The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has come down hard on a claims management company for using misleading motor finance compensation ads.
The FCA said the adverts used edited, unauthorised clips of money guru- Martin Lewis to make misleading claims about average motor finance compensation and used the FCA logo without permission. It banned the ads.
Conclusive Financial (Conclusive), a claims management company (CMC), which also trades as PCP Refunds, was required to remove its advertising and update or take down its website until it complied with the FCA’s rules. Conclusive has since removed the banned adverts.
The FCA was also concerned that some of the firm’s adverts stated consumers would receive £1,846 on average for compensation for motor finance claims, with no explanation of how they reached this figure.
The FCA said Conclusive also promoted a ‘No Win, No Fee’ service on its websites, without a proper explanation of the fees, including any exit fees, people would be charged.
It did not tell consumers that they could make claims for free to their lender or to the Financial Ombudsman Service without the need to use a CMC.
Alison Walters, director of consumer finance at the FCA, said: ‘Consumers should be wary of adverts that overpromise or give the impression they are endorsed by the FCA or well-known individuals. We will take swift action where rules are being broken.
“Our scheme is free and people don’t have to use a CMC or law firm. If they do, it’s important that they can trust them.”