Personal loan- help much appreciated!!

olivia86

Hi!
I would really appreciate any help/advice anyone could offer.

I am looking for a personal loan of around £5,000 (to pay back over 2 or 3 years) to buy a car. My first step was to go and see my own bank, Halifax, who I have banked with for 15+ years, I have had my current account with them for years and have my monthly full-time salary paid into the account. The account has been ran and managed well, running into no problems. However, I did have some trouble with a seperate account from Halifax in the past (behind on payments) (another account I held with them) which has all been paid and settled for years (due to drop off my file in 2 years I believe), so due to this reason I believe, Halifax said they could not offer me a personal loan.

I am wondering where else to go and what my next step should be. It was very disappointing to me that my own bank that I pay so much money into, would not be willing to offer me a loan, but need to move forward from this and look at my options.

I had read that different banks/lenders get their credit check information from different credit reference agencies. I have a copy of my recent credit report from both Equifax and Experian, and my Experian report does look a lot better than the Equifax one.
Everything on my credit file is settled- only things that show are late payments and one default from my student days when money was tight. Seems so unfair that this could prevent me from moving on with my life.

If anyone could give me any advice I would be so grateful.

O x

19lottie82

If you have an existing default on your account and your own bank won’t lend to you, I’m afraid it’s unlikely anyoneelse will.

Unless it’s one of those horrendous APR companies like pounds to pocket, so please don’t consider this.



BUT you may have more luck getting finance through a dealership, as the debt is secured against the car.

sistafromanothermista

More info needed i think.
Do you have any debt?
If so what?
Have you missed any payments in the last few years?
How much do you earn?
[STRIKE]
Have you ordered all of your Credit reports to see how healthy you look to a prospective lender?
[/STRIKE]
I really must learn not to skim read.
you say it shows late payments, how many?

happycamel_2

1) save for a few months or dip in to existing savings and buy an old banger and run it until its next MOT then scrap it. By then you'll have saved enough to upgrade. This will get you the best car in the long run because you won't waste money on interest, fees etc.

2) get a car on HP, securing the loan on the car lowers the risk for the lender Don't over stretch yourself though, as you've seen if you can't afford the repayments for some reason potential lenders will be aware of that for six years.

CLAPTON

buy a cheaper car

olivia86

Thanks very much all for your advice and your input- very much appreciated.

The only debt I have remaining is my credit card which I have about £300 left on and is being paid off monthly with no late /missed payments for the past 2/3 years.

My salary is around £15,000 per year.

I've had no missed payments at all in the past 2/3 years, all has been ran smoothly.

Will definitely look into car finance! There is hope yet xxx

gb12345

olivia86 wrote: »

The only debt I have remaining is my credit card which I have about £300 left on and is being paid off monthly with no late /missed payments for the past 2/3 years.

What is the limit on the card and are you paying off more thant the minimum payment every month?

olivia86

The limit on the card is £500. I am just paying the minimum payment- I heard somewhere they liked for you to do that, would it be better to pay more than the minimum each month?

19lottie82

olivia86 wrote: »

The limit on the card is £500. I am just paying the minimum payment- I heard somewhere they liked for you to do that, would it be better to pay more than the minimum each month?

Yes, even if it's just the min + £1 a month

olivia86

Thanks very much for the advice- I will certainly do this :-)

gb12345

olivia86 wrote: »

The limit on the card is £500. I am just paying the minimum payment- I heard somewhere they liked for you to do that, would it be better to pay more than the minimum each month?

They like you to do that as it means that they are earning more interest from you, but it doesn't look good on your credit report as it could be construed that you aren't able to afford to pay any more towards your debts each month, so how can you afford new credit.

You would be better off clearing the card completely (should only take you a month or so if you have the cash available for a new loan) and then start using it sensibly (spend and clear each month) to build up a better credit history.

As to the car, either wait until your credit history is better looking, or go for an affordable finance deal like happycamel suggested.