Guide to loans for poor credit

What is a Bad Credit Loan?

Bad credit loans are designed for people who are looking for a loan but have a poor credit history. While having a bad credit rating can make it much harder to find cheap loans, there are still options available to you if you want to borrow money and avoid payday loans, which are extremely risky and can easily push you further into debt.

As with any loan you need to be well informed before making a decision, however this is especially true if you need a loan but have a bad credit rating.

It is also important to understand that having a poor credit history and having no credit history are different things. Having no credit history, also known as having a thin credit file, is usually experienced by young people who have never had a credit card and haven't been able to build up a credit rating.

There are many reasons why someone might have a bad credit rating - perhaps mortgage repayments have been missed or you have had a County Court Judgment (CCJ) taken against you? Whatever your past, there are always options available to you.

Here we look into the potential benefits and downfalls of bad credit loans, and let you know what you need to consider when looking into loans for people with bad credit.

Pros and cons of bad credit loans

If you have poor credit history lenders will consider you a higher risk and therefore the loans you are likely to be eligible for will probably have a high level of interest. While you should look around at the various loan options available to you, it might be unlikely that you find an interest rate you are happy with.

Of course if you do manage to find a bad credit loan that you are comfortable with and that you are confident you will be able to repay it can help you rebuild your credit rating (providing you don’t fall behind on repayments). This is because it will allow you to prove to lenders that you are able to handle your finances and responsibly borrow money, therefore you must take a disciplined approach to repaying the money you borrow.

Bad credit loans can be used by people who have had problems with credit to consolidate their debts. However if this is your plan then there are other, less costly alternatives which we will look at below.

Alternatives to bad credit loans

As we have said, you might struggle to find the best interest rates on loans or credit cards or you have a poor credit history, but that shouldn’t stop you from looking at all of your options. You should also consider what it is you need the loan for. If you are looking for a way to consolidate your debts a debt consolidation loan is an option you could look into, however if you have a poor credit history then you might struggle to find a cheap debt consolidation loan.

If you are hoping to borrow some money to make a one-off purchase then a purchase card is also an option you could look into. Many purchase cards offer 0% introductory interest rates. If you are confident that you can repay all the money within the introductory period then this might be a good option for you.

If you have poor credit history because you have fallen into debt then another loan might not be the right choice for you. There are other ways to take control of your finances, such as setting up standing orders to ensure you are not late on repayments or simply creating a personal budget and rigidly sticking to it.

Things to remember about loans for people with bad credit

As you might have guessed, getting a loan when you have a bad credit history will be hard. However there are much, much worse options that might seem enticing if you desperately need cash. We would never recommend going down the pay day loans route - they will only make things worse.

However if you simply want to get a bad credit loan to improve your credit rating then bad credit loans can be useful, however you must be sure that you can repay the entire loan and not fall behind on monthly repayments, and you need to be aware that you will probably end up paying a higher rate of interest than you might on other loans or credit cards. Lenders are also likely to take into account many other factors, such as your job, salary and if you own any property, because, as we mentioned earlier, they will see you as a high risk borrower. But if you can keep up with repayments and don’t allow the loan to push you further into debt that you cannot afford then you will be on the road to repairing your credit rating.