Managing your finance agreement

Money worries can happen to anyone, and we understand that. If you're finding it hard to stay on top your finances due to the cost of living rising, you're not alone - lots of people are in the same boat. 

Here at First Response Finance, we have lots of ways we can support you, including:

• Missing a payment (to help you with unexpected bills, priority debts such as rent, or vehicle repairs). 
• Setting up a payment plan (if you are already running behind with payments or don't have a direct debit in place, we can help you with a new plan).
• Change payment dates to suit you.
• Hand the vehicle back to us (otherwise known as Voluntary Termination).
• Understanding your finances (otherwise known as your Income and Expenditure)

As soon as you think you might be facing financial difficulties, give us a call or email customer.services@frfl.co.uk. We could help you get back on the right track and access further support, visit our financial support page to find out more. 

Sometimes missing one payment can lead to missing another - we understand it's easy for things to spiral. Please contact us on 01942 686 686, selecting option 4, before it gets to that stage. 

If you miss a payment, or you make a late payment, it may affect your credit file. 

Before you call us, it might be useful to run through your own budget so you can see where your money goes each month. You can do this by logging in to your online account and clicking the 'Complete Income & Expenditure' option within the agreement tab. 

For additional advice from other organisations, please visit our Financial Support page. 

That's okay, you'll need to speak to our Account Management team - their phone number is 01942 686 686 and their email address is customer.services@frfl.co.uk.

Contact us to discuss the options available to you - there are many ways we can help once we have understood your situation. Our account managers are available on 01942 686 686, selecting option 4 when prompted. 

If you're having money worries, please visit our Financial Support page or explore the options available on this page. 

The interest rate for your finance agreement can be found:

• in the documentation you were emailed when your finance agreement went live;
• on your online account.

You can find out the remaining balance for your finance agreement on your online account.

To request a settlement figure, you'll need to get in contact with our Account Management team - their phone number is 01942 686 686 and their email address is customer.services@frfl.co.uk.

They’ll be able to provide you with the exact amount needed to settle your finance agreement early, allowing you to plan your finances and make an informed decision about early repayment.

Voluntary termination allows you to end (terminate) your Hire Purchase Agreement at anytime as long as:

• You repay - or have already repaid - 50% of the total balance including any missed payments. 
• The vehicle is returned in good cosmetic and mechanical order. 

You will be expected to pay this upfront, and if you can't, we can keep your monthly payments in place to clear any remaining balance. 

If you're having any financial struggles, we have the flexibility to look at a new payment arrangement that fits your budget. 

There may be an impact to your credit file. It will show that your contract was Voluntarily Terminated and different lenders will view this information in different ways in the future for you. 

In some situations, you can still Voluntarily Terminate your agreement. Any problems with the vehicle could affect how much the vehicle sells for, which means you may still have a balance. 

To proceed with your Voluntary Termination, please call one of our account managers on 01942 686 686, choosing option 4 when prompted. 

Please be aware, you may not have the option to voluntarily terminate if you have already received your Notice of Termination. 

We're able to update things such as your payment date or bank details. We can be flexible in how you make your payments, including: weekly, 2-weekly, 4-weekly or monthly. 

To update your bank details, please log in to your online account and click chat with us. Please have your new bank details to hand when you do this. 

To update your payment date, please login to your online account and click chat with us. We expect your payments to be set in line with your income. 

Things to think about when changing your payment date:

• Setting your payments on the day you get paid reduces the risk of missed payments. 
• Moving your payment into the next month may leave your account running behind. 
• We need five working days to set a payment up or make changes to an existing payment. 
• If you are paid later in the day we have the option to set your payments at a set time between 7am and 7pm. You will need to call one of our account managers on 01942 686 686, selecting option 4 when prompted, to set this up). 

If you've missed a payment, you may have received one of the following communications from us. 

• Pre-default
• First arrears notice
• Notice of default
• Notice of termination
• Outstanding liabilities
• Final demand

These are important letters and emails that we have to send you and are known as 'Statutory Notices'. We send these so you are aware of the position of your agreement and any risk to you such as your vehicle being returned (this is called repossession), or the money you owe us being collected directly from your salary via a court order (known as "Attachment of Earnings"). 

You may receive a statutory notice for:

• Missing a payment/payments
• Cancelling your direct debits
• Breaching the terms and conditions of your legal agreement. For example: not having valid tax, insurance or MOT, the vehicle being taken to a compound or abandoning the vehicle. 

If you have already spoken to use and set up a payment plan, or agreed to review your account at a later date, these notices are still important but you don't need to contact us until the agreed date. 

If you haven't spoken to us, we would ask you to speak to us to review your budget. You can do this by logging into your account and calling us as soon as possible on 01942 686 686, selection option 4 when prompted. 

As mentioned above, if you ignore an important letter or email from us, it could lead to the repossession of your vehicle, or a court order being granted to take money from your salary/wages. It could also impact your credit file and your chances of borrowing money in the future. 

Yes, you'll need to let our Account Management team know if your vehicle's been involved in an accident or insurance claim as it will need to be logged on our system – their phone number is 01942 686 686 and their email address is customer.services@frfl.co.uk.

It’s simple! Just fill out our online quote form to get an instant decision on your eligibility and see how much your monthly repayments would be. 

Alternatively, you can call us on 01942 686 687.

Check out our Renewing your finance page to find out more.

If you find yourself in financial difficulty due to repairs needed on your vehicle, we would like to speak to you. Please call us on 01942 686686 to discuss how we can help. 

While we understand the difficulties of travel while your vehicle is in for repair, First Response Finance do not offer Courtesy vehicles. Please refer to any warranty or insurance provider for any alternative options. 

There are many factors to consider when looking at time frames on repairs. Under the Consumer Rights Act 2015, the selling dealership must complete repairs in a fair and reasonable time frame - this differs depending on the fault in question. If you have been without your vehicle for over 14 days due to the dealership carrying out repairs, please call us on 0115 946 6368 to discuss this further.  

Please contact your selling dealership for confirmation of a collection/delivery date. If this has now exceeded 30 days from when a date was originally agreed and you no longer want the vehicle, please call us on 0115 6711725.