FCA introduces modified complaint handling rules for motor finance commission complaints

The Financial Conduct Authority has introduced new provisions in its complaints handling rulebook covering motor finance commission complaints. Rules DISP 2.1.6B and DISP 2.1.6C, both dated 20 December 2024, apply the complaint handling rules and guidance in DISP App 5 to relevant motor finance discretionary commission arrangement (DCA) complaints and motor finance non-DCA complaints¹.

DISP 2.1.6B states that, in relation to a relevant motor finance DCA complaint or a motor finance non-DCA complaint, three provisions apply as modified by DISP App 5: DISP 2.8.1R(2), DISP 2.8.1R(4)(a) and DISP 2.8.2R(1)¹. Those provisions sit in the section of the rulebook dealing with whether a complaint was referred to the Financial Ombudsman Service in time¹.

DISP 2.1.6C is guidance rather than a rule. It states that DISP App 5 contains complaint handling rules and guidance in respect of a relevant motor finance DCA complaint and a motor finance non-DCA complaint¹.

The wider chapter, DISP 2, sets out the scope of the Financial Ombudsman Service's two jurisdictions, the Compulsory Jurisdiction and the Voluntary Jurisdiction¹. The Compulsory Jurisdiction is not restricted to regulated activities, payment services, issuance of electronic money and CBTL business, and covers certain complaints against firms, including businesses that were firms at the time of the events complained about¹. The Voluntary Jurisdiction covers certain complaints against VJ participants, including in relation to events before they joined it¹.

The chapter also sets out who counts as an eligible complainant. An eligible complainant must be a person that is a consumer or a micro-enterprise¹. The scope of the two jurisdictions depends on the type of activity the complaint relates to, the place where that activity was carried on, whether the complainant is eligible, and whether the complaint was referred to the Financial Ombudsman Service in time¹.

The rulebook page carrying these provisions was last updated on 15 July 2026¹. The sources do not state what the modifications in DISP App 5 change in practice, nor the deadline dates that apply to motor finance commission complaints.

Why it matters for households

The rules determine how the Financial Ombudsman Service handles complaints about motor finance commission, including the point at which a complaint counts as having been referred in time. Anyone who has bought a car on finance and complained about commission, or who is considering doing so, is affected by how those time limits are applied. The provisions took effect on 20 December 2024¹.

The rules distinguish between two categories: relevant motor finance DCA complaints and motor finance non-DCA complaints¹. Both are brought within the modified handling arrangements set out in DISP App 5¹. The sources do not set out the practical difference between the two categories, or how the modified time limit provisions operate for each.

Eligibility to bring a complaint to the Ombudsman turns on being a consumer or a micro-enterprise¹. Complaints about motor finance commission are dealt with under the Financial Ombudsman Service's jurisdiction rather than through the courts, and the two routes differ in their procedures and outcomes.

What happens next

The rulebook page containing DISP 2.1.6B and 2.1.6C was last updated on 15 July 2026¹. No further steps connected to these provisions have been reported.