Lexus Finance Services and PowerTorque are divisions of Toyota Finance Australia.

Flex Commissions

If you entered into a car loan with Lexus Finance Services or PowerTorque through a car dealer between 1 January 2010 and 31 October 2018, you may be eligible to participate as a group member in the Flex Commissions class action.

Add-on Insurance

If you entered into a car loan with Lexus Finance Services or PowerTorque through a car dealer between 1 January 2010 and 5 October 2021, and your car loan included a Lexus or PowerTorque branded Add-on Insurance product, you may be eligible to participate as a group member in the Add-on Insurance class action.

Broadly speaking, flex commissions were paid by credit lenders to car dealers, typically under an arrangement where:

• The credit lender agreed with a car dealer on a ‘base rate’ for interest;

• The car dealer could adjust the rate offered to the customer to be above that ‘base’ interest rate; and

• The dealer was awarded a higher commission where they could get the customer to agree to a higher interest rate.

The Australian Securities and Investments Commission banned the practice of flex commissions in November 2018.

Add-on Insurance products are insurance policies which are ‘added on’ to the sale of an underlying product, such as a vehicle with finance. This class action relates to the following types of Add-on Insurance:

• Payment Protection Insurance: a form of consumer credit insurance which is intended to assist with car loan repayments if the policyholder is unable to work due to illness, injury, unemployment, or death.

• Finance Gap Insurance: intended to cover the difference between what a consumer owes on your car loan and what they receive through their comprehensive car insurance if the car is a total loss (for example, written off).

• Extended Motor Warranty (also known as Mechanical Breakdown Insurance, Factory Approved Extended Warranty): intended to extend the coverage of the car’s warranty beyond the manufacturers or dealer’s original warranty. It covers the cost of repairs or part replacements due to mechanical failure.

If you entered into a car loan with Toyota Finance after 31 October 2018 and it did not include an Add-on Insurance product, you are unlikely to meet the eligibility criteria to participate in either the Flex Commissions class action or the Add-on Insurance class action.

The Add-on Insurance class action is only bought on behalf of people who purchased the below Add-on Insurance product that was either Toyota Insurance, Lexus Insurance or PowerTorque Insurance:

1. Payment Protection or Finance Protection Insurance;

2.  Finance Gap Insurance; and

3. Factory Approved Extended Warranty Insurance or Extended Warranty Insurance.

Each of these products were underwritten by the second defendant, Aioi Nissay Dowa Insurance Company Australia (ADICA).

Toyota dealerships may have issued other brands of Add-on Insurance, but these are not the subject of this class action.

The Add-on Insurance class action is only bought on behalf of people who purchased the below Add-on Insurance products:

1. Payment Protection or Finance Protection Insurance;

2. Finance Gap Insurance; and

3. Factory Approved Extended Warranty Insurance or Extended Warranty Insurance.

The above types of insurance are different to Motor Vehicle Insurance, which may cover costs associated with a car accident or theft. Motor Vehicle Insurance is not the subject of this class action.

A class action is a process by which the claims of many people can be heard simultaneously in a single court proceeding.

You can read more about class actions on our website here.

A class action is brought by one or more persons on their own behalf and on behalf of a group of people (called group members) who have similar claims against another person or persons.

You may be eligible to participate as a group member in the Flex Commission class action if:

• If you entered into a car loan with Toyota Finance (or Lexus Finance or PowerTorque brands) through a car dealer between 1 January 2010 and 31 October 2018.

You may be eligible to participate as a group member in the Add-on Insurance class action if:

• If you entered into a car loan with Toyota Finance (or Lexus Finance or PowerTorque brands) through a car dealer between 1 January 2010 and 5 October 2021 and your car loan included Add-on Insurance.

It is possible that you may be eligible to participate as a group member in both the Flex Commissions and Add-on Insurance class actions if you entered into a car loan with Toyota Finance (or Lexus Finance or PowerTorque brands) through a car dealer between 1 January 2010 and 31 October 2018 and your car loan also included Add-on Insurance.

Registration is not compulsory at this stage, but there is no cost to register and there are a number of reasons why you may consider registering your interest for these class actions now:

• First, it may allow Echo Law to confirm whether you are a group member in either of the class actions, to provide you with updates in relation to the class actions, and to contact you if you become eligible to receive compensation.

• Second, information provided by group members will allow us to advance the proceedings.

• Third, by registering now you can ensure you avoid missing any future deadlines for registration if you are eligible to receive compensation.

You can register for someone else if you have their permission to do so. You will then receive updates and information about the class actions. If the class actions reach the stage where individual loss is assessed, we may then take steps to ensure you are a duly authorised agent or trustee of the group member you have registered for.

If you have previously registered your interest in the Flex Commissions class action and purchased Toyota Add-on Insurance with your car loan, you can rest assured we have your details. There is no need to register again for the Add-on Insurance class action.

These claims have been issued on an open class basis. This means if you meet the group member definition/s, you are automatically included as a group member in the relevant class action.

However, we would encourage you to register your interest now, to ensure that you receive regular updates in relation to the class actions as they proceed, including notification of any settlement or judgment that entitled you to compensation.

You can register by clicking the ‘Register Now’ button at the top of this page.

When you register, you will be asked several questions about your car loan and contact information.  You will also be asked to upload a copy of your car loan contract.

You should answer these questions as accurately as possible. However, if you are unable to recall any particular details or are unsure, this information can be revised at a later time.   

We may contact you to verify your registration or follow up on any outstanding information over the course of the class action.  

Group members can exclude themselves from the class actions by taking steps to opt out of the class actions. This is called the ‘opt out’ process and will occur at a later stage in the proceedings.

Group members who have opted out of one or both the claims will not be bound by the outcomes, will not be eligible for compensation through the class actions and will preserve their own individual claims.

There is nothing you need to do at the moment if you do not wish to participate in one or both of the class actions. If you are an eligible group member, you will be contacted at a later date  about opting out.

Group members in a class action are not individually responsible for the legal costs associated with bringing a class action and group members do not pay out of pocket costs by participating in a class action.

If the class actions are successful and financial compensation is recovered from Toyota and/or ADICA, legal costs payable and a funding commission for the litigation funder will be deducted from the amount of compensation recovered from group members. These costs will never exceed the amount of compensation to which you may otherwise become entitled, and will be assessed by the Court to ensure any legal costs and funding commission deducted from the amount of compensation are fair and reasonable.

The lawyers running the claims are from the law firm Echo Law.

Echo Law is a class actions focused law firm founded by experienced legal professionals who have a proven track record of success in the industry.

You can read more about us, and our track record on our website here.

The class actions against Toyota Financial Services Australia and/or Aioi Nissay Dowa Insurance Company Australia are being funded by Litigation Lending Services.

Litigation Lending Services was established over two decades ago in 1999 and is a leading pioneer in the litigation funding industry. You can read more about Litigation Lending Services here.

If you have a question that has not been answered, you can email us at enquiries@echolaw.com.au