A personal loan lets you cover large purchases and financial emergencies quickly. This short term funding solution provides you with more time to pay back expensive bills, and it can be used however you’d like - from paying for home renovations to consolidating debt.
You’re not alone in seeking out a personal loan; they’re becoming an increasingly popular way to secure finance for people in the UK. In 2021, consumer lending amounted to approximately £23.8 billion in the UK and continues to show an upward trend in year-on-year growth.
Our personal loan guide is here to help you understand more about how they work, what the difference is between secured and unsecured and, most importantly, the things you should consider before signing on the dotted line.
A personal loan is a type of loan that allows fast, flexible use. It is a lump sum of money lent to the borrower that is then paid back within a specific time frame at a pre-agreed, fixed interest rate. Personal loans fall into two categories, unsecured loans and secured loans.
A personal loan works by providing a borrower with an amount of money upfront. After receiving the money, the borrower is then required to repay the money in instalments, until the amount has been paid off in full.
During the application process, the loan term and repayments will be discussed. When it comes to paying the money back, both weekly and monthly repayments are available, however monthly repayments tend to be the more popular option.
The loan term refers to the repayment period. It essentially maps out how long you will have to repay the loan. When you apply for a loan through ThisLender, you can choose a term of 3 month up to 36 months.
There is a big difference between secured and unsecured personal loans. The best example of a secured loan is a mortgage. When you take out a mortgage, you agree to the lender being able to repossess your house if you fail to make repayments.
An unsecured loan is different - the lender or bank will not ask you to provide extra security for your loan, i.e. your house. Instead, the lender will base your borrowing credibility on your credit rating and your current financial situation. Most personal loans are unsecured, and when you apply for an unsecured loan, you aren’t risking any personal assets to secure the loan.
When you apply for a personal loan through ThisLender, you get access to a panel of trusted UK lenders. The first step is to submit our easy online application and our loan matching technology will do it’s best to match you to a suitable personal loan offer from our panel of lenders.
Once you receive your online personal loan quote, you have the option to approve or decline the offer. If you decide to proceed with the quote, then the rest of the application process will happen between you and the direct lender.
Before applying, you need to make sure you meet the lender's criteria which can be found on their website. Personal loan applications are made online and can include information such as personal details, income and expenditures.
The lender will check and verify your application to make sure the details are correct and that you can afford to pay back the loan. They will also perform a credit check on you. This decision is made quickly, although sometimes they may ask you to send in more documents.
If you are successfully approved, you will be presented with a loan agreement. The lender may offer you less than what you initially applied for. Please review this carefully and make sure you are happy before deciding to accept it or not.
If you accept the offer, you will receive the money directly into your chosen bank account.
Weekly or monthly payments will be taken via Direct Debit over the loan term until the money has been paid back in full.
The total cost of your personal loan will depend on a number of factors, including:
The rate you receive may be different from the rate that is advertised by the lender. This is because interest rates are dependent on the ‘risk’ of the borrower. For example, if you are considered a ‘low risk’ borrower by the lender, you will receive better rates than if you were a ‘high risk’ borrower.
Here are some of the main factors that impact the cost:
The amount that you borrow will obviously make a difference to the cost of the personal loan. Generally speaking, the smaller the loan amount is, the less you will pay in monthly instalments, however smaller loans can attract high-interest rates. It is typically the larger loan amounts that carry low-interest rates.
The time you take to pay back a personal loan can have a significant impact on the total cost. It’s important to strike the balance, because short term borrowing results in higher interest rates, but long term borrowing results in more interest being paid overall.
There is no ‘perfect’ loan term, you should choose a timeframe that will allow you to comfortably make repayments. While you don’t want to repay the money for longer than you need to, you never want to worry about not being able to meet repayments.
Your credit file is incredibly important in the process because it gives the lender an overview of your financial health. For example, the credit report can show the lender if you’ve missed any payments on other loans and credit cards in the past.
Be advised that if you have a poor credit history, you may be offered higher interest rates, or be asked to provide a guarantor for the loan.
If you want to calculate the repayments on your personal loan, then look no further! We’ve created a personal loan calculator that’s free to use. It helps you work out the estimated total amount payable to give you a better idea of how much your monthly repayments will be.
Yes, you can. Although the credit history forms an important part of the application process, it is not the sole determining factor. When analysing your application, lenders will check your affordability, and the lenders that we work with look at a wide range of factors before making their decision.
Ultimately, the lender wants to ensure they’ll be able to get their money back, and with bad credit, or an insufficient credit history, you could pose a risk to them. For this reason, you could face higher interest rates, or be asked to take out a guarantor loan.
Taking out a personal loan is a decision that shouldn’t be taken lightly. Before applying for a personal loan, there are some questions you should ask yourself:
Before you consider applying for a personal loan, you need to weigh up the pros and cons. Just like any financial product, there are advantages and disadvantages. Making the wrong decision, or borrowing more than you can afford to repay can have serious consequences.
Top Tip: It’s always good to check your credit file regularly and before you apply for any type of credit. Improving your credit score will help you access a wider range of financial products and get a better deal. Check your credit report for free at Credit Karma.
Mortgage lenders will take all of your debts into consideration when assessing your mortgage application. Keep in mind that the more debt you take on, the less you’ll be able to borrow due to affordability. Interest rates may be impacted too, especially if you miss a payment on your personal loan or other credit facilities.
When looking for a personal loan, you need to find the best and the cheapest deal on the market. Interest rates can vary from lender to lender - so it’s important to shop around to ensure you receive a good rate.
If you don’t compare personal loan offers, you stand the risk of signing onto a more expensive loan. Some lenders charge higher fees, including early repayment fees - so these are all factors to take into account to receive a cheap personal loan.
Although it’s important to compare personal loans, we recognise that this is a process that can take a significant amount of time and energy. When you need access to money quickly, you might not be able to spend hours on the Internet searching for lender offers.
This is where ThisLender can help! Our free service lets you apply for a personal loan using our online application. Then, we do the hard work for you. We match your application to a potential lender on our panel, who is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.
Once you have received a quote from the selected lender, you can decide whether to accept or decline the loan offer. We narrow down the playing field so that you don’t have to! Not only do we save you time and money, we’re also on hand to help with any questions you have.
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Representative 49.9% APR
Representative example: Amount of credit: £1200 for 18 months at £90.46 per month. Total amount repayable of £1628.28 Interest: £428.28. Interest rate: 49.9% pa (variable). 49.9% APR Representative. Rates from 45.3% APR to 1721% APR - your no-obligation quote and APR will be based on your personal circumstances. The minimum repayment period for any loan will be 90 days from the date the loan is issued. The maximum repayment period is 3 years.
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