Find my DCA claim amount—that's what thousands of UK drivers are searching for. Use our free calculator to estimate your car finance claim refund in seconds.
Like Martin Lewis advises: claim directly to your lender rather than using a CMC. Our tool helps you do that with a professional letter for a small fee—so you keep the vast majority of any refund.
Everything you need to know about DCA car finance, how to find my DCA claim amount, and what Martin Lewis says about car finance claims.
DCA finance refers to car finance agreements that included Discretionary Commission Arrangements. Under DCA finance, car dealers could increase your interest rate to earn more commission—without telling you. The FCA banned DCA car finance arrangements in January 2021, and millions of UK drivers may now be eligible for a car finance claim.
Wondering "how do I find my DCA claim?" Use our free DCA finance calculator above. Simply enter your loan amount, the APR you paid, your loan term, and when your agreement started. The calculator will estimate your car finance claim amount, including the 8% statutory interest you're entitled to.
A car finance claim is a complaint to your lender requesting compensation for overpaid interest on your PCP or HP agreement. If your dealer used a DCA to inflate your interest rate, you may be entitled to a refund of the difference plus statutory interest.
You may be eligible if you took out PCP or HP car finance between April 2007 and November 2024, and the finance was arranged through a dealer or broker. Even if you've paid off the car or no longer have it, you can still make a car finance claim.
Martin Lewis and his MoneySavingExpert team consistently advise that you don't need a claims management company to make a car finance claim. Martin Lewis recommends complaining directly to your lender rather than paying a CMC 25-30% (+VAT) of your refund. You can do it yourself with a letter—or use a tool like ours to generate one for a small fee instead of giving a large slice to a claims company.
This DCA finance calculator provides an estimate based on the FCA's methodology. Actual car finance claim refunds may vary depending on your specific agreement, the base rate your lender used, and whether a DCA was actually applied. Use it to find your approximate DCA claim amount before submitting your complaint.
If you're trying to find my DCA claim amount, you're in the right place. Calculating your DCA finance refund involves comparing what you actually paid against what you should have paid at a fair interest rate. Our free car finance claim calculator does this automatically, but here's how the maths works:
To calculate your DCA car finance claim, you'll need these details from your agreement:
Don't have your paperwork? Contact your lender—they're legally required to provide it.
The key to any DCA claim is proving you paid more interest than you should have. We compare your actual APR against a "fair" base rate (typically 4%) that lenders would have charged without dealer commission inflation.
Example Calculation:
Interest paid at 9.9%: £3,227
Interest at fair rate (4%): £1,257
Overpaid interest: £1,970
Under UK law, you're entitled to 8% simple interest per year on any money you overpaid. This compensates you for being without that money. The interest is calculated from the midpoint of your agreement to the present day.
Continuing our example:
Total estimated refund: £2,868
According to the FCA's January 2025 consultation, the average refund is estimated at around £700 per agreement. However, your actual payout depends on your specific circumstances:
Small Deals
(£5,000–£10,000)
£300–£800
Mid-Range Deals
(£10,000–£20,000)
£800–£2,500
Large Deals
(£20,000+)
£2,000–£5,000+
Note: These are estimates based on typical DCA markups. Your actual refund will depend on your specific APR, loan term, and agreement date.
The Financial Conduct Authority estimates that 14 million car finance agreements may have been affected by discretionary commission arrangements. Major lenders have already set aside billions for potential payouts:
The total industry liability is estimated at £8–10 billion, making this one of the largest consumer redress schemes since PPI.
As consumer champion Martin Lewis and MoneySavingExpert consistently advise, you do not need to pay a claims management company (CMC) to make your car finance claim. Martin Lewis recommends complaining directly to your lender instead. CMCs typically charge 25–30% (+VAT) of your refund—that's up to 36% of your money gone.
On a £2,000 DCA car finance refund, a CMC would take around £720. Our tool helps you do what Martin Lewis advises—claim directly—by generating a professional letter for a small one-time fee, so you keep the vast majority of your refund.
Use our free DCA finance calculator above to estimate your car finance claim refund. Then generate your complaint letter and submit your DCA car finance claim directly to your lender—the approach Martin Lewis recommends, without using a CMC.
A deep dive into DCA finance compensation maths
Timeline from car finance claim to payout
Claim directly and keep the vast majority of your refund
Which car finance claim type pays more?