Get a loan despite having a poor credit history

A limited number of lenders offer secured and unsecured loans for people with bad credit history, CCJs or poor credit rating.

Here you can view details of loans available to people with a poor credit rating.

Before the banking crisis and ensuing credit crunch, loans were readily available as lenders fell over themselves to offer credit. However all this has changed and loans have become remarkably hard to find for people with bad credit ratings.

The economic instability resulted in banks significantly reining in their lending and all but those with the healthiest credit scores will have access to the best products.

Whether you're a homeowner, tenant or live with parents, you'll find the choice is much less and the rates charged considerably higher than if you had a blemish free track record.

In the aftermath of the banking crisis, the number of people who have been refused a loan has risen steadily as banks have been more selective on who they lend to and have turned down anyone they feel poses a risk of defaulting.

People associated with having a poor credit history (also known as adverse credit history or bad credit history) have experienced financial difficulties in the past such as CCJs (County Court Judgements), defaults on loan or credit card repayments, mortgage arrears or council tax problems or possibly missed repayments on a mobile phone bill. Often these problems can be attributed to the individual going through tough times such as divorce or being made redundant.

Most loan decisions will be based on what the prospective lender knows about your credit history and they will get this information from a credit reference agency such as Experian and Equifax. A poor credit history will equate to a less than favourable credit rating with the likely outcome being rejection if you apply for one of the best rate loans.

However all is not lost. Whatever difficulties you have have had in the past or whether it is simply a matter of having no credit history there are a select number of lenders specialising in lending to people who don't fit in to the normal little boxes that most lenders try to pigeon hole us into. So if you have experienced credit problems in the past, don't despair: there are loan lenders out there who may well still be able to assist you, both homeowners and tenants.