Arrears & Debt Recovery Policy

At Summit Vans, we are committed to providing socially responsible hire facilities for vehicles in the UK, catering to both personal and business needs. We take our responsibility seriously and strive to ensure that our customers have the ability and intention to repay before offering them hire facilities. As part of our commitment to responsible lending, we ask customers to complete an affordability statement and check their credit history using a licensed credit reference agency before confirming a booking.

This policy outlines our procedure for customers who miss a rental instalment.

Code of Conduct

At Summit Vans, we hold ourselves to the highest standards of professionalism and customer service. We are committed to the following principles:

• Offering hirer facilities only to customers whom we believe can repay
• Treating customers with courtesy and respect at all times
• Implementing a fair arrers and debt recovery policy and procedure
• Giving all hirer applications full and proper consideration
• Making fair and equitable decisions that take into account our responsibilities

General Policy

Our primary goal is to work with customers who are experiencing financial difficulties to address their payment failure and recover the vehicle with minimal cost and disruption. We believe in treating all customers with dignity and respect, even in the case of late or missed payments.

• In the event of missed payments, Summit Vans will contact the hirer via phone and/or email to request that they resubmit their payment or provide an alternative payment method
• If the hirer misses a second payment, we will contact them again to request payment
• In the event of a third missed payment, the hirer will be notified by email and registered postal delivery that the vehicle will be repossessed, and any additional charges will be outlined (subject to location and condition of the vehicle)

If a customer suggests that they are experiencing financial difficulties, we will work with them to find a suitable arrangement to recover the vehicle at their earliest convenience, thus preventing further undue debt.

Debt Counselling

In the case of a 12-month lease agreement, if we are contacted by a registered debt counselling agency on a customer’s behalf, we will offer them 60 days of forbearance on their hirer agreement. This means we will organise the return of the vehicle but will not chase any arrears payments for 60 days. After this period, we will follow our standard process for debt recovery.