Question 1

What do I need to get started?

Accepted Answer

Around £950 to £1,200 depending on the car, which is three months' rental up front. You'll also need a full UK driving licence, income from work, and three months of bank statements showing the payments are comfortably affordable. There is no no-deposit version of this.

Question 2

Will you run a credit check?

Accepted Answer

Not straight away. Our lending partner reads your bank statements first and works out whether the payments would sit comfortably alongside everything else you pay. Only if that looks positive do they run a credit check, and that one is a full search, which will be recorded on your credit file. Nobody can lease you a car in the UK without a credit check at some point. Anyone telling you otherwise is not being straight with you.

Question 3

Can I lease a car if I'm in an IVA?

Accepted Answer

Yes, and it's some of the work our lending partner does most. If you're approved, the approval comes to you in writing first, and you then take it to your Insolvency Practitioner for permission. That's the normal order of things and we'll help you through it. See our page on leasing a car with an IVA for the full detail.

Question 4

What about a CCJ, or a bankruptcy?

Accepted Answer

One or two CCJs are fine, particularly if there's a payment plan in place and you're keeping to it, which counts in your favour rather than against you. A bankruptcy is fine once you've been discharged, which usually takes twelve months. While it's still running, you can't take on a lease.

Question 5

What happens at the end of the three years?

Accepted Answer

You hand the car back. We arrange collection and it's free, the same as the delivery. There is no option to buy the car. Leasing isn't a route to ownership; you're paying to use it, not to own it. If your mileage has been low and you've paid reliably throughout, we may be able to offer you another 12 months on the same car. That's at our lending partner's discretion, so please don't count on it when you're deciding.

Question 6

What if I go over the mileage?

Accepted Answer

Every agreement covers 10,000 miles a year, 30,000 miles over the three years. If you hand the car back having done more than that, you pay for the extra miles at a set rate per mile. That rate is written into your agreement before you sign, so you'll know exactly where you stand. If you regularly drive more than about 12,000 miles a year, leasing probably isn't the right answer for you, and we'd rather tell you that now.

Question 7

Is road tax included?

Accepted Answer

Yes, for the full three years, at today's rates. If the government puts road tax up during your agreement, we'll ask you to cover the increase, so if it went up by £20, that's £20, not a new monthly charge. We'd rather you knew that at the start than found out in year two.

Question 8

What isn't included?

Accepted Answer

Servicing, tyres, MOT and insurance are all down to you. These are customer-maintained agreements, which is part of how the monthly price stays where it is. Budget for a service and a set of tyres over three years.

Question 9

Where do you deliver?

Accepted Answer

Free delivery and collection anywhere in mainland England and Wales, at both the start and the end of the agreement. Scotland isn't impossible, but it's a long way and it doesn't work for everyone, so get in touch before you apply and we'll tell you honestly whether we can reach you.

Question 10

How new are the cars?

Accepted Answer

Two to three years old, with mileage already on them, usually between 23,000 and 35,000. They're ordinary, practical cars: hatchbacks and small SUVs. We show you the exact mileage of the exact car before you apply.

Question 11

How long does it take?

Accepted Answer

You'll hear from us within one working day of sending your documents. If it's positive, the next step is our lending partner's own application form and the credit check, and things move fairly quickly from there.

Question 12

What if you can't help me?

Accepted Answer

We'll tell you, and we'll tell you why. If we've stopped you at the eligibility questions, no credit check has been run and nothing has touched your credit file. If you'd sent documents, we delete them within 30 days.

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