Terms and Conditions

Dealer Finance

Dealer Finance is a product that allows Advertisers to display monthly PCP and HP finance offers on their full-page Advertisement and such other areas of the Auto Trader platforms as shall be determined by Auto Trader. Dealer Finance is provided subject to the Main Advertising Terms and Conditions which are incorporated into the Rules by reference.

Please note that Auto Trader do not offer a source of credit, or a finance product directly.

Terms defined in the Main Advertising Terms and Conditions shall have the same meaning in these Rules provided that, should a term be defined in both the Main Advertising Terms & Conditions and these Rules, the meaning of the term defined in these Rules shall have precedence in relation to the Rules.

  1. Definitions

    1. “Appointed Representative” means a firm or person who is a party to a contract with an FCA-Authorised person (the ‘Principal’) which permits the carrying out of regulated activities by the appointed representative, as more particularly defined in the FCA Handbook.
    2. “APR” means Annual Percentage Rate for finance agreements supplied by the Advertiser to consumers.
    3. “Authorised Firm” means a person who, in accordance with The Financial Services and Markets Act 2000, has a Part 4A permission to carry on one or more regulated activities.
    4. “FCA” means the Financial Conduct Authority, which regulates the promotion and sale of consumer credit, including the Dealer Finance product, in the UK.
    5. “FCA Handbook” means the document which sets out the FCA’s rules and guidance made under powers given to them by the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000, as amended, which can be located at https://www.handbook.fca.org.uk/.
    6. “Financial Services Register” means the public record of firms, individuals and other bodies that are, or have been, regulated by the Prudential Regulation Authority and/or FCA.
    7. “HP” means Hire Purchase, which refers to a type of finance agreements promoted on full page adverts (Hire Purchase is a secured finance agreement regulated under the Consumer Credit Act 1974).
    8. “Online Application Form Trial” means the trial being operated by Auto Trader which allows consumers to make, and Advertisers to receive, detailed applications for PCP and HP financial products using online functionality hosted by a third party on the Advertiser’s behalf.
    9. “PCH” means Personal Contract Hire, a form of long-term rental plan which does not result in the ownership of the vehicle being transferred to the hirer.
    10. “PCP” means Personal Contract Purchase, which refers to a type of finance agreement promoted on full page adverts (Personal Contract Purchase is a secured finance agreement regulated under the Consumer Credit Act 1974).

  2. General

    1. This product is available only in respect of HP and PCP offers, and Advertisers cannot use this product to advertise PCH offers.
    2. This product is only available to Advertisers who are authorised and regulated by the FCA for the relevant permissions, or who act as an Appointed Representative of an Authorised Firm with the relevant Consumer Credit permissions.
    3. All Advertisers must comply with all current legislation, advertising codes and any other requirements, including those implemented by the Financial Conduct Authority such as the FCA Handbook.
    4. The Advertiser must have an underlying agreement in place with a lender prior to obtaining Auto Trader’s Dealer Finance product.
    5. Auto Trader will conduct regular due diligence to ensure that the Advertiser is authorised by the FCA and holds the relevant permissions.
    6. The Advertiser must notify Auto Trader immediately if there are changes to the Advertiser’s FCA authorisation or to the permissions held. This will be checked against the Financial Services Register regularly.
    7. This product can only be displayed on full page Adverts and such other areas of the Auto Trader platforms as shall be determined by Auto Trader. The product is available for the categories of vehicles specified by Auto Trader from time to time.
    8. Subject to clause 2.6 above, vehicles that are eligible to have a PCP or HP finance offer displayed are determined by the Advertiser and their chosen finance lender.

  3. Complaints

    1. If AutoTrader receive a complaint in connection with the Dealer Finance product and has reasonable grounds to be satisfied that the Advertiser is responsible for the matter alleged in the complaint, Auto Trader will promptly forward the complaint to the Advertiser using either the contact details held on Auto Trader’s records, or those available on the FCA Register.
    2. The Advertiser is then required to resolve the complaint in line with the Dispute Resolution Section of the FCA’s Handbook.
    3. Any complaints received will be recorded on the Advertiser’s account with Auto Trader.
    4. The Advertiser is required to inform Auto Trader as soon as possible as to the final resolution/outcome of all complaints.
    5. The Advertiser is required to provide any information or data that Auto Trader may reasonably request to enable Auto Trader to handle complaints in accordance with its obligations set out in the Dispute Resolution chapter of the FCA Handbook.

  4. Charges

    1. The Charges payable by Advertisers for Dealer Finance are set out in an Order Confirmation and/or Order Variation or as otherwise specified by Auto Trader. Such Charges shall be payable in accordance with the Main Advertising Terms and Conditions. Auto Trader reserves the right to modify the Charges at any time in accordance with the Main Advertising Terms and Conditions.

  5. Regulatory Compliance

    1. Advertisers are solely responsible for providing Auto Trader with finance information that complies with the Consumer Credit chapter of the FCA Handbook.
    2. Advertisers must provide Auto Trader with representative APRs. A representative APR is an APR at or below which the Advertiser expects credit would be provided to at least 51% of credit agreements entered into.
    3. Auto Trader are responsible for accurately displaying finance information as provided by the Advertiser.

  6. Online Application Form Trial

      1. In the event that a Advertiser is taking part in the Online Application Form Trial, it acknowledges and agrees that:
      1. access to the Online Application Form Trial is provided at Auto Trader’s sole discretion and maybe withdrawn or restricted without notice by Auto Trader at any time;
      2. there are currently no Charges payable solely in respect of the Online Application Form Trial but Auto Trader reserves the right to introduce Charges for the Online Application Form Trial at any time in accordance with the Main Advertising Terms & Conditions;
      3. the Advertiser consents to the use by Auto Trader or any third party involved in the facilitation of the Online Application Form Trial to use the Advertiser’s branding and associated intellectual property for the purposes of providing the Online Application Form Trial (including in connection with the Advertiser’s branding being applied to an online application form for financial products);
      4. as between the parties, Auto Trader accepts no responsibility in respect of the collection, storage and use of the data provided as part of any online application for financial products (as Auto Trader cannot access and does not collect, store or transfer such data); and
      5. the Advertiser accepts sole responsibility for compliance with the FCA Handbook in connection with the Online Application Form Trial.

  7. Cancellation & Termination

    1. The Advertiser may cancel Dealer Finance on 30 days’ notice in accordance with the Main Advertising Terms & Conditions.
    2. Auto Trader reserves the right to immediately remove this product from any or all elements of the Auto Trader Platforms in respect of any Advertiser on the basis that the Advertiser does not hold the relevant permissions with the FCA, or has or is suspected to have breached regulations and/or any members of the Advertiser’s business are being investigated by the FCA for any misconduct.