Who is my car finance with?
It’s not uncommon to have a lot of payments going out of your bank account – and with household bills, insurance payments, and subscription services – it’s easy to lose track.
If you can’t remember who your car finance is with, there’s no need to panic. We’ll take you through a handful of ways you can find out. Don’t worry if the first few don’t work – our final tip works for everyone.
Check your paperwork
The first place to check should be your paperwork. It’s always a good idea to keep official statements and agreements – and you’ll almost certainly have been advised to do so when you signed your finance paperwork.
Chances are, your finance paperwork is going to be a bundle of pages – with lots of terms and conditions, account numbers, and details of your vehicle throughout.
If you can find your paperwork, the finance company who has provided the loan for your car should have their name right at the top.
Try searching your emails
No luck tracking down your paperwork? No need to worry. Why not try searching your email inbox instead?
Most email services have a search function – so even if you’ve got thousands of emails to search through, you should be able to track your finance details down quickly by searching for “car finance”, “finance agreement”, or the registration number of your car.
If you find the emails you’re looking for, make sure they contain personal details that relate to you, your car, and your finance agreement. If you’re sure you’re looking at the right information, the company that sent it is likely to be the firm you’ve got your agreement with.
Check your bank statements
If you’re having trouble tracking down any paper or electronic records, you might have more luck searching through your bank statements.
If you’ve got an idea or either how much your monthly finance payment is for – or when you make your payment, you should be able to quickly skip to the right transactions. If for any reason, it’s not clear who your payment is made to, you could give you bank a call and get them to help.
Speak to the dealership
If you’re struggling to track down paperwork or payment details, it’s always worth giving the dealership you bought your car from a call.
Although dealerships tend to have a number of different finance companies they work with, they will usually have a record of who provided your finance against your name on their system. What’s more, they may be able to give you contact details – or even provide you with copies of the paperwork you got when you signed for your car.
Still no luck?
You will almost certainly have found out who provides your car finance using one of the methods above – but if you haven’t, don’t worry; there’s another option.
As part of the Consumer Credit Act 1974, you’re entitled to what’s known as your ‘statutory credit report’ – a report showing the information that’s held about you by the three main credit referencing agencies. You can apply for your statutory credit report through any of the following agencies:
Although these are separate companies, they’ll usually provide you with very similar information – although the format might be slightly different. There used to be a small charge when you requested your credit report – but changes in data protection laws now mean the agencies must provide the information for free.
You might have to wait a week or two – but when your report arrives (usually either by email or through the post), it should list all the companies you have credit agreements with. Your car finance company will be on that list.
