Expat-no personal loans-help!

narmi70

Hi

My first post after someone said I should post my question here. Has anybody got any ideas on how I can get a personal loan to consolidate all my debt. I hope I dont start ranting and going on for too long...sorry upfront if it comes across like this.

Problem is banks will not give me a personal loan, because I have no relationship with UK bank (Citibank is not UK and I have been with them for 12 years), self-employed and an expat who moved back 3 1/2 years ago.

Story is I came back to UK with my family from Vienna 3 1/2 years ago after leaving my job and on arrival I was told I have no address history or credit history in UK. I had worked in EU and had good credit rating but that was no use in UK...:(

It took 8 credit applications to get first credit card to buy everything for new household and set up business in UK. There was no other way....Then cam the second card and I was paying it all off as I went along and buying more for the house and kept investing in the business and had set in my head that I would get a personal loan after three years (would have the address history etc) and consolidate all my debt that is left over. Presently this amounts to 22K at present with credit cards, car lease from Germany and a small loan my partner had in Vienna.

I have been paying all this off for the last 3 years but the interest on all the 2 different cards, loan and car is mounting to what I would pay on a monthly basis, if a got a 7 year personal loan. That would be great considering I had paid off a lot in the last three years...but no one is interested in that...

The cards are lowering my credit rating and I have a Citibank account that is not seen as a UK bank account and therefore has no weighting for my creditworthiness (I have been with them four 12 years). Also my tax returns have shown low income in the first two years because I put a lot of money back into business development to grow and also keep my net earning low until I am established. The recession has not helped but I have done ok...and I keep going.

I have been online (Sainsbury, Tescos), to the banks and applied for loans and they have all returned a big no (you dont own a house, the systems says no!), not employed with steady income, low net income, no UK bank account and all this even though I have been paying without default all monies due.

I should have researched this better before coming so only have myself to blame but would be interested if anybody else has the same issue or what would you recommend I do, so I can consolidate this debt and start paying 450 a month and not 800 GBP monthly.

Just feel as an expat that returns without a big blue chip behind you and a set salary has no place here in the UK...they wont give you a thing until you have an address history and your name on a gas bill and council tax form...frustrating!!!!:eek:

Raggs_2

I've been looking into this sort of thing myself, since I am currently expat and planning on eventually returning.

However, even if you weren't expat, you cannot consider yourself prime lending material. 22k in debt, and very low net income, all over the short few years you've been back. It doesn't look good.

And whilst the loan might be meant for consolidation, the loan company cannot presume it will be, and thus would be looking to push your debt from 22k to I'd guess around 40k, which just isn't feasible.

If you can cope with your credit cards, and if there's anyway to overpay them, you may find that you can get debt free sooner, and for less, than a loan would be.

Try the debt free wannabe board for some tips and advice.

CLAPTON

you have low earnings
you have high debts
you have no assets

I'm afraid it's not entirely surprising that lenders are reluctant to give you further credit.... whether or not you are from the UK or Europe

Tubbss

Hi

You state "The cards are lowering my credit rating" - You are wrong! - they are probably impoving it providing you are making the paymets on time each and every month as they are are showing how you conduct your finances!

As for lending in general - unless you have a (near) perfect credit rating, put a tick in all the boxes and proove afforability then you will, as you have encountered, find it difficult to obtain a loan.

narmi70

Your are right on that front but the problem is you show the bank manager your past cash flow and projections and also the difference between the gross and net earnings of the business and they only focus on the net...let alone look at how i am keeping all this in detailed Excel tables to show I am in control...

I get the feeling it is relationship that counts in the UK a lot. I should have built it with a Uk bank manager the minute I got here. It makes the difference...

dktreesea

But you can do something about that now and open a UK bank account, can't you? If you can get one even with a small overdraft and then manage it well for six months or do, probably after that you can apply for a loan with that bank. Some banks, by the way, are imho, more friendly to the self employed (HSBC, Santander) than others (Lloyds, RBS and HBOS) but you could go around them all and see who offers you the best deal.

BLT_2

I have to confess that I am confused by the outgoings. 800 pounds monthly on a debt of 22k implies either that you are paying off a large amount of the capital, or alternatively your interest rates are sky high,a credit card with 24,000 at an interest rate of 28% would result in interest of circa 500 per month.

You appear to have been royally shafted by the credit card companies as well.

CLAPTON

I'm a little confused about your saying that your tax returns show low earnings because you plow money back into the business... this seems at first sight as tax fraud
banks base their decision on the tax return as they are well used to people with low taxable earnings but 'really' are doing much better.