Unsecured Loans and "representative" APR

[PAH]

Use your credit card(s) instead of a personal loan.

Then get one or more 0% balance transfers to new cards (depending on size of amount needed, and credit limit offered).

Work out how the transfer fee (usually around 2.5 to 3%) and monthly payments work out compared to the personal loan repayment period and APR.

If you don't manage to pay off the balance before the 0% deals run-out, either get a better paying contract, or more 0% cards deals.

The bonus is that by paying off these credit cards (as part of balance transferring) you'll get a better credit rating, so better personal loan rates further down the line.

[MarillionFan]

Use your credit card(s) instead of a personal loan.

Then get one or more 0% balance transfers to new cards (depending on size of amount needed, and credit limit offered).

Work out how the transfer fee (usually around 2.5 to 3%) and monthly payments work out compared to the personal loan repayment period and APR.

If you don't manage to pay off the balance before the 0% deals run-out, either get a better paying contract, or more 0% cards deals.

The bonus is that by paying off these credit cards (as part of balance transferring) you'll get a better credit rating, so better personal loan rates further down the line.

WHS.

Quite a few credit cards are offering a 0% on purchases for 6/9 months. Buy what you needed from a credit card then get one of those and then move it to a 0% for 18months with a 2.5 - 3.0% fee. Bob's your uncle and Fanny's your aunt 2 year loan for 1.5%.

[DimPrawn]

Credit Card

Problem is with 0% cards, as a new customer they give you a low credit limit these days of maybe £2K.

I've got a £20K limit on my Barclaycard, but then I've been a customer for years and put through about £2K a month on it and paid it off every month in full.

£2K credit card isn't much use if you are looking for a loan of say £15K.

[NorthWestPerm2Contr]

2 credit cards are absolutely great (both same company):

MBNA

Virgin

I took out Virgin 0% money transfer deal for 4%. So I was able to transfer up to 9k into my account at the cost of 4% over 1.5 years. You can't really get better than that anywhere. I am thinking of taking out MBNA card to help me with a deposit for a house.

[Fishface]

Must be remembered that for each offering a company has, they want a certain type of customer. You may be perfect credit history, good pay and job etc but you may not fit the profile they want. We found a perfect customer was bad as they either took out a credit card and didn’t use it much (if at all) or just rate tarted around. It costed us around £55 a month (quite high in the industry) to maintain a credit card for a customer.

...but they will not state this as a reason for 'failure' - I have 978 of 999 points on Experian which is an almost perfect credit rating yet First Direct will not give me an account - they stated their internal credit checks come up with a refusal and will not state what the item refusing is 'as it will cause fraudulent applications'.

I understand now that I am worthless to them but why can't they say that rather than give of some mystery BS credit story

[AtW]

I've got a £20K limit on my Barclaycard, but then I've been a customer for years and put through about £2K a month on it and paid it off every month in full.

Thought you'd carry a few gold coins instead

[Paddy]

I've recently applied for three unsecured loans with diff banks/companies for "representative" APR of 6.6% or thereabouts. However when it comes back that I've been successful it is no where near 6.6%, more like 9 or even 10% from Santander! (And yet I am already a customer to them) AFAIAA, I have a very good credit history, checked my file a few years back and all was correct. Have not missed a credit card payment (there was a cockup with my virgin cc but got refunded as it was their mistake - can this go against me?) Or is the low rate just to entice us to apply then bank and people still going ahead with the application even thought apr is signif higher?

Not applying for anymore as too many searches on my credit file is going to harm me.

Anyone else found this, ie - successful loan app but no where near the low APR offered?

qh

The fact that you have applied three times for loans will in itself lower your credit rating. Each time you apply, your credit score is lowered. What you should do is phone the lender first and ask them not to do a credit check but ask for an estimate of the APR using your criteria. Typical APRs are normally a scam as very few people will actually qualify for them.

[Churchill]

...but they will not state this as a reason for 'failure' - I have 978 of 999 points on Experian which is an almost perfect credit rating yet First Direct will not give me an account - they stated their internal credit checks come up with a refusal and will not state what the item refusing is 'as it will cause fraudulent applications'.

I understand now that I am worthless to them but why can't they say that rather than give of some mystery BS credit story

What's your Equifax rating?