Complaints Procedure

Need to report an issue?

Please see our formal complaint policy below.

At ALD Automotive, we aim to provide our customers with high service standards. However, we understand that there may be occasions when you feel that you have cause for complaint. In such instances, we want to put things right first time and with the aid of your comments can improve our services still further.

How to contact us

You can contact us with details of your complaint by letter, e-mail, or telephone. If you write to us, please address your complaint to the Complaints Team, ALD Automotive, Oakwood Drive, Emersons Green, Bristol, BS16 7LB. Should you wish to register your complaint verbally, please contact your Sales consultant or Account Manager or the Complaints Team on 0117 908 6589. If you wish to contact us by e-mail, please title your e-mail “Quality Department” and send to qualityuk@aldautomotive.com

What happens next?

We will acknowledge your complaint within five working days of receiving it. We will always deal with complaints as quickly as we can and will carry out a full and impartial investigation of the issues you raise, although some complaints may take longer to resolve. If the investigation is still incomplete after eight weeks, we will write to you again and explain what stage the process has reached and how we are planning to proceed.

Important notice for customers complaint about motor finance commission arrangements

On the 11 January 2024, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) announced their intention to review historical motor finance Discretionary Commission Arrangements (DCA) across the motor finance sector. They announced a temporary change to the complaint-handling rules for customers affected by DCA. On 24 September 2024, the FCA released an update on their ongoing review and issued further guidelines on how these complaints must be handled. The pause was then widened on 20 December 2024, so the FCA have now given firms until after the 4 December 2025 before they have to start responding to any type of car finance commission complaint (including DCAs). The FCA plans to issue the findings of their investigation and next steps for motor finance firms in May 2025.

The current guidelines for complaints about car finance commission arrangements are:

The current pause to the time firms have to issue final responses is 4th December 2025. As a result, we will not be in a position to issue final responses to commission complaints until after then.
More time is allowed to refer complaints to the Financial Ombudsman when a final response is issued. Instead of the usual 6 months, the deadline has been extended. If you are sent a final response during the following periods:
- For a complaint about a DCA, between 12 July 2023 and 20 June 2024
- For a complaint about any kind of motor finance commission (including DCAs), between 21 June 2024 and 29 January 2026

You will have until the later of 29 July 2026 or 15 months from the date the final response was sent to take the complaint to the Financial Ombudsman.

For further details about the FCA’s work and the reason for the pause to DCA complaints, please visit their website.

Complaints Data

At ALD Automotive, we aim to provide our customers with high service standards and we look to provide a fair outcome in the event a customer is unhappy.

01 January 2024 - 30 June 2024

Firm Name: ALD Automotive

Group: Societe General Group

Other Firms included in this report (if any) : N/A

Period covered in this report: 01 January 2024 - 30 June 2024

Brands/Trading names covered: ALD Automotive, Ford Lease, Vauxhall Leasing, Hyundai Contract Hire, Lombard Vehicle Solutions, Mazda Contract Hire, Kia Contract Hire, NatWest Flex Car Finance, Polestar Leasing.

Product/Service Grouping	Complaints opened	Complaints closed	% closed within 3 days	% closed after 3 days within 8 weeks	% Upheld	Main cause of opened complaints
Insurance and Pure Protection	0	0	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
Credit Related	838	907	12.3%	64.2%	49.0%	N/A

Putting these figures into context:

Insurance and Pure Protection: ALD Automotive has not been involved with the selling of Payment Protection Insurance products since 2007 and we have no current policies in force. The number noted above is in relation to customers who had a complaint upheld with a successful PPI reclaim. The figure excludes those customers who complained but were not upheld as they did not have PPI cover included in their agreement.

Credit Related: The total number of complaints received is equivalent to 23.0 per 1000 accounts against our total fleet size of Regulated customers.

This figure is further broken down as follows.

Of the 838 complaints received during this period:

659 or 78.6% of complaints received in this period relate to the product provided by ALD Automotive (This equates to 18.3 per 1000 Regulated accounts)

179 complaints or 21.4% of complaints received in this period represent mechanical or technical issues with the vehicle financed by ALD, though not necessarily supplied by ALD (This equates to 4.7 per 1000 Regulated accounts).

01 July 2023 - 31 December 2023

Firm Name: ALD Automotive

Group: Societe General Group

Other Firms included in this report (if any) : N/A

Period covered in this report: 01 July 2023 - 31 December 2023

Product/Service Grouping	Complaints opened	Complaints closed	% closed within 3 days	% closed after 3 days within 8 weeks	% Upheld	Main cause of opened complaints
Insurance and Pure Protection	0	0	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
Credit Related	998	1075	24.7%	54.7%	58.2%	N/A

Putting these figures into context:

Credit Related: The total number of complaints received is equivalent to 24.4 per 1000 accounts against our total fleet size of Regulated customers.

This figure is further broken down as follows.

Of the 998 complaints received during this period:

785 or 78.6% of complaints received in this period relate to the product provided by ALD Automotive (This equates to 19.2 per 1000 Regulated accounts)

213 complaints or 21.4% of complaints received in this period represent mechanical or technical issues with the vehicle financed by ALD, though not necessarily supplied by ALD (This equates to 5.2 per 1000 Regulated accounts).

01 January 2023 - 30 June 2023

Firm Name: ALD Automotive

Group: Societe General Group

Other Firms included in this report (if any) : N/A

Period covered in this report: 01 January 2023 - 30 June 2023

Product/Service Grouping	Complaints opened	Complaints closed	% closed within 3 days	% closed after 3 days within 8 weeks	% Upheld	Main cause of opened complaints
Insurance and Pure Protection	0	0	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
Credit Related	1342	1428	N/A	N/A	63%	N/A

Putting these figures into context:

Credit Related: The total number of complaints received is equivalent to 34.0 per 1000 accounts against our total fleet size of Regulated customers.

This figure is further broken down as follows.

Of the 1342 complaints received during this period:

1103 or 82.1% of complaints received in this period relate to the product provided by ALD Automotive (This equates to 27.9 per 1000 Regulated accounts)

239 complaints or 17.8% of complaints received in this period represent mechanical or technical issues with the vehicle financed by ALD, though not necessarily supplied by ALD (This equates to 6.1 per 1000 Regulated accounts).

01 July 2022 - 31 December 2022

Firm Name: ALD Automotive

Group: Societe General Group

Other Firms included in this report (if any) : N/A

Period covered in this report: 01 July 2022 - 31 December 2022

Product/Service Grouping	Complaints opened	Complaints closed	% closed within 3 days	% closed after 3 days within 8 weeks	% Upheld	Main cause of opened complaints
Insurance and Pure Protection	0	0	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
Credit Related	1768	2140	N/A	N/A	63%	N/A

Putting these figures into context:

Credit Related: The total number of complaints received is equivalent to 35 per 1000 accounts against our total fleet size of Regulated customers.

This figure is further broken down as follows.

Of the 1768 complaints received during this period:

1500 or 85% of complaints received in this period relate to the product provided by ALD Automotive (This equates to 30 per 1000 Regulated accounts)

268 complaints or 15% of complaints received in this period represent mechanical or technical issues with the vehicle financed by ALD, though not necessarily supplied by ALD (This equates to 5.3 per 1000 Regulated accounts).

01 January 2022 - 30 June 2022

Firm Name: ALD Automotive

Group: Societe General Group

Other Firms included in this report (if any) : N/A

Period covered in this report: 01 January 2022 - 30 June 2022

Product/Service Grouping	Complaints opened	Complaints closed	% closed within 3 days	% closed after 3 days within 8 weeks	% Upheld	Main cause of opened complaints
Insurance and Pure Protection	0	0	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
Credit Related	2992	2631	N/A	N/A	72%	N/A

Putting these figures into context:

Credit Related: The total number of complaints received is equivalent to 50.7 per 1000 accounts against our total fleet size of Regulated customers.

This figure is further broken down as follows.

Of the 2992 complaints received during this period:

2673 or 89.3% of complaints received in this period relate to the product provided by ALD Automotive (This equates to 45.4 per 1000 Regulated accounts)

319 complaints or 10.7% of complaints received in this period represent mechanical or technical issues with the vehicle financed by ALD, though not necessarily supplied by ALD (This equates to 5.3 per 1000 Regulated accounts).

01 July 2021 - 31 December 2021

Firm Name: ALD Automotive

Group: Societe General Group

Other Firms included in this report (if any) : N/A

Period covered in this report: 01 July 2021 - 31 December 2021

Product/Service Grouping	Complaints opened	Complaints closed	% closed within 3 days	% closed after 3 days within 8 weeks	% Upheld	Main cause of opened complaints
Insurance and Pure Protection	0	0	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
Credit Related	1766	1480	N/A	N/A	58%	N/A

Putting these figures into context:

Credit Related: The total number of complaints received is equivalent to 27 per 1000 accounts against our total fleet size of Regulated customers.

This figure is further broken down as follows.

Of the 1766 complaints received during this period:

1514 or 86% of complaints received in this period relate to the product provided by ALD Automotive (This equates to 23 per 1000 Regulated accounts)

252 complaints or 14% of complaints received in this period represent mechanical or technical issues with the vehicle financed by ALD, though not necessarily supplied by ALD (This equates to 3.9 per 1000 Regulated accounts).

01 January 2021 - 30 June 2021

Firm Name: ALD Automotive

Group: Societe General Group

Other Firms included in this report (if any) : N/A

Period covered in this report: 01 January 2021 - 30 June 2021

Product/Service Grouping	Complaints opened	Complaints closed	% closed within 3 days	% closed after 3 days within 8 weeks	% Upheld	Main cause of opened complaints
Insurance and Pure Protection	0	0	N/A	N/A	0%	N/A
Credit Related	1875	1879	N/A	N/A	63%	N/A

Putting these figures into context:

Credit Related: The total number of complaints received is equivalent to 27 per 1000 accounts against our total fleet size of Regulated customers.

This figure is further broken down as follows.

Of the 1875 complaints received during this period:

1634 or 87% of complaints received in this period relate to the product provided by ALD Automotive (This equates to 24 per 1000 Regulated accounts)

241 complaints or 13% of complaints received in this period represent mechanical or technical issues with the vehicle financed by ALD, though not necessarily supplied by ALD (This equates to 3.5 per 1000 Regulated accounts).

01 July 2020 - 31 December 2020

Firm Name: ALD Automotive

Group: Societe General Group

Other Firms included in this report (if any) : N/A

Period covered in this report: 01 July 2020 - 31 Dec 2020

Product/Service Grouping	Complaints opened	Complaints closed	% closed within 3 days	% closed after 3 days within 8 weeks	% Upheld	Main cause of opened complaints
Insurance and Pure Protection	1	2	0%	100%	100%	Mis-selling
Credit Related	1463	1308	N/A	N/A	70%	N/A

To put these figures into context:

Credit Related: The total number of complaints received is equivalent to 20 per 1000 accounts against our total fleet size of Regulated customers.

This figure is further broken down as follows.

Of the 1463 complaints received during this period:

1264 or 86% of complaints are regarding the product provided by ALD Automotive (This equates to 17.52 per 1000 Regulated accounts)

199 complaints or 14% of complaints received in this period represent mechanical or technical issues with the vehicle financed by ALD, though not necessarily supplied by ALD (This equates to 2.75 per 1000 Regulated accounts).

01 January 2020 - 30 June 2020

Firm Name: ALD Automotive

Group: Societe General Group

Other Firms included in this report (if any) : N/A

Period covered in this report: 01 January 2020 - 30 June 2020

Brands/Trading names covered: ALD Automotive, Ford Lease, Vauxhall Leasing, Hyundai Contract Hire, Lombard Vehicle Solutions, Mazda Contract Hire, Kia Contract Hire, NatWest Flex Car Finance.

Product/Service Grouping	Complaints opened	Complaints closed	% closed within 3 days	% closed after 3 days within 8 weeks	% Upheld	Main cause of opened complaints
Insurance and Pure Protection	1	1	100%	N/A	100%	Mis-selling
Credit Related	778	832	N/A	N/A	56%	N/A

Putting these figures into context:

Credit Related: The total number of complaints received is equivalent to 10.16 per 1000 accounts against our total fleet size of Regulated customers.

This figure is further broken down as follows.

Of the 778 complaints received during this period:

630 or 81% of complaints received in this period relate to the product provided by ALD Automotive (This equates to 8.23 per 1000 Regulated accounts)

148 complaints or 19% of complaints received in this period represent mechanical or technical issues with the vehicle financed by ALD, though not necessarily supplied by ALD (This equates to 1.93 per 1000 Regulated accounts).

01 July 2019 - 31 December 2019

Firm Name: ALD Automotive

Group: Societe General Group

Other Firms included in this report (if any) : N/A

Period covered in this report: 01 July 2019 - 31 December 2019

Brands/Trading names covered: ALD Automotive, Ford Lease, Vauxhall Leasing, Hyundai Contract Hire, Lombard Vehicle Solutions, Mazda Contract Hire, Kia Contract Hire, NatWest Flex Car Finance.

Product/Service Grouping	Complaints opened	Complaints closed	% closed within 3 days	% closed after 3 days within 8 weeks	% Upheld	Main cause of opened complaints
Insurance and Pure Protection	3	3	9%	100%	100%	Mis-selling
Credit Related	1058	989	N/A	N/A	57%	N/A

Putting these figures into context:

Credit Related: The total number of complaints received is equivalent to 13.58 per 1000 accounts against our total fleet size of Regulated customers.

This figure is further broken down as follows.

Of the 1058 complaints received during this period:

218 or 20% of complaints received in this period represent mechanical or technical issues with the vehicle financed by ALD, though not necessarily supplied by ALD (This equates to 2.79 per 1000 Regulated accounts).

01 January 2019 - 30 June 2019

Firm Name: ALD Automotive

Group: Societe General Group

Other Firms included in this report (if any) : N/A

Period covered in this report: 01 January 2019 - 30 June 2019

Brands/Trading names covered: ALD Automotive, Ford Lease, Vauxhall Leasing, Hyundai Contract Hire, Lombard Vehicle Solutions, Mazda Contract Hire, Kia Contract Hire, NatWest Flex Car Finance.

Product/Service Grouping	Complaints opened	Complaints closed	% closed within 3 days	% closed after 3 days within 8 weeks	% Upheld	Main cause of opened complaints
Insurance and Pure Protection	7	8	25%	75%	100%	Mis-selling
Credit Related	730	669	N/A	N/A	49%	N/A

To put these figures into context:

Credit Related: The total number of complaints received is equivalent to 10.13 per 1000 accounts against our total fleet size of Regulated customers.

This figure is further broken down as follows.

Of the 730 complaints received during this period:

582 or 80% of complaints are regarding the product provided by ALD Automotive (This equates to 8.07 per 1000 Regulated accounts)

148 complaints or 20% of complaints received in this period represent mechanical or technical issues with the vehicle financed by ALD, though not necessarily supplied by ALD (This equates to 2.05 per 1000 Regulated accounts)

Get Help

Visit our HelpHub