The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has asked judges to throw a consumer group, Consumer Voice, out of the legal proceedings over Britain's mis-sold car loans scandal, alleging that the group has not been transparent about its funding and may have conflicts of interest. Consumer Voice is the only body arguing that borrowers should receive larger payouts than the £9.1bn compensation scheme currently provides, so the regulator's move matters because it could remove the main voice pressing for higher settlements for consumers.

The scandal concerns commission paid to car dealerships by lenders between 2007 and 2024, which left borrowers overcharged; the current scheme would give an average payout of £830 per mis-sold loan, with big banks and carmakers' finance arms such as Lloyds, Santander, Volkswagen and Mercedes-Benz footing the bill. In legal filings on Wednesday, the FCA claimed Consumer Voice and its solicitors, Courmacs Legal, "operate for profit in the sphere of claims management" and are "arguably not aligned" with consumers' interests, noting Courmacs stands to take up to 30% of settlements. Co-founder Alex Neill called the allegations "disgraceful" and untrue, insisting the group makes no money from car finance mis-selling referrals.