Finance and the Military

[woowoo]

I have recently tried to get a new car on finance and have (once again) had difficulties due to the number of addressess I have lived at in the past 3 years.

As a trainee Pilot in the RAF, surely finance companies must realise that we move around alot! Other aspects such as a healthy bank balance and being on the electoral register etc are all fine.

Has anyone come across this problem before and is there something that can be done?

Yours,

WooWoo

[Always_broken_in_wilts]

Use your parents address until you are finally posted somewhere more permanent. Not ideal I know but it does solve the problem of your frequent address changes whilst under training.

all spelling mistakes are "df" alcohol induced

[woowoo]

Unfortunately my parents have also just moved house.....AHHH!

[Logistics Loader]

Supposedly this was going to be "fixed" by the Bliar Group...

Same as it was going to be fixed for those service personnel to be able to vote properly as opposed to proxy...

I'm afraid you are not alone in this problem....but until the Government get their act together and bring in some sort of legislation to assist service personnel, then I have to agree with ABIW, use parents adress.....

ISTR a Harrier pilot years ago, 23yrs old i think at the time, flew his jet back from Germany on a Bona Fide visit..Got to Twittering, went to local car hire company to hire a car and was told you are not "old enough" , you had to be 25yrs old for insurance purposes....

Makes you wonder about life sometimes....

[PerArdua]

ABIW is spot on
Keep all your important id in your parents address. I kept everything including driving licences, car insurance etc in their address during training as it is very difficult to explain to them that you are only holding somewhere and not there permanently. It is also handy if you get stopped for speeding because they don't make the connection to the base you are at and get you in the local paper for the Staish to read.

PA

[Logistics Loader]

auntie/uncles address ??

[X-QUORK]

I left the mob seven years ago with a pi$$-poor credit rating because of the nomadic nature of life in the Forces. I'd never defaulted on any payments to a bank loan I'd had, yet anytime I needed a credit reference it came back as risky...better check him out further...make him pay max deposit etc.

I believe the trick is to make sure you're on an Electoral roll somewhere otherwise the credit lenders get very twitchy.

Good luck.:ok:

[miles magistrate]

Your credit file does not hold your occupation so they would not know about why you are moving so often. It shows outstanding debts, payments made, including direct debits to people such as phone companies and utilities. Apply on line for your credit file it costs £2 via a credit checking agency (there are only 3, choose any one of them). Check the details on your file are correct. Concurrently ask the credit reference agency to add a note on your file to the effect you are in the Forces and move around a lot. Ensure you are not connected to any other person (spouse, partner etc) as a connection will be considered. Do Not keep applying for credit as this does reflect on your rating and numerous requests lowers your standing. By Statue the whole process should be complete between 7 - 28 days.

[mbga9pgf]

I asked this very question on moneybox (radio 4) about 6 months ago...

The girl answered that I should use my parents address...

My response was, well, my parents live abroad, anyway, isnt that a fraudulent claim as I do not effectively live there... she muttered something but concluded if my parents did live in the UK, it would be perfectly alright.

One thing you want to watch, try and get a broker to find the best deal. If you put too many finance requests in, they will label you as a credit junkie and finance will always be refused. Get on your local electoral register as well. Apparently it makes a big difference and you can get the forms online (military form you want). The only other option I do not reccommend is go ahead and say you have lived at the station for 4 years... the whole point about the moving around thing (which could be solved by using NI number or service number in loan applications) is they have a very sketchy finance history on you.


One thing also to note, Credit issuing companies dont like the ammount of disposable income we have. Its bad for their business, especially as we have the means to rapidly pay off debt. In effect your Credit Scoring (no your credit "score" does not actually exist, its an urban myth) tells them the sort of chap you are, and how profitable you are to their financial service. Unscrupulous I know but the way the cookie crumbles. So if you suspect this is the reason credit was rejected (you have a legal right to ask why credit was rejected, and you can then fight your case with them) then remember flying pay is not a salary, its an allowance. Hope that helps!

[The Gorilla]

I have had the same problem in the past, it has always been down to the fact that I cannot prove who I am as I don't appear on the electoral register. Originally this was due to being registered as a Service voter and then in latter years because I decided not to register. A chat with my bank manager to explain the reasons why sorted it all out. He knows now that every time I apply for a mortgage, loan etc he won’t find me in cyber land but he has the power as they say!!

I believe from a recent chat with my mortgage adviser that getting credit or even opening a bank account has been made more difficult by the over zealous application of money laundering regulations.

[Grand Fromage]

It gets worse!

Just renewed my car insurance, having previously found that if i change my address from my parents one too the far flung corner at which i'm currently stationed, i save £50 - yippee!

However, i was then asked if i'm still a student or a full time RAF employee. I answered the latter, expecting a further discount, to be told my premium would go UP £150!

This is, "coz you military lot are away so much driving tanks and flying planes and that, when you get back you can't remember how to drive a car and you all go out and have an accident"

And you're seriously telling me that S@!t crate driving, unwashed students are considered a lower risk than commisionned officers... asketh I...

"It's all worked out by our experts"

Course it is - let me speak to your superviser you silly, silly girl!

More to the point woowoo, i've found that if you use a financial advisor/lender and argue your case they can normally pull strings e.g. I was refused a mortgage at 4.5 times my salary when a friend (who doesn't earn much more) was approved for the same amount on the strength that he is a trainee stockbroker - who could be sacked without notice tomorrow. I pointed out the lunacy to my mortgage advisor and he got the lender to see sense and cough up.

Be careful with your new car now, cos after flying those planes driving it'll be a real chore!

GF

[The Helpful Stacker]

Another problem you can find in the forces is encountered if you move into a married quarter with previous bad credit rating (which is quite common apparently).

I know of an ex-colleague who had a credit check done on the quarter DHE were trying to move him into (which he didn't want due to the area) and refused it based on the poor credit history on the property. They accepted his refusal and offered him another (better) quarter.

[TeBoi]

Have you tried a broom-handle Mauser, one of the missus' stockings over the head and a dodgy handwritten note asking for the lowest APR?

Sorry, I know being facetious is not becoming (or something like that which my mother used to say).;)

[woowoo]

Its interesting to see so many similar stories. I can symphathise with the car insurance issue. It's unbelievable that they consider the miliatry in general as high risk. It's not like we drive our personal vehicles through a war zone!

What is also interesting is that they consider it worse to have your car parked overnight on a base than on a simple road in a city. My hat goes off to the kid who manages to steal the radio antenna and scratch his keys along the length of a car after pasiing two armed guards and a patrol!

Thanks for the tips everyone, I will have a think. On further discussion with the fianance manager of the company I put to him that I would be willing to write a formal letter with address history, dates, reasons etc and he seemed to warm to this idea....watch this space!

Woowoo

[PPRuNeUser0211]

Yeah, the car insurance thing is a right malarky! Had a friend who had his premium increased when changed address to living on base vs parked in a street in the middle of sheffield...

He obviously inquired about this and was told "all those squaddies running around drunk on a friday night" or something to that effect were the reason for his increase.... despite being based at a certain countryside station somewhere in yorkshire, which has about as many squaddies as my parent's house.....

Agreed, hats off to any scally who will take the trouble to steal your car stereo from behind 10 feet of razor wire, cctv and live armed guards.....

As for the finance thing, fully agree, leave all your details as your parent's address, just don't bother changing it! When it comes to mortgage time, rather than just giving them your current level of pay, feel free to give them your pay scale and indicate whereabouts you are on it, how close you are to pay rise etc. Had no snags at all getting a 4.2x mortgage, although it helped that my financial chappy is ex-light blue also!

[Twonston Pickle]

I've managed to get away with calling myself a "government official" or a "civil servant" so far - and the insurance companies seem to offer large discounts for these categories!!

[charliegolf]

Twonston

OK til you die ina plane and your NOK is left without a payout because you didn't declare a material fact.

If you can stand the arse, better to claim all the loadings against tax- barristers get away with 'I have to buy inordinate amounts of black suits for court'.

CG

I'm assuming you're aircrew, btw, so that fact IS material.

[flash13]

I have had similar problems because i was not born in Britain. The one that really got my goat was my driver's license. Coming over here it was a straight one-for-one swap, no tests of any kind, just a £10 fee or thereabouts. But when it came to car insurance, oh no, 5 years driving in another commonwealth country doesn't count. It's your full British license we're interested in. Well, I've had it for a week (a little longer now). So they see you as a one week experienced driver, and no amount of letters or phone calls to the insurance brokers made a blind bit of difference.

It's good to bitch and moan. It's these small things that should be so easy to sort out that can really wind you up...

[Spacer]

This will make you laugh: When I moved from a base in Scotland to on in England, Tesco said they were putting my insurance up by £800 per year! You can bet I told them where to stick it :mad:

[BEagle]

Ah - the joys of motor insurance!

"What's your occupation?"
"Retired. And a company director....and an aviation consultant."
"What's an aviation consultant"
"Well, currently I'm working on an Airbus project. Training, system operation and design....."
"So are you an engineer?"
"I have a degree in engineering. But if I say I'm an engineer, you'll think I'm some oily fingered type who drives around with a bag of spanners in the boot...."
"Well, which is your primary job?"
"The one which makes the policy the cheapest!"
"Fair enough, Sir!"

They got the business.

When I was a student, my parents lived in Menorca, so I had no UK address. Hence I always used "c/o Lloyds Bank" at the bank where my account was. Never any problem with insurers. Nowadays the banks charge for redirecting mail, so that option is probably no longer available.

The only vandal damage I ever suffered ws when my car was parked outside the Officers' Mess at RAF Leeming and some bunch of drunken rock-apes from Catterick though it was fun to damage cars on their way back to the main gate. Don't know if the little buggers were ever caught as I had to drive to Valley a couple of days later.

If you tell them that your car is parked in a locked garage in a secure area patrolled by armed guards, the idiots conclude that you are a serious risk as you have to take such precautions :rolleyes: ..........

Insurance companies belong on the same list as estate agents and compensation-culture ambulance-chasing lawyers, in my mind. One of the first against the wall, come the revolution!

[Taffer]

Insurance companies belong on the same list as estate agents and compensation-culture ambulance-chasing lawyers, in my mind. One of the first against the wall, come the revolution!



Who needs to wait for the revolution? ;)

[Twonston Pickle]

CG

Good point but I do use my correct job title for all life/injury policies etc. I was refering to mundane policies for car insurance etc - I was even advised to do this by one company to get the policy; I said military, they said government official. The other exception is wedding insurance - a good chance of that being cancelled due to OOA, but that's a different thread...

[Oggin Aviator]

Insurance companies belong on the same list as estate agents and compensation-culture ambulance-chasing lawyers, in my mind. One of the first against the wall, come the revolution! Agree!

Try to get a decent auto policy when you have served abroad in an exchange or liaison posting for more than 2 years - virtually impossible.

a - You've been out the country obviously not driving - err yes I have driven to work everyday (just on the other side of the road).

or

b. - OK we'll insure you but your [insert foreign country] no claims bonus is not valid as it was not in the UK blah blah. Therefore your premium is a lot higher.

And this from a company advertising in the Forces Discount Brochure! Arse!

Hence competitive premium is very difficult to come by or is loaded for serving your country but whilst not in your country. Scandalous.

I write this as a heads up to anyone returning to the UK after a period abroad. I managed to find one company that in its small print accepts no claims bonus entitlements from other countries for ex-pats - in this case I considered myself an ex-pat and applied online, no snags and when the cover note and other associated paperwork came through it didnt even ask to see my NCB letter. Nice Job Norwich Union :ok:

Oggin

[ORAC]

:confused: Things have obviously changed. As a singly living in the Mess and moving every 2.bit years I never had a problem with credit. I Just explained I was in the RAF and the next question was what was my service number. It's hardly rocket science......

[BEagle]

Why not publish a $hit list of insurance companies which have stitched up service folk - so that you'll ALL know which ones to avoid!