The Nissan NV400 was commonly sold on
Personal Contract Purchase (PCP) and
Hire Purchase (HP) finance agreements during the Financial Conduct Authority's (FCA) investigation period, which spans from 6 April 2007 to 1 November 2024. This period saw significant issues with
discretionary commission arrangements within motor finance products offered by various lenders.
How the Nissan NV400 was Typically Financed
The Nissan NV400 is a versatile van model that was widely available on PCP and HP finance agreements during the FCA investigation period. Commonly, these agreements involved financing amounts ranging from £20,000 to £45,000 over terms of 36 to 60 months. Lenders such as
Black Horse,
Lombard,
Close Brothers Motor Finance, and Hitachi Capital Vehicle Solutions frequently provided finance for the NV400.
In PCP agreements, a balloon payment is typically required at the end of the term if you wish to own the vehicle outright or trade it in for another model. This final payment can be substantial, often exceeding £10,000 depending on the agreement's terms and conditions.
The FCA Motor Finance Investigation
The FCA launched an investigation into discretionary commission arrangements within motor finance products from April 2007 to November 2024. These arrangements allowed dealerships to receive additional payments beyond their initial commission based on factors such as early settlement or refinancing of the loan, which could lead to inflated costs for consumers.
The FCA's findings revealed that 12.1 million eligible agreements (FCA, March 2026) by these practices (FCA estimate), resulting in an estimated £7.5 billion (FCA, March 2026) total overpayment across all affected customers (FCA estimate). On average, each customer paid around £829 more than they should have due to the discretionary commission arrangements (FCA estimate).
How to Check Your Agreement Date of Purchase: Ensure that your vehicle was purchased between 6 April 2007 and 1 November 2024.
2.
Finance Agreement Terms: Look for any mention of discretionary commission arrangements or additional payments to dealers beyond the standard commissions.
3.
DCA Marking: Check if your agreement is marked with "DCA" (Discretionary
Commission Arrangement). If it is, this indicates that the arrangement was in place at the time of purchase.
By carefully examining these elements within your finance agreement, you can better understand whether you are eligible to seek redress from your lender.
If you suspect that your Nissan NV400's finance agreement is affected by the FCA investigation findings, you should contact your finance provider directly. Common lenders such as Black Horse, Lombard, Close Brothers Motor Finance, and Hitachi Capital Vehicle Solutions typically have dedicated teams ready to address customer concerns.
When making a complaint, provide detailed information about your Nissan NV400's purchase date and any evidence of DCA marking in your agreement. you do not need to involve a
claims management company; complaining directly to your lender for free is your best course of action.
Sources and References
- Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), 2024
- ONS Census, 2021
Based on 6,842 MOT tests conducted in 2024 (source: DVSA anonymised test data), the Nissan Nv400 has a pass rate of 73.9%. This is below the national average of 79.6%, meaning the Nv400 has a higher-than-average failure rate in MOT testing.
The Nv400 pass rate is slightly below the overall Nissan average of 77.7%. The average mileage at MOT for this model is 115,790 miles.
- MOT pass rate: 73.9%
- MOT failure rate: 26.1%
- Tests analysed: 6,842 (2024 DVSA data)
- Average mileage at test: 115,790 miles
- Nissan average pass rate: 77.7%
- National average pass rate: 79.6%
Data source: DVSA anonymised MOT test results 2024, published under the Open Government Licence v3.0.