2,000 motor dealerships are now recognised as ‘SAF-Approved’ under the Finance & Leasing Association’s (FLA) Specialist Automotive Finance (SAF) programme.

The milestone was reached when the TC Harrison dealership put 35 employees, across its dealerships, through the online SAF competence test which assesses customer-facing staff on their knowledge of finance products and the relevant regulation.

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A fifth of all UK dealerships are now SAF-approved and this significant minority comprises a range of business sizes from one-site dealerships to some of the UK’s largest retail groups.

The news follows the FLA’s announcement in June that 27 of the 30 largest dealerships across the UK were SAF-approved.

‘Anything that aids’

SAF was introduced by the FLA in 2007 to help raise motor finance standards in showrooms in order to ensure that finance buyers fully understand finance deals on offer.

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The recent announcement by Martin Wheatley, chief executive of the Financial Services Authority, that commission-based selling of financial products, such as those in car dealerships, would be under tighter scrutiny, and recent figures from the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) which show the doubling of its payment protection insurance claims caseload, have both underscored the need for best practice in the showroom.

The All-Party Parliamentary Group on Trading Standards responded positively to the work of SAF at a meeting in October 2011 where it was welcomed as an example of successful self-regulation.

The organisation was also welcomed by Juliana Campbell of the FOS, who said: “Anything that aids selling a product with correct understanding and raises standards, we support.”