Banks Cruelly Target Bad Credit Customers Looking for Christmas Money by Charging More for Less

Nov. 26, 2010 - PRLog -- Banks and building societies are now making it harder for borrowers to obtain loans for Christmas at reasonable rates.

Most high street lenders are against offering Christmas money to anyone who isn’t already a customer, whilst those who bank with the organisation have to apply without knowing what the interest rate (APR) could be.

“Banks used to spend all their time trying to build a solid relationship with their clients,” stated Andrew James, spokesperson for Bad Credit Loans 4 You, a UK finance specialist at sourcing bad credit loans and Xmas loans http://www.bad-credit-loans-4-you.co.uk/bad-credit-christmas-loans.html

“But some consumers believe banks are now trying underhand tactics to squeeze every last penny out of them, even though the tax payer had to bail some of them out of their own bad credit problems.”

In a cynical move, deployed to sting careful borrowers, those who require less than £7,000 might end up paying back £2,000 more in interest than those borrowing larger sums because of higher rates.

Additionally, banks have moved away from displaying typical APR rates in their advertisements and now offer loans and Christmas money without quoting an interest rate.
Instead, the banks are using ‘personal pricing’, which involves analysing each applicant’s credit score before providing details of the interest rate on offer.

“This new move by the banks has a knock-on effect to those who can only afford a loan within a certain APR range”, said Mr James of Bad Credit Loans 4 You.

“If the potential borrower cannot afford the rate provided after they have been credit searched, then they will have to move on to another company.”

“But credit scores deteriorate each time a person applies for new credit, resulting in them either being turned down in the future, or only being offered higher interest rates.”

Michelle Slade, financial researcher at Moneyfacts, said; “Either they aren't advertising any rate or are showing a rate as an indication of what you may get.”

“This makes it impossible to shop around for a good deal. You'll have to go through the full credit scoring system before you get a quote, but once you have checked two or three rates you'll damage your credit history because they'll think you're desperate and have been turned down by other lenders.”

“They need to change the system so that you can compare rates without adversely affecting your credit score.”

Banks often tighten their lending criteria’s in the run up to Christmas as they fear those who apply just before the festive period in the search for Xmas loans are riskier clients.

Research by R3, a professional association for insolvency estimated that almost a third (31%) of personal insolvencies that occurred in March 2010 were triggered by people overspending Christmas money during the festive season.

And, according to a poll by MyVoucherCodes.co.uk, 7% of respondents are still currently paying off debt that they accumulated last Christmas.

Tim Moss, head of lending at Moneysupermarket.com, said; “Most banks cherry-pick their best customers and then charge them more for a loan, it makes a mockery of the system.”
“They should be treating loyal customers like gold.”

Banks are penalising those who don't want to take on too much debt.

Halifax, for instance, typically charges 9.9% for those borrowing between £7,000 and £15,000, but if you want to borrow less the rate shoots up to 19.9%.

According to calculations by Moneysupermarket.com, someone who took a £4,950 loan over five years would pay £4,041 in interest.

However, a borrower who took £7,000 would pay £1,965 interest.

Halifax countered these figures by saying that there is no fixed rate for loans under £7,000 because they are based on the risk-assessment of each customer individually.

The same occurs at HSBC, where interest rates can be as low as 7.6% to borrow £7,000 but 16.9% on £6,950.

This equates up to £1,793 more in interest over five years on a similar-sized, cheaper loan.
Both HSBC and Halifax will only lend money for Christmas to existing customers and increase the rate according to how risky they consider them to be.

“Thousands of borrowers are unaware of this huge disparity in rates. It's so unfair to catch them out this way,” said Mr Moss.

Ironically, only the Post Office, which is backed by the crisis-hit Bank of Ireland, has a fixed-rate of 8.9% for loans between £5,000 and £25,000.

Sainsbury's Finance and Tesco Loans charge 8.7% to those who wish to borrow £5,000 over five years, but Loans of £7,500 cost 7.7% at Sainsbury's and 7.9% from Tesco.

Sainsbury's reserves these rates specifically for people who have its free Nectar loyalty card.

Others who will lend to those who aren't existing customers include the AA, Alliance & Leicester, the Co-operative Bank and Santander.

Barclays will consider those who wish to apply for Xmas loans but bank with them, but its rate for a £5,000 loan is 26.9% compared with 16.4% for existing customers, says Moneyfacts.

“These figures are based on an applicant having a good credit score,” said Mr James of Bad Credit Loans 4 You.

“Not only is it almost impossible to obtain Christmas loans or Christmas money from your bank with a bad credit history, it’s also really expensive in the long run.”

“This is part of the reason why bad credit & poor credit specialists, such as our company, have grown so well within the gap which has been left by the banks.”

Bad Credit Loans 4 You helps out people who fear they have been blacklisted because of CCJ’s and Defaults.

Bad Credit Loans 4 You holds a Consumer Credit Licence issued by the Office of Fair Trading. The company is also covered by the Financial Ombudsman.

Bad Credit Loans 4 You is also registered with the Information Commissioner’s Office for Data Protection.

For help, phone 0800 011 4503 or visit
http://www.bad-credit-loans-4-you.co.uk/bad-credit-christ...  

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Notes for Editor:

http://www.bad-credit-loans-4-you.co.uk/bad-credit-christ...

Loans 4 You of London Ltd
Innovation Centre
Monks Brook
PO30 5WB
United Kingdom
Tel: 0800 011 4503

Bad Credit Loans 4 You was formed in April 2010, bringing together a team of specialists that together offers over 50 years of expertise to help applicants gain the unsecured loans they need.

From its UK head office in Monks Brook, Loans 4 You operates across Britain, sourcing loans for people with bad credit.

Bad Credit Loans 4 You holds a Consumer Credit Licence issued by the Office of Fair Trading. The company is also covered by the Financial Ombudsman.

Bad Credit Loans 4 You is also registered with the Information Commissioner’s Office for Data Protection.

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