First Plus - about to take a loan out

blt

I applied to my mortgage lender for an advance against my house mortgage for £10k. Unfirtunately they declined my request as I had missed a payment (unknowingly) nearly 2 years ago.

Through moneysupermarket, I found first plus and they have accepted me for a loan and are riging me this afternoon with APR, repayments etc.

My intention is to try again with my mortgage provider in 6 months for the money again and basically pay First Plus back.

Has anyone got any advice on First Plus, their experiences etc. what they're like etc? Thanks

rayday2

Avoid oh gowd avoid!

I took out two years ago 16,000 over 10 years, the apr was 8.4% now 10.5% sure interest rates not gone that high! Never missed a payment but requested a settlement figure and it was £17,303 a fifth into the loan.

They made you take out a payment protection so they say I borrowed £25,000 I don't think I am alone with this because the Financial ombudsman are apparently looking into fixed loans.

Why have you not considered remortgaging if you are not happy with the lender - after all you are happy to add another mortgage on which is the most expensive way of borrowing. Well it was looking at what I just said for me!

rog2

Have you posted this on the Loans Forum, blt? You MIGHT get a different view of First Plus, but the general consensus on DFW, is to avoid them like the plague.

tyllwyd

Before you sign anything, make sure you understand exactly what your position would be if you decided to repay the loan early - what fees, penalty interest or whatever would apply. If you take out a long term loan, trying to pay it back early is likely to cost a lot and you might easily find that trying to pay it early and borrow elsewhere would cost you more than sticking with the original loan. So don't do anything unless you are happy that the original loan that you sign up for is a good deal (and First Plus don't have a good reputation for offering good deals).

knightswhosaywi

rayday2 wrote: »

Avoid oh gowd avoid!

They made you take out a payment protection so they say I borrowed £25,000 I don't think I am alone with this because the Financial ombudsman are apparently looking into fixed loans.

We have a firstplus loan and although i can't really slate them i have nothing good to say either. Their aprs do seem to go up very high very quickly so the 7.9% they will no doubt offer will not stay that way for long, but we were not forced to take out payment protection, we said no thanks and that was that! Their customer service has always been good and i doubt they are any worse then any other secured loan people but you will pay through the nose for the debt and struggle to get out of it before the term is up, in my opinion anyway. Is un unsecured loan an option for you?

peb

From experience as a Conveyancer the main problem seems to be that the loan is fee loaded at the outset. this means that the repayment figure seems always to be higher and there are penalties for early repayment.