the evidence base will be patchy at best. 'We will be interested to see how the FCA (Financial Conduct Authority) addresses this point in its consultation.' On Sunday, the FCA said it will consult on an industry-wide compensation scheme. The regulator said many motor finance firms were not complying with rules or the law by not providing customers with relevant information about commission paid by lenders to the car dealers who sold the loans. The FCA said it will propose rules on how lenders should consistently, efficiently and fairly decide whether someone is owed compensation and how much. It estimates that most people will probably receive less than £950 in compensation. The consultation will launch by early October and if the compensation scheme goes ahead, the first payments should be made in 2026, the regulator has said. Speaking on BBC Breakfast, Nikhil Rathi, chief executive of the FCA said: 'We're going to have to work through those issues in the consultation where one or the other party doesn't have all the details. 'That is one of the challenges here.' Mr Rathi told the BBC: 'My message to the industry is – work with us, help us find solutions to some of these issues and don't try and haggle on every single point. If we want to get this up and running, get trust back into this market, let's get moving now and sort this out in the consultation.' The Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) can already look at complaints going back to 2007. The FCA has said that people who have already complained do not need to do anything. Consumers who are concerned that they were not told about commission and think they may have paid too much for their motor finance lender should complain now, it has said. The regulator has said that people do not need to use a claims management company or law firm and doing so could cost them around 30% of any compensation paid.
