You / Your = Customer

Introduction: We want to help you to find a suitable lending product that meets your needs. This sheet explains factors that you should consider.

Our role: Rural Finance is a credit broker and not a lender. We work with a panel of lenders to find a suitable arrangement for you. We are not independent financial advisors. We will provide details of the products available from the lenders that we work with, but no advice or recommendation will be made. You must decide whether the finance product is right for you. Once we have found a suitable arrangement, we will present the lender’s agreement for you to review and sign. We will discuss this with you and can answer any questions you may have regarding the terms of the agreement.

Do I need asset finance or a loan?

 

Before taking any type of finance please consider carefully that this is right for you and your circumstances. Asset Finance allows you to either purchase or hire an asset. When purchasing an asset this can be done on either a Hire Purchase or Loan. The Hire agreement is often a Lease. These options give you the ability to free up working capital in your business. In deciding which option to select, you will need to consider whether you have the cash to buy outright, how long you need the equipment for and the costs of the different options.

What are the different types of Finance Products available?

Hire Purchase: (Re-finance, Sale & HP Back): You will have a fixed rental and term. The VAT is paid up front on this agreement. Throughout the agreement the lender owns the asset, at the end of the agreement there is a fee to pay which passes the title from the lender back to you. You will own the asset at the end of the agreement.

Finance Lease: This is a hire agreement which means that you will not have the right to own the asset at the end of the agreed term. Depending on the lender will depend on the conditions at the end. You may have to sell the asset, keep the asset but pay an annual
fee or return to the supplier. At the end of the agreement there is no option to purchase. VAT is paid throughout the lifetime of the agreement with each rental paid.

Operating Lease (Contract Hire): This is a hire agreement also which means that you will not have the right to own the asset at the end of the agreed term. The key difference between an Operating Lease and Finance lease is that there is often a residual value payment at the end of the agreement. If you take out a contract hire agreement this will have a residual value payment and include a maintenance fee. You would be expected to return the asset to the dealership or lender at the end of the term. VAT is paid throughout the lifetime of the agreement with each rental paid.

Unsecured Loan: A facility which is repaid by regular instalments within a set period.

Secured Loan: A loan in which the lender pledges an asset as collateral for the loan. The fee is repaid by regular instalments over an agreed term.

If you require any further information about the types of finance available, please contact your local broker directly or contact Rural Finance Head office on 01978 660360.

Suitability of Asset Finance: Asset finance may not be suitable in certain circumstances. Please ensure you read the Terms and Conditions from the lender for the Finance Agreement. If you are unsure whether the finance product is suitable for you, please seek independent, professional advice.

Data Protection Statement: In order to approve your application our lenders will supply your personal information to credit reference agencies and the Credit Reference Agencies (CRAs) will give the lenders information about you, such as about your financial history.

The lenders do this to assess credit worthiness, product suitability, check your identity, manage your account, trace and recover debts and prevent criminal activity. The lenders will continue to exchange information with the CRAs on an ongoing basis, including about your settled accounts and any debts not fully repaid on time. CRAs will share your information with other organisations. Your data will also be linked to the data of your spouse, any joint applicants, or other financial associates. The personal information you have supplied will also be shared with fraud prevention agencies who will use it to prevent fraud and money-laundering and verify your identity. If fraud is detected, you could be refused certain services, finance, or employment. Please be aware that some lenders will leave hard searches on your credit file. On occasion we may need to send your proposal to multiple lenders which could result in multiple credit searches. For more information, please speak to your finance broker. Rural Finance only retain personal data for the purposes for which it is collected and for a reasonable period thereafter where there is a legitimate business need or legal
obligation to do so. For details of our current retention policy contact our compliance officer at compliance@rural-finance.co.uk.

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Rural Finance’s privacy notice can be found with the following link http://www.rural-finance.co.uk/company-profile/rural-finance-privacy-policy/

 

CIFAS Privacy notice can be found on the following link https://www.cifas.org.uk/privacy-notice

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Credit Reference Agency notice can be found on the following link http://www.rural-finance.co.uk/company-profile/credit-reference-agency-information-notice/

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Please note that if you would like to review your lenders Fair Processing Notice privacy notice click on the following link http://www.rural-finance.co.uk/rural-finances-partners and then click on your selected lender. We can provide a list of the lenders we work with upon request.

 

Fair Processing Notice & Pre-Contract Disclosure

Rural Finance Limited, 5 Wilkinson Court, Wilkinson Business Park, Wrexham, LL13 9AE
Company number 05207393. Registered in England & Wales.

Rural Finance Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FRN: 630701). V14

Pre-contract Credit Information Document (Applies to Regulated Agreements only): Your repayment schedule, repayment amounts, and the total amount payable are detailed within the lender’s Pre-contract Credit Information document. You will be asked to read the Pre-contract Credit Information and you can take this away to seek further explanations where required. Failure to make the payments as they fall will mean that you have broken the terms of the agreement and could result in a lender taking further action against you. This may include repossession of the goods and or obtaining a charge against a property you own. You may also incur additional costs and it could make it difficult for you to obtain credit.

Fees & Commission: We do not charge you a fee for our services. Whichever lender we introduce you to, we will typically receive commission from them (either as a fixed fee, or a fixed percentage or a variable percentage of the amount you borrow). We may also receive additional remuneration from the lender based on our portfolio size, quality and performance.

 

For your reassurance, all the lenders we work with could pay commission at different rates, but the commission we receive does not influence the interest rate you will pay. Our aim is to secure finance for you at the most suitable interest rate available, for your specific deal, from our panel of lenders.

 

If you would like to know the amount of commission received, please contact compliance@rural-finance.co.uk.

Withdrawal/ right to cancel (Applies to Regulated Agreements only): You have a right to withdraw from the agreement. You must notify the lender of your intent to withdraw within 14 days commencing from when you receive your executed copy agreement. You will then have up to 30 days to settle the credit amount plus any daily interest incurred.

Missed Payments: Missed payments could result in repossession and may affect your credit history. A repossession can take place without a court order and may not clear the debt owed.

Ability to pay: We and other lenders will assess your ability to pay. You should make us aware of any future changes that may affect your ability to make the payments detailed in your agreement. These changes will be communicated to the lender for further consideration. If you are in financial difficulty, please speak to your finance broker.

Early Repayment: You may have the right to repay all or some of the credit early. However, if you wish to do so you will be charged interest as per the terms of the agreement. Please discuss with your finance broker.

Insurance: A condition of taking asset finance out is that you insure the equipment purchased.

Clients Duty: We rely on you or professional advisers to provide us with accurate statements, information and representations, for negotiating terms on your behalf. Please ensure all the information you provide to your finance broker and Rural Finance is fully up to date and accurate. To provide false or incorrect information can result in your application being declined, credit history affected or legal proceedings.

Complaints Procedure: If you have a complaint about our service, please contact us at Rural Finance Ltd on 01978 660360.

 

We will acknowledge your complaint and provide a final response to all complaints within 8 weeks. If you are unhappy with the way your complaint has been handled, please contact the Financial Ombudsman Service (http://www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk/)

We are committed to ensuring you are receiving the right level of support, in relation to your specific circumstances, whenarranging your Finance Agreement. Please let us know if you require any additional support by speaking with your finance broker
directly or by contacting Rural Finance Head office on 01978 660360.