Claims firm investigated by watchdog over car finance sales tactics

The FCA has repeatedly said consumers do not need to use a claims management company or a law firm to access its scheme.

Aberdeen-based Wood Group provides oilfield and engineering services (Alamy/PA)

A claims management company is being investigated by the UK’s finance watchdog over concerns about its sales practices in relation to the car finance saga.

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has opened an enforcement investigation into Manchester-based The Claims Protection Agency (TCPA), which is behind the brand My Claim Group.

The regulator said it was investigating what customers were told about the amount of compensation they might get, whether they were told they could make a claim for free and if they were pressurised to sign up.

Concerns centre around TCPA’s sales and advertising tactics to appeal to people who believe they might be entitled to compensation for being mis-sold a car loan.

The saga escalated during 2025 when the FCA announced plans to launch an industry-wide compensation scheme for an estimated 14 million car finance agreements it thinks were mis-sold.

The FCA has repeatedly said consumers do not need to use a claims management company (CMC) or a law firm to access its scheme, and warned that people risk losing more than 30% of their compensation as a result of unnecessary fees.

But a report backed by MPs and peers in November found that potential victims could get more redress by going through the UK courts than under the FCA’s scheme.

The All-Party Parliamentary Group on fair banking said it thinks the redress scheme could short-change millions of customers.

TCPA, which the regulator said has also gone by trading names such as Martin’s Tips and Karen’s Claims, advertises for motor finance claims and refers its customers to solicitors to handle the case.

A message on the homepage of the My Claim Group website says it has “temporarily paused new customer sign-ups” while it makes improvements to its advertising and sign-up processes.

It also refers to the FCA’s estimates that, under its scheme, consumers can typically expect to receive an average payout of £700 per car finance agreement.

“This is lower than earlier industry estimates. Any older figures you may have seen – including estimates around £4,000 – are no longer accurate following the FCA’s updated position,” a website post in December reads.

A report in The Times earlier in 2025 uncovered a promotional video by boxer Tyson Fury for My Claim Group, in which he says he is “fighting for the people” to claim money back, adding: “If you bought a vehicle on finance after 2007, you could be owed up to £4,000 in compensation.”

The post on Instagram has since been taken down, but the Facebook post remains available.

TCPA is required to stop onboarding new customers, stop publicising new financial promotions and withdraw all existing ones after making an application to the FCA in August.

The FCA said that publicising the fact it is investigating the company means its customers can consider their options.

It has not yet reached any conclusions on whether TCPA breached any regulatory requirements.

A spokesman for TCPA said it had “fully co-operated with the FCA in relation to its investigation, which we believe will exonerate our position”.

“Consumers have always been made aware that they do not need to use a claims management company in order to seek redress,” the spokesman said.

“However, many people choose to do so for a variety of reasons, including peace of mind and access to professional expertise.  

“Estimates for compensation levels in our historic advertising prior to test cases in the Supreme Court were based upon reasonable assumptions at the time of publication, and we look forward to further co-operating with the FCA in relation to this matter.”

The company added: “In the meantime, we wish to reassure consumers that we are fully able to continue to manage their compensation claims for car finance mis-selling.”