FCA DCA deadline pushback into 2025 ‘likely’
22 May 2024
The FCA is likely to delay its judgement on Direct Commission Arrangements (DCA) beyond its 26 September deadline due to an ongoing court case, senior lawyers told attendees at a VRA member meeting last week.
Jonathan Kirk KC, Daniel Bayley and Jonathan Goulding said that Barclays’ judicial review proceedings of the FOS decision to uphold a complaint relating to DCAs is unlikely to be heard before the deadline expires – and the FCA will want to hear the result of this High Court case before it makes any decision on next steps.
Kirk said any decision is likely to be deferred until 2025.
Delegates at the meeting, attended by Auto Retail Agenda, were also told that the amounts involved were substantial and retailers therefore need to think carefully about their record-keeping – but that most cases in county courts were being won by lenders and retailers, and “there is hope in the judicial review, not least because the FCA has different views on redress”.
Auto Retail Agenda is awaiting a response from the FCA. It earlier said that it will set out next steps by 24 September at the latest and “if necessary, we will extend our review and the compaint pause currently in place”.