Bad Credit Loans

Do I Need to Boost my Credit Score before I can get a secured loan?

For some lenders, a good credit score is essential for a customer to borrow money or be accepted for other types of finance. Discover what your credit score is, how to improve it, and if you may need to boost your credit score before you can receive a secured loan.

What is a Secured Loan?

A secured loan is a type of loan that requires you to secure an asset against the money you are borrowing. In most cases, the loan is secured against property, and in the event of multiple missed payments, your home could be repossessed by the lender.

Secured loans, also known as homeowner loans, are therefore less risky for lenders and allow the customer to potentially borrow a larger amount of money. The money borrowed can be used for a wide range of purposes including debt consolidation, funding home improvements, paying for your special wedding day, a new car or a family holiday.

What is a Credit Score?

Your credit score is a numerical value created from information in your credit report. Your credit score can differ between lenders depending on the criteria required. According to Experian, it is used to assess the risk of lending to you, how much you would be able to borrow, and how much interest you will be charged.

The data on your credit file keeps a record of your financial decisions over the past six years. If you’ve missed payments in the past, this may be reflected as a poor credit score and be visible on your credit file. This can result in lenders being hesitant to lend you money, and affect your ability to take out mobile phone contracts and insurance.

It is possible to check your credit score by requesting full details from one of the main UK credit score agencies; Equifax, Experian and TransUnion.

If you’re concerned with your credit score, there are several ways to potentially boost or improve it. These include registering on the electoral roll, making payments on time, and if possible paying off CCJ’s or any outstanding debt on your file, and keeping your credit utilisation low. It also helps to try and remain at one address for a while rather than moving around a lot and ensuring that your credit file isn’t linked to anybody else’s, especially if they have a poor credit score too.

Can I get a Secured Loan with a Bad Credit Score?

Due to the reduction in risk as your home will be used as security for the loan, some lenders are able to offer secured loans to customers who possess a bad credit score or have been rejected for other loan applications in the past.

Although trying to get a loan with a bad credit score can be frustrating, not all lenders rely solely on credit checks and some instead make a decision on lending by taking your individual financial situation into account.

Improving your credit score may improve your chances of getting a more competitive rate (or borrowing more money), but it is still possible to take out a secured loan with a bad credit score.

At Evolution Money, we like to say ‘yes’ to customers with bad credit scores and pride ourselves on understanding our customer’s unique financial situation. We, therefore, treat each secured loan application individually rather than making a decision solely from the figures on a computer screen.

Secured Loans for Bad Credit from Evolution Money

Our bad credit loans are secured loans designed for Evolution Money customers who have a poor credit history or have been previously rejected by other lenders.

We offer customers secured loans ranging from £5,000 up to £50,000 with lending terms of up to 20 years and a competitive interest rate.

To be eligible for one of our secured bad credit loans, you must match our criteria and be aged 21 or over, own your home, live in the UK and pass our affordability checks to prove you’re able to make the repayments from your regular income.

So, If you’ve been refused finance or had loan applications rejected in the past due to bad credit, then you may be able to get a secured loan from Evolution Money without needing to boost your credit score first.

Apply for a secured loan online from Evolution Money today to receive a no-obligation quote that won’t affect your credit score. Or, contact our qualified and friendly secured loan advisors on 0161 814 9158 to find out more about how a bad credit loan could benefit you.