Important update

Remote signing solution

Having the right tools in place can help to make the finance application process easier for you and your customers.

We understand that the process of buying a vehicle can be very time consuming, with customers investing a lot of time into researching different types of vehicles, to ensure they purchase the right one for their needs. That's why we've invested in our new signing solution, which enables your customers to sign their finance agreement remotely.

 

What’s new?

 

Our new solution offers flexibility, choice and convenience, meaning the customer can sign on any device, from wherever they are. Whether this is on their phone whilst in the dealership, on the sofa at home or even when they're on holiday. Customers will have the flexibility to sign from anywhere they like, making the signing journey quicker, easier and more convenient.

 

How it works

 

You'll submit a customers application as normal in your proposal platform, and once this has been approved, signing links will appear. You'll then be able to review and approve the customer's details, and, sign the supplier declaration. You'll need to complete a series of steps to complete this process. To help, view our Showroom guide which outlines a step by step process of exactly what you'll need to complete.

 

You must make sure you enter a customer's email address and mobile phone number correctly in the system, otherwise they'll not receive the email and text message needed to authenticate themselves, and will therefore not be able to sign their finance agreement electronically.

 

By signing the declaration first, this enables you to check with your customer that their details are correct. Once you've checked, signed and submitted the document, we'll automatically email your customer with their documents to sign and review. They'll then have 30 days to sign their agreement before this expires. You can also check their progress in your proposal platform to see if they've signed their documents. If they have, the 'sign for applicant' section will be marked as complete.

 

Unregulated finance - Witness Requirement

 

When a customer's finance is set up on a Hire Purchase agreement, this means it's not covered under the Consumer Credit Act due to it being for a partnership of more than three partners, a Limited Company or a Public Limited Company. As we require a guarantor for this type of lending, a deed will need to be signed. The customer will therefore need to nominate a witness by submitting their email address and mobile phone number as part of their remote signing journey.

 

The witness will need to be physically present with the customer when they sign their agreement. When the witness receives an email, they will have to authenticate via SMS, and agree to act as the witness. The witness will then be prompted to supply their occupation and home address before agreeing and signing.

 

Download our handy resources:

 

 

How to use our remote sign solution

Close Brothers Motor Finance

Frequently asked questions

    My customer's nominated witness hasn't received their email to sign their documents, what should I do?

    If the witness doesn't receive their email asking them to input their information, they must contact the customer to get the information corrected. You must then contact your Partner Hub to ask for the changes to be made and the email will be resent to the witness.

    What if there are two joint owners of the vehicle?

    If there is a joint proposal, both customers will be emailed the documents to sign.

    What if my customer fails the validation process?

    If a customer fails the validation process they will be locked out of their documents and will be advised to contact you to help them resolve this. The proposal will be held in a queue along with some information to let our team know what’s caused the error. One of our team will then either reprocess the proposal to correct any errors, or they can trigger the documents to be re-sent, which gives the customer another opportunity to complete this step. If the customer is uncomfortable with the digital journey, they can use the wet sign process instead.

    What happens if credit taken out by the customer is above £60,260?

    If you have agreed with the customer that their finance is above £60,260 then a non-distance sale process must be followed.

    What's the difference between signing away from the dealership and a distance sale?

    Our new solution is a signing journey that enables customers to sign their finance agreement from anywhere, whether that’s their sofa, in the dealership, or whilst on holiday. Signing remotely does not automatically mean the sale is a distance sale. A distance sale only occurs when there has been no substantive face to face contact between the dealer and the customer which the dealer could later evidence before the customer is sent the documents.

    There is a common perception that if the customer signs for their finance agreement outside of the dealership, that this is a distance sale, but this is incorrect. A sale is classed as a distance sale if the dealer and the customer have not had substantive face to face discussion before the customer is sent their finance documents.

     

    For more information about distance sales, please visit https://www.themotorombudsman.org/distance-sales-faqs

    I've been informed by the customer that they've failed the authentication process

    When prompted to input the code, as per the authentication process, they will have three attempts to input their code correctly. After the third attempt, the customer will be locked out of the agreement and you’ll need to contact your Partner Hub to ask for the agreement to be resent.

    My customer has declined to sign, what do I do next?

    If your customer has declined to sign, you should call the customer to understand why. This may be due to them changing their mind about their purchase, or their information may have been incorrect on the proposal.

    My customer doesn't want to sign their agreement electronically

    If the customer doesn’t want to sign electronically that’s no problem, they can use the wet sign process instead.

    What if my customer doesn't receive their email?

    Your customer will need to let you know that they haven’t received the email. If the email address needs changing, you’ll need to contact your Partner Hub to ask for this to be updated, then the documents will be re-sent. Alternatively, the customer can choose to wet sign their agreement.

    What if some of the information on the proposal is incorrect?

    If you, or a customer, enters incorrect information, you must contact your Partner Hub to ask for the information to be updated. It’s really important that the customer’s email address and mobile phone number are captured accurately, otherwise they will not be able to sign their agreement.