Annabelle Clarke

PR Manager

Annabelle Clarke | Author

Eduardo Rodrigues

Content Writer

Claudia Tuñón

Isobel Coughlan

Joseph Law

Bumper Content Writer

Alastair Shephard

We are pleased to announce our service advisor of the month award for December 2019 goes to Alkan From Group1 Audi Chingford.

 in September 2019 Alkan has proved Bumper to be an excellent tool to add value for customers, allowing them to budget monthly for essential repairs to their vehicles.

To date Alkan has helped hundreds of customers drive away with their payments split into affordable monthly payments.

Well done to Alkan and the team at Audi Chingford!

CHA-CHING!-ford: The Chingford Service Advisor Helping Customers Budget Better With Bumper

We are delighted to have been announced as the winner for Best New Product or Service for our online payment portal at the Automotive Management awards last week.

The awards, held annually, are dedicated to acknowledging exemplary performance and innovation in the Automotive Industry. Other winners included Kia Motors UK for Franchise of the year; one of our partnered dealerships, VW Wrexham, as Best Used Car Dealership; and a recent partnership for ASF, Citygate SEAT Reading.

Following our wins at FSTech Awards, Credit Awards and the Lending Awards last year, this is the company’s fourth win to date.

Congratulations to all of the evening’s winners!

Bumper Win At AM Awards 2020

Unlike other countries, there isn’t a universal credit score in the UK. Here, credit reference agencies such as Transunion, Equifax and Experian provide data to lenders for risk assessments, who in turn report back to the agencies on whether the customer has maintained their repayments. As lenders may use 1, 2 or all 3 of the credit reference agencies, the score you receive from each is likely to be different.

Not only do different credit agencies use different criteria, they also score you using different scales. For example, with Experian you would be scored out of 999 and with Credit Karma, which uses Transunion and Equifax, you would be scored out of 710.

What these companies consider a good, bad or average credit score is published on their websites but how they determine this varies by agency.

There are five main points agencies will consider when determining your score:

You can check your credit score for free by visiting Experian’s website or Credit Karma.

How Your Credit Score Is Calculated

We are pleased to announce we have received our largest investment to date after our latest funding round.

An £850,000 investment has been secured through equity given to private investors. This brings our total investment to £4 million over the last 5 years. This comes alongside our £13.3 million debt facility provided by Naviter Capital, who was also one of the equity investors.

This latest investment follows a long period of growth, with over 2,000 UK dealerships using our 

 option to sell over £50 million pounds worth of service work since our launch in 2015. A large increase came in 2019 where lending grew 100% year-on-year. An increase due to trusted partnerships with brands such as Peugeot Citroen, Ford, Vauxhall, Jaguar Landrover and Volkswagen and a commitment to providing an ethical payment option to customers and a reliable and robust solution to dealerships.

 CEO James Jackson said, “Dealerships are going through a particularly difficult time at the moment amid the ongoing impact of the Coronavirus and while this will lead to an unavoidable short term slowdown in aftersales activity many have already recognised the longer term importance of adopting interest-free payment methods within their service departments. This is especially important when it comes to selling work that they would have otherwise missed out on.

“In the short term we’re committed to helping provide dealers that are still offering aftersales support with the ability to offer their customers flexible payment methods, something that will be beneficial to both vehicle owners and dealerships alike in the challenging times ahead. This has included developing a fund to help vulnerable customers by discounting their final repayment bills during the ongoing pandemic. Beyond this, we aim to increase both our footprint and the utilisation of our platform across the UK.”

Bumper Future Looks Bright as latest funding round secures £14 Million Investment

1 in 5 UK drivers admit to driving unsafe cars because they

and a quarter of drivers aged 17 to 24 say they put off repairs to avoid extra costs. This results in many dangerous vehicles on the road and a higher likelihood of 

Repairing your car is critical. To help manage the costs, a significant proportion of drivers use payday loans to cover car expenses. However, this isn’t always the best solution either. 

In this article, we’re exploring why payday loans aren’t always the best idea for car costs with honest advice and unbiased information. 

Before we discuss the pros and cons of payday

, we’ll quickly provide an overview of what they are. 

A payday loan is a short-term, unsecured loan that often comes with high-interest rates. These are also known as salary loans, payroll loans, payday advances, or cash advance loans. 

Payday loans are usually available for £500 or less and are a popular option for those with lower credit scores. But they’re not your only option.

It’s vital to be informed before applying for any 

. Here are the transparent benefits and drawbacks of payday loans for car repairs. 

Alternatives to payday loans for car repairs

Realising your car needs urgent repair is stressful. Before you sign up for a payday loan, consider alternative options and assess how they’ll affect your finances. 

Alternative payment options for car repairs include: 

Payday loans vs Bumper’s interest-free finance: A comparison

loans are used for car or vehicle expenses

, but they often have large interest rates. Typical interest rates work out to be 1,300% APR. 

In fact, one company we found offering payday loans for car repairs estimated a 6-month £2,000 loan would cost £3273.94, including interest. This is 

Companies offering payday loans tend to prey on those with 

‘Payday loans for bad credit’ is a phrase that appears frequently when searching online. This may seem appealing if you have a low credit score, but you’ll likely be charged a much higher interest rate. 

Finder.com reported that the average payday loan user is younger, between the ages of 25 and 30, single, in rented accommodation, and on a low income, with a household income of less than £1,500 per month. 61% of these users admitted to feeling less confident about managing money. 

Payday loans may seem like a quick solution to your car repair problems but could leave you with large amounts of interest to pay and your credit score negatively impacted (if you’re unable to make the repayments). 

Why interest-free loans are more sustainable than payday loans

 interest-free, buy now pay later loans for car repairs keep things simple. 

They have a 0% APR, meaning what you borrow is exactly what you pay. The garage covers the lender's cost in the form of a small percentage charge, so there is no need to worry about depositing extra cash to cover the interest. 

 and risk management systems uses artificial intelligence to make lending decisions based on previous loans, meaning we can lend responsibly and not push customers into debt. 

It also ensures we can lend to many people. Our average acceptance rate is 95%. 

Participating garages offer interest-free loans. Our' find a garage' tool allows you to find local garages using your postcode. 

There’s no one-size-fits-all answer to car financing. However, it’s important to understand that payday loans aren’t always as friendly as they seem. Hopefully, this blog has helped you understand how payday loans work and encouraged you to conduct your own research before choosing one car repair financing method. 

 helps you spread the cost of any repairs at no extra cost. With 0% interest and the chance to split bills of up to £5,000, we’re here to help when your car goes wrong. We also offer quick online pre-approvals, allowing you to skip the paperwork and access help whenever needed. 

Apply for a credit limit and find a reliable service partner today. 

has been writing about cars for over seven years and writing for Bumper for over two, blending his passion for automobiles with a talent for storytelling.

Joseph has written about engineering and cars for Autozilla, Komaspec, and several engineering manufacturers. When he's not writing or tinkering with one of his five cars, Joseph dreams of owning an Alfa Romeo 33 Stradale.

Here’s Why You Should NOT Use Payday Loans For Car Repairs

Volkswagen UK is improving their aftersales experience by offering customers interest free on repairs, servicing, MOTS and accessories.

Bumper is an innovative, interest-free lender that allows customer to split their repair bill at no additional cost. With flexible options to suit big and small invoices, anything between £60 and £3,000 can be borrowed and split over 1 to 6 instalments (a payment made on the day is required for 4, 5 and 6 instalments).

The service is available in participating VW garages across the UK. Applications are subject to a Soft Check and a decision is presented to the customer instantly.

Head of Aftersales at VW UK, Kevin Rendell, said, “The 0% offer allows drivers to spread the cost of accessories, maintenance, repairs and more, all with the reassurance of Volkswagen Retailer customer service. “

Bumper, CEO, James Jackson, said, “So far, the UK aftersales sector has demonstrated commitment and innovation when it comes to keeping key workers on the move. From drop off and pick up service appointments for essential work, through to offering frontline staff special service discounts, dealers are showing they are willing to pull out the stops.

“However, ability to pay for aftersales services, no matter how urgent, will also be compromised. Introducing payment flexibility can be one way in which dealerships can offer these key customers support during uncertain times.

“Because of the uncertainty that will surround the economy for some time after the current lockdown measures are lifted, many people will be unable to, or wary of paying for 

“Again, providing customers with payment flexibility, such as the ability to split their payments interest free over a number of months, will help dealerships retain customers and sell work that might otherwise prove difficult.”

Bumper is an interest free financing solution for car repairs and services that is customer centric and responsible. To get your Credit Limit and find participating garages, click below to find a service partner.

Volkswagen to offer 0% APR finance in bid to boost aftersales experience

 flexible interest-free payment solution across its service departments.

Jaguar Land Rover customers will be given the option to split their bills into affordable monthly payments completely interest-free. Bumper’s use of risk management systems and artificial intelligence allows an instant decision to be made whilst the customer’s car is still in the dealership. This allows maintenance work to be carried out and gives the customer peace of mind their bill has already been dealt with.

Customer Services Director of Jaguar Land Rover UK, Garry Burns, said: “We have seen a significant shift in consumer payment patterns, with many now preferring to split payments and pay on a monthly basis allowing us to broaden the options available to customers.

“As part of our commitment to giving customers the best possible experience when driving a Jaguar or Land Rover vehicle, we also want to make sure payments are as flexible and convenient to manage as possible.”

Jack Allman, co-founder of Bumper, said: “Jaguar Land Rover is one of the most recognised automotive brands in the world and we’re looking forward to helping them further improve their service experience, and continue their drive for innovation and customer excellence, with the ability to offer a buy now pay later option.

Jaguar Land Rover Roll Out Bumper Buy Now PayLater Option Across Service Departments

With many big online and high street names offering customers greater flexibility Buy now Pay Later is growing in popularity. Currys, Ikea, Very.co.uk and many others engage consumers with offers of slicing their bills and delaying payments.

Buy now pay later is a finance option that allows you to make purchases either by splitting them into monthly payments and/or delaying the payments to a later date.

Some providers have interest bearing BNPL options so it’s important to find out before applying, however this will often be made clear to you beforehand. Other providers, such as Bumper for car repairs, is interest free and won’t charge you extra for splitting your bill.

Why is Buy Now Pay Later becoming more popular?

For online shoppers using sites such as Pretty Little Thing, Missguided and ASOS BNPL allows customers to purchase more items and return clothes before payments are made. Retailers offering BNPL on larger items, for example washing machines at Currys or 

, allows customers to split often unexpected bills into affordable monthly payments.

Will using Buy Now Pay Later affect my credit score?

As some BNPL options require a credit check it can be used as a way to boost your credit score. Regular on-time payments are reported back to the credit reference agency and can be looked upon as favourable by lenders in the future. For advice and to see your credit score you should consult a credit reference agency such as Experian.

Bumper is an interest free solution for car repairs and services that is customer centric and responsible. To get your Credit Limit and find participating garages and dealerships clickhere.

Buy Now PayLater: Fastest Growing Payment Method Globally

Find all the latest industry news and handiest car repair and service tips on the Bumper Blog. Want to get the Bumper view on something? Let us know and we’ll drop a blog post on it as soon as we can.