The unlikely architect of the £13billion car finance scandal: How factory supervisor from Wales helped expose ‘PPI 2.0’ after taking loan firm to court over ‘secret’ commission from sale of his £6,500 Suzuki Swift

He is the factory worker from Wales who unwittingly helped to expose a £13billion car loans scandal, in a financial fiasco so seismic it has been dubbed ‘PPI 2.0’.

Marcus Johnson, 34, from Cwmbran in south Wales, bought his £6,500 Suzuki Swift from a dealership in Cardiff in 2017 shortly after passing his driving test. 

Aged just 27 at the time and earning around £13,000 a year, he couldn’t afford to buy his new run-around outright, so he took out a finance deal with MotoNovo that cost £154 a month over five years, plus a £100 deposit. 

However, what he didn’t realise was his car dealer received a ‘secret’ commission payment of £1,651 – roughly a quarter of the amount he borrowed.

The dealership had an agreement with MotoNovo – which is owned by the South African bank FirstRand – that guaranteed it first refusal on finance. They also had a commission deal with the lender. 

But Marcus was never told about this. The first time he heard of the arrangement was from a lawyer…