FAQs

Please let us know your new bank details as soon as possible so we can continue to receive your payments and prevent your agreement falling into arrears.  You can let us know by calling us on 01244 200746 and we will be happy to set up the new direct debit over the phone.

The accuracy and security of your personal data is really important to us.  We can make changes to your contact details and address online but changes of name will mean that you need to write to us with a little more information.

To advise us of a change of address or contact numbers please click the button below

Unfortunately, we are unable to accept a name change request online.  Please write to us at the address below advising us of your old and new name and providing a copy of any relevant supporting documentation such as a Deed Poll notification, marriage certificate or Decree Nisi/Absolute.  Please do not send us original documentation.  We also require an example of your old and new signature for our records.

Our responsibilities under the Data Protection laws mean that we are only allowed to speak to you about your finance agreements. However, if you would like to nominate a third party to speak on your behalf you can arrange this with us.

There are a number of ways you can nominate a third party. These include:

• Completing a Third Party Authorisation form. You can either email it to us at collections.admin@smfmotor.com or you can post it to us at the address on the website.
• Over the telephone
• Sending in an original, or certified copy of a Power of Attorney

To part exchange your vehicle you will first need to contact us to obtain a settlement figure, this is the sum needed to clear your current finance agreement. Once you have this figure you can then approach any dealership or car sales garage that offers part exchange and sell the current vehicle to them for the price of the settlement figure, which they will need to pay directly to us.

If there is a difference between the price the dealership, or garage, will offer for your car and the price of the settlement figure then you will be liable for that sum. The shortfall will need to be cleared before being accepted by ourselves for more finance, as we do not accept applications with negative equity.

The first thing you should do is to contact the police and report the theft so that you can obtain a crime number which will be required by your insurance company prior to settling any claim.  Until the insurance company has resolved the matter you will need to carry on making your normal monthly payments and it may also be necessary to continue to pay the difference between the insurance settlement and any remaining outstanding monies owed against the agreement to settle the account in full.

Until the insurance company has resolved the matter you will need to continue making your normal monthly payments and it may also be necessary to continue to pay the difference between the insurance settlement and any remaining outstanding monies owed against the agreement to settle the account in full.

Your first port of call will always be to refer any vehicle issues back to the dealer where you purchased the car. Being aware of your rights will help to inform this. This will be the most efficient way to deal with any vehicle issues

If you are struggling to find a satisfactory solution between yourself and the dealer, please call us on 01244 200746 and we will endeavour to be a mediator and help to find the appropriate solution.
While we only provide the finance for the vehicle and not the vehicle itself, we do understand how frustrating and disheartening problems with your vehicle can be.

There are very specific rights surrounding what you can do if you have vehicle issues all based on how long you’ve had the car and what was sold to you.

If you have had your car under 30 days – click here
If you have had your car under 6 months – click here
If you have had your car over 6 months – click here

There is something wrong with my car – under 30 days

If you no longer wish to keep the vehicle you have a short term right to reject:

You can reject the vehicle and receive a full refund if any of the statutory rights have not been met, within 30 days from the latter of:
• The transfer of possession, as stated in the agreement.
• Delivery of the vehicle
• Notification of installation
• You have shown that the fault exists or existed at the time the vehicle was delivered.
• Or you can prove that this fault was developing at the point of purchase and has not been caused by wear and tear in your tenure.

To learn more about your statutory right please click here

There is something wrong with my car – under 6 months

If you wish to keep the vehicle you have will need to seek repair or replacement:
You can make a claim against the trader to repair or replace within six years from the date the vehicle has been delivered.

Within six months of the vehicle being delivered it is assumed the fault was present at the time you took possession. The burden of proof sits with the trader to prove otherwise.

You have to show that the fault exists and the vehicle is not of satisfactory quality or fit for purpose, but after 30 days and before 6 months if the fault is proved it is assumed it was present at the point of delivery.

There is something wrong with my car – over 6 months

If you wish to keep the vehicle you have will need to seek repair or replacement:
You can make a claim against the trader to repair or replace within six years from the date the vehicle has been delivered.

After six months and up to six years you can only exercise your rights to repair or replace if you have proof the fault existed on the date you took possession of the vehicle.

To learn more about what proof is required please click here

There is no legal remedy under the CRA for a consumer if they find fault with a vehicle 6 years or more after the date of delivery, even if they have proof that the fault was there at the time they took possession of the vehicle.

For the benefit of this section CRA refers to the Consumer Rights Act 2015 (CRA).

Statutory rights
• The vehicle being sold must meet the standard of what a reasonable person would consider to be satisfactory, taking into account a range of factors including – description, age, price and other statements the retailer makes about the vehicle.
• The vehicle must be fit for purpose – We do not finance cars intended to be used for work vehicles such as taxis, driving instruction vehicle or farming vehicles. But if you indicate the car is to be used by a family of 5 then the vehicle sold must be suitable.
• The vehicle is as described by the salesperson and related marketing.
• The pre-contract information provided is treated as a term of the agreement.
• The vehicle matches a sample of the vehicle, seen or examined, or the vehicle matches the model seen or examined – you must be made aware of any differences in the specification or quality of the model delivered if different to that advertised or demonstrated.
• The vehicle, including any instruments or digital devices, has to be ready to use on delivery.
• Any goods included with the purchase should be in good working order such as a satellite navigation, on-board computer, phone etc.
• The trader has the right to sell the vehicle – they have title to the vehicle in order to sell it to the customer.
• There are no other requirements / assumptions to be made about the quality of the vehicle within the agreement, unless a term has been expressly included.

Repair
• If a repair is opted for the trader has one opportunity at repairing the vehicle, this must be actioned at no cost to you, within a reasonable time and without causing significant inconvenience.
• If the right to repair is exercised within the first 30 days the clock on the short term right to reject stops running and only restarts once the vehicle has been repaired and returned to you.
• A further 7 days is allowed for you to determine if the vehicle is satisfactory, on top of any time left within the initial 30 day period.

Replacement
You can opt to have your vehicle replaced but only if this is not disproportionate compared to first having it repaired. For example, if a minor relatively low cost repair was required you cannot opt to have the vehicle replaced.

This would result in a new agreement being set up on a different vehicle as finance is secured against a specific vehicle, this would be discussed in more details with you should be the outcome.

Final right to reject or price reduction

If the repair is not successful (or another fault appears), it is not possible to repair the vehicle or the repair is not made within a reasonable timeframe you can exercise your rights to:

Reject – You hand back the vehicle to the trader and will receive a refund including either the return of any part exchanged vehicle or cash equivalent. A special provision in the legislation for motor vehicles allows the trader to make a deduction for usage of the vehicle – the calculation of which must be consistent for all customers. A deduction can only be applied over the first 30 days
A price reduction – You can keep the vehicle but the trader must apply an ‘appropriate’ price reduction agreed to by yourself.

You can only exercise either their right to reject or a price reduction but not both.

There are provisions in the legislation which indicate that the consumer cannot require the trader to either repair or replace the goods, if this is impossible to do, or one remedy is disproportionate compared to another. For example, you might ask for the car to be repaired that is beyond repair ((impossible or uneconomical), in which case you would have to reject the vehicle, or you might ask for a vehicle to be replaced despite only a minor repair required (disproportionate or uneconomical). A right is deemed disproportionate if it imposes costs on the trader which, compared to those imposed by the other right, are unreasonable.

Definition of ‘proof’
What constitutes a fault or a breach of the statutory rights can sometimes depend on the standard of proof applied. For the purposes of the CRA, since the legislation is civil in nature, the courts would apply the ‘balance of probability’ standard – assessing the accounts given by both the trader and consumer (covering a wide range of circumstances) and determining which argument is likely to be more probable.

We remain objective and consider all of the factors including the age and condition of the vehicle, mileage etc.

Types of proof we accept include, but are not limited to:
• Diagnostic report from a VAT registered garage – they must confirm a description of your vehicle, including the make, model, registration mark and current mileage, together with detail of the identified fault(s) and an estimate for repair.

• An independent inspection could be obtained from one of the following companies;
Scotia – 01475 521 203
http://www.scotiavehicleinspection.com/

Automotive Consultant Engineers – 0845 074 3644
http://www.ace-uk.org

DEKRA – 0800 334 5678
https://www.dekra-expert.co.uk/vehicle.inspections/book.a.vehicle.inspection

Please consider the cost of the reports in comparison to the repairs you are seeking assistance with. On average these reports can cost from £100 upwards. Should the burden of proof lie with you, the consumer, you will be required to pay for this inspection in order to seek assistance.

How do we calculate settlement figures?
Settlement figures are calculated in accordance with the rules of the Consumer Credit Act 1974.
Under these rules, if you settle your agreement early you are entitled to a rebate of interest.
The way in which the rebate is calculated is referred to as the Actuarial method.

Example: If you take out a HP Car Finance product for £5,000 to be repaid over 48 monthly instalments at an APR of 14.0%, you will pay the first month’s interest on £5,000 but after that you will only pay interest on the balance each month.
– The Repayment amount is the agreed fixed amount you pay each month and includes interest.
– The Interest amount is calculated on the closing balance and reduces each month, therefore you pay less interest each month.
– The closing balance reduces by the Repayment amount, and increases by the interest amount each month.

The application shown above will apply to every agreement, but the figures will change depending on the term, interest charged and amount financed.
Your agreement shows the details of how much you have financed, the interest rate and the term length.
Each repayment you make is made up of both capital and interest and the proportion of capital and interest will vary each month. In the earlier months of your agreement, you will pay more interest than in the later months of the agreement.

Settlement figures are valid for 28 days after the date requested; referred to as the Settlement Date.
The settlement figure includes an additional 30 days of interest after the settlement date as allowed under the Consumer Credit Act 1974, this is refered to as the Deferred Date.

Settlement figure calculation:
Once the settlement date has been decided, we calculate your settlement figure by taking the current balance of all remaining repayment amounts on your account, minus your calculated Rebate of Interest.
The Rebate of Interest figure is the balance of all remaining interest amounts on your account from the deferred date.

To find out what your current settlement figure is please call 01244 200746.

You can find the due date of your payments in your Welcome Pack and you can give us a call to confirm this information.  First payments must be made within 45 days of you signing your credit agreement.  The first payment to your agreement must be made from the verified bank account that you provided us with on your application for credit.

If you would like to change the date on which your payment is due to be taken, you can ask us to change it to a more convenient date.  We don’t charge for the first change in date, subsequent changes may reflect a fee:

• You may request a payment date change as many times as you wish, however payments must be made within the calendar month they are due
• Any change must be requested at least 10 days before the next payment is due to allow us time to process your request

If you would like to request a change to your payment date please click the button below and complete and submit the form.

You can partially or fully settle your agreement at any time by letting us know that you wish to do so and paying off some or all of the amount that you owe. It is possible to reduce the length of your agreement in this way. The minimum lump sum that we can accept is £100. Please click on the button below to obtain a quote for full settlement or to make a partial settlement.

Voluntary Termination – Download Voluntary Termination pack here
Go Appraise Walk Through
Go Appraise (external link)

Breathing Space may not be for everyone and it is important that you speak to a Debt Advisor to assess if this is the best option for you. Just to note that Breathing Space can only be applied for through an FCA authorised debt advisor. If you are experiencing financial difficulties you can find help here.
Once you have discussed your options with a Debt Advisor they will assess, and if agreed, they will notify us of your Breathing Space Order. Once this has been received, we will review and contact you with confirmation of receipt.
Your Debt Advisor will go through all relevant regulations with you, but the key points of note, in relation to your Hire Purchase agreement, are:

• When Breathing Space is applied to your Hire Purchase Agreement it is only in relation to interest accrued on arrears. Under a Breathing Space order, there will be no fees or additional interest charged to you during this period, and you need to be aware that the previous arrears will show as missed payments on your credit file.
• While your Breathing Space Order is in place, you will receive no contact from us by email, phone, text or letter regarding your arrears, but please be aware that any statutory letters are still required to be issued to comply with the Consumer Credit Act 1974 and/or FCA regulations and will still be sent.
• During your Breathing Space period, you are expected to maintain all contractual payments that are due. Failure to make any due payments could result in the Breathing Space Order being cancelled.

We always consider requests for reduced payments on an individual basis.

We are happy to consider reducing your repayments and whilst we look at every case on an individual basis, there are a number of factors we take into consideration before any decision is made. These factors include:

• Type of Agreement
• Reason for financial difficulties
• Affordability

Printable Income & Expenditure form

MoneyHelper
For free, unbiased and easy-to-access money tools, information and advice, visit www.moneyhelper.org.uk or phone 0800 138 7777.

Money Advice Scotland
If you live in Scotland, visit www.moneyadvicescotland.org.uk to find contact details for debt advice in your local area.

Citizens Advice
For advice and information on debt and other topics, visit your local Citizens Advice or go to www.citizensadvice.org.uk.

Citizens Advice Wales
If you live in Wales, you can call Adviceline on 0300 330 1313 if you want to speak to someone about your debts. Remember, calls cost 12p per minute from a landline, and from 3p to 45p from a mobile so perhaps try to do on the web site www.citizensadvice.org.uk/wales/debt-andmoney.

AdviceUK
Member centres offer debt advice including specialist advice for minority communities and people with disabilities – www.adviceuk.org.uk or phone 0300 777 0107.

Christians Against Poverty (CAP)
For free debt advice in your home, check post code coverage at www.capuk.org then call 0800 328 0006.
National Debtline If you live in England, Wales or Scotland phone 0808 808 4000 or visit www.nationaldebtline.org for debt advice and information.

StepChange
Debt Charity For debt advice throughout the UK phone 0800 138 1111 or visit www.stepchange.org.

Business Debtline
Offers free and confidential debt advice to the self-employed and small businesses – www.businessdebtline.org or 0800 197 6026. Other useful organisations.

Civil Legal Advice
You may get legal aid if your home is at risk. Check at www.gov.uk/civil-legal-advice or phone 0845 345 4345.

Samaritans
Call 116 123 or email jo@samaritans.org to get help if you’re struggling to cope with things. The Samaritans can’t offer debt advice, but they can provide free and confidential help and wellbeing support to those in distress 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

As the hire purchase agreement is secured against the vehicle you could not include this into your Individual Voluntary Arrangement (otherwise known as an IVA), Trust Deed, Sequestration Order or Bankruptcy. Only once the vehicle is returned making the debt, in effect, unsecured, you could add the remaining balance into the debt solution.

By entering into a debt solution you are in breach of our Terms and Conditions and a notice of termination will be issued to you. This means that we would terminate your financial agreement with us and could take back possession of the vehicle.

We appreciate that these decisions are not made lightly and that retaining your vehicle may be important to you, we are willing to work with you to keep hold of your vehicle if regular monthly payments are maintained and the account remains up to date. Please call our payments team on 01244 200793 to discuss if you are going to be entering into a debt solution.

NOSIA, SNOSIA and payment arrangements

This page is designed to help you understand this notice and answer some of the queries you may have. If you have further questions, you can contact us on the telephone number at the “Contact us” section at the bottom of this page.

Why have I received this notice?
A notice of sums in arrears (NOSIA) is a letter we are required to send you by law if you fall two or more payments behind on your hire purchase agreement.
A subsequent notice of sums in arrears (SNOSIA) is a letter we are required to send you by law every six months after sending you a NOSIA, until you are up to date with your hire purchase payments schedule.
We are required by law to send you these notices. They take into account all payments that have not been made under the hire purchase agreement when they fell due, so include arrears and any payments that have not been paid even if you have told us about your current circumstances and we have made an arrangement with you – such arrangement may include a payment deferral or a repayment plan. This is because it is important that you are given certain information when you are behind with your payments.
We know this may be confusing because the notice tells you that you are behind on your payments, but:
i) If you have a payment deferral agreed, as long as you are keeping to the terms of the arrangement, you don’t need to do anything, you can disregard the notice and you will not incur any charges, fees or additional interest.
ii) If you have a payment deferral agreed and have additional arrears or if you do not have a deferral plan in place, please contact us on the details in “Contact Us” below.

What is a payment deferral?
A payment deferral is a concession giving you extra time to pay if you are suffering financial difficulties through the pandemic.  The term of your hire purchase agreement will be extended by the length of any payment deferral(s) and we will work together to agree a suitable repayment plan. As the concession is not contractual and does not change the terms of your hire purchase agreement you will still receive our standard letters, including NOSIA’s and other statutory letters required under the Consumer Credit Act.
All existing customers who are impacted by the pandemic are being offered concessions of up to 3 months payment deferrals with affordable repayment options or other concessions. If you would like to request a payment deferral you can contact us on 01244 200793.

Is a payment deferral the best option for me?
You should carefully consider whether a payment deferral remains the best option for you. The term of your hire purchase agreement will be extended by the length of payment deferral.   A payment plan over a shorter period of time may be more suitable as it means you will continue to pay off the balance of your hire purchase agreement and reduce the amount of your arrears. Alternatively, you can make overpayments at any time before your final repayment is due.
When agreeing a repayment plan, if you choose to spread the value of payment deferrals over a period of months we may need to ask for information about your current income and expenditure. This is to help make sure you can afford the increased monthly payment.
Whatever option is best for you, we will do everything we can to make the process as straight forward as possible and let you know what is happening so that you know where you stand with us.

What is the position with my credit profile?
If you have arrears on your hire purchase agreement these will be reflected on your credit profile. Your credit profile will not be adversely impacted as a result of any payment deferral(s). However, if applying for credit in the future, please be aware that lenders will look at other sources as well as your credit file, such as information provided on an application or bank account information.
If you have reason to believe your credit file has been negatively impacted, please contact us.

What should I do if I am worried about my financial situation?
There are a number of useful websites you can visit for free impartial advice if you’re worried about your financial situation due to coronavirus or more generally. They give a range of information from practical advice about managing your money to budget planning.
You could also talk to us about your situation if you are concerned about missing a payment. We may be able to offer you some much needed breathing space. To talk to us about your hire purchase agreement call us on the number below.
Independent Advice Services:
https://www.moneyadviceservice.org.uk/en
www.stepchange.org
https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/
https://www.nationaldebtline.org

Contact us
If you are in arrears, experiencing financial difficulty or you are not able to keep to the terms of any payment arrangement, please get in touch with us to discuss options on 01244 200793.

We are currently experiencing high call volumes and you may wish as an alternative to contact us via adept.agent@smfmotor.com.