Initial Disclosure Document

What is an Initial Disclosure Document?

Equaliti Ltd t/a Carki, a Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) authorised entity, is required by the FCA to provide you with an 'Initial Disclosure Document.' This document furnishes information about our company, the products we offer, the services we provide, our charges, regulatory information, and how we handle complaints.

Who regulates us?

Equaliti Ltd t/a Carki, are a credit broker, authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority FRN 952416. You can verify this information by visiting the FCA's website at www.FCA.gov.uk/register or contacting the FCA on 0300 500 8082.

Consumer duty and Treating customers fairly

Equaliti Ltd is deeply committed to the fair treatment of customers, ensuring positive outcomes for all clients, aligned with our core values and culture.

Our commitment involves acting in the best interests of our customers, providing transparent and equitable services, presenting car finance options tailored to your individual circumstances, and offering continuous support.

Should you have any queries, concerns, or need further information, please don’t hesitate to get in touch.

Which service will we provide you with?

We provide a non-advised service, meaning we cannot offer advice or recommendations on products. However, in assessing your application, we collect information to identify your needs and present a selection of relevant products. You'll then make your own choice on how to proceed. You'll receive pre-contract credit information detailing the chosen product's Terms & Conditions, including fees and interest, before any commitment. Please note, all our telephone calls are recorded for training and monitoring purposes.

What products do we offer?

Equaliti Ltd operates as a credit broker and not a lender. We offer a limited range of finance products from select panel lenders. Detailed information on these products can be found at www.equalitifinance.com/finance-products-explained. Alternatively, you can request a copy to be sent via email or post to ensure your chosen product aligns with your needs.

What will you have to pay us for our services?

We do not charge a fee for introducing you to the finance provider. However, where we source the vehicle, we may charge a Broker Service Fee. Equaliti Ltd operates as a credit broker and not a lender. We offer a limited range of finance products from select panel lenders, all of whom we have a pre-existing relationship with.

Commission Disclosure

For regulated agreements, we receive commission from the finance provider upon your agreement; this can be a fixed fee or a percentage of your borrowing amount. The commission rate varies among the lenders we collaborate with, but it does not impact your finance agreement's payable amount. Our aim is to secure finance at the lowest interest rate available from our panel of lenders. Commission details can be provided upon request by phone or in writing.

Suitability and Affordability

We aim to support and tailor our service to customers who may be particularly vulnerable due to personal circumstances. If you require extra support due to disability, health conditions, or life changes, please inform us. Assess the information provided and ensure the funding option suits your needs comfortably. If unsure, seek further explanations and support from us.

Address for Complaints

We take our responsibility to service your expectations extremely seriously. However, we recognise that there may be occasions when things haven’t gone as expected or you are unhappy with something we did. If you have a complaint about the service you have received, please let us know and we work with you to understand what happened and how best to put it right.

If you would like to make a complaint, you can contact us:

Call us:  03316307208

Opening Hours:

Monday to Thursday: 9am – 7pm

Friday: 9am – 5pm

Saturday: 9am – 5pm

Email us: customerexperience@carki.co.uk

Write to us:  

If you’d like to write to us, please include:

Your name

Your address

Your reference
What has happened

Please send your correspondence to:

Customer Experience Team, Carki

Glasshouse

Alderley Park

Alderley Edge

SK10 4TF

How will you investigate and resolve my complaint?

We’re committed to resolving complaints and putting things right as quickly as possible.  In doing this we will keep you updated along the way.

Depending on how long it takes to resolve your complaint, you’ll receive one of the following communications from us:

Summary of Complaint / within 3 days

You will receive this if we haven’t been able to resolve your complaint to your satisfaction within 3 working days following the day we received your complaint. We’ll also give you details about the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS), should you wish to take matters further.

4 weeks

We aim to provide a final response to a complaint within 4 weeks.  If we’re still investigating your complaint in 4 weeks, we will contact you to let you know.

Final Response

Once we’ve resolved your complaint to the best of our ability, we will send you a Final Response letter.  The Financial Ombudsman allows firms to do this within 8 weeks, but we aim to respond sooner as detailed above.  Our final response to you will cover the following:

Details of our investigation

Our decision

If applicable, the next steps

Information about the Financial Ombudsman

How to take your complaint further

If you’re unhappy with our decision and final response letter you have the right to then refer to the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS).   The FOS will consider all complaints after a firm has issued its final response letter.  The service provided by FOS is a free, independent service for resolving such disputes.

You can refer your complaint to the FOS if we have:

1. Not responded to you with our Final Response letter after the 8-week investigation period.

2. Sent our final response letter and you remain dissatisfied with our findings and proposal to resolve the situation.

3. If you want to refer your complaint after we’ve issued our Final Response, you must do it within 6 months of the date of our final response letter.

How to contact the Financial Ombudsman Service

Email: complaint.info@financial-ombudsman.org.uk

Website: www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk

Call:
Monday to Friday: 8am to 5pm

Saturday: 9am to 1pm

UK: 0800 023 4567

Write

Financial Ombudsman Service

Exchange Tower

London

E14 9SR

Last updated: 07/12/23