All articles by Fred Crawley
Fred Crawley
Specialist police unit’s funds cut despite success
The motor finance industrys specialist police unit is to lose government funding as part of ongoing spending cuts, despite contributing to a major drop in motor finance fraud during 2010. The Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) vehicle crime intelligence service (AVCIS) will lose its annual £300,000 grant from the Home Office on 1 April. From then on the Finance & Leasing Association (FLA), which has sponsored the vehicle fraud unit since its inception in 2007, will be the services chief sponsor.
AVCIS: Finance companies must share data to stop ports crisis
Vince Wise, ports officer for police car crime unit AVCIS, said that in recent months he has seen more and more vehicles subject to finance and leasing agreements being moved illegally through the nations ports, and that a lack of regulation on export procedures is making life easy for criminals wanting to sell stolen cars overseas.
Brokers link-up with ING for variable rate, high-ticket deals
As demand for prestige cars stays high and interest rates stay low, car finance brokers are keen to step outside regular consumer business channels to offer variable rate products on high-ticket vehicles. DSG Financial Services is the latest to focus on the product, launching new brand DSG Prestige last month on the back of a new broker facility agreed with ING Lease (UK).
Latest dealer finance stats show growth beyond expectations
Latest statistics from the Finance and Leasing Association show dealer finance penetration at 53% of the total market in the 12 months to January, 0.9 percentage points higher than in the 12 months to December 2010. Year-on-year growth in the value of used car finance sold during the month outpaced growth in new car finance, at 17% to £475m compared to 15% to £337m a clear indicator that used car finance remains a growing priority for dealers
Dawkins to lead Capitas Vehicle Finance
Gary Dawkins, former sales manager at Fortis Lease, will lead asset finance broker Capitas Finances new vehicle financing subsidiary, Capitas Vehicle Finance Ltd (CVF), taking a shareholding in the business in the process Having developed experience of funding prestige vehicles at Fortis, Dawkins will develop CVFs offering to dealers looking to finance cars for high net worth customers Its the end of the market where there remains a real need for the expertise and flexibility a broker can offer, Dawkins commented.
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PPI complaints up but HP in the clear
The Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) received 15 percent more complaints against financial institutions in the second half of 2010 than in the preceding six months, with motor finance companies seeing their share of the increase. Of all motor finance providers covered by the statistics published by the FOS, only BMW Financial Services and Banque PSA Finance saw declines in the number of complaints received However, the majority of complaints connected to motor finance companies were related to Payment Protection Insurance (PPI), reflecting the continuing increase in action by Claims Management Companies against providers of the product.
ING variable deals mean success for brokers
As demand for prestige cars stays high and interest rates stay low, car finance brokers are keen to step outside regular consumer business channels to offer variable rate products on high ticket vehicles. DSG Financial Services is the latest to focus on the product, launching new brand DSG Prestige last month on the back of a new broker facility agreed with ING Lease (UK). The DSG Prestige website features an online calculator for variable rate finance, which managing director Richard Hoggart says is still by far the best method of funding a big balance for this type of buyer.
February registrations stoke industry confidence
New car registrations in February fell 7.7 percent compared to the same period last year, according to latest statistics from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT). In total 63,424 units were sold slightly more than expected, especially given the absence of a scrappage scheme this year.
Tesco eyes the car finance market
Following its reputed upcoming launch into the UK used car market, Tesco is understood to be planning a suite of car finance offerings to complement personal loans from Tesco Bank. The news emerged at an asset finance seminar held by the National Association of Commercial Finance Brokers on 1 March, where business leaders from two major UK lenders stated that they knew of the supermarket giants intentions to move into the car finance market.
Police motor finance unit to survive cuts
The motor finance industrys specialist police unit is to lose government funding as part of ongoing spending cuts, but will continue to operate at full capacity thanks to sponsorship from private institutions including the FLA. AVCIS, the vehicle crime intelligence service run by police strategic body ACPO, will lose its annual £300,000 grant from the Home Office following 1 April