Sainburys Personal Loan
The rates on a Sainburys personal loan are good; and the service offers flexible payment terms. But watch out for several gremlins- there's no cooling off period on the contract; once it's signed, you are liable for the sum lent. And insurance cover appears to be quite extortionate, so if you're borrowing long-term, shopping around is advisable. It's a real lesson here that the lowest APR isn't always the best deal.
Sainburys Personal Loan examples (correct at publication date, uninsured):
| |
Monthly Repayment |
APR |
| £3000 across 2 years |
£139.90 |
9.9% |
| £5000 across 5 years |
£100.09 |
7.2% |
| £10000 across 7 years |
N/A |
N/A |
|
The Sainburys Personal Loan is very flexible indeed- in fact they'll do anything to lend you some cash! Loans are available from £1000 to £25000 (a fairly standard offering), but they offer immediate approval online or over the phone, although phone deals attract slightly higher rates. That means you'll know fast whether you can get your money- great if your purchase depends on it. If you're really desperate, for a £35 fee, they'll even courier the cheque over to you within 24 hours. The courier service is expensive, but if you're funding a holiday deal that's on special offer, for example, then that £35 could save you far more. You can also choose to take a holiday of up to three months before beginning repayments; ideal if you need a breather for debt consolidation, or if you want to take the holiday before paying for it!
There are a few restrictions- a Sainburys Personal Loan can only be taken out for a maximum of five years, whereas the usual maximum is seven- if you're borrowing a large amount, you can reduce your monthly repayment by going to a different provider. If you're a big borrower, you're also going to face some stiff rules: the minimum repayment schedule is two years which ensures they make a tidy package from you- this is not the place to go for a bridging loan for example. Note also that unlike some companies which offer you a cooling off period, once your Sainburys Personal Loan agreement is signed there's no going back. And Sainburys redemption penalty is also high: if you want to pay the sum off early, you'll be penalised two months' interest- if you look elsewhere you'll find plenty of flexible products which let you pay off what you want when you want.
The best Sainburys Personal loan rate (actually quoted as "typical") is 6.9%, which compares well with the competition, but only applies at £7,500 or above. But this does beat most players, and as a rule of thumb, above 15% is lousy, above 10% is lazy (shop around), 8%=10% is a fair deal, and below 8% is a great deal.
There are three levels of payment protection insurance on the Sainburys Personal loan site, but rates are not clear on the website and in one quoted example, the protection premium is over 25% of the loan- in those circumstances your credit card will almost certainly offer a better deal.
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