[rjr16uk]

I'm currently looking for a loan and I have had no luck with several companies, Ive tried company's who even state that they help people with a not so great credit history and Ive failed. This is very frustrating because I'm in an extremely good job with a good salary and I'm very responsible. I made a few mistakes when I was younger as allot of us do and now I'm paying for it, I want a loan to clear my credit card. Ive also looked at ways of maybe securing the loan against my car but there are not companies who offer that, just logbook loans which don't offer enough of a loan. Is there anyone who can help? Or knows of any independent lenders? I can afford monthly payments with no trouble at all and I have minimal outgoings with regards to rent and bills.


Thanks

[King of the midgets]

Citifinancial is your best bet as we deal with consol loans, if not try Blackhorse / Bennifical Finance / Acorn Finance.

[Bluey]

"...tried company's who even state that they help people with a not so great credit history and Ive failed. .. I made a few mistakes when I was younger ..I want a loan to clear my credit card. "

If companies that deal with risky clients won't touch you with a barge pole, what does it tell you?

You reckon you've left your youthful mistakes behind yet you've still got marks against your name which show they are still hanging around, even if you think they should be relegated to history.

You reckon you've got minimal outgoings yet you run a car. You reckon you earn a good salary but need a loan to pay back the balance of a single card - can't you do it from your salary directly with the company over time and whittle it back that way.

You reckon you are much better at dealing with finances yet still need a loan to clear a credit card balance. It's actually possible that the loan you would get would require a higher repayment than sorting it out directly with your credit card company.

What you actually need is a reality check rather than worsening your credit situation. Go to your local citizens advice bureau to find out how you can repair your damaged credit rating and how to cope with debt rather than selling your soul to a finance company and worsening your situation.

[Urban Pauper]

Get your credit records for a start... see the equifax and experian websites... there's a third company, but I can't remember the name of it at this time of the morning...

They used to charge £2 or £3 payable by cheque or postal order.

County court judgements stay on your credit record for 6 years, and refused credit requests for three months, I was once told, but it could be longer. You have a bit of research to do, I'm afraid...

Also, contact the Consumer Credit Counselling Service (well known debt advice charity) at their website, http://www.cccs.co.uk/home.htm or on their freephone number:

0800 138 1111

Here's their snail mail address:

Consumer Credit Counselling Service
Wade House
Merrion Centre
Leeds
LS2 8NG


Below is a useful article from last week's Guardian.

http://money.guardian.co.uk/weekly/story/0,,1853184,00.html

Are they doing a number on you?

Banks' little-known ranking system keeps tabs on you, says Patrick Collinson

Saturday August 19, 2006
The Guardian

What does your bank really think of you? Research by Guardian Money has uncovered scoring systems that rank every customer at Lloyds TSB on a scale of one to nine, and at HSBC on a scale of one to 100.

At a Lloyds TSB branch, as soon as the cashier has your account number and sort code, he or she will be able to see your "risk band" score. This (separate from a credit-rating agency score) tells the cashier that the customer is in one of nine bands - influencing the decisions and actions the cashier will take. A customer rated as a number one is top-notch; usually someone with a long history at the bank, who has no record of bounced direct debits or returned cheques, and who never exceeds their authorised overdraft limit.

Customers slip down the rankings if they mismanage their accounts. Persistent cheque bouncers - often college students with only a short history at the bank - are likely to find themselves labelled as seven, eight or even nine. A low score makes it much tougher for customers to obtain extensions to their overdraft, and if they want a loan, they will receive a less attractive interest rate.

HSBC is understood to run a "behavioural score" of between one and 100, plus a star system, where customers are rated from one star through to five stars. The ratings do not appear on bank statements or in other communications to customers.

Guardian Money tested several branches of Lloyds TSB. In each, counter staff were reluctant to tell the customer their score. In one north London branch, the cashier said she could not give out the number, and ushered the customer into a separate office. He was told he was a number two, which meant he could obtain preferential rates on loans and other services.

None of our mystery shoppers was ranked a number one by the bank, but neither did we find any sevens, eights or nines. Most scores were bunched around two, three and four.

A Lloyds TSB spokesman said: "We do have a customer segmentation system, called risk banding. It's for internal use only. It is drawn from a range of information we hold on the customer. It is not an external credit rating, and it does assist us in our decision making."

HSBC said it would not disclose details of its behavioural scoring.

Like other banks we spoke to, Lloyds TSB insisted that the existence of the scores makes no difference to the quality of service it offers customers. It said the score moves up and down according to how the customer is using their account. "If you were a three, four or five and, because of a holiday, things went awry, you can always get back on track."

Customers cannot challenge their score - Lloyds TSB says it is automatically generated. The only way to move up the ladder is to change behaviour.

NatWest uses a combination of scoring techniques. It says these are "commercially sensitive" and only used in conjunction with external credit- rating agencies to determine suitability for lending. Barclays says it has customer profile scores, but these cannot be seen by front-line staff at branches. A spokeswoman said: "It wouldn't be right for any Tom, Dick or Harry in the branch to be able to access such information."

If you want to find out your bank score, the simplest thing is to just ask the cashier. If your request is denied, you can write to the bank requesting a copy of information held on computer records under the Data Protection Act, known as a "subject access request".

[miss quark]

Also you should be aware that having a lot of credit checks done also decreases your credit score, so try to space those credit checks out!