How much does the loan amount effect probability of acceptance?

alternative_to_love

Hi all,

I need a loan for some orthodontic treamtment, the total cost of which is about £3500. I have 2 options, either get a small loan (£1000ish) for the deposit, and then pay the rest in monthly installments over 15 months (an option offered by the dental surgery), or take out a loan for the whole amount. Drawback of option 1 is that I will be paying the loan back as well as the monthly installments, whereas with option 2 I will only have the loan replayments. I will also get a small discount on treamtent for paying the whole amount upfront.

What I want to know is, am I significantly more likely to get accepted for a loan for £1000 than for £3500? In terms of credit history, I did have an issue about 2 years ago wherby I had no loans/credit cards so no record of managing debt. Since then I have taken out a credit card and use it and pay it off (not always the full amount each month but always more than the minimum and I have never missed a payment). My credit limit has been increased twice in this period, and is currently at £1600. I have no searches in the past 12 months. I also have a joint account with my partner who has a very good credit history.

What do you think I should do? Apply for the smaller or larger loan? And should I apply with my own bank (HSBC) or the joint account I have with my partner (LLoyds TSB, although I am not sure if this is a good idea, the joint account is used just for bills & rent so the money paid in monthly goes straight out again). Or another provider altogether? Is it an option to apply for 2 loans on the same day to increase the chance of acceptance without the searches showing on my report, and then obviously not proceeding with the other loan should both offer it?

Thank you for your advice.

Emmzi

how much do you earn?

alternative_to_love

Sorry, forgot to mention that. £24000 before tax.

Emmzi

your loan amount seems reasonable then guven you have no other debt; I would just apply at your bank for the whole amount and see what happens.

Consumerist

I would say that you have built up a sufficiently good credit record by now. If you have no other debts apart from the credit card and you have a clean credit record then a £3,500 loan shouldn't be too much of a problem on your salary.

Look around on comparison sites for the cheapest deal available to see how rates available compare with those of your current banks before making a decision about who(m) to borrow from.

jonesMUFCforever

Is this treatment not available on the NHS for free?

alternative_to_love

No the treatment is not available for free on the NHS, if this were the case I certainly wouldn't consider paying to have it done privately.