Terms and Conditions - X-Forces Enterprise

X-Forces Enterprise Terms & Conditions

X-Forces Enterprise is a Business Support Partner for the Start Up Loans Scheme, and as such our terms of business in relation to business support, guidance and mentoring concerning the provision of a Start Up Loan can be found here.

‘X-Forces ®’, ‘XFE’, ‘X-Forces Police’, ‘XF-P’, ‘X-Forces Emergency Services’ or ‘XF-Emergency’ refer to X-Forces (XF) CIC (company number 08034041). Our registered address is Level 5A, Maple House, 149 Tottenham Court Road, London, W1T 7NF.

X-Forces (XF) CIC is not required to seek regulatory authorisation from the FCA as a result of an exemption set out in the enterprise scheme exclusion under Article 40 of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Exemption Order 2001).

 

Our Service

In arranging finance for your start-up business we act as a credit broker. Our service includes: guiding you on your business start-up and mentoring. If appropriate and in line with the Start Up Loans scheme and it’s policies.

A ‘Start Up Loan’ is a personal unsecured loan for business purposes at fixed interest rate of 6%. These loans take into account your affordability, business viability and circumstances – subject to status. Loans are from £500 to £25000 per person and will be issued by THE ENTERPRISE FUND LIMITED T/A GC BUSINESS FINANCE of Lee House, 90 Great Bridgewater Street, Manchester, M1 5JW (“Finance Provider”); THE START-UP LOANS COMPANY, a company limited by guarantee, incorporated and registered in England and Wales with company number 08117656 whose registered office is at Steel City House, West Street, Sheffield, S1 2GQ (“SUL”), and any future successors or assignees of SUL from time to time.

 

Charges

Our service is free of charge to the beneficiary and we receive an administrative fee from Start Up Loans to deliver the service. This fee is not contingent upon loan amount or percentage.

 

Handling Complaints

It is our intention to provide you with a high level of customer service at all times. If there are occasions when we do not meet your standards please contact the advisor responsible either verbally or in writing, who will take details of your concerns and promptly provide you with a copy of our complaints procedure.

 

Privacy Statement

XFE is committed to protecting your privacy.  The personal data we collect about you is held securely and is treated in accordance with our Privacy Policy.  We constantly review our systems and data handling procedures to ensure the best possible service to our beneficiaries.

We communicate with you through several different channels, including direct mail and email, and our aim is to keep you up to date with all the news and offers from XFE.  You may, however, opt out of any of these channels of communication at any time by letting us know.

  • Your personal information is only used for the purpose for which we collect it
  • Only information that we actually need is collected
  • Your personal information is only seen by those who need it to do their jobs
  • We will not pass your personal information on to any other organisation without your consent unless we are required to do so by law
  • Personal information is retained only for as long as it is required for the purpose collected
  • We will, where necessary, keep your information up to date
  • Your information will be protected from unauthorised or accidental disclosure
  • We will provide you with a copy of your personal information on request (please see below for information on access rights and requests)
  • Inaccurate or misleading data will be corrected as soon as possible

These principles apply whether we hold your information on paper or in electronic form.

 

Credit and identity search permission

There may undertake a search with Experian for the purposes of verifying your identity. To do so Experian may check the details you supply against any particulars on any database (public or otherwise) to which they have access. We may also use any details in the future to assist other companies for verification purposes. A record of the search will be retained.

When we introduce you for a Start Up Loan, this organisation will check the records about you and others at credit reference agencies (CRAs). When CRAs receive a search from us they will place a search footprint on your credit file that may be seen by other lenders. They supply to us both public (including the electoral register) and shared credit and fraud prevention information.  We will make checks such as; assessing the application for credit and verifying identities to prevent and detect crime and money laundering. We may also make periodic searches at CRAs and FPAs to manage your account with us.

If you are making a joint application or tell us that you have a spouse or financial associate, we will link your records together so you must be sure that you have their agreement to disclose information about them. CRAs also link your records together and these links will remain on your and their files until such time as you or your partner successfully files for a disassociation with the CRAs to break that link.

Information on applications will be sent to CRAs and will be recorded by them. Where you borrow from The Enterprise Fund Limited (GC Business Finance), we will give details of your accounts and how you manage it/them to CRAs. If you borrow and do not repay in full and on time, CRAs will record the outstanding debt. This information may be supplied to other organisations by CRAs and FPAs to perform similar checks and to trace your whereabouts and recover debts that you owe. Records remain on file for 6 years after they are closed, whether settled by you or defaulted.

If you give us false or inaccurate information and we suspect or identify fraud we will record this and may also pass this information to FPAs and other organisations involved in crime and fraud prevention.

We and other organisations may access and use from other countries the information recorded by fraud prevention agencies.

You can contact the credit reference agencies currently operating in the UK; the information they hold may not be the same so it is worth contacting them all. They will charge you a small statutory fee.

CallCredit, Consumer Services Team, PO Box 491, Leeds, LS3 1WZ or call 0870 0601414

Equifax, Credit File Advice Centre, PO Box 3001, Bradford, BD1 5US or call 0870 010 0583 or log on to www.myequifax.co.uk

Experian, Consumer Help Service, PO Box 8000, Nottingham NG80 7WF or call 0844 4818000 or log on to www.experian.co.uk

 

Loan Eligibility

We attract and enable people to realise their ambition and potential to become successful business owners by:

  • Ensuring all XFE candidates know where their strengths and capabilities lie;
  • Turning aspiration into reality by providing hands-on support throughout the journey from launch and into business growth;
  • Building a self-sustaining Service community of business owners.
  • We want to encourage you to consider setting up your own business, because there are many powerful reasons for doing so.
  • In doing so we act as a delivery partner of Start Up Loans, who are aimed at those who are unable to access finance through the traditional routes

If you have any evidence such as a bank decline letter/email please also include this in your application.

 

Guidance:

We are looking for your confirmation that you have been unable to access finance on terms that are similar to those offered by The Enterprise Fund Limited (GC Business Finance), via Start Up Loans.

Types of finance that would not be considered comparable are:

  • A loan from an FCA regulated bank that is secured on property or other assets (excluding unsupported guarantees);
  • A loan from an FCA regulated bank that requires a supported personal guarantee;
  • A loan at a rate of greater than 15.5% from an FCA regulated bank (for business purposes);or
  • A loan from another source that is not an FCA regulated bank.

If you have any queries then please ask your assigned Business Advisor.

Failure to repay the loan may have an adverse impact on your ability to obtain credit in the future.

Legal Notice:

The Start Up Loans Company is a wholly owned subsidiary of British Business Bank plc. It is a company limited by guarantee, registered in England and Wales, registration number 08117656, registered office at Steel City House, West Street, Sheffield, S1 2GQ. British Business Bank plc is a development bank wholly owned by HM Government. British Business Bank plc and its subsidiaries are not banking institutions and do not operate as such. They are not authorised or regulated by the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) or the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). A complete legal structure chart for the group can be found at www.british-business-bank.co.uk

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