According to The Money Charity, the average total debt per household in the UK, including mortgages, was £60,363 at the beginning of 2020. So, it’s fair to say that the majority of people in the UK have the need to borrow money at least once in their lifetime.
There is a lot of choice for people looking to apply for a Loan, and unfortunately there are also many illegitimate and unauthorised lenders that try to scam borrowers. If you’re looking to borrow money, we’ll explain how you can do so safely from a responsible Lender.
Check The FCA Register
The first thing to look for is if the financial provider is registered on the FCA. The FCA is the UK organisation that is responsible for ensuring all companies offering credit are adhering to the set regulations.
All lenders like Lending Stream are required to be on the Fca Register, which proves that the company is offering loans legitimately and responsibly. You can search by the company’s name or by their FCA reference number, which you can find in the footer of the finance website’s footer.
The FCA Register also lists firms and websites that it knows are scams or clones of other authorised firms. You should avoid these lenders as they are not regulated or covered by the Financial Ombudsman Service.
Is the lender following the regulations set out by the FCA?
Every lender must follow the regulations set out by the FCA. For short term lenders, there is a total cost cap of 100%, which means borrowers will never have to repay more than double than what they have borrowed.
The interest rate for a short-term loan must also not exceed 0.8% per day. This regulation from the FCA helps protect consumers from running into large amounts of debt.
Do They Have Verified Reviews?
Search to see if the finance provider is on any reputable review websites like Trustpilot or Reviews.co.uk. Many of these review websites show whether the feedback that’s been left has been from a verified customer.
If the lender has a lot of good reviews from verified borrowers, you can be more assured that you are borrowing from a reputable company.
Check That The Website Is Secure And Trustworthy
Web addresses should now be using “https://” instead of “http://” to ensure that any data you share with the site is secure. Some browsers might now show https:// until you click on the full web address. Also ensure that the padlock symbol is present in your browser address bar.
For instance, if a lender was not using HTTPS, the data you give to that site such as login details or payment information is at risk of being intercepted and taken by a hacker.
HTTPS helps to ensure that your information is kept confidential, and shows whether the lender is acting to protect your best interests.
Staying Safe
So when you’re looking for a loan online, look carefully about whether the lender is offering a ‘too good to be true’ deal, and ensure you only apply on legitimate websites with regulated loans.
Disclaimer: The above content and third-party sites linked here are for general information only and do not provide financial advice.
This is a guest post by Leadtree Global.
The post How to apply for loans safely: What to look for appeared first on Blog | Lending Stream.
