Tuesday, May 03, 2005

Northern Rock Loan

A recent report by More Than announced that 1 in 4 people wanted to pay off their loans as a matter of priority.

One of the best ways to do this is to refinance your loans and get a competitive interest rate and Northern Rock provide one of the most competitive loans on the market today.

At first glance, the Northern Rock loan seems too good to be true. The interest rate offered on your borrowing is one of the very lowest available in the UK, and you can apply for a Northern Rock loan of up to 25,000, to be repaid over 10 years (or less). This certainly represents one of the best deals on the market at the moment.

The best thing about the Northern Rock loan is the interest rate, but this doesn't mean you pay for your loan in other ways. In fact, even ignoring the APR completely, the Northern Rock loan is still a really good deal. You can borrow large amounts and benefit from a long repayment period, and the APR is fixed for the lifetime of the loan - it will stay at the same competitive rate for as long as it takes you to pay it off.

With a lot of low-price lenders you're hit with a penalty if you decide to pay off some or all of your loan amount early. Not so with the Northern Rock loan - some companies charge the equivalent of up to two months' interest for early repayments (in an attempt to put you off cutting your term short), but Northern Rock saves you this expense. If you pay off just a small amount early you can reduce the term of your loan and, therefore, the amount you'll pay back in interest over all.

There are some factors you should look out for when applying for a Northern Rock loan:
  • As with all cheap lenders, Northern Rock's credit scoring system is a bit strict. If you haven't got a perfect credit rating you might be offered a loan at a higher Apr or Northern Rock might decline your application altogether. And if you're looking for a lender that offers payment holidays - a break in payments to take advantage of when you're strapped for cash - you'd better go elsewhere. Northern Rock doesn't offer payment holidays for any circumstances.

  • You should also check the age limit for any loan you're thinking of applying for - Northern Rock won't accept your application if you're below 21 or above 80.

  • Some lenders charge an early repayment fee if you choose to pay off your debt early. Even if you don't think you will be able to settle your debt before your loan term has expired, you might benefit from choosing a lender that doesn't do this, just in case. Fortunately, the Northern Rock loan allows you to make extra bulk payments along the way, with no charge. This will not bring your interest rate down, but you will save money by cutting your loan term.

  • The Northern Rock loan is a cheap, no-frills service. It does not offer benefits such as repayment holidays, and does not allow you to change your Direct Debit payment date after your loan term has started.

The pros and cons of applying for a Northern Rock loan might make the decision sound complicated, and it is even more so when you consider that there are plenty of other cheap loans to choose from in the UK. Use the Finance Choices Loans Table to compare Northern Rock with other lenders.

Quick links
- Apply for a Northern Rock loan online
- Compare Northern Rock loans with other UK loans


7 Comments:

Anonymous Robb said...

At the moment I'm waiting for the final confirmation BUT we have a mortgage certificate. I liked the fact that Northern Rock gave me a mortgage (albeit a relitively small one of £92,500) But I am 50, I am a first time buyer, with only 1 income. Plus I wanted 100% which I got AND they gave me back £1000 against legal fees. With a fixed interest rate. Consequently the mortgage is only about £40 more than my rent (on interest only) and about £100 more than rent on repayment. Good business in my opinion

5:37 AM  
Anonymous john said...

late last year my husband and i decided to see what properties were out there with a view to moving. as i had had a few credit problems in the past the mortgage on our house is just in my husbands name and with northern rock.
we decided to see if anyone out there could give us a joint mortgage in both our names as my problems are now cleared up. after going through a couple of independent advisiors we were basically told that my credit rating meant we had to pay a higher rate of interest than we do now.
we went to yet another advisor who tried northern rock for us, we kept chasing her up and not getting any answers. after a few days we got fed up with waiting and phoned nortern rock ourselves to find out what was going on.
they were very freindly and helpful and within two days had told us that they could deal with us at the same interest rate that my husband was already on (which was 5% lower than we had been offered anywhere else.).
during this time we changed our minds and decided to stay in the house we were in and just remortgage it.
we had the answer within a week and funds within three weeks they were excellent to deal with and will count us as customers for a long time yet.
i found the whole experience with them quit smooth and easily the least stressful option of all we had tried as well as the cheapest.
if looking for a mortgage they are really good to deal with

8:18 AM  
Anonymous Ipswich said...

I was amazed at how fast i recieved my personal loan from Northern Rock,I filled in application on the internet and was sent confirmation in 2 days,and this was at christmas time.

I sent the documents they asked for and the money was in the bank within 4 days.

there was absolutely no hassle and I also got the low advertised rate which was 6% at the time of applying,cant recommend them enough if you want money fast.

1:06 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

When I took out a Northern Rock personal loan for £5000 a bit over a year ago, the interest rate was the best I could find. Since then they still appear on the best buy tables, at least for loans without payment protection. One of the key features is that they charge the same interest rate for any loan between £1000 and £25000. This makes them really good value for a £1000 loan. For bigger amounts some of their competitors may be cheaper.

If you are thinking about taking out payment protection for a loan, make sure you work out just how much the insurance premiums will cost. When I checked, they increased the effective interest rate on the loan from under 9% to well over 30%. If you suspect that you may be about to be made redundant, then this might be a better bet, but you should read the terms and conditions very carefully as you might find clauses that would allow the insurance company to avoid paying. Personally, I think you would be better to take the risk and insure yourself for this sort of risk.

1:25 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

The interest may look good but almost half of people who apply don't get that interest rate.

3:30 PM  
Anonymous linnie said...

Just had a bit of an unbelievable experience with Northern Rock. Or should I say my Mum has. I recommended she give them a go, as she's needs a short term loan to pay some divorce legal costs and would probably get the 5.8% cause she's always had a excellent credit history.

Really wish I hadn't bothered. We went through the online application and they referred the decision asking her to call in. She then got 25 mins of the hardsell on PPI from the guy on the other end of the phone. (I know I was sitting with her listening!) he really hounded her and threw a lot of figures at her, but at the end of the call she said she didn't want it, thank-you-very-much but no, and he finished by saying he'd send the details out and when she got the form she should tick and sign the little box to make sure she gets her payment protection!!!

I can understand why they do it, they're on commission and everyone likes to earn money, so when it comes through this morning they have calculated it on the top whack PPI, and of course no option to get it without. I said she should ring and complain about it and ask from the reviewed agreement to be sent out without the PPI on there. She then got another hounding for 20 mins from a different person and asked all kinds of personal questions about what her benefits at work are and this, that and the other. I was ready to take the phone off her and give them whatfor myself. She was shaking by the time she came off the phone, and a bit teary (and my Mum is never teary, she doesn't do teary!!!!)

So has anyone else had this experience with Northern Rock? I feel a bit guilty about being the cause of all this now as I mentioned it to her in the first place now. A supervisor rang her back about an hour after this second call, but I don't know for what reason because she just told them to forget it and cancel the whole thing. My loan experience was with Egg and Natwest and never had any problems and certainly haven't been treated like that! Yes of course income/outgoing questions need to be asked, and they always offer ppi but no seems to be no with other places.

I must admit, when the decision was referred and when I realised what was going on during the first call I did get a bit cynical about it and wonder if they'd got her to call in cause she's a single woman in her 50s and they thought they could just badger her with enough doomsday stories to get her to agree, but then that could just be me!

So any similar experiences (I think it may cheer her up slightly to know they treat other people like crap too), or were we just unlucky?!

9:00 AM  
Anonymous gavin said...

My husband had the same experience a few months ago. We already had a Northern Rock Loan and wanted to pay off the remaining £500 and take out a new loan of £4500. The person at the other end insisted that my husband take out PPI. Husband refused to enter into a conversation about it; told the man at the other end that he didn't want the loan if he had to take out PPI, said 'goodbye' and put the phone down. 15 minutes later Northern Rock phoned back, said they'd discussed the matter with a supervisor and he could have the loan at the lowest interest rate and without PPI. Interesting! I think you have to be fairly robust with these companies and play them at their own game. Hope this helps.

9:00 AM  

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