Christmas loans for bad credit

Posted on October 23, 2023

With Christmas fast approaching, how you will pay for it all could be worrying you. One solution could be to look for a loan, credit card or repayment plan to meet all the costs.

“Subject to credit rating” Is a common phrase you hear or see as a small print for adverts for loans, store or credit cards. How this relates to you in real life is not always clear, until you need to apply for a loan. Your credit rating can affect the amount of interest you will be charged on a loan, credit card or pay in an instalment plan. The banks or mainstream lenders turn down many people with poor credit and therefore use other lenders that charge them a high amount of interest. There are lots of worries about credit ratings, here are the most common, and how you can access a Christmas loan with a bad credit score.  

Worry: I don’t know my credit rating and how to get it.

You can access your Credit rating for free from a variety of providers. Many of these websites also offer tips and ideas to improve your credit rating. You can also check if there are any mistakes. Under the Data Protection Act 2018, you can dispute inaccurate information and get errors corrected within 28 days. By correcting the mistakes and disputing inaccurate information it can improve your rating and therefore reduce how much you would be charged in interest. Credit Karma is a good site, offering free Credit Reports, find out more here.

We offer Christmas loans to our members at affordable rates of interest, as we are a not-for-profit organisation and want to help everyone in our community. We also offer Christmas savings accounts to help people save for next year and break the cycle of debt. 

Worry: I don’t have any large debts, I don’t know why my credit rating is so bad.

There are lots of factors apart from debts that can affect your credit rating, including if you are on the electoral roll, or have missed any payments for things like water, or a mobile phone contract. The number of applications you make can also affect your credit rating, if you have been declined for credit from lots of places it can damage it too.

If you have been declined for credit it’s always a good idea to check your credit rating before applying again. You could have asked for too much credit or not be on the electoral roll. As a credit union, we are more flexible on poor credit ratings than banks or credit/store cards.

Worry: My credit rating is bad, I can only access loans for people with bad credit.

A bad credit score does impact how much and if you can get credit, and also how much it will cost you. However, there are things you can do to repair it over time. Making sure you meet all your current repayments on time is important, as is being on the electoral roll and correcting any mistakes. For example, if you moved out of a property, and the new tenant misses a water bill payment, it could be added to your file. It is important to notify everyone of your new address and when you will move out. More information on the electoral roll.

Taking out a small loan and showing you can repay it can also improve your credit rating. However, the cost of the interest of the loan can be high, even if it is over a short period of time. Always check the total amount you are going to repay, before confirming any loan. Our website has loan calculator sliders clearly showing how much a loan from us would cost.

So if you are looking for a Christmas loan or repayment plan to pay for Christmas a Christmas loan from us may be a cheaper solution.