written by boBlackwell174 on 30/03/2022
This review is not so much about ZUTO staff but about the Eastwood motor company in Essex however I do feel that zuto have not been very helpful I've had to handle as correspondence by myself Stressed is not the word. I have never heard anyone experience what I have experienced with an exchange of a vehicle in my life. My car was an older car and had nowhere near the amount repairs needed to do on it.when receiving the vehicle, it was not the cleanest the way the company handed it to me it had dog hairs stains and all types of internal flaws. However I decided to mention it but over look those types of things as they could be rectified with cleaning.! Approx a month into driving the car I realised that is had other issues the clutch, the radio which is touch screen was not working, the dashboard warning lights began to alarm, I obviously called the company and they seems to be hands on and advised they would sort it and give me a curtesy car in the meantime. I was appauled by the state of the so called curtesy car. It was a 1995 plait vehicle with more dog hairs than on the dog filthy inside and outside no petrol hardly in the car it was a state. no exaggeration I couldn't believe my eyes. It was so old that you had to use a key to open the door never mind the dirt inside the car. Months in the car still has issues. TODAY as I write this the car was away from me for the 3rd time last week for repairs. And came back a day ago but to no surprise the engine management light has come back on and the company Seems to be blaming me for it. He has no explanation as to what the engine management result was but would rather to argue other issue not to do with the initial problem. He is not apologetic, just awful, to begin with they were helpful but I can see now that was all to pull wool over my eyes as they knew they had sold a faulty car and were happy to do so. The car needed tracking. Service checks, retuning, the radio was not working, the lights weren't working properly, oh god the list went on and every other month it was something else. I literally cried today as I was so tresses with all the issues and they way he dealt with me is not helpful. Please avoid you may be the next to experience this and it's not nice at all.
written by Silvald48 on 05/08/2014
Thank you for the assistance of buying a new car. Although I did achieve it, at times it was very challenging due to the criteria but with guidance I was able to acquire a car I like. The recommended dealer was not very professional in there manner and although car loan 4 u has done business with them before in my view they are not very reputable they have poor customer service and did not treat me as a customer having purchased a car. The car on collection was dirty, and I had to demand it be cleaned and they did not commit to what they agreed on agreeing the sale. I did not leave the dealer a happy customer but as I had agreed to the purchase and the finance had paid the dealer I accepted. The dealer refused to release the car after having been paid, so having gone there and asserting myself the car was released.
written by johnnywelsh5 on 05/07/2014
Very speedy service but that is it. customer service are shocking! Messed my name up and maths didn't work out and i questioned them several times which cost me! Was told vouchers would be sent out ASAP £50 to compensate but 4 weeks on still waiting! Emails being ignored. I will Not go back again as I have given them enough chances to get in touch! Shocking. Can not lie to customers and then ignore them. I have Proof on emails at start that say vouchers have been Sent out but nothing. Feel like I was lied too just to get my custom. Should of listened toy instinct! Only had It for my daughter. Grrrrrr very annoyed.
written by on 28/01/2014
Contacted this company Saturday afternoon. Monday morning started getting calls and emails. Asked about rate. We will let you know.Wednesday contacted them again still aced about rate still not sure. Friday gave details of car etc. Still no confirmation of rate. cancelled. Why has it taken 5 days to confirm a rate ?? Will go else where.
Written on: 29/01/2014
you cant expect to be given a rate when you havent found a vehicle. the rate is very much generated on your self and the vehicle you find. This will then determine which lender would accept you for the finance. Once you have given vehicle details, 9/10 you will know your monthly repyaments, terms etc within the same day..usually within the hour!
written by KamB on 04/09/2012
The finance calculator is not even the slightest bit of accurate Took over a day to get back to me which i knew something wasnt right and i was, They were not able to offer me anything expect for finance with a company with very bad reviews and reputation, with finance rates doubled on what the value of the car. I couldv ended up down a very bad path but im glad i researched on everything through out this process I guess if i had a good credit rating it could have been another story
Written on: 05/09/2012
Hi KamB - thanks very much for your feedback.
We offer the calculator to try and provide an indication of rates available through our panel of lenders, but unfortunately without going through the full underwriting process it's very difficult to give an accurate answer. We work with 14 different lenders, and each of them have their own criteria for acceptance, which we have to take into account when trying to source the best product for our customers.
We're sorry you were disappointed with the rates we were able to offer you, and hope that you've able to find some suitable car finance elsewhere.
Thanks again for your comments - we really do appreciate them.
Customer Services
[email protected]
written by denzzz28 on 22/06/2012
The team that handled my account was Friendly and professional they are absolutely fine. however, i felt unimportant because it takes them ages to respond to your call and they are very difficult to contact. I was very upset because I needed the car very badly and I did not manage to drive home the car due to very poor and slow call back response from the team that handled my account. this results in waiting another 3 more days to get the car not to mention that i have to travel an hour by train just to get to the car dealer.
Written on: 12/07/2012
Thanks very much for leaving your feedback. We're really sorry that you had your time wasted, and would really like to investigate this situation to prevent it from happening again.
Please can you email us at [email protected] with your details so we can look into why the response time wasn't up to standard. We'd also like to offer you a small token gift as a gesture of goodwill.
Again, please accept our apologies, and we'll look out for your email coming through.
Customer Services
[email protected]
written by SimonInKent on 07/03/2012
I recently applied for finance through Car Loans 4U. Was worried about previously being declined elsewhere, however they were able to help. The interest rate was high however that was expected to a degree. When I was able to contact the assigned member of staff he was as helpful as could be expected. I decided to not proceed primarily due to the following 1 : Being offered a substantially lower interest rate (saving me around £3,000 interest) from the car dealer from whom I was purchasing a vehicle. Car Loans 4U did offer to beat the rival offer, however I declined this offer. The offer to undercut the rival felt as though they had better lower interest rate options available however were not offering them to me at the outset where they could have. This may not be accurate but this is how it felt to me as a potential customer. 2 : I was not told about a £275 admin fee until I queried the fact that my own calculations of interest showed a small discrepency. When queried it was explained that there was this admin fee which was spread over the course of the loan and was not within interest calculations (which my calculations confirmed). I would have preferred to have been made aware of this up-front though. 3 : I was never told the APR of the loan, only the "flat rate" interest rate. I did request specifically the APR numerous times however was never given any firm information from the staff member. I felt that the reliance on the flat-rate interest was misleading and would have preferred a representative APR for each repayment period I was considering in addition to the flat-rate for the sake of comparison with other options. 4 : During correspondence with Car Loans 4U I have been receiving automated correspondence addressed from the assigned member of staff which I found to be disruptive and unhelpful. I would have preferred some means to opt-out of these. If there is such a means it was not made clear. 5 : I had some difficulty at times contacting the sales rep. I believe this is in part due to circumstances out of their control, however it did cause some undesirable stress as I was unable to confirm specifics of the finance until 2 days after I had found the vehicle I wished to proceed with and so was having to worry that I would lose a deposit due to finance later being declined. 6 : Despite the initial correspondence indicating I had been accepted, the sales rep was unable to give me any indication of what kind of credit limit was available to me or any kind of interest rates until I provided example cars. I would have preferred to have had a limit with indications as to interest rate(s) applicable so that I was able to find a car first and then provide those examples for quotes. I would potentially consider using Car Loans 4U in the future as a last resort, however have been put off by the points above. The apparent reluctance to divulge APR for comparison to other lenders and the admin fee not being disclosed until being specifically requested are the main factors that have put me off.
Written on: 09/03/2012
Hi Simon
Thank you for taking time to produce this review of Car Loan 4u. We encourage feedback where possible; it helps us to provide a better service.
Regarding the fee you mentioned. This is the lenders admin fee. You will be aware that we have one of the largest panels of lenders, each with their own criteria in terms of the type of car finance they provide. Again this is based on the individual and the car.
Lenders criteria is the important aspect here, and as I will explain later will also affected your experience of Car Loan 4u. The lender that accepted you added the admin charge and it is a standard part of what they do - this is not always the case (with some of our other lenders), most lenders add an admin fee (even high street banks) – we cannot change this.
We are sorry that we did not disclose this aspect of your acceptance properly. This has been flagged as an internal training issue. (We do not always get things right!)
Thank you for pointing out the issue about emails, we do provide an unsubscribe link in the footer of such emails. However this will be double checked to ensure that this properly maintained.
We always try to be 100% clear when quoting rates. If this is not the case in this circumstance again we are sorry for not getting things right.
We really are sorry that you could not contact your car finance advisor to go through the specifics of your car finance acceptance. Although there may have been mitigating circumstances (huge power cut!) this is not the standard practice. This may have been a contributing factor to these challenges.
Regarding point 6. We provide a customer focused service, meaning we find the best deal for you, by matching your circumstances to the right product / lender, we try to work with you on this. This means that we can provide you with an estimate of your finance but this (and sometime the approval) is subject to change as all lenders calculate payments to the individual circumstances and also the vehicle. This is all a part of our lenders criteria (as I mentioned earlier) and we can only do so much.
Thank you very much for your review and for considering Car Loan 4u, we have picked up some useful advice for training and moving forward. We are sorry we did not get it right on this occasion and we wish you well in your car hunt. If you wish to come back to Car Loan 4u please use the Fast Track code: SKrc931
Customer Services
[email protected]
written by on 10/10/2011
Despite having a credit record with no defaults, missed payments and with a long term job with 40K salary etc, the best interest rate Carloans4U could give was 21% which I just couldn't justify. The customer service from them was however very good. A sign of the economic times and the unwillingness of lenders to really lend I think. Maybe next time.
Written on: 10/10/2011
It is such a shame that we could not provide you with an acceptable loan offer.
It is important to point out that every loan application is different and whilst we were not able to offer you a lower rate than 21%, we do provide rates from 7.9%. It is all down to the individual. There are so many factors that our lenders look at in terms of APR and even with a comparatively healthy credit status, people often find the rates offered not what they expected.
Glad you found our customer services to an agreeable standard. Our team love to help and even if the offer is not right this time we hope we can help next time.
Customer Services
[email protected]
written by thecompaqguy on 19/06/2010
Not bad if you don't have good credit. A poor man's Black Horse finance. They will finance any car whose mileage is below 100,000. I never got that far in my application, as the car of interest is outside that bracket. Again, a high-rate phone number, and I didn't want to wait for long. Even though the car I wanted was rejected by them, they then pointed me towards ACF for car finance. I ran in the other direction.
Nice looking website, and they are quick to respond. To be fair, the guy I spoke to understood when I said I declined to take the process further, but their computers still send me letters and automated txt messages.
What I'd recomment to a friend: save your cash first and don't get in this situation! :)
written by Flossy391 on 04/05/2011
My credit rating wasn't great so I thought I'd use a broker rather than going to loads of different separate companies. Carloan4u managed to get me a loan but the APR was quite high. Customer service was average, sometimes they called back sometimes they didn't. I was a little annoyed that I arranged to pick up the car after work at 4pm and didn't get away till after 7pm due to the tortuous paperwork involved. Loan payout wasn't very quick either, I ended up picking the car up 10 days after agreeing the loan. Overall not quick and efficient but certainly not the worst broker I've used.
Written on: 04/05/2011
Thank you for your review. Firstly I am glad you managed to arrange your loan. I am however sorry that on this occasion you did not have the smoothest of service. As everyone is aware every lending circumstance is different and collections of vehicles can be delayed due to a myriad of things.
<br/>
<br/>Our normal turn around time is 3 working days. Getting your car can be this quick unless there is an issue with proof of I.D or anything that may cause the finance company to delay payout.
<br/>
<br/>Thank you again and hopefully we can get chance to improve on our performance with you in the future.
<br/>
<br/>Best Regards
<br/>Customer Services
<br/>[email protected]
<br/>
written by on 17/03/2011
The speed of service is good. It's the finance packages that in my experience are not so! With a good-excellent credit history & rating, I expected a fair deal.
Not so. £10,000 x 47 months was going to be £300pm, or £7,500 x 47 months would be £250pm!!! Not the reasonable rates quoted on their loan calculator, and not the rates my credit history can attract.
Reading other reviews, I'm sure their are a great company for service.. just be careful of the deals you are offered.. all may not be what it appears.
written by on 13/09/2010
I've used Car Loan 4 U twice within the last 6 months, since both me and my partner needed new cars. The first experience in March was awful. We were "guaranteed accepted" but then came delay after delay. Their "acceptance" means nothing, it just indicates they will try and find you a deal. It won't be a particularly competitive one. And then just when it looked like funds might be released, oh wait, we need some more documents off you (despite asking if they had everything they needed, and assured they were). Ignore any deadlines or dates they may promise you: they are meaningless.
So, you might ask, why would I use them again last week? Well, the simple answer is: when your credit profile is as bad as mine, you simply have no choice.
I'll be honest, the second loan was less hassle than the first one and the only delay on the day of payment came because they had not transferred the funds using TT (as promised), despite charging me an extra £25 for a "guaranteed same day transfer" which apparently, does not guarantee the funds will arrive the same day. Take my advice, when they try to shaft you with this on the morning of payment day, tell them where to go. They use the "faster payments" system, so a fair majority should still be in the recipient bank account the day they send funds.
My advice: try decent high street lenders first and only come to Loan 4 U once you've been declined everywhere else. They'll get you a loan, but you'll pay through the nose for it. Be honest with yourself: can you afford it? If so, you only have to deal with these clowns until the loan is paid out - after that, you'll never hear from them again.
written by wsm1969 on 14/01/2009
At Car Loan 4 U I was happy with the limit offered and the APR what with my credit history and I would have been happy to go through with it had I been able to go to a dealer of my choice (had the dealer and car picked out). The person I dealt with was courteous and friendly. Fast decision, nice staff. Website says you pick the dealer you want, that is only if you're wanting a car over £8000 and have 20% deposit. I was offered a limit of £9600 at 16% APR which isn't bad given my history but I had to pick a car from Welcome 35 miles away.
written by tomspops on 26/07/2008
We went with them, the staff are friendly and we didn't have any other options to us due to our very poor credit history but we had to get a car. It will cost us £12k for a £8400k car but we knew that would be the case with our history.
written by on 17/07/2008
Car Loan 4U were at one point constantly ringing me at inconvenient times. Loads of emails and texts too, plus messages on my home phone. Although a lot of information was given to me, some important bits were missed. Good if you can't get credit elsewhere, but I wish I'd shopped around for a better rate as in total I'll be repaying twice the value I borrowed.
Written on: 17/07/2008
Hi
Can you tell me if there are any "early repayment charges" with this company, I get a good bonus each year so I maybe able to pay off earlier than the agreed timeframe.
I would rather see the details of the agreement prior to going to the Garage i.e. rate of APR, early repayments etc.
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As rated by our community of reviewers
Johnnywelsh5's Response to johnnywelsh5's Review
Written on: 12/07/2014
Managed to send a few previous emails to different people in Carloan4u and wow they said they would sort my vouchers out straight away and 2 days later they arrived along with a bunch of flowers with a written apology. So if you stay away from Mason you should be fine. First time a company has ever changed my
Mind about them.
Cheers
John