£8000 loan. Possible alternative cheaper sources?

curious_1
curious_1 Posts: 38 Forumite
Hi guys,

I'm trying to get some advice please, before I make a move.

Now, I'm looking to get a personal loan of £8000 from Zopa. Issue is, I've been offered 12.9% APR (I know I've defaulted in the past. But they've all been settled. And it's no where to be seen on my credit report - experian and equifax. But, it should definitely be gone by october. Since it will be 6 years by then).

To be specific. Zopa stated:

"A loan of £8,000 over 3 years will cost you £266.60 per month at 12.9% APR.

The total cost after 3 years is £9,597.46, which includes £1,177.46 interest at 9.1% fixed and a £420.00 fee. The total amount of credit is £8,420.00.
"

Now, I have 2 credit cards, with £2000 limits each. I remember I didn't ask for an initial balance amount.

Are there any other alternatives where I can get this credit from?

I don't think I can apply for a credit card requesting for an initial balance of £8000. Am I wrong about this? I know credit cards can be cheap, but where am I not looking? Any alternatives.

Look forward to all your responses.

Comments

  • StopIt
    StopIt Posts: 1,470 Forumite
    Look at the MSE Credit tool which uses Soft Searches (Ones that don't appear on your credit file to other lenders) to see what financial tools you may have access to.


    It's right at the top, labelled Cards & Loans.

    In debt and looking for help? Look here for the MSE Debt Help Guide.
    Also, If you need any free and impartial debt advice, the National Debtline, Stepchange, and the CAB can help.
  • Candyapple
    Candyapple Posts: 3,384
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    Here is the loan eligibility checker, are there any better offers/rates than Zopa?
    https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/eligibility/loans-calculator/

    Here is the money transfer eligibility checker, what do the results say?
    https://creditcards.moneysavingexpert.com/?money-transfers

    Do you need this money right now, or can you not just wait until October when your chances of getting a much better rate would increase exponentially?
    I'm a Board Guide on the Credit Cards, Loans, Credit Files & Ratings boards. I'm a volunteer to help the boards run smoothly, and I can move and merge threads there. Any views are mine and not the official line of moneysavingexpert.com
  • curious_1
    curious_1 Posts: 38 Forumite
    Thanks for the reply guys. But that's what I used.
    I used the checker and it suggested I will have an APR of 3.1%. But when I went further to the site (it performs another check of its own), the rates changed.

    Rather misleading. But, I guess one shouldn't rely solely on the rate calculated by the checker. I'm also a member of the credit club. That's how I learnt of Zopa in the first place. And out of all my options with above 70% chance, only Zopa provided soft searches. The others stated they would have to perform a hard search to figure out what my rate will be.

    Now, @Candyapple, yes. Ideally, I would like to have it by July. To be honest, I was surprised when I didn't see the defaulted-settled account on my Experian and Equifax. Only saw it when I requested my file from 'checkmyfile.com'. It was a different credit agency that had it on.

    Hope this explains it much better.

    Look forward to your responses.
  • Candyapple
    Candyapple Posts: 3,384
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    Stop wasting your money with checkmyfile, the free versions to check your credit files are below:
    Experian: https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/creditclub
    Equifax: https://www.clearscore.com
    Call Credit: https://www.noddle.co.uk

    What did the results of the second link say for the money transfer cards?
    I'm a Board Guide on the Credit Cards, Loans, Credit Files & Ratings boards. I'm a volunteer to help the boards run smoothly, and I can move and merge threads there. Any views are mine and not the official line of moneysavingexpert.com
  • curious_1
    curious_1 Posts: 38 Forumite
    Candyapple wrote: »
    Stop wasting your money with checkmyfile, the free versions to check your credit files are below:
    Experian: https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/creditclub
    Equifax: https://www.clearscore.com
    Call Credit: https://www.noddle.co.uk

    What did the results of the second link say for the money transfer cards?

    Thanks for your reply.

    Yes, I have all but the last one. That's how I'm able to know I have no default on my file. Noodle for some reason, doesn't work for me. So I paid out to see the file from callcredit etc. Clearscore (equifax)- 501, CreditClub(experian) -827.

    Now, for the second link. All 0% chance. but, I don have a MBNA card of £2000 limit. And they occasionally have money transfer deals at 0%. But, not now (I don't think). And I've used some of the balance.

    Hope this helps.
  • Candyapple
    Candyapple Posts: 3,384
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    Do you need all of the £8k now, or could you possibly do with £2k now and the rest in October?

    You could phone MBNA and ask them if they have any money transfer offers for you, most of the times I have done this there are offers. If there are, ask if you can increase your credit limit as well.

    If MBNA do have money transfer offers available to you and the above works, this could be a temporary counter measure to have some funds and the rest in October when your credit history should be a lot better.

    If there are no offers from MBNA, why not apply for one of the loan offers from the eligibility checker that gave you 70% (or above). One application isn't going to harm you and you could at the same time apply for the Zopa one as well. That way if you get a silly rate from one lender, the Zopa one at indicative rate of 12.9% would be your best bet to go with.

    Make sure you post back with the outcome of whatever you decide :)
    I'm a Board Guide on the Credit Cards, Loans, Credit Files & Ratings boards. I'm a volunteer to help the boards run smoothly, and I can move and merge threads there. Any views are mine and not the official line of moneysavingexpert.com
  • curious_1
    curious_1 Posts: 38 Forumite
    Update.

    Applied for Zopa and got rejected. Even with the 70% chance I got from here and clear score. Still got rejected.

    Oh well!

    Guess it would be the same if I try get a car loan. Will it?
  • [Deleted User]
    [Deleted User] Posts: 35,242
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    Not necessarily, if it's secured.
  • curious_1
    curious_1 Posts: 38 Forumite
    Not necessarily, if it's secured.

    So, when you apply for a car loan. Is it automatically secured with the car you'd be purchasing?
  • jonesMUFCforever
    jonesMUFCforever Posts: 28,898
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    curious_1 wrote: »
    So, when you apply for a car loan. Is it automatically secured with the car you'd be purchasing?

    No it depends on the type of finance you apply for.
    A hire purchase or PCP is secured on the car a personal loan might not be.
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