The Bowater Price Car and Van Leasing Customer Charter

Vehicle broking is a large but so far unregulated business. Successive governments have discussed the fact that the consumer needs protection from some of the more misleading and questionable practices rife in the industry.

Not all car leasing companies are the same. We promise to maintain the very highest standards of transparency, honesty and dependability in all your dealings with Bowater Price.

At the moment, there's nothing to prevent car leasing companies advertising a car at a price that could be £20 or more per month less than the lowest contract hire rate available on that particular vehicle just to draw customers in. Naturally, if you are interested in cheap car leasing, you'll follow that up, only to be told that those models are now sold out or that there is a long delivery wait, but fortunately the company can supply a similar vehicle with a shorter delivery date - but at a higher price!

When we advertise a vehicle, it's because we know we have it available at the price advertised .

Some car leasing companies will take your order and deposit and closer to the vehicle delivery date they'll advise you that they, regrettably, cannot supply the vehicle at that price or on the due date. If you decide to cancel the order you may then face a contract cancellation penalty equivalent to three months rental. Deposits can also be notoriously difficult, if not impossible, to recover in those circumstances.

Our commitment to you is only to quote a price for a vehicle we know we can supply at that price. The delivery date we give you will always be the manufacturer's quoted delivery time.

Some manufacturers are currently quoting long delivery periods on certain models. Bowater Price can sometimes quote a shorter delivery than is generally available as we pre- purchase certain vehicles and other occasions we probably quote the same or comparable delivery periods available through other companies. Of course, there are times when things happen that are completely beyond our control - like a cross channel ferry sinking with our entire consignment of new BMW's. Apart from these exceptional circumstances, our commitment is to quote a delivery date that is realistically achievable and to deliver to you on time. We will never quote a delivery date we cannot achieve simply as a means to secure the order

We do not promise delivery dates that are not achievable.

Some car leasing deals may seem attractive, until the company informs you of additional costs and charges only after the order has been placed and often so close to the delivery date that it's very difficult for you to make alternative arrangements. These generally take the form of an additional deposit, documentation fees not mentioned at the time of ordering and charging for delivery. We firmly believe that delivery should always be included in the cost originally quoted to you and we will never conceal any costs or additional expenses from you just to secure your order.

With Bowater Price, there are no hidden costs or charges.

A typical contract hire quotation would require the equivalent of three payments in advance followed by perhaps 23 or 35 monthly payments, depending on the term. Some companies may quote three payments in advance followed by 47 monthly payments, but the norm in the car leasing UK business is usually 3 + 35 monthly payments based on 10,000 miles per annum. If your annual mileage requirements are likely to be higher most companies will be happy to provide a quotation at your required level.

Other companies may advertise what appears to be a low monthly rental, however on closer inspection these contract car hire deals require the equivalent of six monthly payments in advance followed by the 35 monthly instalments. This practice can make it difficult for the public to make meaningful cost comparisons.

It does not automatically follow that a lease hire vehicle requiring a large deposit or six payments in advance is more expensive, although they generally are. Should you wish to establish which quote is the most competitive for a similar vehicle advertised by one company asking for three and another six payments in advance, the calculation is as follows.

So what appears to be cheaper at first glance actually works out being marginally more expensive together with the requirement to find the extra cost of three additional payments at the beginning of the contract rather than being spread over the term.

You may feel that the difference is minimal and in the interests of simplicity you could ignore this factor when making a comparison. That will certainly give you a “ball park” figure, but whenever possible try to compare like with like and look at suppliers who quote over 36 months based on 10,000 miles per annum using the formula of 3 monthly payments up front followed by 35 monthly instalments.

We always quote 3 payments in advance followed by either 23 or 35 monthly payments, so as not to distort the monthly payment and allow you a firm basis for comparison. Bear in mind though that our quoted prices will always include delivery and associated costs. Additional costs not inclusive in the quote may be required by other suppliers.