Will I have to pass a credit check to lease a vehicle?

Yes, you will need to be approved for finance before you can order a car and enter into a lease agreement.

Although interest is. not charged on a vehicle lease agreement (this is one of the reasons why monthly rates are so low), contracts, and the industry is governed and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.

As part of your application to lease a vehicle you are required to pass a credit check.

A standard application form is used by financial lenders to determine the suitability of the applicant for a finance agreement. The decision on whether the application is approved for credit or not will be made by the Lender who will carry out their own inquiries and searches at the credit reference and fraud prevention agencies. This applies to all applicants, including directors and partners if the application is made by a limited company, partnership, or an incorporated association.

Details are checked with credit reference and fraud prevention agencies, and these agencies will record the check. They will provide the agencies with your current and previous names, addresses, and dates of birth of all parties, so if you are providing information about others, on a joint application, you must be sure that you have their agreement. The agencies will provide them with public information about you and any third party financially linked to you. Information such as county court judgments (CCJ's) and bankruptcies, electoral register and fraud prevention information on you and your financial associates, current and previous names, addresses and dates of birth. If false or inaccurate information is provided and fraud is identified, details will be passed to fraud prevention agencies. Law enforcement agencies may access and use this information.

You should not commit to a finance agreement unless you are confident that you can afford the payments for the whole of the term of the agreement.

After completing the appropriate application form, you should also ensure you are provided with and that you read and agree to the Customer Declaration and Data Protection Act notice before submitting the application.