摘要: |
Motor finance companies and car dealers have borne the brunt of the COVID-19 pandemic. After being forced to shut in March 2020 under Government rules, they were required by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) to offer payment deferrals to customers in financial distress because of the crisis, thereby extending motor finance terms by up tg three months, albeit the customers had to pay larger monthly instalments when the period ended. With the start of a second national tockdown in November, an extension to the temporary holiday for personal contract purchase (PCP), , hire purchase (HP) and conditional sale agreements, was announced running until this month (July 2021). While this was undoubtedly a boost for customers struggling to keep up with repayments, it also put added pressure on financial companies and dealers. Director of motor finance and strategy at the Finance and Leasing Association (FLA) Adrian Dally says that across the finance and insurance markets there were 1.8 million requests for forbearance from customers, of which motor finance made up 800,000. However,,he adds that the vast majority went on to resume payments. |