From bank statements to photo driving licence, we talk you through the documentation you need to take out a personal lease
So, you’ve found a great deal on a great car at a great price and are now ready to apply for a Personal Contract Hire Lease. But what documentation will you need to have to hand to apply for a lease vehicle with Nationwide Vehicle Contracts?
To help speed up the order process, we talk you through what documentation is required to take out a personal lease and why we require this information. So let’s get started…
What you need to do first
Before you apply for a lease agreement with Nationwide Vehicle Contracts, it is worth taking our short eligibility quiz to find out if you’re likely to be accepted for vehicle finance. This short interactive questionnaire asks a series of questions regarding your age, address and employment history, as well questions about your financial history to assess whether you’re likely to be eligible for personal finance based on the details you provided.
You can take our taking our Financial Eligibility Quiz here. Alternatively, if you are still unsure whether you are eligible for personal finance, you can call our experienced sales team on 0345 811 9595 (option 1) to discuss your options.
Once you have passed that, it's on to the next step.
Filling out the Personal Finance Application Form
To apply for a Personal Contract Hire agreement, you will need to fill out a Personal Finance Application Form online. The form takes approximately five to ten minutes to complete and asks questions about your personal and financial situation.
This includes:
- Personal details such as your marital status, date of birth and number of dependants
- Address details for the past five years (including moving in and out dates). This information is used to verify your identity as well as to make sure that any credit history can be investigated and verified. If you have moved property within the last five years, it is useful to have any rental and/or mortgage agreements to hand to check your moving in and out dates
- Employment details for the past three years (including employment start and end dates). This is to determine how your present income and expenditure is likely to evolve over the period of your lease, and how it has already evolved over the time period. Once again, if you have moved jobs in the past three years, it is useful to have any employment contracts to hand to check any start and/or end dates
- Your bank details including account number, sort code, bank address and time with bank. These details will be used when setting up a direct debit should your application be accepted. No money will be taken from this account without your permission, and it is used to determine how you have managed your existing accounts and whether or not you will have any problems making payments on time
- Your monthly income and expenditure (including breakdown of net salary, net car allowance (for those with company car allowance), mortgage/rent payment, utility bills, credit cards, current car payments and travel/fuel costs. This information is used to ensure you can comfortably afford the finance deal for which you have applied. Having copies of your bank statements and/or bills to hand should help you fill out this section
Once you have completed the Personal Finance Application Form, a sales representative will be in touch by phone to confirm the details and run through the necessary pre-credit checks before submitting you for finance.
Most funders respond to a credit application within 2 working days however during busy periods, it can take up to 5 working days to receive a response from the funder.
Documentation required as proof of ID
In addition to the information supplied on the finance application, you will also need to provide us with documentation as proof of identity. This includes:
- Full UK Driving Licence (photo-card). This must be in your current address, show your photograph and be in date. If your driving licence is not in your current address, we will also need a copy of your passport along with two utility bills dated with the last three months showing your current address. This proof of ID will be used to verify the signature on your documents. Please note that if the signature differs once we have received the other paperwork required (below), you will have to provide further proofs or possibly resign a new agreement. Please ensure your signatures match.
- Full UK Driving Licence (old-style paper licence) along with a copy of your passport as photo ID
- Proof of address dated within three months. Accepted forms include:
- o Gas or electricity bill
o Bank Statement
o Credit Card Statement
o Council Tax Statement
o HRMC Letter (such as confirmation of tax credit)
Please note that landline or mobile phone bills, insurance documents, card statements or water bills are not accepted as proof of address.
All documents must be scanned from originals as internet-printed documents are not accepted. These documents will need to be supplied in colour and either in paper form or in an acceptable file format such as .tif, .jpg, or .pdf.
They also need to be:
- Clearly legible, both on the computer screen and when printed
- From the original proofs and dated within 90 days. Please note that some lenders may require both scanned and physical copies of documents
Any ID (especially on your driving licence) must be in your current address, and your name, address and date of birth must be spelt correctly and must match the information provided on your finance application.
If you have recently changed your name and the proof of ID is in your old name, please provide formal confirmation of the change of name by way of a marriage certificate, deed poll or decree absolute (with a copy of the marriage certificate if you are reverting to a maiden name).
To view a full check list of accepted documentation, click here.
What other information may be required?
Once we have received your finance application and proof of ID, we will pass your details onto the finance provider who will make a decision on whether to approve you for vehicle finance. At this point, we may need further information to support your application, particularly with regards to your employment history and/or your monthly income and expenditure, especially if you are not currently in full time employment, have moved home frequently, or have been with your current employer for less than five years. This is purely to make sure that you are able to afford the lease you have applied for. We will inform you what is actually required when it comes to supplying physical evidence.
Some finance providers allow you to provide unaltered black and white photocopies of identification, while others require originals that must include photocopies of pages that contain the following – photographs, reference details, transactions and current UK entry/residence visas.
Why we require certain documentation to supply you with a personal lease
As an FCA regulated business, Nationwide Vehicle Contracts has a legal obligation to check the identity of all our customers, both new and existing. The main reason for this is to comply with Anti-Money Laundering (AML) regulations to make sure that you are who you say you are. These regulations are in place are not only in place to protect you as a customer, but also the finance provider who is financing your lease agreement.
This is to ensure your identity has not been stolen by criminals who might try to use your identity without you knowing and to ensure that you are able to afford the lease you have applied for.
Rest assured that any financial details that you supply are safe with us and that all the information requested is necessary for both OUR financial security as well as YOURS.
If you have any questions regarding what is required, or on any other matter regarding either Personal Leasing or Business Leasing, then contact one of our Customer Service Advisors now.