Motor Trade Legal News

We want to use this week’s article to warn members of a potential scam. Spectre LawFirm We have recently been contacted by a number of motor dealers who have received an email from a company named Spectre LawFirm regarding a potential trademark dispute. In the correspondence, Spectre LawFirm states that it is ‘reaching out’ to […]

Legal Analysis of the Parties’ Legal Submissions to the Supreme Court. On 1st to the 3rd of April 2025, the Supreme Court heard submissions in Hopcraft and another (Respondents) v Close Brothers Limited (Appellant), the landmark case dealing with undisclosed car finance commissions. At the close of the process, the Court indicated that a decision […]

Summary of Legal Submissions Presented to the Supreme Court (April 1st to April 3rd 2025) For the UK motor dealer, the three days of hearing boiled down to two questions: What duty, if any, does the dealer have to the consumer when selling/arranging finance? Whatever the duty, does the commission payment result in an unfair […]

The third day day of the Supreme Court hearing began with submissions by Johnson, Wrench and Hopcraft continuing from the day before. Johnson, Wrench and Hopcraft’s tactics with regards the fiduciary duty immediately became clear as they tried to establish that motor dealers have undertaken a classic finance broker role in assessing a customer’s needs […]

The second day day of the Supreme Court hearing began with submissions by Close Brothers and FirstRand Bank regarding secret commissions and the case of Hurstanger. Close Brothers and FirstRand Bank sought to establish that different remedies should be considered where the dealer disclosed the existence of commission, but not the amount. In reality this […]

The first day of the Supreme Court hearing took place yesterday (1st April) in the case of Johnson v FirstRand Bank Ltd, Wrench v FirstRand Bank Ltd and Hopcraft v Close Brothers Ltd. [2024] UKSC 2024/0157; 2024/0158 and 2024/0159.  Whilst the next three days will not immediately provide a definitive answer to what duty, if any, motor […]

You would have to have your head buried very deep in the sand, if you are in our industry, not to have heard about the landmark decision in The Court of Appeal in the case of Johnson v FirstRand Bank Ltd, Wrench v FirstRand Bank Ltd and Hopcraft v Close Brothers Ltd. [2024] EWCA Civ […]

The Working Time Regulations (WTR) entitle full-time employees and workers to 28-days/ 5.6 weeks of paid holiday per year. In the UK this 28-day period is customarily broken down into 20 days as basic annual leave, with the remaining 8 days to be taken as bank holidays. There is no requirement for these 8 days […]

Following on from the seismic changes brought on by the decision in Johnson v FirstRand Bank Ltd, Wrench v FirstRand Bank Ltd and Hopcraft v Close Brothers Ltd. [2024] EWCA Civ 1282, dealers and finance institutions have been waiting to see how the Supreme Court will rule. With the matter set to be heard 01-03 […]

On 20 January 2025 the government laid regulations before parliament to activate The Neonatal Care (Leave and Pay) Act 2023. Subject to parliamentary approval, from 06 April 2025 The Neonatal Care (Leave and Pay) Act will grant employees the right to take up to 12 weeks leave. Neonatal Care Leave Statutory Neonatal Care Pay (NCP) […]