What Is Early Termination?

If you have a change in circumstances during your lease term such as redundancy or relocation and need to hand back your car early, you will need to go through the early termination process. This guide is a handy look at what early termination is and how much it could cost you.

Early Termination is when you wish to cancel your lease earlier than planned. You will need to get in contact with your finance company (who fund the deal) and organise it through them. The majority of the time, you will need to pay an early termination fee which is calculated by the funder.

Why Would I Need to Terminate Early?

As mentioned before, in most cases customers want to terminate their contract early due to a change in circumstances:

  • Relocation: If a customer has moved house recently, this may increase the distance they have to travel for work and shopping etc. This change could take them over their agreed contract mileage for which they would occur charges at the end of the contract.
  • Changes In Job: If someone has recently lost their job, they may not be able to pay for their finance contract anymore so will need to return the vehicle as soon as possible.

On some rare occasions, you may want to terminate your contract a bit earlier to take advantage of a really good lease deal coming through. This isn’t something that customers decide to do often but it is an option if you would prefer.

Can I Terminate Early?


Early termination may not be available for your contract. It depends on the finance company and whether they will offer early termination across their contract deals. It is always worth reading your contract to see if it is mentioned in the terms and conditions.

How Much Does It Cost?


As the lease agreement is not exactly meant to be terminated early, the fees involved can be quite high. However, there is no set termination fee across all funders. The fee is decided upon by the finance provider: some funders have a termination fee that is 50% of the rentals that are remaining in the contract, but other funders calculate their fee on a case-by-case basis.

Any Questions?


If you have any questions about the early termination fee or terminating your lease agreement early, you can give us a call at 0345 350 3776, email us at enquiries@willowleasing.com or contact us via our live chat service.