About my car

What if I'm having problems with my new car?

Your first port of call for any problems with your car is the dealer who supplied the car, who should be able to sort the problem quickly for you.

If this isn’t possible, or you need any support, please contact Customer Support on 01865477826 .

How do I change to a different car?

If you're having problems with your car, head to 'Chat with us' and select 'All other queries' where a Customer Service agent will be able to help you.

How do I transfer my current agreement to a new lender?

Head to 'Chat with us' and select 'All other queries' where a Customer Service agent will be able to help you.

Can I make modifications to my car?

Please get in touch with us before making any changes or additions to your vehicle. We will then confirm whether or not it's an acceptable change. Unless you have written consent, you're not permitted to make any alterations.

If you need more information, please click on 'Chat with us' and we'll redirect you to an agent.

Can I change the registration plate?

If you want to add a private number plate to your car, you need to tell us and get our consent before changing the number plate. You'll also need to inform the DVLA. Please make sure you keep the original number plate in a safe place. We ask you to do this so that if the vehicle needs to be returned to us for any reason, you can change the plates back to the original plates before the car is returned to us, and you can keep your personalised plates. If you return the car with a private number plate still attached, the number plate will become our property and we will be entitled to sell the vehicle along with the private plate, as per the terms of the agreement.

What to do if my car is stolen?

We're sorry to hear this. The first thing you'll need to do is dial 101 and ask to be put through to your local police. Make sure you have your vehicle’s registration number, make, model and colour to hand. The police will give you a crime reference number (CRN) which you'll need when you call your insurance company to make a claim. Make sure you then get a reference number from your insurance company. Once you have your CRN and insurance reference number, please call us at 01865 475028. The police will tell DVLA about the theft and if the vehicle is found.

What if I crash my financed car?

Firstly, we are sorry to hear this and hope you are ok.

You will need to contact us either by phone, Live agent, or email on insurance@oodlefinance.com to notify us of the incident. 

There will be some important information we will need from you, including:

• Who you are claiming through.

• The incident date.

• Your claim reference number

• The circumstances of the claim 

With this information, we can then contact your insurers for updates on the progression of your claim, including sending them your early settlement figure as and when required. Please ensure that you provide consent to your insurance company for Oodle to discuss and obtain updates on the claim.

Oodle will continue to pursue your insurers for updates on your claim until payment has been received. 

Handy points: 

Here are some important points that we need to make you aware of: 

• If you require any update regarding your insurance claim, please contact your Insurer directly as they should have all the information.

• You remain liable for the payments due on your finance agreement until the account has been fully settled. Please remember, if your account falls into arrears, this will impact your credit file.

• When we were notified of your insurance claim, we generated an early settlement figure This is valid for 28 days, and if it expires before your claim has been settled, we will generate a new one. This process continues until funds have been received from your insurer.

• If your insurance claim occurred during the first 14 days of your agreement, we will not generate a settlement figure, but we will, instead, provide a withdrawal figure to your insurers. This is the amount that we paid for the purchase of the vehicle and does not include any interest. This figure is valid for 45 days following the date your agreement went live. If this time passes and your claim has not been settled, we will then generate a settlement figure and send this to your insurer.

• We do not allow you to keep the vehicle whilst there is still money owed to us. If the finance agreement is settled in full, you will need to discuss the vehicle being returned to you with your insurer.

•  Any payments from your insurers should come directly to us, however, If your insurers, make a payment to you for the total loss of your vehicle or for your vehicle being missing your agreement requires you to use this money to payment off as much of the outstanding balance under the agreement as it will cover. 

• If you have GAP insurance, please ensure you contact the provider to make a claim. Details of the policy would have been provided with the paperwork when you took out GAP insurance.

• Application of Funds: 
  When applying insurance funds to your account, if they don’t fully settle the agreement, we will reduce the length of your agreement and your monthly payments will remain the same.  A revised payment schedule will be sent to you by email. 
  If your agreement is settled in full, you will receive an email confirmation and a copy of the letter will follow in the post.

Shortfall Options: 

If the amount paid by the insurer doesn’t cover the amount needed to settle your finance agreement in full then there are some options below to help you pay the ‘shortfall’.

• You can continue to make your contractual monthly instalment until the balance has been repaid and we allow the agreement to continue.

• You can pay the shortfall in full if you are able to do so.

• You could transfer the settlement figure into a new finance application if you would like to enter into a new agreement for another vehicle. This is subject to affordability and verifications checks being completed by our underwriting team.

• If none of the above are appropriate for you, please contact our Payment Support Team on 01865 521240 to discuss your circumstances.