Status Disclosure
Thank you for considering our services as an Introducer Appointed Representative (IAR) for vehicle finance. This Initial Disclosure Document aims to provide you with important information about our role as an IAR and the services we offer in relation to vehicle finance introductions to credit brokers. Please take the time to read this document carefully and let us know if you have any questions or require further clarification. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is the independent regulator of financial services and requires us to provide you with a document called an 'Initial Disclosure Document'. This document provides information about us, the services we will provide, what we charge for our services, who regulates us and what to do if you have a complaint.
Who Regulates us?
We, Motobarn Limited (FRN: 1049767) are an Introducer Appointed Representative acting on behalf of Auto Union Finance Ltd. We are authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) to introduce customers to credit brokers for the purpose of obtaining car finance. Auto Union Finance Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority FRN 669609. You can check this on the FCA's website www.FCA.gov.uk/register or by contacting the FCA on 0300 500 8082.
Consumer duty and Treating customers fairly.
Ourselves and AU Finance are fully committed to treating customers fairly and delivering good outcomes for all customers as a natural result of our commitment to the core values that underpin our culture.
We are dedicated to acting in our customer's best interests, providing fair and transparent services, car finance options that meet your individual circumstances and providing continued and ongoing support.
If you have any questions, or concerns, or require further information, please do not hesitate to contact us.
Which service will we provide you with?
Our primary service is to introduce you, the customer, to credit brokers who may be able to assist with vehicle finance options tailored to your needs. As an IAR, we do not provide vehicle finance ourselves, nor can we speak to you on behalf of the broker regarding finance options. We act solely as an intermediary, connecting you with the credit broker who specialises in vehicle finance. AU Finance offers a non-advised service, meaning they cannot give you advice or a recommendation on products. But in assessing your application they will ask you for information to enable them to identify your needs and present a selection of products relevant to your requirements. You will then need to make your own choice about how to proceed. You will receive the pre-contract credit information which will detail the Terms & Conditions of the product you have chosen and advise you about any other fees and interest relating to the product. Please note that their telephone calls are recorded for training and monitoring purposes.
Whose products does AU Finance offer?
AU Finance can introduce you to a limited number of lenders that offer finance products, but do not offer advice or recommendations. They are not impartial and have commercial arrangements with each of the lenders on their panel.
They do not charge you a fee for their services, but do receive commission from their lenders should you accept their terms. They have commercial terms in place with the motor retailers who introduce customers to them and will pass a proportion of the commission they receive to the motor retailer.
The commission they receive is either a fixed fee or a percentage of the amount you borrow and are subject to a maximum absolute amount. The commission varies depending on how you are introduced to AU Finance, which lender they place you with, and which finance product you choose. The commission amounts are paid as “one off amounts” and can be reclaimed from us by the lender concerned.
In line with regulatory requirements, AU Finance will try to get you the finance arrangement you were quoted from our limited panel of lenders, or an alternative offer. AU Finance will always seek to match you with the lender offering the most suitable terms for your circumstances.
Depending on your circumstances you may be able to negotiate a better or different finance arrangement with an alternative provider.
AU Finance will provide details of the products available from the lenders they work with, but no advice or recommendation will be made. You must decide whether the finance product is right for you.
AU Finance partners
Details on their current list of finance lenders and details of how they use information can be found in their privacy policy visit www.auf.co.uk
AU Finance Commission arrangements and interest rates
Interest rates will be either fixed or based on your credit score. Fixed rates are based on the lender, by a parameter or a number of parameters (for example, the amount you borrow, the age of the asset). Fixed rates are determined by contractual agreements with the introducing motor retailer and the motor retailer cannot change this fixed rate. Credit score-based interest rates are pre-set and linked to your individual credit rating. Typically, the higher your credit score, the lower the interest rate you will receive from a lender will be.
AU Finance will receive payment from the lender for introducing you to them and they will also pay an amount of that commission to the motor retailer who introduced you to us. The amount both parties receive could vary by lender, which may be a higher amount in relation to certain products compared with other products available elsewhere. The lenders AU Finance work with could pay commission at different rates. However, the amount of commission received from a lender is predetermined and will not impact your agreement. We do not charge you a fee for our services.
AU Finance operate a number of different commission models depending on the arrangements that they have agreed with the lender and in turn agreed with their motor retailer partners. The commission received is either a fixed fee or a percentage of the amount you borrow, which means the payment received may vary depending on the amount you borrow and the term the loan is borrowed over. This may also mean that the more you borrow the more we and the motor retailer are paid.
When they are able to make an offer of credit to you, they will inform you of the exact amount of commission, how much of it they will keep and how much we will pay to the motor retailer, the method used to calculate the amount and then ask for your consent to this before they can proceed with the transaction.
Using your personal data
Please see Privacy Notice as your personal data is being processed by AU Finance.
AU Finance use your personal data in order to: Support a number of specific steps before you enter into a contract for vehicle finance (loan agreement) with your chosen finance company; and ensure that our legitimate interests as a finance broker are protected.
Contact us
If you have any queries regarding the agreement you are entering into, please contact our Customer Care Department
T: 01925 578 800
What can you do if you have any concerns about our services?
If you have any concerns, please contact us in the first instance by writing to us at:
Complaints Department, Auto Union Finance, 8 Eagle Park Drive, Warrington, WA2 8JA
T: 01925 578 800.
You can find our complaints policy here: https://auf.co.uk/complaints/
You have the right to refer any unresolved complaint to the Financial Ombudsman Service:
Financial Ombudsman Service, Exchange Tower, London, E14 9SR.
T: 0845 080 1800