Financial Support
If you’re feeling overwhelmed or need support to better meet your circumstances, this page is a great place to start.
We adopt a ‘tell us once’ approach. Therefore, we will update our systems for future interactions and will only use this data for this purpose. This information will not be shared with any third parties and will only be accessible by the ZenAuto team.
How we can support you
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Explore money-saving guides
Chat with our financial agents
We can steer you in the right direction
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If you want some quick tips and advice to help with your financial planning, we’ve collected a few resources that you may find useful. The information provided is only a guide, so be sure to speak to a member of our team or an impartial expert we’ve listed below if you’re in difficulty.
Are you struggling to afford your lease payments? Speak to our Financial Assistance team, they can talk through the options available to you. You can reach them on 0113 468 5377 (Mon-Fri, between 8:45am and 5:30pm). Or drop them an email at [email protected].
We know finding the right financial help can be complicated and confusing – let us get you to the right place. We’ve rounded up the best financial support services for free advice and general support. Don’t struggle alone when you can pick up the phone.
If in doubt, reach out
We’re car experts first, so it’s always best to speak to the professionals when you’re dealing with money issues. There are several organisations which provide free, non-judgmental financial advice. Here are just a few…
☆ MoneyHelper
The government-approved advice service makes your money choices clearer. From support with debt to planning for big purchases, MoneyHelper is here to help with living costs. MoneyHelper offers free guidance online, over the phone and face-to-face. Learn more about the ways you can reach out on their site.
☆ Citizens Advice
Citizens Advice offer one-to-one money assistance along with a whole page full of useful money guides. The network of independent charities helps people move forward and deal with the unexpected. Find the best way to get talking over on their Contact Us page.
☆ StepChange
With over 25 years’ experience helping people deal with their problems, StepChange is a fantastic, free resource. The debt experts help you work out your budget, find and set up a debt solution and are there for you, for as long as needed. Reach out via their Contact Us page for financial support.
☆ Mind
If your money struggles are taking a toll on your wellbeing, please don’t suffer in silence. Look after yourself and get help. Mind – one the UK’s largest mental health charities – offer a whole load of services like counselling, befriending and crisis helplines. Find your local Mind today.
Financial support guides
Financial assistance FAQs
Financial support
If you are experiencing financial difficulties and are unable to make your payments, it is important to contact us as early as possible on0113 468 5377 and our team can assist in finding a solution for you. You can get free, impartial advice from Money Advice Service, Stepchange, The National Debt Line and Citizens Advice Bureau.
No, no, no. And another big no. Just talking to us will never impact your credit record.
However, missing your payments could negatively impact your credit record. So, before it gets to this stage, please reach out and speak to us. We’re here to help.
PS. We have a money hub on our site which is full of useful guides, links to external services and some general money saving tips!
So, what actually is a credit record? An FAQ within an FAQ – crazy times.
Your credit record, also known as your credit history, should show accurate information about you, the credit you've taken out, how you've managed repayments and court action taken against you. Credit records are put together by credit reference agencies from information shared by lenders, along with other relevant public information.
Get in touch as soon as you can so that we can do everything we can to minimise any wider financial impacts to you wherever possible (overdraft charges etc). You can contact us on 0113 468 5377 or [email protected]
No. Your current lease price will not change during your contract. If you need to extend your lease after the original end date, the monthly price may change so please get in touch with us when you get your renewal notice or around 6 months before the end of your lease to find out what it will cost (as well any other options open to you).
No, we can confirm that we’ve never employed discretionary commission arrangements and none of our customers have been affected by this issue. If you any questions, please reach out to our Support Squad on 0113 468 5377 (option 3) or email [email protected].
Paying
Whatever you want it to be, in £250 increments. The higher this is, the lower your monthly payments will be.
You do. There’s a £99 processing fee. You won’t have to pay this until you’ve passed our finance checks and signed your agreement.
To make it easy, we’ve popped all the payment types, when you need to pay them and their payments methods in a table below. Exciting stuff – we know!
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Type of payment |
When you’ll need to pay it |
Payment method |
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Processing fee - £99 for new cars and £199 for used cars |
When you place your order – your car isn’t yours until you’ve paid this fee and signed your agreement. |
Debit card |
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Initial payment |
Then when your car is ready to be delivered, we’ll take your initial payment.
We’ll give you 10 working days’ notice before the payment is taken. |
Debit card - you can use different debit cards for each of these payments if you like. |
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Monthly payment |
We’ll start your monthly payments one month after your car is delivered.
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Direct debit |
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Ad hoc charges |
At the end of your lease, you may have to pay if you do more miles than you told us you would or if you damage the car beyond just fair wear and tear for example. You can find more information about our charges here.
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Debit card |
Your processing fee of £99 will need to be paid using a debit card.
To save you the trouble, we’ll automatically take your initial payment from your bank account when your car is being prepped for delivery – we’ll give you 10 working days notice before the payment is taken.
We’ll take the payment for your processing fee when you place your order, after you’ve signed the lease agreement (digitally of course). Then when your car is ready to be delivered, we’ll take your initial payment. You can use different debit cards for each of these payments if you like.
Not during the ordering process, but you might have to after this if you do more miles than you told us you would or if you damage the car beyond just fair wear and tear for example. You can find more information about our charges here.
If you want to change to a personalised plate there will be an admin charge of £40 + any DVLA charges.
No, we’re not into haggling. We put a lot of work into making sure our prices are competitive so we just can’t make them any cheaper.
Nothing, it’s completely free to mainland GB.
If you aren’t at home on the arranged delivery date, there could be a charge.
There’s no set amount for an aborted delivery charge. This depends on what the dealer wants to apply. So please let us know if you can’t make the arranged delivery date anymore. To do so, just ring Customer Care on 0113 468 5377 (option 2) or email the team at [email protected].
A notice of sums in arrears (NOSIA) is a letter we must send you by law if you fall two, or more, payments behind on your hire agreement.
A subsequent notice of sums in arrears (SNOSIA) is a letter we must send you, by law, every six months after receiving a NOSIA. You’d receive these notices until you’re up to date with your hire agreement payment schedule.
We’re required to continue to send you these notices – even if you’ve told us about your current circumstances and we’ve made an arrangement with you (like a payment break). It’s important that you’re given certain info when you’re behind on your payments. A SNOSIA will contain details about the arrears along with the Financial Conduct Authority’s information sheet with useful info, like who to go to for financial support and advice.
We get that this may be confusing since the notice tells you you’re behind on payments. But as long as you’re keeping to the terms of the payment arrangement, you don’t need to do anything!
If you are experiencing financial difficulties and are unable to make your payments, it is important to contact us as early as possible on 0113 468 5377 (option 4) and our Financial Assistance team can assist in finding a solution for you.
For helpful financial guides and links to external support please visit our Money Matters hub. It’s a great place to start if you are feeling overwhelmed and need a steer in the right direction.
If there is anything we should know about that will help us to better meet your circumstances, please call us on 0113 468 5377 or let us know by emailing [email protected]. This could be any personal circumstance or life event that may impact how you access our services or make use of our cars, eg any learning disabilities, hearing impairment, mental health issues, financial distress.
We adopt a ‘tell us once’ approach. Therefore, we will update our systems for future reference and will only use this data for this. This information will not be shared with any third parties and will only be accessible by our team. We appreciate that some needs may be temporary and can therefore remove this information at any time, all you have to do is let us know when things change. Please see our data and privacy notice for further information on how we process your data.
Depending on your circumstances, external specialist support is available and may be able to assist you:
- Samaritans (Crisis support) - www.samaritans.org or call them on 116 123
- Mind (mental health support) www.mind.org.uk or call them on 0300 123 3393
- GamCare (Gambling Support) - www.gamcare.org.uk or call them on 0808 8020 133
- We are with You (drug and alcohol addiction support) - www.wearewithyou.org.uk