How to make sure your loan application is successful (From Hampshire Chronicle)

How to make sure your loan application is successful

12:00pm Thursday 12th April 2012 in Lloyds Advertorial Content

While the exact method will change from one lender to the next, they generally use any of three ways to assess your suitability for a loan:

• your past dealings with them

• the information you give on the application form

• your credit rating

At Lloyds TSB, they only lend money to their existing customers.

Find out more about loans from Lloyds TSB

You need to be aged 18 years or over and have had a current account with Lloyds TSB for at least 3 months to apply for a loan.

It helps them make decisions about whether to lend to you and how much they can lend to you.

Your credit rating This is another factor banks use to check your suitability for a loan.

Banks use a ‘credit score’ to predict your financial behaviour so they can decide if you’re the ideal customer for them.

Using data gathered on your finances over the years on everything from credit cards to mobile phone contracts, they can establish a pattern of your financial behaviour. This is then used not only to work out your suitability for a loan, but it can also determine the type of loan you’ll get.

When you apply for a loan, make sure you check the APR (Annual Percentage Rate). This gives you a single figure that includes the actual interest rate over the life of the loan as well as all the normal costs like administration fees or annual charges. It doesn’t include additional charges such as fees for early or late repayment.

But remember, the APR advertised is the representative APR - you’ll only see the true APR you’ll pay when you get a quote for a loan.

And when you get a quote from Lloyds TSB, you’ll get a personalised quote which won’t leave a credit footprint, so the details won’t show up on your credit record.

How each bank uses your credit score will differ but it’s a key factor in deciding whether your application is successful so it’s a good idea to check your credit reports to make sure they’re accurate. The application form Information on the application form like your salary and your reason for taking out the loan also form a key part of the process.

When you apply for a loan online from Lloyds TSB, they’ll use a lot of the information they already have about you to assess your application, so you only need to fill a few questions. This only takes a few minutes.

It saves you time and makes sure there are no errors which could affect your application.

Find out more about personal loans from Lloyds TSB