FCA bans motor finance firm’s online adverts

The BVRLA is reminding members who offer motor finance of the importance of ensuring that all financial promotions are clear, fair and not misleading.

This follows an announcement from the Financial Conduct Authority earlier today (18 February) stating that it has banned a number of online adverts published by an independent dealership found to have non-compliant social and digital adverts relating to credit broking of car finance.

The dealership breached FCA rules for one or more of the following reasons:

•  representative examples of the cost of credit to the consumer were either missing from the advert or unlikely to be seen

•  the advert didn’t make clear whether consumers were dealing with a credit broker or a lender

•  the advert didn’t specify the legal name of the firm as it appears on the Financial Services Register so that consumers could easily check that Rix Motors was authorised.

The dealership has now withdrawn the adverts and the FCA has directed them not to breach these rules again.

Jonathan Davidson, Executive Director of Supervision – Retail and Authorisations, said:

“When customers are buying a car on finance, it is really important that they are able to understand how much is going towards the finance and how much is being spent on the car. They always have the choice to get the finance separately, so knowing how much it costs allows them to make informed decisions about whether they are getting the best deal. We will not hesitate to take action where we see adverts that don’t allow customers this clarity.”

BVRLA members can access the Financial Promotion webinar on the BVRLA website and also a Financial Promotions Factsheet for advice on how to be compliant.