• Introduction:

    Fair Practices Code

    The Board of Directors of Ford Credit India Private Limited (“Company”) has approved and adopted the Fair Practices Code (“Code”) as required in terms of Reserve Bank of India (“RBI”) notification No. RBI/2006-07/138 DNBS.(PD)/CC No. 80/03.10.042/2005-06 dated September 28, 2006 read with notification No. RBI/2011-12/470 DNBS.PD/CC. No. 266/03.10.01/2011-12 dated March 26, 2012 and Notification No. RBI/2012-13/416 DNBS.CC.PD.No.320/03.10.01/2012-13 Dated February 18, 2013 and No RBI/2014-15/34/DNBS (PD) CC No.388/03.10.042/2014-15 dated July 01, 2014 (collectively referred to as “RBI Notifications”), to lay down the procedures/practices in relation to its financing activities.

    Through the aforesaid RBI Notifications, RBI has prescribed the broad guidelines on fair practices that are to be framed, approved and implemented by the Board of Directors of all Non-Banking Financial Companies (“NBFC”) and should be published and disseminated on the website of the Company, if any, for the information of the public.

  • Purpose and applicability of the Code:

    The purpose of this Code is to provide the Company’s customers an overview of practices which will be followed by the Company in respect of all the financing and lending facilities (including dealer and retail financing) and services offered by the Company and will apply to any loan that the Company may sanction and disburse.

    This Code applies to products and services currently offered or which may be introduced at a future date.

    The Code is applicable to the above, irrespective of whether the product/ service is provided at a branch, on the internet or by any other method we may be currently using or may introduce at a future date.

    Primary objectives behind development of this Code are:

    • Promote good, fair and trustworthy practices in dealing with the customers;
    • Increase transparency to enable the customers to have a better understanding of what they can reasonably expect of the services;
    • Encourage market forces, through competition, to achieve higher operating standards; and
    • Promote a fair and cordial relationship between the customers and the Company.

  • Key Commitments and Declarations:

    We shall act efficiently, fairly and diligently in our dealings with all our customers by:

    • Meeting the commitments and standards of this Code for the financial products and services offered by the Company and the procedures and practices followed by the Company’s staff;
    • Ensuring that all the financial services meet relevant laws and regulations;
    • Providing professional, courteous and speedy services; and
    • Providing accurate and timely disclosure of terms and conditions, costs, rights and liabilities as regards financial transactions.

    We shall help the customer understand how our financial products and services work by:

    • Giving verbal information about the financial programs in English and/or local vernacular language;
    • Ensuring that our advertising & promotional literature is clear and is not misleading;
    • Explaining financial implications of the transactions; and
    • Helping the customer to choose the financial programs.
    • Updating the customer about the product and services offered through website / customer service helpline etc.

    The Company will make sure that its staff is well trained to provide information about the Code and to adequately deal with the customers in an appropriate manner including attending to their complaints in a proactive manner.

  • Non-Discrimination Policy:

    It is, and shall always be, the Company’s endeavour to make our financial products available to all qualified applicants without discrimination on the basis of race, caste, colour, religion, sex, marital status, age or handicap. Our policy is to treat all the clients consistently and fairly. Our employees will offer assistance, information and service in a fair, equitable and consistent manner. We will also communicate our Code to our customers by placing it on the company’s website.

  • Applications for loans and their processing:

    • To the extent possible, all communications to the borrower shall be in English or in vernacular language or the language as understood by the borrower.
    • Loan application forms issued by the Company shall include necessary information which affects the interest of the borrower (such as interest rates and processing and other charges) so that the borrower can make a meaningful comparison of the same with the terms and conditions offered by other NBFCs and an informed decision can be taken by the borrower .
    • The loan application form will indicate the documents required to be submitted by the borrower along with the application form.
    • The borrower should be informed about the annualized rate of interest along with the method for the calculation of the same.
    • The Company shall issue an acknowledgement receipt for all loan applications and also indicate a time frame within which loan applications will be processed in the acknowledgement.
    • Subject to receipt of all the requisite documentation and information, loan applications shall be disposed of within 30 days or such extended time as may be mutually agreed between the borrowers and the Company, from the date of receipt of the application form complete in all respects. In any case the borrower will be kept informed by the sales person with regards to the status of his application from time-to-time. The borrower may also connect with the Company’s customer service team at the prescribed toll-free number or email id to obtain an update on the status of application.

    The Company may conduct contact point verification through its employees or through an agency appointed by it, by contacting the borrower at their residence/business telephone numbers or physically visit residence/business address mentioned on the loan application and to assess the ability of the borrower.

    If any additional details/ documents are required, the same shall be intimated to the borrowers immediately.

    Note: Ford Credit has ceased retail financing in India from Dec 31, 2020 and is not further accepting new car loan applications for purchase of Ford cars from retail customers.

  • Loan appraisal and terms / conditions:

    • The Company shall conduct a due diligence on the credit worthiness of the borrower, which will be an important parameter for taking decision on processing of the application. The assessment would be in line with the Company’s credit policies, norms and procedures in respect thereof.
    • The borrower would be informed by means of a written sanction letter or loan agreement in English or in vernacular language / the language as understood by the borrower, the amount of loan sanctioned or otherwise. The sanction letter or loan agreement shall contain the terms and conditions including the annualized rate of interest, the method of application thereof, whether repayable on demand or otherwise, procedure for repossession of vehicle in case of default, etc.
    • The Company shall obtain an acceptance from borrower on the said sanction letter with the borrowers’ signature under the caption “I / WE ACCEPT ALL THE TERMS AND CONDITIONS WHICH HAVE BEEN READ AND UNDERSTOOD BY ME / US”. The Company shall maintain a record of acceptance from the borrower.
    • The Company shall mention the rate of penal interest chargeable for late repayment in bold in the loan agreement.
    • The Company shall furnish a copy of the loan agreement, in English or in vernacular language / the language as understood by the borrower, along with a copy of all enclosures quoted in the loan agreement to all the borrowers at the time of disbursement of loans.

  • Disbursement of loans including changes in terms and conditions:

    • The Company shall frame appropriate internal principles and procedures for determining and ensuring that the interest rates and processing and other charges are not excessive. The Company shall, at the time of disbursal, ensure that the interest rate and processing and other charges on loan and advances are in strict adherence to above referred internal principles and procedures.

    The disbursement will be done immediately upon compliance of all the terms and conditions of the sanction by the borrower.

    Note: Ford Credit has ceased retail financing in India from Dec 31, 2020 and is not further accepting new car loan applications for purchase of Ford cars from retail customers.

  • Post Disbursal Supervision:

    • The Company shall give a notice to the borrower in English or in vernacular language / the language as understood by the borrower of any change in the terms and conditions including disbursement schedule, interest rates, service charges, prepayment charges etc. The Company shall also ensure that changes in interest rates and charges are effected only prospectively. A suitable condition in this regard would be incorporated in the loan agreement.
    • Any decision to recall/accelerate payment or performance under the loan agreement shall be in consonance with the Loan Agreement. The Company will give a notice to the borrower before taking a decision to recall / accelerate payment or performance or seeking additional securities in consonance with the loan agreement.
    • All securities offered by the borrower shall be released on repayment of all dues or on realization of the outstanding amount of loan subject to any legitimate right or lien for any other claim the Company may have against the borrower. If such right of set off is to be exercised, the borrower shall be given notice about the same with full particulars about the remaining claims and the conditions under which the Company is entitled to retain the securities till the relevant claim is settled/paid.

  • Interest Charged:

    • The Company shall lay down appropriate internal principles and procedures in determining interest rates and processing and other charges.

    The Company would adopt an interest rate model taking into account relevant factors such as, cost of funds, margin and risk premium, etc., and determine the rate of interest to be charged for loans and advances.

    • The rate of interest and the approach for gradations of risk and rationale for charging different rate of interest to different categories of borrowers shall be disclosed to the borrower in the application form and shall also be made available on the Company's website. The information will be updated whenever a change in the rates of interest takes place.
    • At the time of availing of a loan, the Company will provide the borrower with information on when the interest will be debited to the account. The rate of interest charged will be annualized, and will be informed to the borrowers so that the borrowers are aware of the exact rates that would be charged to the account.

  • Repossession:

    The Company will have built in a re-possession clause in the contract/loan agreement with the borrower that would be legally enforceable. To ensure transparency, the terms and conditions of the contract/loan agreement will include provisions regarding:

    • notice period before taking possession;
    • circumstances under which the notice period can be waived;
    • the procedure for taking possession of the security;
    • a provision regarding final chance to be given to the borrower for repayment of loan before the sale / auction of the property;
    • the procedure for giving repossession to the borrower and
    • the procedure for sale / auction of the property.

  • General:

    • The Company shall not interfere in the affairs of the borrower except for the purposes provided in the loan agreement unless new information, not earlier disclosed by the borrower, has come to the notice of the Company.
    • The Company would not resort to undue harassment viz. persistently bothering the borrowers at odd hours, use of muscle power for recovery of loans, etc., in the matter of recovery of loans. The Company shall ensure that its staff is adequately trained to deal with the borrowers in an appropriate manner.
    • The Company will call delinquent borrowers between 08.00 hrs. to 20.00 hrs unless special circumstances of the borrower’s business require to call them otherwise outside the hours mentioned.
    • The Company may arrange for enforcing security charged to it of the delinquent borrower, if required, with an aim only to recover dues, cost and expenses of such enforcement action.
    • The Company shall ensure that the entire process of enforcing its security, valuation and realisation thereof be fair and transparent.

  • Terms and Conditions:

    • When a customer accepts a product or service for the first time, we will provide the customer with the Rules and Regulations that are relevant to the product / service.
    • All Terms and Conditions will be fair and will set the customer’s rights and responsibilities clearly and in plain language. We will use legal or technical language only where necessary.

  • Complaint / Grievance Redressal Mechanism:

    The Company has a Customer Grievance Redressal Center, which is a dedicated customer interaction department wherein any interaction, request, query or compliant can be lodged by the customer. The grievance redressal mechanism ensures that all customers are treated fairly and timely. In order to redress the grievances and / or disputes arising out of the functionaries of the Company the following mechanism has been put in place.

    The Company’s Grievance Redressal Mechanism will also deal with the issue relating to services provided by the outsourced agency.

    Registration of complaint:

    The customers can register their complaints through the following multiple channels:

    • The Company shall request the customer to provide feedback on the services rendered. This can be done through direct contact by staff or through specific customer satisfaction surveys that may be conducted from time to time.
    • Customers may inform the Company for their grievances via email or through phone number mentioned below.
    • Customer can also walk-in at Registered Office / Branch Offices and register their complaints.

    The registered complaints will be reviewed and thereafter referred to the respective locations and functions for resolution. The Company has set up a product wise turnaround time for resolution of customer grievances within a period of 21 days and shall try to resolve the complaints within the said time period. The Company shall endeavor to intimate the customer the status of complaint and how to escalate the complaint to a higher level, if he is not satisfied with the response.

    Escalation of Complaint:

    If a customer is not satisfied with the resolution provided through the aforesaid channels, the customer can escalate the issues as per the below hierarchy:

    1. If customer is not satisfied with the resolution provided or the complaint is not disposed of within the specified period, the customer may contact the Grievance Redressal Officers at the following address:

    Officer 1: Mr. Shashikant Mandalgiri, National Manager - Marketing & Sales (Email: smandalg@ford.com)
    Officer 2: Mr. Vinod Kumar Rawat, Regional Manager - Marketing & Sales (Email: rvinodk2@ford.com)
    Designation: The Grievance Redressal Officer/s,
    Ford Credit India Private Limited

    2. If the complaint is not redressed by the Grievance Redressal Officer within the period of 30 days, he may further escalate to the Officer-in-Charge at the Chennai Office of the Reserve Bank of India:

    The General Manager
    Department of Non-Banking Supervision,
    Reserve Bank of India,
    Fort Glacis, 16 Rajaji Salai, Parrys,
    George Town, Chennai,
    Tamil Nadu – 600009

    A periodical review of the Code and the functioning of the grievances redressal mechanism at various levels of management would be undertaken by the Company.