BVRLA News, April/May 2011

BVRLA News

www.bvrla.co.uk April/May 2011

The newsletter of the British Vehicle Rental and Leasing Association

Funding Steering Group aims to keep finance flowing The BVRLA has set up a new steering group to improve the availability of competitively priced funding for the vehicle rental and leasing industry.

The Funding Steering Group will help existing and potential funders better understand the vehicle rental and leasing industry and its related risks and rewards.

It is already working with at least halfa-dozen new funders to evaluate the opportunities and product requirements of the industry and identify any barriers.

“This group has been created to help replace some of the liquidity lost since the Credit Crunch as banks struggled to build up their balance sheets and improve their flow of lending,” said BVRLA chief executive John Lewis. “Our industry has coped with this squeeze and now it’s time to help lenders return to the market and explore new funding opportunities.

From the conversations we have had with potential lenders already, I am confident that there is new finance available for leasing and rental companies.”

The initiative comes as the rental and leasing industry’s main funder, Lloyds Banking Group, reduces its £1bn exposure

to the market. Although Lloyds has said it will try and make the transition as smooth as possible, the BVRLA is keen to help Lloyds’ customers reduce their dependency on its funding.

In this issue Government ‘ending war on motorists’ The BVRLA welcomes the cut in fuel duty but is dismayed by a boost to the grey fleet subsidy page 2

The steering group is chaired by BVRLA honorary treasurer and board member Brian Back and includes representation from the association’s three key sectors of membership: Graham Hale of Fleet Hire, Andrew Cope of Zenith Provecta, Roger Hancock of Thrifty Car Rental and David Barlow of ProHire.

Following the group’s initial meeting in April, the BVRLA has begun work on an ‘Industry Profile’ document for potential funders. It also aims to conduct a funding survey of members by the end of May.

Transport minister backs BVRLA view Mike Penning endorses the association’s ideas for improving the DVLA and VOSA page 2

“We want to get a clear understanding of which sort of finance they want to provide and what sort of companies they want to deal with. The information we get from the survey of members will help us point them in the right direction,” said Lewis.

Change at the top Neil Cunningham of Hertz UK is poised to take over as BVRLA chairman page 3 Lease accounting proposals address rental sector concerns Accounting standards are likely to be less of a burden for businesses than had been feared page 5

The BVRLA is also working with the Finance and Leasing Association and exploring alternatives to bank funding. n

Over 200 delegates from across the fleet industry tackled a range of electric vehicle (EV) issues at a recent event held by your association and Fleet World. A range of speakers, including BVRLA chief executive John Lewis, CAP’s Martin Ward and Phil Turle of ALD addressed some key operational issues facing early EV adopters.

For more on this and other highlights from the event, see page 6

© Paul Marriott Photography

EV Showcase generates questions

The Bribery Act 2010 Keeping a few simple principles in mind could save you a lot of stress page 5 The cost of carbon Fleets face higher van prices as EU antiCO2 measures target manufacturers page 9

— Promoting responsible road transport since 1967 —

Comment ‘War’ ends: fuel duty cut as grey fleeters get more cash Funding is the lifeblood of the vehicle rental and leasing industry.

Unfortunately it is not flowing very well at the moment.

In the past, our sector has benefited from regular transfusions of competitively-priced finance, but it has been looking a bit anaemic of late.

Some fresh blood is required, which is why the BVRLA has set up a funding steering group – to help the industry identify and obtain new sources of credit.

To some extent our industry has had to become over-reliant on old ways and affiliations. It is time to shake things up and start forging some new relationships.

Toby Poston Editor Toby Poston, toby@bvrla.co.uk 01494 545700 Production Manager Steven Prizeman, steven@bvrla.co.uk 01494 545710 Advertising Nora Leggett, nora@bvrla.co.uk 01494 545713 © Copyright BVRLA 2011 BVRLA News articles may be used copyright free by members provided that an acknowledgement is given.

BVRLA River Lodge, Badminton Court Amersham Buckinghamshire HP7 0DD T 01494 434747 F 01494 434499 E info@bvrla.co.uk W bvrla.co.uk Honorary Life President Freddie Aldous Chairman Kevin McNally Vice Chairman Neil Cunningham Honorary Treasurer Brian Back Chief Executive John Lewis

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The BVRLA has welcomed the March Budget as an early sign that the government is serious about ending the so-called ‘war on motorists’.

It came as no surprise that Chancellor George Osborne abandoned the 1p a litre increase in fuel duty due for April, given the high-profile Fair Fuel UK campaign that had been lobbying on the issue. What was unexpected was the Chancellor’s decision to go further and cut the duty by 1p. He also deferred the planned inflationary increase until January 2012.

Also of interest to the industry was the introduction of a fair fuel stabiliser.

This will increase fuel duty by the rate of Retail Price Index (RPI) inflation when oil prices are high. However, in years when the oil price falls below a set trigger level on a sustained basis ($75 a barrel has been suggested), the government will increase fuel duty by RPI plus 1p a litre. It intends to make up any resultant shortfall in revenue by increasing the tax on profits from UK oil and gas production.

“Whether you are a haulier, a fleet manager, a commuter or just someone trying to keep your family car on the road, this imaginative tax measure will

have had an instant impact on your weekly cash flow,” said BVRLA chief executive John Lewis.

“However, there is nothing fair about the government’s decision to maintain the 3% diesel surcharge within the company car tax regime. This discriminatory tax against diesel fuel is totally out of date and needs to be abolished.“ The association was also disappointed to see the government raise the recommended level of approved mileage allowance payments to 45p a mile.

“This is a backdoor pay increase for public sector and other grey fleet users that will appease unions worried about job cuts and salary freezes,” said Lewis.

“If the price of fuel has had such an impact on vehicle running costs, why are we not seeing a bigger rise in advisory fuel rates (AFR)? The government shows how it works out the AFR rate, we now urge it to do the same for AMAP.” n A summary of the Budget and what it means for the industry can be downloaded here.

Minister ‘receptive’ to BVRLA view Mike Penning, the transport minister responsible for the motoring agencies, is very receptive to the BVRLA’s suggestions about how the DVLA and VOSA can be modernised.

“It was very encouraging to hear that the government shares our view on how these agencies can improve the way they deal with their corporate customers,” said BVRLA chief executive John Lewis, following an April meeting in Westminster.

“The minister made it clear that the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) must move quickly to drop

its reliance on paperwork and start delivering efficient, electronic-based services. He also agreed with us that the Vehicle and Operator Services Agency (VOSA) should carry on exploring the role industry can play in improving vehicle testing and compliance – thus enabling more targeted enforcement.”

The association hopes that meetings with Penning could become a regular fixture, but said it would continue to push its messages through the Department for Transport’s Motorists Forum, VOSA’s ‘Stanmore Group’ and the DVLA’s Industry Liaison Group. n BVRLA News | April/May 2011

Hertz’s Neil Cunningham becomes new chairman…

…as Oliphant leads Leasing

The BVRLA welcomes a new chairman in May: Neil Cunningham, general manager of Hertz UK. He succeeds LeasePlan’s Kevin McNally, who becomes vice chairman following the end of his two-year term in office.

Also taking the helm this month is Hitachi Capital Vehicle Solutions’ Simon Oliphant, who becomes the new chairman of the Leasing and Fleet Management Committee.

With more than 25 years’ experience of the rental industry in Europe and the UK, Cunningham has already identified his key goals: “I want the association to work even harder to make the most of the wealth of experience and depth of talent across its membership. We need to have more people, particularly from smaller members and those within the commercial vehicle sector, contributing to and benefiting from the work of the BVRLA.”

challenges: “We must continue to lobby government agencies to reduce the amount of bureaucracy and paperwork associated with owning and operating fleets. I am also keen that we build on our relationships with manufacturers. There have been some tensions in recent times, but we can work through these and develop a longer-term, proactive relationship between our two industries.”

Finally, Cunningham reserved some praise for the man he is replacing: “Kevin has been an excellent chairman whose energy and positive attitude helped steer the association and the industry through some tough years following the Credit Crunch.” n

Oliphant believes the biggest challenges facing the sector are the cost and availability of funding; proposed lease accounting changes; and the fleet adoption of electric and alternatively fuelled vehicles.

He wants his committee to engage more with the wider membership and believes that the association can do more to demonstrate the value members derive from their membership fees. n

He also pledged to explore ways of investing the association’s surplus funds in better products and services for members: “I would like to see an enhanced website with greater functionality and even more information and advice for our industry’s customers.” He wants to see the BVRLA introduce low-cost customer service training to help improve the reputation of the rental sector.

Cunningham will help steer the association’s response to ongoing

Cunningham: chairman from 19 May

Oliphant: new Leasing Committee chair

Agencies address continuous insurance concerns The organisations behind the new continuous insurance enforcement (CIE) regime have pledged to help the vehicle rental and leasing industry meet its requirements.

Speaking at a BVRLA seminar in April, representatives from the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) and the Motor Insurers’ Bureau (MIB) said they would give the industry time to adjust to the new regulations whilst providing advice and support, and streamlining compliance.

The CIE regime, which began in April, introduced a new offence of being the BVRLA News | April/May 2011

registered keeper of a vehicle with no motor insurance. As the registered keepers, leasing and rental firms will be held liable for any fines issued against their vehicles for being listed as uninsured on the MIB’s Motor Insurance Database. They will not be able to transfer their fines to customers.

The new system puts the onus on rental and leasing companies to work with their customers and insurance companies to ensure that vehicles are added to the database in a timely manner when leased or rented. To help confirm the accuracy of the database, BVRLA members are being

encouraged to send their customers’ names and fleet codes to the DVLA for it to forward to the MIB for checking.

David Hancock, director of enforcement at the DVLA, said the agency would ensure that leasing and rental companies did not become victims of any unintended consequences of compliance.

Responding to concerns that companies would struggle with the different ways of inputting vehicle data, a representative of the MIB promised to work with his members to come up with a single, efficient method. n 3

DVLA and VOSA set out business plans The government’s two main motoring agencies have published business plans for 2011-12, setting out their areas of focus and how budget cuts will affect them. The BVRLA will use the plans to target its lobbying efforts and ensure that the cuts do not place additional burdens on members. Here are the key points.

Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) Driving licence Promote the take-up of more electronic services by removing address details from driving licences and eliminating the paper counterpart.

Partnership Explore partnership opportunities with trade associations, allowing them to take greater responsibility for the delivery of motoring services to their members.

Personalised registrations Review ‘cherished transfer’ rules and procedures to improve customer service.

BVRLA Comment: The BVRLA will work closely with the DVLA to ensure that if the planned removal of the counterpart goes ahead the agency will be able to provide real-time access to the data held on the counterpart to allow rental company staff to access information on endorsements.

Electronic services Encourage the use of electronic services and remove impediments to their take-up.

Change of keeper Improve the process for notifying changes to vehicle keeper details (V5).

First registration fee Rebalance fees so that first vehicle registration forms a lower proportion.

In addition, the association welcomes the opportunity to work with the DVLA to develop electronic services for rental and leasing companies such as the ability to notify of disposal of vehicles online.

The DVLA business plan can be downloaded here

Vehicle and Operator Services Agency (VOSA) Authorised Testing Facilities Deliver 75 new operational Authorised Testing Facilities (ATFs) by 31 March 2012 Commercial vehicle compliance Establish a commercial vehicle compliance forum which will:

❱ identify trends in noncompliance and improve industry awareness of best practice. ❱ investigate the wider use of safety assurance accreditation developed by third parties such as trade associations. ❱ encourage trade associations and others to adapt or develop training material and seminars aimed at promoting higher compliance standards. ❱ develop a dashboard of key statistics to establish the drivers for improving compliance.

Reporting VOSA wants leasing companies to sign-up for a new service giving them details of all test results for their HGVs. BVRLA Comment: The BVRLA is looking to ensure that its own quality assurance programme is recognised by VOSA and that this provides further opportunities for the association to promote the benefits of only using a BVRLA commercial vehicle rental or leasing member.

The new service providing access to test data for leasing companies is in the final stages of development and should soon be available as a pilot. The BVRLA will be working with VOSA to expand this service to van and car MOT tests in the future.

The VOSA business plan can be downloaded here

Consumer Rights’ ‘cooling off’ exemption is likely The vehicle rental sector has moved a step closer to being exempted from the 14-day ‘cooling off’ period applicable to distance selling in the proposed Consumer Rights Directive, following agreement in the European Parliament.

The Consumer Rights Directive was first discussed in Europe four years ago. It combines four separate directives on Unfair Contract Terms, Sales and Guarantees, Distance Selling and Doorstep Selling.

The directive concerns business-toconsumer (B2C) sales contracts for goods and services and specifically covers issues such as pre-contractual 4

information, delivery rules, right of withdrawal for distance sales, repairs, replacements and guarantees, as well as new selling technologies.

the legislation in terms of their booking policies and this exemption crucially allows rental firms to continue to offer this flexibility.”

The BVRLA believes that if the exemption is not secured rental firms would be faced with estimated compliance costs of £2.14m annually to cover the additional expense of sending notices to customers confirming rights to cancel and rebooking rentals.

An amendment allowing leasing contracts for motor vehicles to be classified as rentals provided the vehicle is returned at the end of the contract was also approved. This will allow providers of personal contract hire products to take advantage of the exemption.

“The BVRLA is pleased that currently the text is reflecting the requirements of rental firms and exempting vehicle rental,” said head of legal services Jay Parmar. “Rental firms already offer flexibility beyond the requirements in

The directive will now be subject to further debate within the European Commission and is expected to be subject to a final vote in the European Parliament in May. n BVRLA News | April/May 2011

Changes to proposed lease accounting rules take account of rental sector issues Recent changes to proposals for a new lease accounting standard could significantly reduce the reporting burden for customers leasing or renting vehicles.

The International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) made the amendments following a deluge of responses to its draft proposals.

“Our members’ concerns have been listened to,” said BVRLA head of legal services Jay Parmar. “These revisions would significantly reduce the reporting burden on firms leasing or renting vehicles whilst still achieving the goal of improved information transparency for readers of financial statements.” The key changes are: Operating leases The IASB remains committed to having all leases appear on the lessee’s balance sheet. However, it now proposes creating a category of “other than finance leases”, which would include the current operating leases

prevalent in the vehicle leasing industry.

Lessees would be allowed to account for these leases by reporting the rental fee on a simplified straight-line net present value basis over the lease period.

Lease extension The IASB has tentatively agreed to remove its proposal for lease renewal options or extensions to be taken into consideration. Its revised plans would only require lessees to account for the rentals committed to during the lease period.

Short-term leases Firms leasing or renting vehicles for less than 12 months would no longer have to account for them on the balance sheet. Instead they would simply have to recognise lease payments in profit or loss on a straightline basis over the lease term.

Service or maintenance contracts Where the monthly rental fee is inclusive of service or maintenance

payment, the IASB accepts that the lessee should only be required to account for the finance element. The board has indicated that if the split between the finance and maintenance elements is unknown to the lessee the lessee could use market data to determine the payment. It is still examining how this could work in practice.

While there has been discussion on lessor accounting there has been no decision to date. The delay will allow the boards to spend quality time to focus on developing and fine tuning the standard for lessor accounting.

The IASB has now pushed back its deadline for finalising a new lease accounting standard from this June until the end of the year. There will then be a transition period before the new standard becomes mandatory (for companies reporting to International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS), which will probably be circa 2015. n

Bribery Act: easy to follow, dangerous to ignore

By Claudia Gerrard Legal Director, Ortolan Legal The new Bribery Act, which becomes law on 1 July, is unlikely to have a significant impact on the way corporate hospitality works in the vehicle rental and leasing industry – as long as companies are mindful of its guiding principles.

There had been concerns that the Act, which is intended to police the way companies and employees act in connection with bribes and inducements, would affect things like golf days, demonstration vehicles and annual dinners.

It sets up three specific offences: bribery, being bribed and failure to prevent an associated person from committing or receiving a bribe.

BVRLA News | April/May 2011

However, recently published government guidance suggests that companies and employees will be okay as long as they abide by six guiding principles and can demonstrate that they have not acted improperly as a result of a potential bribe or inducement.

The six principles are: 1 Proportionality: Your action should be proportionate to the risk of bribery and the size of your business.

2 Top Level Commitment: If you run a business, you should show that you have been active in ensuring that staff understand you do not tolerate bribery.

3 Risk Assessment: Think about the bribery risks you might face.

4 Due Diligence: Check before engaging others to represent you in business dealings.

5 Communication: Explain policies and procedures to staff and others.

6 Monitoring and Review: The risks you face and the effectiveness of your procedures may change.

As usual, the compliance burden will be greater for larger companies, which will be expected to put in more detailed procedures.

It is important to get things right.

Penalties for breaching the Act are severe, including an unlimited fine for a company and up to ten years imprisonment for an offending individual. Leasing or rental companies working in the public sector may be banned from tendering for future work. n The Ministry of Justice’s Quick Start Guide to The Bribery Act 2010 can be downloaded here.

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Electric V e h ic l e Showcase Rental and leasing can’t operate in the dark, says Turle The vehicle rental and leasing industry is calling for manufacturers to provide fleets with more detailed operational guidelines for electric vehicles (EVs).

“The vehicle rental and leasing industry recognises the urgent need for fleets to adopt ultra-low carbon technology and is working hard to facilitate the shift,” said BVRLA chief executive, John Lewis. “BVRLA members can be great advocates for the move to electric motoring, but we need to look beyond the short-term taxpayerfunded incentives and marketing hype surrounding electric vehicles and find some of the answers that will enable early adopters to have the confidence to take on EVs in volume.

“Due to a lack of historic information, we are out of our comfort zone as we are unable to rely on factual information, including gut instinct,” said Phil Turle, fleet services controller at ALD Automotive, speaking at April’s Fleet World Electric Vehicle Showcase event.

Addressing an audience of delegates from the BVRLA Technical and Operational Management Forum, Turle said that ALD was addressing the knowledge gap. It had analysed the performance of its fleet of Toyota Prius hybrids to get an idea of their reliability and usage. The company was also road testing a number of electric cars and working closely with manufacturers to ensure their information was accurate.

BVRLA forum delegates also took part in a workshop aimed at identifying some of the key questions that need to be answered by EV manufacturers.

They included:

❱ Can manufacturers provide range

figures based on different working environments for electric vehicles, such as urban, inter-urban, laden or unladen?

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❱ What is an acceptable level of rapid

charging and how could this affect the vehicle warranty? ❱ Will refurbished batteries be available, and at what cost? ❱ What will the pricing and availability of electric vehicle parts be, particularly in the early years of their adoption? ❱ What level and availability of technical expertise can customers expect from franchised dealerships, independent garages and roadside assistance companies? ❱ Will manufacturer handbooks contain enough information to keep fleet drivers aware of the different usage requirements of electric vehicles?

“We will see a number of electric evangelists making impulse purchases, but the vast majority of fleets will need reassurance that these vehicles are fit for purpose and that it makes financial sense to run them.” n On 17 June, the BVRLA and the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) are holding a joint workshop to explore the finance, operational and remarketing issues associated with running hybrid and electric vehicles on fleets. The event will take place at SMMT head office in London, where some of the latest vehicle models will be available for a test drive. Leasing or rental members interested in attending should contact BVRLA head of communications Toby Poston.

Contact Toby Poston, toby@bvrla.co.uk 01494 545700 BVRLA News | April/May 2011

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The Energy Saving Trust is offering free courses on smarter driving for EVs after research found that better technique could improve vehicle range by up to 18%. The training is free to all plug-in-car grant customers until the end of May.

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BVRLA News | April/May 2011

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Van makers and fleets face extra costs as EU curbs CO2 Currently out for consultation, proposed EU legislation would limit the average CO2 emissions of new light commercial vehicles (LCVs) – imposing extra costs on both manufacturers and their customers. Lex Autolease’s consultancy team has produced guidance on the issue, summarised here.

Why is legislation needed to cut LCVs’ CO2 emissions?

LCVs account for around 12% of the European vehicle fleet and are indispensable for transporting food and other goods and providing services.

Average LCV fuel economy has improved slowly over the last decade but has been more than offset by a surge in new vehicle registrations.

registered higher-polluting vehicles against those with CO2 emissions of less than 50g/km. The lower-pollution vehicles will be counted as:

❱ 2.5 LCVs in 2014 ❱ 1.5 LCVs in 2015 ❱ 1 LCV in 2016.

A sliding scale of financial penalties, the Excess Emissions Premium, will be imposed on manufacturers whose CO2 emissions exceed these targets. For example, in 2014 a manufacturer would have to pay €5 for the first g/km of exceedance, €15 for the second g/km, €25 for the third g/km and €120 for each subsequent g/km for every LCV registered in that calendar year.

What should fleet operators do?

Manufacturers will have to invest in new technology to meet the new emission targets. Those who fail will suffer financial penalties. Either way, the likely result is increased vehicle prices for fleet operators.

Van emissions and fuel consumption figures are set to improve, but as the vehicles are tested in unladen laboratory conditions that are totally alien to in-use operation these fuel cost savings may not be realised.

LCV operators will still need to use existing best practice management techniques to correctly identify vehicle types and specifications that are fit for their intended purpose. Testing

Emissions from LCVs represent around 1.5% of the EU total and there are concerns that LCV reductions are not matching the efforts made in other transport and non-transport areas.

What is proposed?

The proposed legislation will introduce legally binding targets based on vehicle manufacturers’ average CO2 emissions for all the vehicles registered in the EU in any one calendar year and hence will be sales weighted.

A target of 175g/km CO2 has been set for 2017, with a proportion of manufacturers’ new registrations having to meet the threshold in the year running up to the deadline:

❱ 75% of a manufacturer’s new LCVs

registered in the year – 2014 ❱ 80% of a manufacturer’s new LCVs registered in the year – 2015 ❱ 100% of a manufacturer’s new LCVs registered in the year – 2016 onwards.

A long-term average target of 147g/km is also specified for 2020.

‘Super credits’ will allow manufacturers to offset the emissions of newly BVRLA News | April/May 2011

Two faces of the future? The Renault Kangoo ZE and the Ford Transit Connect Electric are two high-profile entrants to the UK’s electric light commercial vehicle market in 2011.

Who will be affected and how?

Vans tend to have model cycles of approximately 10 years, with only minor facelifts in the interim. It could be an expensive process to bring forward the model cycles and introduce new technology, which would have a knock-on effect on vehicle costs – and therefore fleet operators.

However, the legislators believe that any increases in costs due to technology and testing would be offset for vehicle operators by savings on fuel.

There are concerns that the stringent new targets could lead to some LCVs being withdrawn by manufacturers, leaving fleet operators with no choice but to use inappropriate vehicles for certain tasks.

vehicles back-to-back under realworld operating conditions will typically reveal the most suitable vehicle.

Careful negotiation to get the best price for the right vehicle, correctly maintaining it and training the driver on fuel-efficient driving techniques will all minimise costs and ensure that fleet runs effectively and cost-efficiently.

The likelihood is that this legislation will be enacted soon, so it is worth being proactive and assessing what the impact would be on your LCV fleet and the manufacturers who supply you. n Further information on CO2 emissions and other green issues can be found on the BVRLA website: www.bvrla.co.uk 9

BVRLA welcomes Sallie to legal services team The BVRLA’s legal services team has a new administrator. Sallie Catchpole has taken charge of resolving complaints referred to the association’s conciliation service.

Sallie previously worked as a maintenance operator for fleet hire company Motorent UK for two years before taking a career break to bring up her three children.

Catchpole: complaints troubleshooter

She then returned to work as a parttime reservation agent at Budget Rent a Car’s International Reservation

Frilford Heath 7 September sponsored by

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department in Hemel Hempstead.

There she became a supervisor, responsible for recruitment, training and complaints, before advancing to reservation manager, with overall responsibility for the department budget and quality of service.

After 13 years with Budget, Sallie only left the company when its contact centre relocated to Avis’s premises in Manchester. n Contact Sallie Catchpole, sallie@bvrla.co.uk 01494 545715

Click here for details 05/05/2011 15:15

BVRLA News | April/May 2011

Back-to-back seminar and Training workshop cover key issues Early in April, for the very first time, the BVRLA ran two different events back-to-back to cater for the often very different needs of leasing and daily rental members.

Targeted at BVRLA leasing members, there was an afternoon seminar on the ‘hot topic’ – Continuous Insurance Enforcement (CIE).

Over 60 delegates heard speakers David Hancock, director of enforcement at the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) and Neil Drane, head of database services at the Motor Insurers’ Bureau. They gave an insight into how CIE will work in practice and assured their audience that they would give the industry time to implement the legislation properly whilst providing advice and support to member organisations such as the BVRLA. Lindsay Grant, process and compliance manager at ALD Automotive, gave members an insight into the changes it has made and gave real-life examples of their preparation for the new legislation.

The session prompted discussion of the effect of the new regulations on leasing members – with the positive outcome that most delegates were satisfied with what they had heard.

In the early evening, the BVRLA held a legal update seminar designed

for rental branch operation staff.

Chaired by Alison Chadwick, the new chairman of the BVRLA Rental Committee, the workshop outlined the committee’s current work, the implications of future legislation and current best practices.

Speakers included Rosemarie Spiers, director of rental business at AON, Matthew Young, policy adviser at the Association of British Insurers, representatives from Elavon, and the BVRLA Legal Services team: Jay Parmar and Amanda Brandon. Topics included motor insurance fraud, risks and claims management, defending your business against chargebacks, age discrimination, and renting of minibuses.

The workshop gave delegates an opportunity to seek advice on a variety of rental-related legal issues.

BVRLA members described the two events as “informative, professional and knowledgeable”. n Presentations of both events are available for BVRLA members to download from the association’s website. Suggestions for future seminars can be sent to member services administrator Fran Hampson.

Contact Fran Hampson, fran@bvrla.co.uk 01494 545703

New associate member The Recovery of Goods Centre The Recovery of Goods Centre is a service offered by stevensdrake, solicitors with over 40 years experience in the finance and leasing recoveries market.

The centre specialises in recovery of goods and in shortfall and endof-contract claims. It also offers logistics, defleet and sale process management to reduce its clients’ BVRLA News | April/May 2011

administration and costs whilst maximising recoveries for them.

As solicitors they can also provide advice and assistance on operational issues for credit brokers and all finance, lease and rental companies, as well as specialist litigation and insolvency, affecting all aspects of BVRLA members’ core business activities. www.rogcentre.co.uk

BVRLA Leasing Broker Sales Accreditation Dates on demand

Aimed at leasing broker sales staff, this accreditation intends to raise standards and provide professional development.

Valid for two years, the accreditation addresses topics including corporate and industry governance, regulatory compliance, business vehicle acquisition methods, sales techniques and industry terms. Two to three hours of study, backed up by six months industry sales experience, should be sufficient to prepare candidates for the 40-minute online test, which can be taken in their workplace.

Contact Fran Hampson, fran@bvrla.co.uk 01494 545703

Certificate in Fleet Consultancy Module One: 23-24 November Module Two: 18-19 January 2012 Amersham Devised in association with the Institute of Car Fleet Management (ICFM) and accredited by the Institute of Leadership and Management, this course is aimed at sales executives and account managers. It covers key principles of fleet and asset management, policy purpose and delivering fleet solutions, including finance and acquisition needs.

Contact Nora Leggett, nora@bvrla.co.uk 01494 545713

ATA Technical Customer Service Advisor Dates on demand Aimed at individuals who work in technical service departments, this accreditation intends to boost professional development. Regulated by the Institute of the Motor Industry (IMI) the accreditation lasts five years.

Skills are assessed through an online test and practical assignments based on real-life situations. The assessment, which only takes half a day, can be carried out at the candidate’s own business premises.

Contact Fran Hampson, fran@bvrla.co.uk 01494 545703 11

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