Halifax Smaller Loan
Good:
Known for fast delivery of documents and good relationship with the couriers retrieving your documents
Bad:
APR is generally higher than most high street banks
Verdict:
Halifax customers only - considering they require you to have a good credit and banking history, they charge a really high interest rate, shop around elsewhere before applying
Only available to Halifax customers, their unsecured personal loans range between £1,000 to £6,999 repayable over 1 - 7 years. The APR range is not great, so you will be paying quite a high interest rate for a good credit bank loan. However, if you bank with Halifax, the convenience could make up for it.
Complete their online application form and you should get a same day decision. If you are accepted, your credit agreement will be sent to your home, which you will have to sign and send back. An optional courier service could speed up this process, but there is a £70 fee for this. Once they have received your signed documents, they will usually release the funds between 1 - 2 weeks. They will perform a credit check on you so if you have bad credit this is not be the option for you.
They offer up to a 3 month repayment deferral at the beginning of the loan but the interest still accumulates during this period. Halifax state they have no early settlement charges which is not entirely true. If you were to pay it off early you could end up having to pay up to 58 days interest.
Halifax are fairly slow at paying out, so probably not a good option if you need money quickly. They are quite rigid with upholding the agreement with you which means if you do fall into financial difficulty, they may not be quite as sympathetic as you would want them to be. This is only a good option providing you don't fall behind with your payments as you can expect some extra charges. See the charges listed below. Halifax can only accept people with good credit (i.e. you haven't made any late payments, have any CCJs or defaults).
Loan Calculator (Representative 20.9%APR)
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The website is easy to apply from. It's easy and straightforward and you're either accepted or rejected. I chose to pay over 5 years and I got a really good rate. They didn't shove their loan policies on me and the person I spoke to on the phone was polite and helpful. They even rung me to see if the courier had been around with the documents!
They were great because: I was accepted via principle over the net, they called me the next day to agree the terms, there is a good connection with the couriers, the rate was decent, the money was in my account 9 days later, and there is no penalty for paying up early!
I ask for a loan from Halifax for £2,000. The internet application was easy to use and quick to do. I was accepted in principle on the net, and I had an immediate phone call to agree the terms. I got a good rate, and the people were very helpful. I would recommend this loan service to anyone.
After being accepted for my loan with Halifax, the courier was sent to my house with the forms. He gave me twenty minutes to read the Terms & Conditions and sign the forms before taking them back for me. There was nothing for me to post. The couriers gave me a 2 hour window of when they could come and Halifax even rang me back to make sure the courier had been around. Definitely recommend!
The Halifax website is an easy way to apply for a personal loan. It's simple, straightforward and you are accepted or rejected in principle a few hours later. The person I spoke to was very polite and helpful and made sure I was happy over the terms.
Loans up to £6,999 - up to 7 years
14 working days without courier service
- You need: address details including your post code for the past 3 years, bank/building society details, annual income and monthly outgoings (rent/mortgage payments), employer's name and address
- You must be 18 years or older to apply
- You cannot have been declined credit in the last month
- You must have a permanent UK address
- You must be an existing Halifax customer with at least one of the following Halifax accounts: current (excluding Easycash), mortgage, savings, credit card or loan
- You cannot be in full time education
- You cannot have a history of bad credit (e.g. arrears, CCJs, deaults or bankruptcy)
- Receive your documents by courier quicker - £70.00
- Issue of instruction to solicitor - £50.00
- Failed direct debit - £25.00
- Letter requesting payment - £10.00
- Telephone call requesting payment - £10.00
- Pre-default notice - £30.00
- Default expired - £50.00
- 58 days interest
