About this site
Lenderscompared.org.uk is a free to use, independent price comparison website to help you find the best small cash loan for you. We're not here to sell you anything, so no sponsored results or other adverts appear on this site.
Home credit companies are legally required to provide details of the loans they make available. The site also includes details of some non-home collected loans.
Lenderscompared.org.uk is paid for by the largest home credit companies, and is operated in partnership with the Association of British Credit Unions, the Consumer Credit Association and organisations which are independent of the home credit and cash lending sectors. The site is regulated by the Office of Fair Trading under the Consumer Credit Act 1974.
Consumer rights and advice information
On home credit loans
Home credit lenders are licensed by the Office of Fair Trading under the Consumer Credit Act 1974. This Act provides important rights and protections for consumers. Information on your rights can be found on the Consumer Direct website at www.consumerdirect.gov.uk or by phoning 08454 04 05 06.
What follows is for your guidance only and should not be taken to be a statement of the law.
Comparing the cost of loans
All home credit lenders must publish the following information on the Lenderscompared.org.uk site for each of their generally available loans:
- the amount of the loan you searched for;
- the length of the loan;
- the amount of each repayment and how often you will need to make it;
- the total amount payable (that is the amount you intend to borrow plus all the interest and other charges you will have to pay over the whole period of the loan);
- the rate of interest on the loan;
- any non-interest charges (such as charges for home collection);
- the APR (annual percentage rate of charge);
- any unusual limitations on the availability of loans; and
- the lender’s name, postal address and a non-premium rate UK telephone number where they can be contacted.
Key financial information must be shown in the form of a representative example (see below for more information about this).
The lender may also include the following information:
- the cost of credit (TCC);
- any charges for late or missed payments.
Early settlement
You can pay off all or part of your loan early at any time. This will reduce the interest and other charges that you have to pay. You don’t need to apply in writing but you can ask the lender for a written statement showing how much you owe if you settle within the next 13 days. If you want, you can settle later but it may cost you more. You can also pay extra on top of your usual payment and ask for this to be used to reduce the amount you owe.
Credit reference agencies
Larger home credit lenders (those with 60 or more agents and an annual turnover of £2 million or more) must provide information on your loans to at least two of the three credit reference agencies, Experian, Equifax or Callcredit. Other lenders may use these data to help decide whether to offer you a loan and on what terms. If you have a good history of repayments, this should make it easier to access other cheaper forms of credit. You can ask the credit reference agencies for details of any information held about you, though they may make a small charge for this.
General advice and information
For general advice on borrowing money, please visit yourmoney.moneyadviceservice.org.uk/hubs/home_cardsloans.html. This is an independent site operated by the Consumer Financial Education Body. This Body was set up by the Financial Services Authority to provide information to consumers on how to manage their finances and avoid getting into too much debt.