Legal & Compliance

Who are we?

Essex 4X4 Centre is an independent used 4x4 dealership Our registered office is:

Longacre Farm
Lower Road
Hockley
Essex
SS5 5LR

Our registered company number is 07176234

Our Regulated Status

Essex 4X4 Centre are Authorised and Regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), number 811887. This can be verified by viewing the financial services register at https://register.fca.org.uk/s/ or contacting the FCA on 0800 111 6768 or 0300 500 8082.

What do we offer?

Vehicle finance

We are a credit broker and not a lender. We are not an independent financial advisor. We do not source from the whole market but work with a diverse panel of carefully selected third-party lenders to whom we can introduce you and provide you access to a wide range of products.

Finance is subject to status and the providers terms and conditions. We cannot guarantee that you will be approved for finance.

We will explain the finance products available to you from the lenders we work with and advise on the suitability of those finance products. It will then be your own choice how you wish to proceed.

What do we charge for our services?

Vehicle finance

No fee is payable by you to Essex 4X4 Centre for our service. We will typically be paid a commission from the lender for deals that are written (typically a percentage of the amount advanced). The amount of commission paid to us may vary according to the interest rate charged by the lender, however, we cannot change the rate of interest in order to earn more commission from a lender.

If we obtain an offer for finance for you and you would like to know the amount that we would receive in commission if you accept the offer (and how that amount was calculated), please contact us at [email protected]

On request, or before entering into a contract, you will receive Pre-Contract Credit Information for products regulated by the FCA. This will tell you about any other fees relating to any particular product.

Insurance services

If you buy an insurance product we recommend to you, we will make a margin on the sale of that product from the price paid by you. We also receive training support from the insurance administrators.

Affordability

You should assess the monthly payments that are required throughout the life of any finance agreement and ensure you are able to meet these obligations in addition to any other obligations you may have without suffering undue hardship. 

Your credit rating may adversely be affected if you do not make payments when due which could make it harder or more expensive for you to access finance in the future.

How do we use your information?

Throughout the process of obtaining finance for your vehicle, we will need to collect personal information from you (and potentially family members e.g. partner) and pass this information to one or more third-party lenders who require the information in order to conduct an affordability and credit worthiness assessment to enable them to make a credit decision. 

We will not disclose any of that information outside of the lenders to whom we have to send it for the purposes of obtaining finance.

Neither the lenders nor Essex 4X4 Centre, will use your information to provide you with promotional or marketing material unless you have specifically consented by opting-in to future marketing.

What should you do if you have a complaint?

Our complaints handling process is fair and accessible and if we’ve made a mistake, we will aim to resolve the matter. A copy of our complaints policy which sets out how complaints can be made and what can be done in the event that you are not satisfied with the outcome please email [email protected] for a copy

Are we covered by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS)?

We are covered by the FSCS. You may be entitled to compensation from the scheme if we cannot meet our obligations. This depends on the type of business and the circumstances of the claim. Insurance advising and arranging is covered for 90% of the claim, without any upper limit. The scheme does not cover consumer credit.

Further information about compensation scheme arrangements is available from the FSCS, www.fscs.org.uk.