15.7% apr??

Heaton.j

3 years ago I was struggling financially as a self employed Personal Trainer and I had to accept a consolidated loan with the NatWest of £16700 at an APR of 15.7%
At the time I was in such a state I had no alternative but to accept. I’m paying £304 per month over 8 years.
I’ve been a full time teacher now since Jan 2015 and make my payments on time but it’s really affecting my mental state of mind as I have no spare money each month with 3 kids Stu lill at home. I’ve calculated I’ll be paying approx £12000 interest on my loan.
Is this the norm!?

Browntoa

Yes , your credit scoring reflects your risk to the bank and the APR reflects it

That's why payday loans are 1750% for example

Can you not get a fresh loan at a lower rate and clear the other

Caz3121

The calculations look correct. A mixture of the interest and the term impact the interest
If you put the details in here you will see the detail https://www.theguardian.com/money/loan-repayment-calculator-interest-rates

poppasmurf_bewdley

Consolidation loans are always charged at a higher rate than other types of loans.

Maybe you could find a way of taking out another loan to pay this one off without saying what it's for. But you may find that your loan to earning ratio is too high.

I'm afraid there is no short cut to your problem.

ratrace

Browntoa wrote: »

Yes , your credit scoring reflects your risk to the bank and the APR reflects it

That's why payday loans are 1750% for example

Can you not get a fresh loan at a lower rate and clear the other

You mean credit history not (credit score which is fabricated by credit referance agencys to make you sign up to thier monthly agreements) they dont lend the the money out banks and cc company do, who use thier own internal critera to make a judjment if they want to lend and at what rate

people have been taken in by the credit reference agencies advertising campaign telling us that the credit score is very important when in reality it means diddly squat

System

Heaton.j wrote: »

I’ve been a full time teacher now since Jan 2015 and make my payments on time but it’s really affecting my mental state of mind as I have no spare money each month with 3 kids Stu lill at home. I’ve calculated I’ll be paying approx £12000 interest on my loan.
Is this the norm!?

Yes the interest is the norm. In regards to the living hand to mouth, please go and post on the Debt Free Wannabe board. Put up a full statement of affairs and people on there will give you suggestions to save money and cut down on bills.

Pixie5740

ratrace wrote: »

You mean credit history not (credit score which is fabricated by credit referance agencys to make you sign up to thier monthly agreements) they dont lend the the money out banks and cc company do, who use thier own internal critera to make a judjment if they want to lend and at what rate

people have been taken in by the credit reference agencies advertising campaign telling us that the credit score is very important when in reality it means diddly squat

NatWest will have scored the OP, not just on credit history but other factors such as affordability, employment status, past dealings with NatWest and reason for loan. You are right though in that NatWest's score will have hee haw to do with the scores generated by the credit reference agencies.

Pixie5740

A relatively high interest rate and a long term so £12,000 sounds about right. As a self employed personal trainer you were probably a higher risk borrowe (in the eyes of NatWest) compared with a full time employed teacher.

You could try applying for a loan with a better interest rate over a shorter term < 5 years, or you could complete a statement of affairs to help identify areas of expenditure you can cut down on which would free up money allowing you to make overpayments to the current loan. Common areas that people can cut back on are grocery shopping, satellite/cable television, utilities, and mobile phones.