Consolidate your debts into a single monthly repayment
If you've got balances on store cards and credit cards or even overdrafts and loans, you might be making a number of repayments throughout the month at a number of different rates. A personal loan could help you consolidate your debts into one monthly repayment at a fixed rate.
Simplify your repayments with just one amount. Choose when you make your monthly repayment (between the 1st-28th of the month). Anyone who lives permanently in the UK, is aged 21 or over, has a bank or building society account with a Direct Debit facility, has a regular gross annual income of at least £6,000 and has not been declared bankrupt or had a CCJ or an IVA within the last 6 years can apply for a loan.
Getting the right consolidation loan
To find the right loan for your needs, follow these steps:
Work out how much you need to borrow: Add up all the debts that you would like to consolidate and include any extra charges you have to pay them off. This will be the amount you need to borrow. Decide how long you need to pay it back: The longer you take to pay your loan back the lower your monthly payments will be. However, if you borrow for longer you will pay more overall. Look for the lowest interest rate: This is the main cost of your loan, so you need to look for the lowest APR. This is the rate lenders advertise but it is not guaranteed as they only have to give it to 51% of borrowers.
How much can you consolidate?
You could consolidate up to £25,000 using an unsecured personal loan.
How long can you borrow for?
Most unsecured debt consolidation loans offer terms between one and five years.
If you need longer to pay back your loan a few lenders offer terms up to seven years, but this tends to only be for loans over £10,000.
You can use our loan repayment calculator to see how different terms could affect your monthly payments.
Getting the cheapest loan
To make consolidating your debts worthwhile you need to find a loan that offers a cheaper interest rate than you are currently paying.
You can use this comparison to compare interest rates before you get quotes from each lender.