British banks and lenders have been spared a huge bill as the Supreme Court has overturned a ruling that could have meant millions of motorists were due compensation for mis-sold car finance.
However the court sided with one of the claimants, Marcus Johnson, and awarded him individual compensation due to the circumstances in his case – but on other points the court overturned a Court of Appeal ruling that the customers had a case.
The judgment is likely to significantly limit the scope of potential payouts to motorists after the Court of Appeal last year ruled “secret” commission payments to car dealers as part of finance arrangements without the buyer’s fully informed consent were unlawful.
The court found three motorists, including Mr Johnson, had not been told clearly or at all that the car dealers, acting as credit brokers, would receive a commission from the lenders for introducing business to them.
The drivers had all bought their cars before 2021 and the court said they should receive compensation.
Read more: What is the car finance scandal?
Two lenders, FirstRand Bank and Close Brothers, took the row to the Supreme Court and said at a three-day hearing in April that the decision was an “egregious error”.
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) also intervened in the case and told the UK’s highest court that the Court of Appeal ruling “goes too far”, while the three motorists – Amy Hopcraft, Mr Johnson and Andrew Wrench – opposed the challenge.
Lords Reed, Hodge, Lloyd-Jones, Briggs and Hamble handed down their judgment this afternoon.
Giving a summary of the ruling, Lord Rees said: “For the reasons set out in detail in a judgment published today, the Supreme Court allows the appeals brought by the finance companies.”
He continued: “However, we uphold Mr Johnson’s claim that the relationship between him and the finance company was unfair, and we allow the appeal in his case only because the Court of Appeal made a number of mistakes in…
