By Steve Conley | Academy of Life Planning
As the motor finance scandal accelerates toward a Supreme Court showdown, Lloyds Banking Group’s CEO Charlie Nunn has issued a striking claim: that there is “no evidence of harm” in the lender’s historic car finance practices.
This comes despite Lloyds reserving a staggering £1.2 billion in provisions—by far the largest among UK banks—for potential redress. Analysts warn total sector liability could reach £32 billion, with Lloyds facing a possible £4.6 billion hit in a worst-case scenario. Yet Nunn’s message to the Treasury Select Committee this week was one of dismissal rather than contrition.
What’s the Scandal?
At the heart of the case is a now-infamous sales tactic: undisclosed commissions paid to car dealers by lenders. The Court of Appeal ruled this practice unlawful, asserting that banks failed in their duty to ensure customers were adequately informed. The case now sits with the Supreme Court, which is expected to rule in July. A decision against the banks could trigger the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) to launch an industry-wide redress scheme within six weeks.
Barclays, for example, exited the motor finance market in 2019, but is reportedly fielding complaints going back over 20 years. Its UK CEO Vim Maru admits they’ve deployed “a few hundred staff” in preparation. If there’s no harm, one might ask—what are they preparing for?
Denial Versus Accountability
Nunn’s assertion that Lloyds “don’t have evidence of harm, or that we’ve broken regulation” runs counter to mounting consumer testimonies and judicial interpretation. It also raises an uncomfortable question: If there’s no harm, why the billion-pound provision?
Moreover, the attempt to frame this as a legal technicality—that the Court of Appeal is “at odds with 30 years of legislation”—sidesteps the central issue: informed consent. Consumers were locked into expensive finance deals without being told how dealer commissions might inflate the cost of credit. That’s not just poor disclosure. It’s structural exploitation.
Beyond the Banks: A Systemic Rot
This scandal mirrors wider issues across the financial services industry—where profit-driven models often prioritise opacity over transparency, and complexity over clarity. It speaks to a culture that resists accountability until the law forces its hand. And even then, as we now see, the instinct is denial.
If the Supreme Court upholds the ruling, the FCA will be obligated to act quickly. But consumers should not have to rely on court battles to receive justice. Where were the regulators for the past 20 years? Why were these practices allowed to proliferate under their watch?
A Call for Consumer Empowerment
At the Academy of Life Planning, we believe financial empowerment starts with truth, transparency, and trust. The motor finance scandal reveals how far we still have to go. If this is the moment when the truth finally catches up with the banks, then it must also be the moment we rebuild financial services around people—not products.
Consumers are not liabilities to be provisioned against. They are citizens entitled to fairness, full information, and recourse when wronged.
Let’s stop pretending this is a storm nobody saw coming. For those who’ve paid the price for hidden commissions and opaque lending, justice—though long overdue—must now be done.
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By Steve Conley. Available on Amazon. Visit www.steve.conley.co.uk to find out more.
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