Celebrating 200 years of rail travel at The Greatest Gathering of trains
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Sector shaken as FCA opens consultation into £18bn scheme
The UK motor finance industry is facing fresh disruption after the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) confirmed plans to launch a consultation into a redress scheme that could cost lenders and brokers as much as £18 billion. The announcement — following a Supreme Court ruling last Friday — reintroduces significant financial and operational uncertainty for motor finance providers. While the FCA said most drivers would receive no more than £950 each, the total cost to the industry is now estimated at between £9 billion and £18 billion. Paul Hollick, Chair of the Association of Fleet Professionals (AFP), said: 'We've gone from a situation on Friday where the Supreme Court verdicts suggested the worst risks for the motor finance sector had been removed, to one on Monday morning where the FCA's intervention has reintroduced the possibility of quite widespread reparations.' The FCA's move relates to discretionary commission arrangements (DCAs), which allowed dealers to set interest rates on car finance agreements and pocket the difference as commission — often without the customer's knowledge. These practices were banned in 2021, but many were in place across millions of loans issued between 2007 and 2021. FCA Chief Executive Nikhil Rathi said: 'It is clear that some firms have broken the law and our rules. It's fair for their customers to be compensated.' He added that the FCA aims to build a scheme that is 'fair and easy to participate in,' with no need for consumers to use a lawyer or claims management company (CMC). 'If you do, it will cost you a significant chunk of any money you get,' he warned. Industry pushback However, several industry figures questioned the FCA's legal and practical basis for retrospective compensation — particularly when many firms operated within then-accepted frameworks. Paul Bennett, a consultant with Madox Square Advisory, was cited on LinkedIn as saying: 'This statement leaves me somewhat perplexed because, until discretionary charges were banned in 2021, financiers in concert with their introducers operated within the law. As such, how can firms be penalised in 2025 for what was accepted business practice until 2021?' Stephen Haddrill, Director General of the Finance & Leasing Association (FLA), expressed concern over the FCA's intention to look as far back as 2007. 'We have concerns about whether it is possible to have a fair redress scheme that goes back to 2007 when firms have not been required to hold such dated information, and the evidence base will be patchy at best.' Speaking to BBC Radio 4's Today programme, he added: 'I just think that is completely impractical. It is not just firms that don't have the details about contracts back then, customers don't either.' Dealers urged to review historical agreements Jonathan Butler, legal counsel at the Vehicle Remarketing Association (VRA) and partner at Geldards, said: 'We shouldn't lose sight of the fact that this is good news for dealers and lenders' given that the exposure is far less than the £44 billion feared. However, he warned of extensive preparatory work ahead. 'Dealers and lenders are now in a position where they can start to calculate their exposure. They should be tracking down all relevant paperwork dating back to the 2007 cut-off point,' Butler said. He also flagged potential legal minefields in legacy dealer agreements: 'Dealers need to read their old contracts with motor finance providers to check there is no form of indemnity in place that protects the lender in the event of claims of the type now envisaged. These did sometimes exist and, if enforced, may cause issues.' Butler added that the redress scheme could be hampered by evidentiary complexity: 'The Johnson-type threshold is actually a value judgment... These are highly fact sensitive matters and not questions that... could be easily answered using anything other than an arbitrary and automated process. It needs qualified people to make assessments... that is potentially an enormous task.' CMC industry faces collapse The FCA's announcement is also likely to have a profound effect on the claims management sector, which had anticipated a much wider liability ruling from the Supreme Court. John Perez, Partner and Head of Finance Litigation at DWF, said: 'The CMC industry that has emerged in pursuing these claims on mass will likely now collapse.' He explained that under the ruling, 'any continuing claims will all be fact dependant on the nature of the individual transactions,' meaning the days of high-volume, generic CMC-driven claims are effectively over. Perez noted the court's ruling in Canada Square v Johnson clarified that 'no disclosure of commission or partial disclosure of commission will not in itself render the relationship unfair.' Instead, courts must evaluate multiple factors — including the size of the commission relative to the total credit cost (as in the Johnson case, where it was 55%) and whether the dealer made misleading representations. He suggested the FCA may borrow from the approach taken in the PPI and Plevin redress schemes, potentially setting a commission threshold — such as 50% of the total charge for credit — above which redress would be automatic. Retail perspective: fairness and stability needed Sue Robinson, Chief Executive of the National Franchised Dealers Association (NFDA), welcomed the Supreme Court's judgment and its recognition of the sector's submissions. 'As the consumer facing part of the sector, NFDA want to see the regulator act fairly to ensure that UK consumers receive a satisfactory result. This has been achieved today,' she said. Robinson emphasised the importance of a stable retail environment, noting that 'automotive retail accounts for approximately 78% of the broader automotive workforce.' "Sector shaken as FCA opens consultation into £18bn scheme" was originally created and published by Motor Finance Online, a GlobalData owned brand. The information on this site has been included in good faith for general informational purposes only. It is not intended to amount to advice on which you should rely, and we give no representation, warranty or guarantee, whether express or implied as to its accuracy or completeness. You must obtain professional or specialist advice before taking, or refraining from, any action on the basis of the content on our site. Sign in to access your portfolio
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
Emergency services descend on major route near Manchester city centre after BMW crash
There was a massive emergency service response after a crash on the city centre ring road tonight (Tuesday, August 5). Trinity Way in Salford was shut off heading towards the city centre after the crash which was said to involve just one car. Pictures from the scene showed a BMW with its front end embedded into a lamppost. READ MORE: Mum 'traumatised' after dog walker pushes her in canal as she cycled to work READ MORE: 'I never thought for one minute the fire service could do that to my house' Police, rescue specialists from the fire service, and paramedics all attended the scene. Never miss a story with the MEN's daily Catch Up newsletter - get it in your inbox by signing up here One person was taken to hospital by ambulance, it has been confirmed. A spokesperson for Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service (GMFRS) said: 'At just after 8.10pm today (Tuesday 5 August), fire crews were called to reports of a road traffic collision on Trinity Way, Salford. 'One fire engine from Blackley Community Fire Station and the technical response unit from Ashton quickly attended the incident which involved one vehicle. Join the Manchester Evening News WhatsApp group HERE 'One person was assessed at the scene and then conveyed to hospital by North West Ambulance Service. 'Firefighters made the area safe before departing after approximately 45 minutes at the scene.' Greater Manchester Police (GMP) have been approached for further details. One motorist said they had 'never seen so many emergency response vehicles.' They said they were left stuck on nearby East Ordsall Lane for almost an hour. -- For the latest stories and breaking news visit Get the latest headlines, features and analysis that matter to you by signing up to our various Manchester Evening News newsletters here. You can also get all your favourite content from the Manchester Evening News on WhatsApp. Click here to stay up to date with the us on X @mennewsdesk for all the latest stories and updates on breaking incidents from across the region and beyond, as well as on our Facebook page you prefer reading our stories on your phone, consider downloading the Manchester Evening News app here, and our newsdesk will make sure every time an essential story breaks, you'll be the first to hear about it.
Yahoo
4 hours ago
- Yahoo
When racing got real: The nail-biting early days of British touring cars
Race fans loved watching familiar motors duke it out The British Touring Car Championship is famed for its thrilling, close-fought action – a spectacle it has been providing for an impressive seven decades. Britain's first proper touring car race occurred in 1952. The British Racing Drivers' Club had previously held a catch-all 'production car race' at its annual International Trophy meeting at Silverstone, but this time it decided to run two separate races for sports cars and touring cars. Autocar's sports editor, John Cooper (not that one), explained: 'No better way of assessing the relative performance capabilities of cars of any sort can be imagined than the straightforward one of racing them one against the other. 'Certain modifications are permitted, partly in the interests of safety and partly to render the task of the car's tuning and preparation somewhat easier than would otherwise be the case, but in all the essential features these cars are the same as those which are described in the catalogues, and which we could buy if they were not in short supply and if we had enough money.' Such racing predictably proved popular with British car makers, and the public loved it too. Hence it became a regular feature at Britain's multi-race club obvious next step was to create a championship, and it was the secretary of the British Racing and Sports Car Club, Ken Gregory, who made it happen. His plan was to run the British Saloon Car Championship on the same ticket as sports car and junior single-seater races. The premise remained as our man had described in 1952, and to balance the varying performance levels, cars would be divided into four classes – meaning a 0.9-litre Austin A35 had the same chance of glory as a 4.0-litre Jensen 541, even though they would never dice with one another on track. Gregory was also a director at Brands Hatch, so the Kent circuit staged a trial run on Boxing Day 1957 – and, this being a success, the host to the first points-scoring BSCC round in early April 1958. Enjoy full access to the complete Autocar archive at the In cold and dry weather, the first saloon race proved 'quite the most interesting of the afternoon', we reported. 'It was won almost as a foregone conclusion by Jack Sears, adding yet another victory to his string of successes with the Austin A105. But in the sub-1200cc class, tremendous battles were going on. For 11 laps, the A35s of George 'Doc' Shepherd and John Sprinzel circled as a pair, inches apart, until finally Sprinzel managed to overtake. 'There was a second race for cars up to 1600cc and over 3500cc. The [Mk1] Jaguar 3.4s, driven by Tommy Sopwith [son of the famous plane designer] and Gawaine Baillie, again took first and second with impressive ease.' Sprinzel and Sopwith won out again at Brands later that month, while Tommy Bridger made himself unpopular, you might assume, by topping the 1200-1600cc class in a German Borgward Isabella, 'making the most of its fine cornering'. Sprinzel made it a hat-trick as the BSCC headed to Mallory Park in Leicestershire in May, while Baillie benefited from Sopwith's car shedding a tyre – and Harold Grace 'had a spectacular escape when he inverted his Riley 1.5 in a ditch'. There was another Sprinzel and Sopwith show at Brands later that month, and again in June, albeit with the Jaguar man 'having to work very hard' to steal the lead from his team-mate on the last lap. Next up was Crystal Palace in Croydon, where for the first time all of the saloon classes shared a circuit. It was Sopwith again, while Shepherd 'went surprisingly fast' to finish sixth in his baby Austin. Three more Brands races would take the series to its conclusion, the first coming on an overcast August bank holiday. 'Staple fare is the sight of a brace or more of 3.4s in the lead, cornering on the door handles. This was no exception.' And nor was the September meet. So you'd assume Sopwith had the title all wrapped up – but, in fact, Sears had been quietly racking up wins for Austin in the class below, and the two not only arrived at the October meet with equal points but ended it level too. The solution? A head-to-head in identical Riley 1.5s, swapping seats between two heats. The crowd were 'amply rewarded for waiting to the end' in torrential rain as Sears prevailed by 1.6sec on aggregate. Sopwith was perhaps vindicated in feeling aggrieved by the system – but, being British, he gave Sears a congratulatory handshake anyway. ]]>
