Was your Fiat Fiorino sold to you under a
Personal Contract Purchase (PCP) or
Hire Purchase (HP) agreement? If so, it’s important to understand that during the period from 6 April 2007 to 1 November 2024, many such agreements were part of a wider investigation by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). The Fiat Fiorino, a reliable van for business and personal use, was commonly sold under these financing arrangements. With typical finance amounts ranging from £20,000 to £45,000 over terms of 36 to 60 months, many Fiat Fiorino owners found themselves in the midst of an industry-wide issue.
How the Fiat Fiorino Was Typically Financed
The Fiat Fiorino was often financed through Personal Contract Purchase (PCP) or Hire Purchase (HP) agreements. These arrangements were frequently offered by lenders such as
Black Horse,
Lombard,
Close Brothers Motor Finance, and Hitachi Capital Vehicle Solutions. The terms typically ranged from £20,000 to £45,000 for a period of 36 to 60 months, with the final balloon payment or option to purchase the vehicle outright at the end of the agreement.
Balloon payments are a significant aspect of PCP agreements, where you have the option to either buy the car at its residual value (the predicted future value) or return it. For many Fiat Fiorino owners, these terms provided flexibility and manageable monthly payments, but they also came with potential risks that were later scrutinised by regulatory bodies.
The FCA Motor Finance Investigation
The FCA launched a significant investigation into motor finance practices during the period from 6 April 2007 to 1 November 2024. A major issue identified was the use of
discretionary commission arrangements (DCAs) between car dealerships and lenders. These DCAs allowed dealers to receive additional payments based on how many finance agreements they could sell, which may have influenced sales practices.
The investigation found that 12.1 million eligible agreements (FCA, March 2026) by these questionable practices (FCA estimate), with an estimated total of £7.5 billion (FCA, March 2026) in mis-sold finance contracts (FCA estimate). On average, each affected agreement resulted in overpaying by approximately £829 (FCA estimate).
How to Check Your Agreement Look for any mention of "Discretionary Commission Arrangements" or “DCA” in your documentation. If these terms are present, it could indicate that you were part of a problematic arrangement.
check if your agreement was made between 6 April 2007 and 1 November 2024, the period covered by the FCA investigation. You can also reach out to your lender directly for clarification on whether your agreement is affected.
If you believe that your Fiat Fiorino’s finance agreement was mis-sold, you do not need a
claims management company to help you. Common lenders such as Black Horse, Lombard, Close Brothers Motor Finance, and Hitachi Capital Vehicle Solutions have dedicated departments to handle complaints from customers.
You can contact them directly and file a complaint for free. It is important to gather all relevant documents related to your finance agreement, including the original contract and any correspondence with your lender or dealership. Be sure to outline clearly why you believe there was an issue with how your Fiat Fiorino’s financing was sold to you.
Sources and References
- Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) estimates for affected agreements: 12.1 million (FCA estimate), total mis-selling amount of £7.5 billion (FCA, March 2026), average overpayment per agreement of £829 (FCA estimate)
- Close Brothers Motor Finance, Black Horse, Lombard, Hitachi Capital Vehicle Solutions
- Ongoing regulatory guidance and updates from the FCA and Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS)
Based on 8,434 MOT tests conducted in 2024 (source: DVSA anonymised test data), the Fiat Fiorino has a pass rate of 73.9%. This is below the national average of 79.6%, meaning the Fiorino has a higher-than-average failure rate in MOT testing.
The Fiorino pass rate is slightly below the overall Fiat average of 77.2%. The average mileage at MOT for this model is 95,634 miles.
- MOT pass rate: 73.9%
- MOT failure rate: 26.1%
- Tests analysed: 8,434 (2024 DVSA data)
- Average mileage at test: 95,634 miles
- Fiat average pass rate: 77.2%
- National average pass rate: 79.6%
Data source: DVSA anonymised MOT test results 2024, published under the Open Government Licence v3.0.