FCA cracks down on car finance ads
A joint taskforce involving the FCA is continuing its crackdown on misleading car finance claims advertising.
In June alone, the FCA had 170 misleading adverts removed or amended by claims management companies, bringing the total to 1,200 since January 2024.
The FCA also secured agreements with two firms in June requiring them to stop or change their marketing activities, while the ICO has received over 12 million complaints about nuisance calls and texts related to car finance claims since September 2025.
Some adverts also used the FCA motor finance redress scheme misleadingly to promote firms’ own services, suggesting affiliation with the FCA.
The ASA has launched formal investigations into motor finance claims ads placed by law firms, using an AI-based Active Ad Monitoring system to identify problematic ads at scale.
Misleading adverts identified by the FCA included adverts disguised as consumer social media posts recommending websites, without disclosing they were financial promotions for CMCs.
Alison Walters, Director of Consumer Finance at the FCA, said consumers "should be able to trust the information they see about car finance claims," adding that too many promotions "obscure key facts, create unnecessary pressure on consumers to sign up, or risk misleading people about their options."
The car finance claims scandal has become one of the most significant financial promotion compliance challenges facing UK financial services firms, with enforcement activity accelerating across multiple regulators simultaneously.