ABM Q4 - Flipbook - Page 32
Q&A
ALPHERA Financial
Services UK
Dylan Robertson speaks with Alex Royall, director
at ALPHERA Financial Services UK, BMW Group’s UK
finance arm, about the redress scheme fallout, and
the factors that will shape the future of car finance
Has the finance commission
payments scandal damaged
trust in the sector, and is
the FCA redress scheme
resolving this?
I don’t think it has damaged trust, but it
has made an impact. The use of finance
products when buying cars, new or used,
is still very strong with UK consumers
because it’s something they have been
doing for many years.
What has changed, and for the better
in my opinion, is that there is now
much clearer customer understanding
of every element of the transaction,
particularly around commission
disclosure and consent.
The business model hasn’t changed,
and neither have commissions being paid
to our partners: it’s just customers are
now explicitly made aware of everything
upfront, and are consenting by signing
the forms to complete the purchase.
What is ALPHERA doing
to improve customer
perceptions of the sector?
This year is our 20th as a business, and
in that time we have always worked hard
to focus on what we believe to be good
customer outcomes at every interaction
of the customer’s journey through the
finance they’re requesting.
That’s right from the initial quotation,
final proposal, agreement to purchase,
and then throughout their agreement
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Q4
Q2 2026
up to the end-of-term processes. We’ve
put an extra focus on this recently, with
enhanced customer outcome training
being delivered to all our staff.
We’ve also undertaken a
comprehensive review of the customer
journey and undertaken what we refer
to as retrospective outcome testing.
Any areas identified where room for
improvement could be made, we have
enhanced processes accordingly.
Is the industry doing enough
to combat malpractice from
claims management firms?
My view is that not enough is being done,
and the route to controlling the issue and
improving the industry is enforcement
action from the regulator. The good
news from the perspective of
ALPHERA, and all other credible
operators in automotive finance,
is that action has started.
We hope things will improve
soon, but we see that controversial
behaviours are still evident and
commonplace.
Beyond this, what are
the other issues shaping
the future of car finance?
One of the biggest issues
affecting our industry is
legislation which came
into effect a year ago,
in September 2025.
It details the new
ALEX ROYALL
