Discretionary and Undisclosed Commission Claims
Could undisclosed commission have affected what you were sold? Was advice based on the seller’s profit, not your return.
If so, you could be owed compensation or financial redress.
Claiming for Discretionary or Undisclosed Commission
Many of the complaints we deal with are from people who were unaware that a commission had been paid as part of their financial agreement. In many cases, the advice or recommendations they received was influenced by what the seller stood to earn, rather than what was right for them.
This treatment of consumers is not only unfair, it‘s unlawful – particularly where prices were adjusted to increase commissions to the seller. Fundamentally it represents abuse of trust, manipulating a relationship to the benefit of the seller, to the detriment of the consumer who relied on that advice.
The best known examples of this in recent years include the PPI scandal and, more recently, the car finance scandal where a Supreme Court ruling confirmed that unfair commission arrangements had caused widespread consumer harm, you can read more in this article:
Car Finance Ruling and Redress Scheme – What It Means for You
Claim My Loss is a trading style of HT Legal Ltd. a firm of solicitors with expertise in discretionary and undisclosed commission claims. Our team can investigate whether your trust was abused during the sale of a financial product, and whether that lack of transparency means you’re entitled to compensation or financial redress.
You can bring a discretionary or undisclosed commission claim directly against the company or individual involved. However, if you don’t feel confident approaching the firm or adviser alone, we can act on your behalf to challenge unfair commission arrangements and help you get the outcome you deserve.
Undisclosed commission claims typically arise from:
- Secret payments between lenders and brokers
- Financial advice influenced by undisclosed incentives
- Failure to explain how advisers were paid
- Biased product recommendations
- Commission arrangements not declared to the client
Professionals who breach disclosure rules may:
- Recommend products that pay them more, not benefit you
- Hide the existence or size of commission payments
- Fail to explain how commission affects cost or advice
- Steer you into a product you wouldn’t have chosen otherwise
- Mislead you into thinking the advice was impartial
These actions can damage trust - and cost you money. A successful claim may help you recover:
- The commission paid without your knowledge
- Financial losses linked to poor or conflicted advice
- Refunds of fees or charges
- Additional damages in some cases
If you are concerned that the commissions generated meant you were treated unfairly, we can help you understand your rights and recover what you may be owed.
Discretionary & Undisclosed Commission FAQs
What is a Discretionary Commission?
Discretionary Commission relates to products like Car Finance & Business Energy Claims where the broker or car dealer was allowed to increase what you pay in order to make more money.
What is an Undisclosed Commission?
An undisclosed commission means that you were not told about it, however this alone is not always enough to make a claim. For example, where a professional didn’t charge a fee, it is implied a commission was paid.
Our first job is to establish whether you’ve been treated unfairly and if so, identify what regulations and/or precedents will give you the opportunity to bring a claim.
What are common examples?
We see many cases involving:
- Car finance arranged by dealers who received hidden payments from the lender.
- Mortgage brokers failing to disclose incentives from providers.
- Pension or investment products sold with undeclared commissions.
- Business energy brokers failing to disclose commissions from suppliers, leading to inflated energy costs.
How do I know if I have a valid claim?
To bring a claim, we typically need to show:
- A commission was paid
- You weren’t informed or it wasn’t clearly disclosed
- The advice or product may have been biased as a result.
What should I do if I suspect a commission wasn’t disclosed?
First you need to establish whether the commission was discretionary or simply not disclosed, as this directly impacts how to approach your claim.
As professional regulated solicitors offering claims management services, we often take on clients without knowing whether their claim will be successful, as our discovery process can result in identifying failures which have a much higher chance of getting you the compensation you deserve.
So if you’re unsure whether you can make a claim, book a free consultation with us, and we will investigate the circumstances. Often our discovery process uncovers breaches in statutory and fiduciary duties that clients were previously unaware of.
Why choose Claim My Loss ?
At Claim My Loss (a trading style of HT Legal Ltd), we help people who have been treated unfairly. This includes where clients have unknowingly paid more than they should have for products such as car finance agreements, mortgages, and pension products, due to hidden or undisclosed commissions paid between lenders and intermediaries.
If this applies to you, we can help you understand your statutory rights and start a claim for the money you may be owed.
How could the Undisclosed Commission affect me?
Undisclosed commission can significantly increase the cost of a financial product, and undermine the integrity of the advice or recommendation you received.
As an example use our Redress Calculators to see how small percentages paid over several years can result in thousands of pounds in additional costs.
You could be affected if you:
- Took out a car finance agreement arranged by a dealer or broker who received commission from the lender
- Were sold a mortgage or remortgage deal without being told that a broker was incentivised to recommend it
- Moved or invested your pension into a product that paid high, hidden commissions to your adviser
- Signed a business energy contract where the broker received undisclosed commission from the supplier, inflating your energy costs.
In these cases, the recommendation may have been in the seller’s interests and not yours, which could mean you are entitled to financial redress for the losses you have suffered.
We have successfully helped over 600 clients gain the
compensation or redress they deserved.
Making an Discretionary or Undisclosed Commission Claim
We are a team of financial services experts and solicitors who specialise in uncovering unfair commissions, establishing how much people owed and getting them their redress or financial compensation in the most efficient way possible.
What’s the process?:
1. Free initial assessment
Share a few details about what took place and we can identify what grounds there may be to claim.
2. Write to the parties involved
The key to submitting a strong claim is to gather the evidence to make a solid assessment and work out who is responsible and what awards you may be due.
3. No Win, No Fee
We aim to handle all claims on a no win, no fee basis, so there is no upfront cost to get started. You only pay if your complaint results in money being awarded.
4. Pursue compensation
We will work to ensure that any losses you have suffered are recovered and in some cases, seek further compensation if the product was fundamentally unsuitable.
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