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Looking for personal loans?

  • Borrow £1,000 - £5,000
  • Repay over 12 – 36 months
  • Check your eligibility with no impact to your credit score
Check my eligibility This won't affect your credit score

Representative example: Amount of credit £2,000 for 24 months. Interest rate: 41.2% pa (fixed). 24 scheduled monthly payments of £123.64. Total amount payable: £2,967.43 Representative 49.9% APR.

What is a personal loan?

A Personal loan is a type of borrowing available from a bank or a regulated lender for a specific loan amount over a set period. Personal loans are often unsecured, so the loan amount doesn’t have to be safeguarded against any assets such as your home or car. Depending on each lender’s criteria, the loan amounts can vary. Some lenders offer very short term loans for small amounts, often repaid back over a number of months. Whilst other providers can offer much larger amounts where repayments can be spread over a number of years. Dependent on the type of loan, the interest rates are typically fixed which means this won’t change over the term of the loan. Loan amounts and terms will vary from one lender to another, so it’s important to do your research beforehand.
118 118 Money offer loans of between £1,000 - £5,000 (subject to eligibility) repaid over 12 - 36 months. (missed or late repayments on a 118 118 personal loan will incur a £12 charge). 

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Monthly Repayment £0
Representative APR 49.9%
Check my eligibility This won't affect your credit score
Representative example: Amount of credit: for months. Interest rate: 41.2% pa (fixed). scheduled monthly payments of . Total amount payable: . Representative 49.9% APR.
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Is the interest charged on a personal loan fixed?

There are a wide variety of personal loans on offer in the UK. Navigating your way through which is the right one for you can seem quite daunting. We have provided a brief overview on how personal loans work below, but if you’re considering applying for a loan, we suggest you conduct your own research thoroughly too. A personal loan is a financial commitment, so make sure you’re not taking the decision lightly.

Comparison websites are a good place to begin your personal loans research. Most comparison sites require some initial information about you, including (but not limited to) your name, address, date of birth and suchlike. They also require some financial information relating to your income and outgoings. Of course they’ll also need to know the loan amount, and preferable repayment term.

The second step usually involves a soft credit search being completed by the comparison site, with a list of potential lenders you’re likely to be eligible with being presented thereafter. From here, you can choose, if eligible, to apply by going through from the comparison site to the lender which suits your needs.

Your preferred lender will then require some further information and they’ll also conduct a full credit search at this point. Full searches are recorded on your credit file. If accepted, you’ll need to read and sign the agreement, specify where you want the loan amount transferred and your direct debit details. Your Twill also be presented and/ or sent to you.

The above is just a simple overview of the process if using a comparison website, there’s likely to be some further steps involved too, just bear this in mind.
Alternatively, you can apply for a loan directly with a lender rather than going through a broker like a comparison site. 118 118 Money are a direct online personal loan lender (though we do use brokers too), meaning you can apply directly with us.

We also offer an eligibility checking feature, this doesn’t impact your credit rating and provides an indication if we’re likely to lend to you or not. If you are eligible and move on to a full application, we will conduct a full credit search.

 

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Are there different types of personal loans?

There are numerous different types of personal loans available – each serving a different purpose and aimed at people with different credit needs. We’ve listed a few below but this list isn’t exhaustive, be sure to do your research before applying for a loan.

Payday Loans – these types of loans are often very short term by design. They’re often repaid back on the borrower’s next payday. Typically these can be more appealing to those who may struggle to access credit because of poor credit management in the past. Payday loans do tend to have a high interest rate because they are aimed at those with bad or poor credit.

Guarantor loans and non-guarantor loans – Key differences here are that a guarantor loan has a requirement for a third party to be jointly responsible for repayments. This ensures that should the original borrower be unable to keep up with the agreed repayments, the named guarantor will be liable for payments. Similar to a payday loan, guarantor loans are also aimed at customers who lenders may deem more riskier and very often those with a less than perfect credit history. Non-guarantor loans are the opposite, so the borrower is the only one responsible for repayments.

Short term loans – similar to payday loans, these types of loans tend to be for a relatively small amount, some lenders offer loan amounts from £100 or less. These are then repaid over a short period, for example between 3-12 months. The rates on these loans can also be high in comparison to other traditional loans because they are aimed at those who may not be able to access high street finance typically.

Unsecured loans – this is simply a loan where no collateral is secured against the original loan amount. The loan amounts and terms themselves can vary, ranging from relatively small amounts to much larger loans for home extensions or the sort.

Do 118 118 Money offer unsecured personal loans?

Loans from 118 118 Money are unsecured loans, so you don’t need to secure them against anything or have a requirement for a guarantor.

Our loans are fixed rate, this means the monthly repayments won’t change over the loan term.

118 118 Money offer personal loans in the UK from £1,000 to £5,000 (subject to eligibility) over a period of 12 – 36 months. You can use our eligibility check to find out if you’ll be accepted, this doesn’t impact your credit score unless you choose to complete a full application.

Can I get a personal loan with bad credit?

If you’ve applied for an online personal loan and been rejected, it may be that you did not meet the lender’s eligibility criteria at the time.

Or you’ve got bad credit, or no credit history at all which can result in difficulties when applying for a personal loan. Missed or late repayments may impact your credit score; but some lenders do consider applications from those with an adverse credit history.

At 118 118 Money, we do consider applications for a personal loan from those with a less than perfect credit background. You can use our eligibility check to see if you’re eligible for a loan with us, without impacting your credit score.

Is a credit card an alternative to a personal loan?

This is dependent on the loan amount you need and what period you wish to take the borrowing over. If you require a relatively small amount over a short period, then a credit card may be worth considering. With credit cards, you can use up to the agreed credit limit and if you repay the full balance by the due date, then you aren’t likely to incur any interest charges. If only the minimum payment is repaid on the due date, then the balance will have interest applied to it. It’s also worth considering that with credit cards some lenders may also offer additional incentives such as loyalty points or air miles with each purchase too. A feature you’re unlikely to find with a personal loan.

However, your credit history and personal financial information will influence which credit cards you may be eligible for, if any. But yes, credit cards can be an alternative to a personal loan in some circumstances.

The 118 118 Money Simple Interest Rate Card comes with a guaranteed credit limit and guaranteed APR, click for further information on our credit card. We also offer a pre-application eligibility checker which can provide an indication if you’re likely to be accepted, all without impacting your credit score. Full applications require a full credit search.

Apply for a personal loan from 118 118 Money

Want to apply for a personal loan from 118 118 Money? You can try our eligibility check first to see if you’ll be accepted before you apply – and it won’t affect your credit rating.

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Personal Loan FAQs

All full loan applications require a credit check when applying for any personal loan in UK. There’s often a misconception that online personal loans don’t require a credit check; all regulated lenders will compete a credit check as a part of the full application. Many lenders, including 118 118 Money offer an eligibility checking feature, this is based on a soft search which doesn’t impact your credit score. If you decide to apply for a loan after using the eligibility checker, we do then conduct a full search.

People often ask if personal loans and other financial products will impact their credit score. The answer is yes, they may. Whether it is positive or negative depends on your behaviour. For example, if you make multiple loan applications, then these multiple applications will create multiple credit searches which will show up on your credit file. Once you’ve taken your personal loan, your repayment behaviour can also impact your credit score. For example, if you make all your repayments on time, then this may have a positive impact. On the other hand, if you fall behind with your personal loan repayments, or don’t make them in full, then this can have an adverse impact on your credit score. You can check if you are eligible for a loan from 118 118 Money by using our eligibility check without impacting your credit score!

Yes, you can use a personal loan to pay off a credit card – this can be a good idea in certain scenarios:

  • You have a high balance on your credit card.
  • The interest rate on your credit card is higher than the interest rate on your personal loan.
  • You want a personal loan over a set period of time, so that you can manage your repayments to clear your debt.

If you have a number of credit cards and store card debts, with several repayments to juggle, consolidating them into one place with a personal loan could help you to manage your repayments more effectively.

With a personal loan, you’ll know exactly when your repayment will go out each month, and if you take a fixed rate personal loan, you’ll have the added benefit of knowing exactly what your repayment is going to be each month.

 

Loans can be used for several different purposes including home improvements or even car purchases.

Whilst the success of each application is based on an individual borrower’s credit rating and the information held on their credit report; from an affordability perspective, careful consideration should be given to what impact a loan can have on monthly and long-term outgoings.

You may be able to pay off your personal loan early, depending on the terms and conditions of your personal loan. While early repayment could mean that you are entitled to a rebate and end up paying less overall, you should be aware that you may have to pay an early settlement charge.

If you repay part of the loan early, this will reduce the total loan amount and may reduce future payments, meaning you may pay less overall too.

Details of your early repayment options should also be clear on the terms and conditions of your loan agreement too, so you should read these carefully.

More information on early repayment charges on loans from 118 118 Money can be found in our FAQs.

Whether your personal loan rate is fixed or variable will depend on your lender and what products they have available. To help you understand the difference, we have summarised:

  • Variable rate personal loans
    • Variable rate personal loans are exactly that – personal loans with an interest rate which can vary over the period of the personal loan.
    • If you don’t mind your repayments changing over the period of your loan, then a variable rate personal loan may be an option for you.
  • Fixed rate personal loans
    • Fixed rate personal loans on the other hand have a fixed interest rate for the duration of the personal loan.
    • This means your repayments are fixed for the period of the personal loan, so if you want to know exactly what your repayments are going to be this could be the option for you.

The personal loan your lender offers you will depend on what types of personal loan they provide and your own personal circumstances, including your credit score. Rates on personal loans from 118 118 Money are fixed.

This is dependent on each individual’s circumstances and affordability when choosing personal loans or credit cards. You should research both before you decide on what is right for your circumstances, but here are a few things to think about:

Credit cards

  • Credit cards are a revolving line of credit, so when you pay off your balance, you can use it again.
  • If you do not pay your outstanding balance in full each month and keep a revolving line of credit then there may be cheaper alternatives. You might find that your credit card has a higher APR than you could get with a personal loan, meaning the cost of your borrowing is more expensive.

Personal loans

  • If you want to know exactly what your repayments will be each month then a personal loan like one from 118 118 Money with a fixed rate can give you this. You’ll also know exactly when your instalments are due each month and how many you need to make.
  • You will have to make your repayments in full every month and so will need to make sure you budget effectively to do this.
Want to apply for a personal loan from 118 118 Money?

You can try our eligibility check first to see if you’ll be accepted before you apply – and it won’t affect your credit rating.