Zopa Loan

JimDuff

paddyrg wrote: »

The 'underwriters' are people like you and me, who have a few quid to lend direct to people who need it, zopa are the dating agency.

The application is staged, they will work out which 'market' you suit (probably the 'young' market), then post the application for people to lend against. The 'young' market isn't the cheapest, but it is for people with no credit history, ideal for you. You will not get the A* market rate, but probably as good a deal as you'll find elsewhere.

Are the lenders the ones who decided whether to lend or not, or is the underwriting stage down to a third party working for Zopa? The quotes I am getting seem extremely decent which means I've passed the initial check, as I can see from my credit file they requested a search, not for credit, just a quotation search. However I have one late payment due to a car dealership messing up on settling an agreement. Not sure how this would affect as the finance was settled a week later in full.

A bit reluctant to attempt to borrow with that on my file.

flatbrokebuthappy

Normaly i find this site a breath of Fresh Air - but nothing could be further from the truth with ZOPA

Amongst one of there answers for the failed application

Your existing level of unsecured debt - if you've already got high levels of unsecured debt then it's probably not wise to take on more.

If you'd like to try for a different loan, check out The Lending Wizard which will offer you instant accurate quotations from a wide panel of lenders without damaging your credit score. You also get to see if you’re likely to be accepted before you apply and compare accurate rates based on your personal circumstances, not representative APRs. The service is free to use too.

Guess what - I took this option - and was directed to what could be best described as a legal loan shark

I received the following email
Congratulations! We're pleased to inform you that your Everyday Loans loan (Harrow Branch ) application has been Accepted in Principle

I contact them and quote the ref number - i was promised a ring back and aring back and a ring back

I was then asked to call in and complete the paper work - Great thinks I

A a matter of interst says i what is the APR ?

Quote "because of your poor credit history we cant discuss it over the phone " Please come in

Well i was offered 50% ot what i asked for with a APR of between %60% and 80%

Well what about my credit history you say

Never a missed payment in the last 8 years - no adverse remarks - simply a high level of unsecured debt - which they fear i could not repay - but i could take out an insurance package - but that another story

Got home - cut up my credit cards - and the store cards - and started making a little pocket money on Ebay for those little treats that we all need

JimDuff

Wow. I seem to hear different versions of Zopa storys. Needless to say if I get declined that will be it as far as they go.

paddyrg

Eh? So Zopa wouldn't lend you money (because you already have too much available credit) - so how is it their fault that you were offered a different loan via a different company. It sounds like they just gave you a pointer to a comparison website, and from there other lenders decided you were in a similar position except for the subprime lenders (who would lend you money). Doesn't really seem to be that bad a fault on zopa's part?

jamesd

Lots of incorrect answers so far unfortunately.

Zopa does a quotation search just before it matches you against lenders to get you rate, which is the rate for the particular market your credit record qualified for and the lending offers available in that market at the time you asked for the quotation. Proceeding with the application still leaves it as a quotation search. If you are accepted and take the loan that quotation search is then converted to an application search.

When I was actively lending there I used to recon on more than 90% of loans that made it to a quotation and on to an application being declined by the Zopa employees who do the underwriting for the Zopa Markets. The general acceptance rate is probably better than that 10% or less that I was expecting but it's still very common for people to be declined, so don't take it personally if it happens.

In addition to the markets there's the Listings option. The Zopa employee professional underwriters still do the key checks there as well but it's also up to lenders to do some work in deciding what rate to offer and whether the candidate is a good one to lend money to.

Zopa usually won't ask for more information but sometimes they do need to. If income seems unusual for occupation they might ask for a payslip, for example.

People who qualify for a loan via Zopa are usually also excellent candidates for 0% credit card deals and it's usually best to seek those before using Zopa, since the cheapest money is best. Virgin and other MBNA managed cards offer balance transfers from a current account, which sends money to the current account, so they work similarly to loans.

To give some idea of how you might do on cards you could try the Barclaycard pre-application check. This also uses just a quotation search and tells you which of their cards Barclaycard thinks you would be accepted for if you applied. They may use a different credit reporting agency for a full application so the results aren't guaranteed. If you see nice long 0% cards offered to you that's a good sign that you're likely to get good credit card deals.

It seems that your only glitch in the credit record was some time ago so I doubt that it would have a significant effect on your chances of being accepted.

Declaration of interest: I both have a loan via Zopa and have lent out money via Zopa. I'm not currently making new loans there.

JimDuff

Very informative reply, thanks!

The missed payment was several months ago and like I said was resolved. I've made an application anyway, My salary isn't fantastic but my monthly outgoings are minimal and I make around £200 a month on eBay so I added that as extra income. We'll just have to wait and see now it's not the end of the world if I don't get accepted.

Fingers crossed!

jamesd

Since it was only several months ago they might ask you about it if your application makes it as far as the phone call stage. You handled it fine so I wouldn't let that worry you.

JimDuff

jamesd wrote: »

Since it was only several months ago they might ask you about it if your application makes it as far as the phone call stage. You handled it fine so I wouldn't let that worry you.

I'm kind of hoping they do ask so I can explain the reasoning behind it, as it was 100% no fault of my own. I think I'll be classed as young being only 22 won't I? Well it's a waiting game now! Thanks for the help.

jamesd

Yes, you'll be in the young market and can't qualify for any others. You could try a Listing if declined for the Markets.

JimDuff

Well it's up for review at the moment. 85% certain it will decline but you never know! Don't want my hopes up too much.