What are the red flags of this scam?

You received an unsolicited cold call or text saying you are owed motor finance compensation — genuine lender contact comes in writing, not via cold call • The caller or message asks for your bank account details, sort code, date of birth, or National Insurance number — your actual lender already holds this information and will not ask you to re-confirm it over the phone • They claim to be from your former car finance lender, the FCA, or a claims management company offering to handle your claim for a fee of 30–40% • They create urgency: 'the deadline is this week' or 'your compensation will be forfeited if you don't act now' • They push you to sign up with a claims management company — the scheme is free to use directly through your lender

What should I do if this happened to me?

Hang up on cold callers — your lender will contact you in writing if you are owed redress; you do not need to call anyone or respond to a cold call • Do not pay any upfront fee; the FCA motor finance redress scheme is free to use directly — a claims management company could take up to 30% of your compensation • If your lender contacts you by letter or email about motor finance redress, verify it is genuine by calling the number on your original finance documents or the lender's official website — not any number in the letter • If you want to check whether you may be eligible, visit the FCA's official page: https://www.fca.org.uk/consumers/motor-finance-information • Forward suspicious texts to 7726 (free, works on all UK networks) and report calls to Ofcom • Report to Report Fraud at https://www.reportfraud.police.uk or call 0300 123 2040.

HIGH government impersonation Last reported: 26 Oct 2026 Share

A cold caller says you are owed car finance compensation and asks for your bank details — the real scheme is free and your lender already has your details

Q: Is this a scam?

Yes. This is a documented scam pattern. Scammers exploit the now-live FCA motor finance redress scheme (launched June 2026) by cold-calling people — including those who never had car finance — claiming they are owed hundreds of pounds. They ask for bank details to "process" a payout. The real scheme is free; your lender will contact you directly and already holds your details.

Scammers exploit the now-live FCA motor finance redress scheme (launched June 2026) by cold-calling people — including those who never had car finance — claiming they are owed hundreds of pounds. They ask for bank details to "process" a payout. The real scheme is free; your lender will contact you directly and already holds your details.

Also known as: motor finance scam call UK, car finance compensation fraud, PCP claim scam, HP finance refund scam, FCA motor finance redress scam

Already happened to you? Do this in the next few minutes

1 Call your bank or card's fraud line right now. Use the number on the back of your card — not any number from the message or caller. Ask them to stop or reverse the payment and freeze the account.
2 If you paid by gift card, wire, or an app (Zelle, Venmo, Cash App): contact that company immediately and report it as fraud. Acting fast sometimes recovers the money.
3 Report to the FBI at ic3.gov and the FTC at reportfraud.ftc.gov. The sooner, the better.

What to do right now

1 Hang up on cold callers — your lender will contact you in writing if you are owed redress; you do not need to call anyone or respond to a cold call
2 Do not pay any upfront fee; the FCA motor finance redress scheme is free to use directly — a claims management company could take up to 30% of your compensation
3 If your lender contacts you by letter or email about motor finance redress, verify it is genuine by calling the number on your original finance documents or the lender's official website — not any number in the letter
4 If you want to check whether you may be eligible, visit the FCA's official page: https://www.fca.org.uk/consumers/motor-finance-information
5 Forward suspicious texts to 7726 (free, works on all UK networks) and report calls to Ofcom
6 Report to Report Fraud at https://www.reportfraud.police.uk or call 0300 123 2040.

Red flags

⚠ You received an unsolicited cold call or text saying you are owed motor finance compensation — genuine lender contact comes in writing, not via cold call
⚠ The caller or message asks for your bank account details, sort code, date of birth, or National Insurance number — your actual lender already holds this information and will not ask you to re-confirm it over the phone
⚠ They claim to be from your former car finance lender, the FCA, or a claims management company offering to handle your claim for a fee of 30–40%
⚠ They create urgency: 'the deadline is this week' or 'your compensation will be forfeited if you don't act now'
⚠ They push you to sign up with a claims management company — the scheme is free to use directly through your lender

Already happened to you? Do this in the next few minutes

What to do right now

Red flags

Sources