How to compare the loan market for the best Uswitch deals

Find the best loan deal on personal loans, secured loans and unsecured loans and compare interest rates on loan deals to find the best loan deal for you.

How to find the best deal on a loan

There is a lot of choice when it comes to loans and the loan market is constantly changing. In order to find the best loan deal for you, it is important to shop around to see what is available. We recommend running a comparison based on how much you want to borrow, and for how long, in order to get the best loan rates.

How does the Uswitch best loan comparison work?

Uswitch provides an impartial search of the personal loans market to find the best loans for your circumstances. You can also use our loans calculator to find a suitable loan.

Bear in mind that loan interest rates and terms and conditions will differ from product to product. Providers also offer different deals, interest rates and length of loan. 

Therefore, in order to find the best loan deal it is worth looking at a range of different options and comparing what loans and interest rates are on offer.

Does Uswitch compare the best loans?

Our loans comparison service is customised to give you an excellent idea of what the loans market currently holds.

We will compare a range of loans to give you a list of the best ones on our site. You can compare the best deals that are available and change your search criteria until you find the best loan for you. Our comparison tool will also show you how the interest you will pay changes according to your loan term.

This is how Uswitch provides a range of loan deals so you can compare and choose the best loan deal for you.

Find out more about How to find the cheapest loan deals

How do I choose the best loan?

The best deals on loans depends on your personal circumstances, how long you want to borrow the money for, and for how long.

Looking for low interest rates on loans is very important, but there are other costs that come with personal loans and you need to factor these into the total cost of your loan.

You should make sure that you examine the small print to see if your loan includes any of the following:

• early repayment fees

• arrangement fees

• deferments and breaks from repayment

The best loan deal might have a clause that makes a charge for early repayment fees. This would not be a problem if you did not intend to repay your personal loan early and before the end of the set term. However, it is important to know before you sign up for your loan deal.

What is the best type of loan?

There are two main types of loan – secured loan and unsecured loan.

Secured loans enable you to borrow against an asset, such as your property. An unsecured loan is not secured against your house or flat and so the lender is taking a greater risk when they lend to you. For this reason, unsecured loans are usually more expensive in terms of interest rates than secured loans.

If you're a homeowner and want to borrow a large sum of money, or have had problems with credit in the past, you could consider a secured loan.

Qualifying criteria for secured loans are often more flexible than those used for personal loans. In order to lend you money, the lender will require you to use your property as security against the loan.

If you default on repaying the debt, you are at risk of losing the property.

If you have had problems with credit in the past, find out how to improve your credit rating and improve your chances of being approved for credit in the future.

Why should I get a personal loan?

There are a number of reasons for getting a personal loan:

• improving or upgrading your home

• funding training or new skills

• funding a life event such as a wedding

• you need to borrow more than your overdraft offers

• consolidating debts

A common reason for taking out a personal loan is to consolidate debts. When you have a number of repayments to make it can be easier to group together the debt and pay that off and work out a payment plan for the loan. Then pay off the loan instead of several repayments. This way you will only have one monthly repayment to make.

Be sure to make your monthly repayments, as missing any payments can negatively impact your credit score. Whilst making regular payments on time can help your credit rating.

Which is better – a credit card, overdraft or personal loan?

When deciding between either a credit card, overdraft or a personal loan to borrow money, consider how much you will be paying in interest.

For smaller amounts of borrowing, an interest free period offered by the credit card company might work out to be cost effective. You might also have an interest free overdraft attached to your current account, up to a certain limit.

Find out How to pay off credit card debt with our Uswitch guide.

Find out how to compare balance transfer credit cards

How I can tell which is the best loan deal?

When you use the Uswitch loans comparison service you will see a number of different loans which you can apply for.

It is a good idea to shop around for the best loan rates rather than just accepting the first offer from your own bank or building society.

The Uswitch comparison table will show how much you want to borrow, for how long, the interest rate you will be charged, and any other costs involved in setting up the loan.

A very important piece of information is the APR or Annual Percentage Rate. You will see the representative APR, which is a guide to the actual interest rate you will be paying.

The representative APR is the rate that half of successful applicants will pay. You may pay more if you have a poor credit rating and the lender offers you a personal loan but at a higher rate of interest.

Find out how to improve your credit rating

If you have been unemployed or have recently lost your job and need to use credit, you can find more information on our guide to Credit cards for the unemployed

If you have never owned a credit card before, read our guide to your First Credit card to find out the best way to build your credit rating and use credit wisely.

How do I find the best loan deals?

Uswitch's secured loans comparison service can help you find the best loan deals for secured loans available on our site, according to your needs.

Use our tables to compare some of the best loan options for you, whether you want to borrow £1,000 or £25,000 there’s likely to be a suitable loan for you. Just make sure to shop around to get the best loan rates, and cheapest deal on your loan.

Our loans calculator can help you find the loan that's best for your pocket, simply enter in how much you want to borrow and how long for, and you can see the lifetime cost, APR and monthly repayments of available loans.

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