Personal Loan from my bank

loopy.magic

Hi all, new to this forum.

I'm after some advise on a loan I'd like to get. Due to a prolonged period of umemployment a few years ago and overstretching myself on a mortgage I'm now in a position where I have £38k worth of credit card debt.

Over the last couple of years I've managed to get all of this onto low balance transfer rates for life deals, but it's still a hefty amount to pay each month.

My question is if I speak to my bank (Abbey) who I've been with for over 10 years am I more likely to get a personal loan then if I go through another bank? I'm just barely keeping my head above water with the credit card payments and getting a loan for part of this debt will greatly relieve the burden I'm feeling.

I was refused a loan from my bank in Aug 2008, since then I've maintained my credit card payments always on time and I've not missed a payment for anything (credit cards, bills, overdraft charges, car loan). I've also avoided any and all activities which would have resulted in a credit search (other then the usual unrecorded enquiries associated with insurance quotes)

All advise much appreciated.

CLAPTON

your income?

loopy.magic

£55k per annum

[Deleted User]

remember the 38k of existing debt will be viewed by any lender as in addition to something additional you borrow,i.e another 38k to pay it off,as there is no gaurantee you will pay it off,so the answer may well be no.

loopy.magic

I do understand that and I also know there are no guarantees that I will get a loan. I'm just asking if the chances of getting a loan from my current account bank is greater then if I go to another bank.

BenL

Another thing to note is the abbey website advises they have a maximum loan of £20,000 unsecured.

loopy.magic

Again, I do understand this. As I said in my original post I'm looking for a loan to pay off PART of my debt. I know there aren't any unsecured loans out there for £38k.

My question is simply do I have a better chance of being granted a loan from my own bank or going to another bank gives me the same equal chance? Because the bank knows my income and outgoings via my current account will this equate to more likelihood of a successful loan application?

BenL

Apologies, i missed the part bit

I would say yes.

I do have the advantage of used to working for Abbey but things have changed since inc ownership & systems.

On the old system I would have been able to see how much of a personal loan you could be given without any extra checks with external agencies.

If you have conducted your account well and have been a loyal customer it can count in your favor. If you have multiple savings accounts and a credit card for instance you are seen as a better prospect of a customer for a loan.

The complete process is a mystery but banks may put more weighting on their own internal scoring of you as a customer than the external influences.

They seem to be cagey on the website about the interest rate on offer for the amount you are after.

The next factor however if they do give you a loan, they operate rate for risk.

If they have the ability to do a quotation search against you that will give you a good idea of what rate they will offer.

There is an article about this as well

http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/loans/cheap-personal-loans about 1/2 way down there is a paragraph about going to your own bank. I'd check the whole article though and see if it throws up anything else that you might find useful

loopy.magic

Thanks, based on your experience is it likely or possible for Abbey to find out and let me know what the potential interest rate would be for the loan?

And can this be done without the dreaded 'footprint' going on my credit file?

CLAPTON

loopy.magic wrote: »

Thanks, based on your experience is it likely or possible for Abbey to find out and let me know what the potential interest rate would be for the loan?

And can this be done without the dreaded 'footprint' going on my credit file?

what's so awful about a single credit check?

loopy.magic

Nothing in itself, I guess I'm a little paranoid.

But each failed application reduces my options for another 3-6 months.