Compare Doorstep Loans | Doorstep Lenders List 2014
Lender Count:
We have introduced 9 companies that currently offer doorstep loans, although one of these has recently closed (Greenwood). This is as you can see the smallest subprime niche that we have covered to date.
Market Leader:
Provident is the major player who has been around since the year 1880. At this time they provided a facility whereby vouchers could be exchanged for clothing, coal and food. The repayments were made in small weekly instalments. It should be noted that Greenwood Personal Credit was created a few years earlier in 1877, but it is not clear how their business operated back then. They went on to acquire Greenwood in 1977 (marking their 100th anniversary). Unfortunately, this sister-brand was recently closed down. Their vast experience has enabled them to grow a large customer base. Their service is also available across the entire UK and they have even stretched to offer coverage in Ireland. The market leader impressively has 11,000 agents working for them.
Market Leader Competitors:
The main contender over the years has been Shopacheck who also operate under the SFS Loans brand. Shopacheck have themselves built up an impressive network (1800 agents). Their nationwide coverage is also noteworthy. One point is that their customers must be aged at 21 or above to qualify. For a long time they did price match their major competitor, but they have since increased their pricing. Outside of this company, the rest are generally fighting out for the scraps. Most of these have restricted locations and they don’t tend to do a good job on the online front. It would generally be recommended to use Provident or Shopacheck based on their extensive coverage.
Pricing (Compare Doorstep Loans):
The top 5 rates we Examined Here have been added below. Pricing has always been complicated in this sector since most of the companies involved offer differing repayment terms compared to their rivals. They may do this so that they can’t be directly compared against each other. What we did to calculate the ranking positions was simply to work out how much the daily rates worked out at. Shopacheck matches SFS, but when there is a price match we rank alphabetically. The overall pricing is set well, but most companies keep the user on an agreement for as long as possible whereby the value of the product diminishes. The lender that came out on top with the cheapest rate is Mutual. They look very impressive on paper, but unfortunately their service is highly restricted to select areas (East Anglia, East Midlands and South Yorkshire only).
1) Mutual = £90 (26-wks)
2) Skyline Direct = £150 (30-wks)
3) Provident = £180 (32-wks)
4) LoansatHome4U = £180 (32-wks)
5) SFS Loans = £210 (34-wks)
Primary Product Benefits:
The initial qualification requirements are relaxed when you head to the main companies. It may for instance be possible to qualify with no bank account and a history of CCJs may also be considered. In comparison, you would be quickly declined for a Payday Loan. The repayments are spread out as much as possible to create affordable weekly payments. Due to this, the customer may just be paying back £10 each week. Most firms tend to be flexible as well and so you can make overpayments or settle early by simply arranging this with your agent.
Primary Product Limitations:
The home collection loan has become outdated in recent years. It can take several days before the loan agreement is arranged and there is no ability to manage the loan online. I’m sure that not everyone will also be happy with having to wait in for the collection each week at a specific time. There will always be a market for this type of service, but to what extent remains unclear. Provident have already started to adapt by releasing Satsuma Loans that is an online equivalent to their primary offering. It isn’t likely that they will cease their main service. If they did, this would open the doors for the smaller firms to thrive in.
Requirements (Eligibility):
The requirements are relaxed. The applicant just needs to be a UK resident aged at 18 or above. Some firms advertise the fact that they can cater those with no bank account and CCJs, defaults etc. Overall, these products are certainly more obtainable than others, but you would tend to find that customers are started off with a small sum of a few hundred pounds. Only higher sums would likely be offered once the customer has demonstrated that they can manage the money well.
Doorstep Lenders List 2014:
Each lender is alphabetically placed within a single group. The ~ Closed ~ section below this just highlights the single known closure.
Group (All):
KDSFinance.co.uk
LoansatHome4U.co.uk
MorsesClub.com
Mutual.uk.com
ProvidentPersonalCredit.com
SFSLoans.co.uk
Shopacheck.co.uk
SkylineDirect.com
~ Closed ~
This page is frequently updated.
