Here are five of the most common questions we get from Armed Forces finance applicants, and answers in brief.
- Can I Apply From Abroad?
Yes. We get many customers who apply from abroad as they have been posted home and need a car when they arrive. It is quite normal for us, but would advise you apply within about two weeks of needing the car. You can also apply if you are in Germany or similar and want to take the car back with you. The only thing to be aware of is that you will need to be within the UK
or NI to collect your car as all vehicles must be supplied as UK registered vehicles. You can however switch to BFG plates or similar later on should you need to. - I Am In Barracks Without a Civilian Address, Can I Still Apply?
Yes. It can be helpful sometimes to have a civilian address but it is not a requirement of the application, and many customers are approved without one. - My Credit Isn’t Great, Is It Worth Applying
Yes, we are a broker, and we use many lenders and each has their own criteria and terms. If you credit is not so great, you may well be approved, but may be offered a higher rate of interest based on your personal circumstances. If you go to any car page on our website you will find a Finance Calculator that will give you an indication of the rate, and payment amount, based on your own description of your circumstances. In all cases you would be provided with a SECCI, this is a full breakdown of the offer for you to read and consider before you commit to anything so you would have as much time as you need to consider what has been offered, and whether that is right for you. - Do I have To Buy The Vehicle From MK Car Finance?
No. Most customers do choose to as we have some great offers for vehicles, but every month a few customer do buy from other dealers still using our finance. Usually this is because the customer wants to buy from a local dealer rather than travelling to us, or because they want a specific vehicle we can’t supply. The dealer must pass basic criteria to be approved by us, and they must have a credit licence, of which most dealers do, which is a legal requirement. - If I Apply Do I Have To Accept Any Offer I Receive
No, quite the opposite. Applications are free and no obligation. If your application is approved we will send you terms on a form called a SECCI. If you do not like the terms, or are not happy with something, you simply decline to proceed and we would close your application, free of charge, and no further action or costs would be incurred. - What Discount Do You Do For Forces
We don’t, we only deal with Forces customers and don’t give a specific discount. What we do is we look at Armed Forces applications with a different view to the majority of civilian orientated finance companies. Things like barracks addresses, overseas postings, and moving around a lot due to work, can really affect your credit score, which often means Forces personnel are either declined, or charged more in interest, because their credit score is created using a civilian system. These systems are not really designed for the circumstances of Forces personnel, and often Forces are considered a greater risk than they really are often because of how these systems calculate that risk. We manually look at every application, and get the best available terms for every customer, which is much cheaper than our customers have been offered elsewhere in the wider civilian market. So no, we don’t offer a discount, but we are in many cases a much cheaper option for our customers than they have been offered elsewhere.