It's not common knowledge, but more than 10% of car leasing and contract hire customers are paying for a car [or van] on contract hire finance which doesn't match their current needs.

Wife having twins... Promotion... New job... a greener car... Avoid congestion charge... Redundancy... Reduce costs... Divorce... changing circumstances mean people want to swap up, swap down or in extreme cases swap out of their current car lease - without paying early termination penalties.

As buyer, you could pick up a 'DEPOSIT PAID' short term car lease from as little as one months rental in advance & you don't even need a car lease to exchange!

Because Swap-a-Lease already has almost 10,000 registered buyers looking for a short term car lease - there's probably someone ready, willing and able to take on your unwanted car lease today!!

SELL YOUR CAR LEASE by clicking here advertise your vehicle lease for just £39.99 - We'll market your lease until it sells. When we're successful we charge each party one months rental+Vat to complete the process - subject to terms & conditions.

BROKERS, DEALERS & LEASING PARTNERS WANTED

CLICK HERE for an information pack today!

See how Lease trading transfer works in the USA on Youtube

CAR LEASES URGENTLY WANTED lease buyers waiting...

CONFUSED MESSAGE on REGULATED AGREEMENT

31 Jan 2008

Individuals and partnerships classed as 'consumers' may choose to take out either a Personal Contract Hire [PCH] or a Personal Contract Purchase [PCP] agreement on a car or van. Although both forms of agreement are regulated by the Consumer Credit Act they are treated differently when it comes to terminating the contract early by many leasing companies.

At present the information we have after talking to Lex shows they will consider transferring a PCH agreement to a credit worthy individual, partnership or limited company.

However, when it comes to PCP agreements it seems to be a whole new ball game. Our contact at Lex has confirmed that there is currently no process in place to arrange to transfer the liability of a PCP agreement to a third party and no plans for this to change in the near future. If this is the case it seems there is a discrepancy in the way 'consumers' are dealt with even though both forms of agreement are CCA regulated.

We are seeking official clarification from LEX on the matter and await a formal response as we know other leasing companies can manage to transfer liability, even if it means writing a completely new agreement for the new customer on the exactly the same terms as the old one. Hey presto, Status Quo and everyone's wins!

In the meantime Lex customers with regulated agreements should in the first instance contact Lex customer services for guidance.

LOMBARD CLARIFIES POSITION on REGULATED AGREEMENT TRANSFERS

30th Jan 2008

Good news! Our customer services contact at Lombard part of RBOS group, today confirmed that they will again begin to review each request for a transfer on it's own merits. This stance is now in line with most other leasing companies.

Some leasing companies are still refusing to consider requests from their customers and are making it extremely difficult to gain any relief when they are financially embarrassed. although the Financial Ombudsman Service is able to intervene in these cases on behalf of these consumers.

This news means that Lombard will shortly begin to accept applications for transfer from hirers in hardship from creditworthy individuals. It is still unclear however, whether they will accept applications for CCA regulated contracts from unregulated business users such as Limited companies.

Although, our contact was not able to offer a formal statement and didn't wish to be named he said that Lombard's position was to ensure that their customers should not suffer increased financial hardship given that there was a viable alternative to terminating the lease early and paying penalty fees.

Having canvassed all our registered customers with Lombard leases one reported yesterday that Lombard offered to take the vehicle back early at no charge! We are waiting on confirmation in writing that they have made good their offer.

Lombard already had a process in place to support the transfer of regulated agreements but this had been suspended for the past 3 months.

Customers wishing to take up this option due to financial hardship should in the first instance talk to their Customer Service team for full details before advertising their personal car lease for sale on Swap-a-Lease.

Leasing agreements with Limited companies remain unaffected and it's business as usual.

NEWS FLASH

FINANCIAL OMBUDSMAN ACTS SWIFTLY...

Today the Financial Ombudsman Service acted in support of a consumer complaint when a car leasing company refused to even consider transferring his lease even though he was financially distressed.

Click to download a .pdf of the correspondence between the leasing company, the hirer and the Financial Ombudsman Service.

This example shows that the Financial Ombudsman is a simple to access and effective service for consumers who are having problems with ending a lease early.

The Financial Ombudsman Service will consider consumer complaints, to ensure a fair, appropriate and timely approach is taken by leasing companies when dealing with transfer requests.

Click this link if your leasing company are refusing to let you transfer a leasing agreement.

Office of Fair Trading - Regulated Agreement Guidance

Following discussions with the OFT regarding the Consumer Credit Act we have now confirmed that there is no reason why regulated contract hire agreements are not able to be transferred or novated. In fact, according to our OFT contact the legislation expressly recognises the rights of a hirer to novate such a contract, subject to the agreement of the current hirer the proposed hirer and the leasing company.

The OFT clarification highlighted that certain clauses in contract hire agreements preventing transfer or novation may be subject to the Unfair Terms in Consumer Contracts Regulations.

Enforcing a contract term to prevent a novation to a creditworthy third party or indeed putting barriers in the way, delaying the administration process, may in effect put the original hirer in a detrimental financial position.

Clearly the Consumer Credit Act was designed to protect consumers and prevent hirers forcing them into a worse position when a perfectly acceptable and proven alternative is clearly available.

Our contact at Lombard has subsequently made it clear that this change in policy is actually a 'business' based decision not a legal one.

Pointing out that they are acting in accordance with clause 10.7 in their contract with the hirer agreement which clearly prohibits transfer of the agreement.

It appears that Lombard are working towards a solution, so this may only be a temporary situation.

If you lease a car on a regulated Contract Hire Agreement with Lombard please contact us for further information on 0161 286 3750.

Many leasing companies continue to support the transfer of Regulated Agreements.

if you are unhappy with the response from your leasing company asa consumer you can click to contact the Financial Ombudsman directly. Alternatively, we can email a list of Director's names and contact details for the particular company concerned so you can write to them explaining your difficulties.

If you are in the market for a bargain used car lease see the latest cars available for transfer now by clicking here.

I want to terminate my car lease early!

When we surveyed our car leasing customers we found early termination clauses in contract hire agreements demanding upto 100% of outstanding rentals. Clearly termination fees can amount to several thousand pounds on an average car contract!

Maybe this is one reason why car leasing has failed to penetrate the UK retail market - unlike in the USA where the majority of new and used cars are leased.

Recently, a Finance Director of an American owned company based in the UK underwent a restructure and reported paying £6,000 to terminate a contract hire car early!! This more than wiped out all the 'savings' he made by shopping around for the lowest car leasing rentals!

The point being that, if he had bought a slightly more expensive rental, from a company offering lease transfer as an option he would have saved thousands in the long run!

Ask your leasing company if they allow 'lease transfers' - here's a tip - ask for their response in writing!

Some leasing companies prohibit transfers of the agreement to a third party. The approach seems at odds with their published mission statements which focus on creating stakeholder value.

More and more leasing companies are beginning to show signs that they understand the need to be flexible and fair with consumers. As business people know, finding and winning new customers is an expensive process and losing them very easy.

If companies want to maintain their reputation for being good to deal with, the moment of truth is when a customer has a problem with an unsuitable lease.

Car leasing is a growing phenomenon in the UK and customers have a choice to use dealer based contract hire or independent leasing suppliers. The independent companies seem to be ahead of the game when it comes to allowing transfers and we regularly complete transfers with Mercedes, Daimler Chrysler, Jeep, Audi, Bank of Scotland, Lex, Lombard, Automotive, Arval, Hitachi, PSA, Renault, Citroen Ford and others.

Swap-a-Lease enables you to transfer your car lease to a new hirer with minimal cost, effort and time subject to agreement from the leasing company to find out what their approach is!

We will find you a buyer when you have agreement from your contract hire company in writing.

We market your lease to 10,000+ opt-in lease buyers. When we're successfully in finding a qualifying buyer and help you to make the transfer you pay a fee equivalent to just one months rental.

CLICK HERE to view the latest contract transfer adverts

NEW VEHICLE CONTRACT HIRE RATES INCREASE!!

Interest Rate Notification - Major Car Leasing Company - 24th July 2007

"The current interest rate market is incredibly volatile with many factors indicating that interest rates will need to increase further over the coming months. After consultation with the Economic Forecasting Team the Pricing Committee has decided to increase the interest rates held within our contracts from their current level of 5.8% to 6.5%."

"This change is being driven by the changes made by the MPC (monetary policy committee) which has now increased the UK base rate to 5.75%, a 0.75% increase in 2007. The base rate is now 1.25% higher than at this time last year and is 2.25% above its low point in 2003."

The scale of the increase reflects the movements which have been witnessed in the market of late. Swap rates have increased from 5.55% at the beginning of March to 6.33% today (an 0.78% increase).

So, pick up a bargain pre-owned contract hire agreement and avoid paying higher rentals driven by increased interest charges!

LEASING BROKER, COMPANY or DEALER?

Are you suffering from disposal losses? Repossessions hitting the bottom line? Cancelled orders? Insolvency stock? Commission Claw-backs for defaults?

Let us help you find new, credit worthy customers to reduce renewal cycles and maximize ROI while protecting resale values and minimising distress for consumers.

Swap-a-Lease will deliver fully qualified lease buyers for cancelled orders, early terminations, over-age, Vat-Q, pre-reg, run-out, re-marketing and secondary leases.

Register, create an account and start advertising - it's that simple - no charge until we find a buyer - then all we charge is one months rental as commission.

Remember Swap-a-Lease buyers are looking for value! - Deposit paid shorter term leasing on nearly new and pre owned leases!

If you've got a stunning leasing deal advertise now - 10,000+ registered buyers & growing!