Egg Loan
An Egg loan is all about flexibility- they don't offer the lowest online price, but you can vary payments and take holidays; plus the loan protection policy offers three levels of cover. You're also guaranteed to get the quoted rate, which is good news for people with less than perfect credit.
Egg Loan examples (correct at publication date, uninsured):
| |
Monthly Repayment |
APR |
| £3000 across 2 years |
£139.03 |
10.9% |
| £5000 across 5 years |
£100.58 |
7.9% |
| £10000 across 7 years |
£154.20 |
7.9% |
|
For an online provider, the Egg loan rates aren't fantastic, but don't forget that the overall Egg service (a flexible account) is designed to let you go into the red anyway. In fact, if you only need a little money, you should check out flexible accounting in the first place.
The overall service is flexible- you can have the money transferred to your account after a near-instant decision within 24 hours (better than waiting for a cheque) and interest is calculated daily, which reduces your overall Egg loan payments. There are three options on payment protection too (life, accident/illness, unemployment) and you can decide which, if any, you would like to take out.
Unlike any other provider, after a 6-month initial period, you can take up to three months break from payments per year throughout the term of the Egg loan- ideal if you're strapped for cash over Christmas, for example.
Finally a word about risk-pricing. This is the almost universal practice of offering rates based on how risky a borrower you are. It means the price you see quoted (the best rate) isn't necessarily the one you get. An Egg loan guarantees that the quoted rate is the one you'll receive. That's great for less-than-perfect customers, but if you've got a totally clean slate, you might get a better rate elsewhere.