Our Fees
Car Claims Check is a trading name of Consumer Reclaim Ltd, a claims management company. Consumer Reclaim Ltd is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) for regulated claims management activity, firm reference number 835212. You can check its authorisation on the Financial Services Register at register.fca.org.uk.
Our fee in brief. If your claim succeeds, we charge a percentage of the compensation paid on each finance agreement: up to 30% plus VAT (36% including VAT), depending on the amount, and never more than the FCA’s cap. If your claim does not succeed, you pay us no fee for it, unless the agreement ends after the 14-day cooling-off period because you end it, or because information we need from you is not provided: you may then have to pay a termination fee of up to £75 per hour plus VAT (£90 including VAT) for work we have already done.
You do not need to use a claims management company. You can complain to your lender yourself, for free. If you are unhappy with the lender’s answer, you can take your complaint to the Financial Ombudsman Service, also for free. You do not need a claims management company or a law firm to take part in the FCA’s motor finance compensation scheme.
Before you decide
The FCA warns that if you sign up with a claims management company or law firm, “you may end up paying for a service you don’t need, including up to 36% in fees, including VAT, out of any compensation you receive.” Our highest rate, in band 1, is 36% including VAT. (Source: FCA, Car finance claims, checked 12 October 2026.)
The FCA set up a motor finance compensation scheme in March 2026. Since July 2026, parts of it have been suspended while legal challenges are heard by the Upper Tribunal, in either December 2026 or February 2027. Until that process ends, lenders do not have to calculate or pay compensation under the scheme. The FCA says that, if the scheme is upheld and the judgment is not appealed, it expects payments to begin in 2027. If the scheme is overturned, the FCA will need to decide what to do next. It has said that consulting on a revised scheme could delay compensation until 2028 or beyond. (Source: FCA statement, 2 July 2026, checked 12 October 2026.)
How our fee is worked out
- Only if your claim succeeds. We charge a fee only on compensation that is paid on a claim we have made for you. The one exception is the termination fee if the agreement ends after the 14-day cooling-off period because you end it, or because information we need from you is not provided (see “If you cancel or end the agreement” below).
- For each agreement. The fee is worked out separately for each finance agreement that receives compensation.
- A percentage, capped. The FCA sets five bands in rule CMCOB 5.2.9R. For each band there is a maximum percentage and a maximum total fee. We charge the band percentage of the compensation or the band’s maximum total fee, whichever is lower.
- VAT on top. The FCA’s limits do not include VAT, so VAT at the current rate of 20% is added to our fee. The limits do cover all our other charges and expenses for the claim.
- On the full amount. Compensation includes cash, cheques, reductions in the balance or arrears on your finance, goodwill payments and interest. The fee is worked out on the full amount before your lender sets any of it against money you owe.
The fee bands
| Band | Compensation for the agreement | FCA maximum rate (excl. VAT) | Our rate (excl. VAT) | FCA maximum total fee (excl. VAT) | Our rate (incl. VAT) | Maximum total fee (incl. VAT) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | £1 to £1,499 | 30% | 30% | £420 | 36% | £504 |
| 2 | £1,500 to £9,999 | 28% | 28% | £2,500 | 33.6% | £3,000 |
| 3 | £10,000 to £24,999 | 25% | 25% | £5,000 | 30% | £6,000 |
| 4 | £25,000 to £49,999 | 20% | 20% | £7,500 | 24% | £9,000 |
| 5 | £50,000 or more | 15% | 15% | £10,000 | 18% | £12,000 |
Our rates are the highest percentages the FCA allows for each band. The maximum total fee is the lower figure when compensation for an agreement is above about £1,400 in band 1, £8,929 in band 2, £20,000 in band 3, £37,500 in band 4, or £66,667 in band 5.
Worked examples
| Compensation for the agreement | Band | Band percentage of it | Band maximum | Our fee (the lower) | VAT at 20% | Total fee | Left for you, if all paid in cash |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| £830 (the FCA’s average, see below) | 1 | 30% = £249 | £420 | £249 | £49.80 | £298.80 | £531.20 |
| £1,200 | 1 | 30% = £360 | £420 | £360 | £72 | £432 | £768 |
| £1,450 | 1 | 30% = £435 | £420 | £420 | £84 | £504 | £946 |
| £5,000 | 2 | 28% = £1,400 | £2,500 | £1,400 | £280 | £1,680 | £3,320 |
| £9,500 | 2 | 28% = £2,660 | £2,500 | £2,500 | £500 | £3,000 | £6,500 |
| £15,000 | 3 | 25% = £3,750 | £5,000 | £3,750 | £750 | £4,500 | £10,500 |
| £22,000 | 3 | 25% = £5,500 | £5,000 | £5,000 | £1,000 | £6,000 | £16,000 |
| £30,000 | 4 | 20% = £6,000 | £7,500 | £6,000 | £1,200 | £7,200 | £22,800 |
| £45,000 | 4 | 20% = £9,000 | £7,500 | £7,500 | £1,500 | £9,000 | £36,000 |
| £50,000 | 5 | 15% = £7,500 | £10,000 | £7,500 | £1,500 | £9,000 | £41,000 |
| £80,000 | 5 | 15% = £12,000 | £10,000 | £10,000 | £2,000 | £12,000 | £68,000 |
The FCA says people who get compensation under its scheme will receive an average of around £830 per agreement, with some getting more and some less. (Source: FCA, Car finance claims, checked 12 October 2026.) The larger amounts are shown because the FCA requires us to illustrate every band. They are not a guide to what car finance claims usually pay.
If you have two agreements that each receive £830, the fee is worked out separately for each one: £298.80 per agreement including VAT, £597.60 in total, leaving you £1,062.40.
These examples are illustrations only. They are not an estimate of the compensation you are likely to receive. The fee you pay may be more or less than the examples, depending on the compensation paid. You may receive more or less than the FCA’s average, or nothing at all.
When and how you pay
- Your lender pays any compensation to you, or uses it to reduce what you owe. Consumer Reclaim Ltd is not permitted to hold client money, so we never receive compensation on your behalf.
- We send you an invoice for our fee when you accept an offer of compensation. The invoice says how long you have to pay.
- If your lender uses some or all of the compensation to clear arrears or other money you owe, our fee is still payable on the full amount. You may need to pay it from your own money.
- If an invoice is not paid on time, we may charge interest at 8% a year, charge our reasonable costs of recovering the debt, and use a collection agency or the courts.
- Once we know more about your claim, the FCA requires us to give you an updated estimate of our fee if it is likely to differ from these illustrations.
Compensation paid under the FCA scheme
Our fee applies to compensation on a claim we have made for you even if your lender pays it under the FCA’s motor finance compensation scheme, or any other compensation or redress scheme, rather than in reply to our complaint. You can take part in the FCA scheme yourself without paying anyone, so please think about this before you sign.
If you cancel or end the agreement
- Within 14 days after the day you sign: you can cancel without giving a reason, and you will have nothing to pay.
- After that: you can end the agreement at any time. We may charge for the reasonable work we have already done on your claim, at up to £75 per hour plus VAT (£90 including VAT). For example, if we had done 5 hours of work, the charge would be at most 5 × £75 = £375 plus VAT (£450 including VAT). Any charge must be reasonable and reflect the work actually done. We will send you an invoice showing how we worked it out.
- If you accept compensation directly: if, after the 14 days, you accept or receive compensation from your lender on a claim we made for you, our normal fee is payable, even if the agreement has ended.
- How to cancel or end it: send us a clear statement, for example by email to [email protected] or by letter to Consumer Reclaim Ltd, Station House, Stamford New Road, Altrincham, WA14 1EP. A model cancellation form is in our Terms of Business, but you do not have to use it.
Who handles your claim, and referral fees
You sign with Consumer Reclaim Ltd, and it charges the fee set out in our Terms of Business. In some circumstances, we will pass your case to a claims management company / solicitors and we will receive a referral fee. Where appropriate, your information and details of any relevant motor finance agreements may be shared with Bluelion Law Limited, MR Consumer Services Limited trading as Mis-sold Expert, Sentinel Legal Limited and AX-Ai Ltd so that your enquiry or potential claim can be assessed and progressed.
If your lender rejects your claim, we may recommend a solicitor or legal partner to pursue it. We will discuss this with you and give you their details first. We may receive a fee for introducing you to them. This will not affect the compensation you receive.
Questions
If anything about our fees is unclear, email us at [email protected] before you sign. Our full Terms of Business set out the fees in sections 5 to 7.