MONEY
Guidance notes for Service Personnel when applying for Unsecured Credit S 36
ervice personnel can experience difficulty in accessing commercial products and services because of their
mobility and time spent outside the UK. This article is issued by the MoD and applies to all aspects of unsecured credit including credit cards, overdrafts, motor finance and other unsecured loans.
The MoD has worked with the financial sector to improve the ability of Armed Forces personnel to access financial products. The representative bodies for the financial sector are raising awareness within their membership of the need to avoid disadvantage for Service personnel and have worked with the MoD to produce guidance notes offering practical help for personnel applying for secured (mortgages) and unsecured loans (credit cards, motor finance, etc).
Envoy Summer 2013
Members of The British Bankers’ Association, The Finance & Leasing Association and The UK Cards Association have agreed to the following key principles when considering lending to service personnel:
‘Those who serve with the Armed Forces should not be disadvantaged because of their occupation. Applications for credit will be treated fairly and consistently with civilian counterparts and will not be automatically rejected purely on the basis of a British Forces Post Office (BFPO) address.’
What lenders take into consideration when deciding to lend
When you apply for credit – for example, a credit card, store card or a personal loan – lenders will ask you for information about your circumstances so they can assess your application. Information that lenders usually check includes: • ID – proof of your name; • Address – showing where you live and
how long you have lived there;
• Credit history – the lender may carry out checks with a credit reference agency, which will show how you have managed any other financial commitments.
Top tips for improving your credit application If you are serving in the Armed Forces, it is sometimes difficult to check the above information when you apply for credit. This is because you are likely to have moved around a lot, or your BFPO address might not always be recognised by a lender’s systems. To improve your credit application you should also: • Provide as much information as you can to the lender, including that you are in the Armed Forces, your address, any postcode and salary. If you have a letter from your Commanding Officer, this might also be useful. Have this information ready when you apply;
www.raf-ff.org.uk
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64