We’d like to remind Forumites to please avoid political debate on the Forum.

This is to keep it a safe and useful space for MoneySaving discussions. Threads that are – or become – political in nature may be removed in line with the Forum’s rules. Thank you for your understanding.

📨 Have you signed up to the Forum's new Email Digest yet? Get a selection of trending threads sent straight to your inbox daily, weekly or monthly!

LD-Uk Loans Direct???

ccqueen
ccqueen Posts: 210 Forumite
Part of the Furniture 100 Posts Combo Breaker
edited 2 July 2013 at 8:10PM in Loans
Has anyone heard of them or dealt with them?

They are asking for a fee (i have been caught out before) but they say this is due to my low credit score.

They have said that i am guaranteed a loan and that all the checks have been done but need to pay the fee and they will send the credit agreement etc in the post.

I have googled them and cannot find anything negative about being ripped off but they are a new company so many thats why?

Has anyone heard of them or have any experience i am dubious about doing it but find it odd that i cannot find any reports on them.

MSE Official Insert: Right of Reply from Loans Direct UK

GENERAL INFORMATION

Loans Direct UK are not a lender but an online membership service that charges a one-off fee of between £50 and £70.

We are registered with the OFT and their Consumer Credit Licence number is 0628451. Our company registration number is 6907433.

Membership gives you access to a range of financial products, discount offers and tools for managing your money. We will look at the personal details you provide at the point of sign up and will try to match you with a suitable solution but, membership does not guarantee that you will be approved for a loan. Nor does it guarantee the amount you will be able to borrow or the interest rate you will be charged. We don't carry out credit checks ourselves.

If you have a query about your membership you should contact our customer service team on 0844 3091 936. Our call centre is open from 8am - 9pm Monday to Friday and 10am to 2pm on Saturdays.

If you wish to cancel your membership you can do so by writing to: Loans Direct UK, Office 8, 10 Buckhurst Road, Bexhill on Sea, East Sussex, TN40 1QF.

GENERAL QUESTIONS

We have received a number of queries regarding our service so here are our official responces:

1) Fees are taken out of customers' accounts without authorisation, using debit cards, the details of which are purportedly taken for identification or credit check purposes only.

Official reply:
"The only time our website asks for card details is when a customer is signing up to membership. Our website is very transparent, and we clearly state the membership fee. At no point do we suggest that card details are required for anything other than the payment of a membership fee”

2) Payment of fees is taken though loans are offered for an amount, which is below the amount needed and requested by customers.

Official reply:
"When a customer signs up to membership they provide approximately 30 pieces of information about themselves. We have a computer system that matches these individual details against our database of financial products (we have about 200 products including loans, credit cards and debt help solutions) We then suggest solutions that we believe to be suitable for the customers individual situation.

Our system is also integrated with a range of loans, so sometimes we can tell the customer immediately if they have been accepted for a loan with a particular lender.

At no point do we guarantee a particular loan amount or APR, as this is ultimately down to the customer’s individual chosen lender.

Sometimes loans are for smaller amounts than the customer initially requested, due to their individual situation. Other times, we recommend debt help solutions if a loan is not suitable.”

3) Payment is taken though the customer has cancelled the request for a loan.

Official reply:
"Membership includes more than just finding suitable loans. We also provide customers with exclusive discount deals, money saving advice and access to their credit reports. Therefore, simply not proceeding with a loan will not automatically cancel a customers membership.

If a customer would like to cancel their membership then they will need to contact our call centre on 0844 3091 936. We are available Monday – Friday 8am to 9pm and 10am – 2pm on Saturday’s.”

4) Loans direct processes an application fee knowing that they will not be able find customers a suitable lender.

Official reply:
"We only accept customers who have matched at least one product on our system and we therefore believe we can help. Customers are under no obligation to proceed with any of the solutions we recommend for them”

5) Loans Direct offer customers loans from companies which have already rejected their application or which are unsuitable because no guarantor is able to guarantee the customer's loan application.

Official reply:
"We ask customers to tell us which lenders they already have debts with. As well as those that they have already approached and been unsuccessful with so we can rule those lenders out of our recommendations – so this would only ever be the case if the customer has forgotten to tell us some of the lenders they have previously applied with.

Some popular products do require guarantors, however the customer is under no obligation to accept these products – if they indicate that these solutions are not suitable we will continue working for them until we find a solution that does meet their requirements.”

6) Loans Direct operates a scam

Official reply:
"We absolutely do not operate a scam and it is slanderous and libellous to suggest otherwise. We hold a consumer credit license that was issued by the Office of Fair Trading, we have a no quibble refund policy and we deliver a highly valued service to our large base of customer, many of whom come back to us many times to meet their financial needs. If a customer is not completely satisfied with the service they've received they simply need to contact us via phone or email to discuss. Queries of this nature will be dealt within 24 hours and response will be issued over the phone and confirmed in writing."

7) It is difficult to obtain a refund from Loan Direct.

Official reply:
"We have a 100% refund policy for any customers who are unhappy with the service they have received. To discuss a refund with us you are simply required to contact us via phone (08443091936) or email (support@loansdirectuk.net). Our call centre is open Monday to Friday from 8am to 9pm and Saturday 10am to 2pm, we do our best to deal with all refund requests on the same day."

Comments

  • Browntoa
    Browntoa Posts: 49,612 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper Photogenic
    up front fee= run away
    Ex forum ambassador

    Long term forum member
  • spike7451
    spike7451 Posts: 6,944 Forumite
    DONT!!! See my thread "Strawberry loans"...My details were passed to them by Experian &,over the past couple day's,I've been plagued by calls from them & others!

    If you do apply for a loan with them,you're an ..........*! (sorry to be blunt)

    *Insert applicable word.
  • CHR15
    CHR15 Posts: 5,193 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Combo Breaker
    edited 23 September 2013 at 12:04PM
    ccqueen wrote: »
    They have said that i am guaranteed a loan .

    [text deleted by MSE Forum Team]

    Nobody can guarantee you a loan without checking on you first.
    I hope you haven't already given them your bank details.
  • ccqueen
    ccqueen Posts: 210 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 100 Posts Combo Breaker
    Thanks for the replies.

    No i haven't given them my bank details and im not going ahead with it.

    Just thought it was odd that they say they have carried out all of their checks already and so definately approved.

    also, most of the other rip off brokers come up when you google them but i can't seem to find any scam or bad review at all.

    Thats why i asked to see if anyone else had any knowledge on them.

    If they are scammers hopefully someone else will see the name and be wary.
  • spike7451
    spike7451 Posts: 6,944 Forumite
    If you do need a loan urgently,then try Wonga BUT make sure you can pay it back on the minimum payment time.I've used them before with no bother.But make sure you can afford it.
  • ccqueen
    ccqueen Posts: 210 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 100 Posts Combo Breaker
    Thanks Spike,

    I was looking for a longer term loan to clear my old credit card and pay off a payday loan.

    Will just keep doing it slowly.
  • triticale
    triticale Posts: 771 Forumite
    ccqueen wrote: »
    Thanks Spike,

    I was looking for a longer term loan to clear my old credit card and pay off a payday loan.

    Will just keep doing it slowly.

    Good choice.

    Get the payday loan cleared as a matter of priority and then set to work on paying off the credit card.

    Best of luck
  • KingElvis
    KingElvis Posts: 4,100 Forumite
    Iff you want to give your money away, I'd give them a call.
    "We want the finest wines available to humanity, we want them here, and we want them now!"
This discussion has been closed.
Meet your Ambassadors

🚀 Getting Started

Hi new member!

Our Getting Started Guide will help you get the most out of the Forum

Categories

  • All Categories
  • 352.4K Banking & Borrowing
  • 253.7K Reduce Debt & Boost Income
  • 454.4K Spending & Discounts
  • 245.4K Work, Benefits & Business
  • 601.2K Mortgages, Homes & Bills
  • 177.6K Life & Family
  • 259.3K Travel & Transport
  • 1.5M Hobbies & Leisure
  • 16K Discuss & Feedback
  • 37.7K Read-Only Boards

Is this how you want to be seen?

We see you are using a default avatar. It takes only a few seconds to pick a picture.