Carcraft owner fined

UK Car Group (UKCG) the owner of Carcraft has been fined £91,000 by the Financial Services Authority (FSA) for failing to ensure suitable advice was given to customers who were sold payment protection insurance (PPI) between April 2007 and September 2008.

Its 10 dealerships sold 8,260 policies in the period, generating a gross income of more than £1.5m. UKCG would have been fined £130,000, but qualified for a 30 per cent discount after agreeing to settle the case at an early stage of the investigation.

Carcraft sells loans to help customers finance car purchases, and many loans included PPI from several different providers, with the most extensive covering death, accidents and unemployment.

Carcraft failed to record the advice provided to its customers in enough detail.

The FSA said that UKCG failed adequately to put right the issues raised, increasing the risk of customers receiving unsuitable advice. UKCG has paid redress where appropriate.

Carcraft, which no longer sells PPI, said: "Carcraft is disappointed that the Financial Services Authority has found it necessary to take action on an issue which occurred several years ago. However, Carcraft has fully co-operated with the FSA's investigation."