Case Intake
Cases are ingested automatically from multiple channels and queued for processing
Analysis
Case detail, document extraction, and AI-powered data analysis
Assessment
Sarah Mitchell — MF-2024-00412
AssessedCommission schedule confirms DCA in operation. The broker exercised discretion to increase the customer's flat rate by 1.9 percentage points above the base rate, directly increasing the total cost of credit by £2,196. No disclosure of the DCA mechanism was provided.
Source: Commission_Schedule_Sept2018.pdf, lines 4–12
Source: Commission_Schedule_Sept2018.pdf; HP_Agreement_KF18YBN_2018.pdf
The dealer-broker agreement establishes an exclusive panel arrangement effective January 2016 to December 2020. The customer's agreement (September 2018) falls within this period. The customer was not informed, limiting access to competitive finance offers.
Source: Dealer_Broker_Agreement_Greenfield.pdf, clause 3.1
Redress tier: Full commission refund + compensatory interest
Redress Calculation
Full commission refund + compensatory interest (severe case)
For standard (non-severe) cases, the methodology for calculating what commission would have been paid absent the DCA is a key open question. Should this be based on the lender's non-DCA rate card, an industry average, or another benchmark?
Consumer Outcome
Generated outcome letter for consumer review and approval
Scheme ref: FCA-MFS-2024-00412
42 Oakwood Drive
Caversham, Reading
RG4 7LP
Your motor finance complaint — our findings
Dear Ms Mitchell,
Thank you for contacting us about your motor finance agreement (reference NRF-HP-2018-041587) for a Volkswagen Golf, registration KF18 YBN, taken out on 22 September 2018 through Greenfield Motors, Reading.
We have assessed your complaint under the FCA's Motor Finance Consumer Redress Scheme. Following a thorough review of your agreement and associated documentation, we have identified the following:
What we found
- Discretionary Commission Arrangement (DCA): The broker who arranged your finance had the ability to set your interest rate, and chose a higher rate than the base rate offered to them.
- High commission: The commission paid to the broker represented 45% of the total cost of credit — significantly above the threshold for what the FCA considers fair.
- Exclusive arrangement: The dealer had an exclusive arrangement with a single lender during the time of your agreement, which limited the finance options available to you.
You were not adequately informed about these arrangements.
Your compensation
Based on our assessment, we are offering you compensation of:
This is made up of:
- Commission refund: £2,196.00
- Compensatory interest: £412.80
- Less income tax on interest (20%): −£82.56
What happens next
If you accept this offer, please confirm within 28 days and we will arrange payment. If you do not accept, you retain the right to refer your complaint to the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS).
Yours sincerely,
Motor Finance Redress Team
Northridge Capital Finance Ltd
Audit & Monitoring
Full audit trail and scheme-wide performance monitoring
Admin — Automation Rules
Configure confidence thresholds, routing rules, and automation boundaries
- Should severe cases (highest redress tier) always require human review before an outcome letter is sent?
- What minimum confidence threshold is appropriate for fully automated processing?
- Are there case characteristics (e.g. vulnerable customers, high-value agreements) that should always be routed to a human reviewer regardless of confidence?
These settings are fully configurable per-lender. The defaults shown below reflect our recommended starting position.
Cases with an overall confidence score above this threshold will be eligible for fully automated processing. Cases below will be routed for human review.